Home Improvements

My bathroom is one of my favourite rooms. I recently added a small bookshelf, (as certain members like to relax with a book whilst on the throne!), which I bought for £5 at a bootsale and painted with Cath Kidston's furniture paint in the shade 'Bunny's Ear'. I adore this shade, it's a soft bluey grey. Once I put it in the room I sat and looked at the other pine furniture in the room and thought how lovely they would look in Bunny's Ear. So yesterday I spent the day painting.

This is the result...






Fresher and more coastal I think.

A quick request, I am thinking of putting a panel of Cath Kidston's Boats wallpaper on the door of the toiletries cupboard but do not want to buy a whole roll. Has anyone got any spare that they could sell me a metre of?

Whilst we are in my bathroom let me show you my Janet Bolton picture and my two Janet Bolton-inspired pictures in situ.




.......and this lovely picture, which was actually 3 cards, made by this clever lady that I bought in Port Isaac on holiday and had framed.


Whilst all that was going on I was waiting for the arrival of my new drawers, yes more! In fact it was because of the imminent arrival of my haberdashery drawers that the painted started as I had to make room for this huge piece of furniture. This meant shifting things around and the whole house exploded into chaos!

Anyway, back to the drawers, they arrived this morning, very dusty, cobwebby and with remnants of old sellotape on the glass fronted drawers.

I was contacted by the seller of these drawers through my website asking if I would be interested in buying them. They had been in storage for many years. Well you can imagine my answer!





I set to work cleaning them up. Polishing and cleaning all 32 of the glass fronts. It has taken me the best part of today and I am only half way through.




I have lined each drawer with vintage wallpaper before filling them with fabric. A time consuming but very satisfying job!

Here they are part way through. I have put all the fabric boxes and drawers on top ready for my Open House in October.



and moved the Sylko cotton reel drawers to the top of the other bank of drawers.



I'm getting there, slowly but surely, but having just bought 4 more pots of Bunny's Ear paint I fear that it is not the end of my furniture painting! Pin It

Vintage Finds

Great vintage finds this week. They will be at my Open House sale in October or will find their way on to my stall at the Vintage and Handmade Fair.

2 vintage doll's prams. 1940's and 1960's.

Vintage yacht (I cannot resist these!)

A vintage Stanley (he might have to stay with me!)

A vintage toddler toy

The sweetest little jigsaw puzzle

A Mary Quant scarf

A fabric and raffia cottage style tea cosy

and a lovely wooden ironing board.

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Fabric Scraps

One of the products I sell are fabric goodie bags. Bags stuffed full of beautiful vintage fabric scraps suitable for patchwork, quilting, applique and other small textile projects. A customer of mine, Jayne Ward, makes the most beautiful textile pictures. She said that when the scrap bag arrived it was like Christmas and Birthday rolled into one.

When she sent me photos of some of her pictures I was blown away by them and I suggested a swap, a supply of fabric scraps for a piece of her wonderful artwork. Luckily for me Jayne said 'yes' and, after receiving the fabric scraps she made the following pieces.

(Click on photos to enlarge and see them in all their loveliness)







I was told to choose one and I am now the proud owner of the last one, 'Blue jugs', which is now at the framers and there is a space reserved on my kitchen wall for it. It is even more beautiful in the flesh and I couldn't stop gazing at it. I am one lucky girl!

If any of you would like a piece of work by Jayne, please contact me for her email address as she doesn't have a website at present. Pin It

Sew Magazine

I have a lovely feature in this month's Sew magazine, titled 'My Sewing Room'. Sew magazine is a relatively new one, this is issue 3 and I have been very impressed with it so far. There is a pattern attached to the front of every issue. This month's is for a vintage tea dress and there is lots of vintage stuff inside too. I am definitely going to make the dress, from vintage fabric of course!

(click on photo to enlarge)




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Hair on a whim

Yesterday I had my hair cut on a whim. This is so unlike me! I tried a new hairdresser in Barnstaple. Usually I travel for 1 hour 30 minutes to Exeter to have my hair cut at Toni and Guy as I haven't found any of the hairdressers in town to be any good. My friend David from Cool, Calm, Collected asked me if I would consider trying his friend who moved here from London just over a year ago and has recently set up a salon in town. Yesterday I parked the car and thought I would go and have a look, that's all. Before I knew it I was having my hair washed!

I went for something much shorter and a bit edgier. This is the result. Like?

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and the winner is ...............

Greedy Nan

Congratulations and apologies for being a day late in drawing the name out of the hat, I thought I had said 1st August! I am still recovering from post Camp Bestival blues! Pin It