Sunday 28 August 2011

All good to go...

On Friday I spent a wonderful afternoon with Cait & Gibson of Carte Blanche being given a crash course on using Annie Sloan paints. Armed with the paints and a ton of ideas, I'm now desperate to get started on my first project.




I've converted a wee corner of the Mood Flowers studio into my furniture painting workshop...but I've already managed to fill it with all my "junk" finds...so at the moment it resembles more of a furniture shop. Junking is so addictive, I'm really going to need to pace myself as very soon I won't be able to move in this space, let alone paint!




Anyway, I hope to have some lovely pieces to show off soon!

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Tuesday 23 August 2011

Gonna have me a paint-tastic time

Over the years I've collected an array of mismatched, dated and generally manky-looking wooden furniture. Now don't get me wrong, I'm all for the shabby-chic look, but this was really taking it a step too far. I could never bring myself to throw away perfectly good, functional furniture so I've basically carted around these random pieces through 7 house moves in the last 15 years, believing that some day I will get round to sprucing them up...

Last year at the Homes & Interiors Scotland show I was lucky enough to see a demo given by talented decorative paint artists, Cait and Gibson of Carte Blanche, all about using Annie Sloan Chalk Paints. I was totally mesmerised by the possibilities of this fabulous paint and it reignited that thought in my head...to transform those sad-looking, characterless pieces of furniture into beautiful treasured pieces.




For some reason, I never did anything with it at the time but simply filed it away in my creative memory store under "must explore further". Fast forward a year on and I am about to take this paint exploration a WHOLE lot further...on Friday I will be taking receipt of a big order of this amazing paint!! Yay!! Double Yay!!

I can't wait to finally get started on my projects, but more importantly it also gave me an idea for part of my new business venture...to upcycle furniture! It makes perfect sense for the environment too! Reducing waste by turning unloved furniture into unique and beautiful pieces. A win-win situation if you ask me. All I can say is...Glasgow's charity shops & flea markets: watch out!


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Introducing Mitty and Ouch...

Although they are not quite the exact replicas of the ones featured in the book...these little crochet fellas definitely have their own personalities and quirks. The boys immediately took possession of their own bear and gave them their unique names. Mitty is the smaller brown bear on the left with a cheeky twinkle in his eye (much like his owner). Whilst Ouch, well what can I say...he seems to be doing permanent splits...what an apt name for him!



Admittedly they took a lot longer than I thought to make...but I'm pleased to say they don't look remotely like carrots :P


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Tuesday 16 August 2011

Urban myth

Is it an urban myth that children should go to bed at 7.30pm...

I'm flattered that our wonderful boys just can't get enough of our company and despite all our best efforts (stories, songs, cuddles, hand-holding)...it takes a good hour or two before our bubbas are ready to hit the sack...by which time I'm just about ready to turn in myself!



...but there's nothing as wonderful as being rewarded by the sight of your sleeping babes.

Now if only I can sneak in some crocheting into the bedtime routine...I'll be one happy and productive Mummy indeed!

Goodnight my darlings!

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Tuesday 9 August 2011

A peaceful little nook

Living in a small cosy 3 bed terraced house meant getting creative when it came to carving out a special little corner for my making space. I considered every corner of the house (including the garden shed!)...but in the end the perfect place was a wee corner of the master bedroom.




I love this space...a perfect place for dreaming-up my next crafty project and somewhere I could just leave all my papers, notebooks, thread, yarn and bits and bobs out without worrying about pesky boys sabotaging my efforts. And should the impulse take me, I could just jump out of bed and get straight into it. It's looking pretty spartan at the moment but I'm hoping it will soon be chock-full of lovely things to inspire me.

Speaking of inspirational home work spaces....I'm seriously coveting this book I found on Bodie and Fou which showcases some amazing home offices...now if only I could read Japanese!



Happy Crafting!


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Sunday 7 August 2011

Getting started...


I didn't need to look far for inspiration for my latest creative activity. Lucas inherited a charming wee crochet dog from his big brother Coben, which he named "Nai Nai" (words a child would use for milk in Chinese). He just adores this little guy but lately I noticed that he's looking rather well cuddled and in need of a good wash and mend. So I decided to make Lucas a new little friend whilst Nai Nai is getting some work done.

I happened to also find THE most delightful book on the subject, Super-Cute Crochet by Nicki Trench. I know I'm a grown woman and it's probably not completely normal but I found myself fantasising about a great big basketful of these adorable little creatures.


A quick dash round the haberdashery department of John Lewis and I'm good to go...



Mr. P teased me about my new hobby of crocheting carrots...which i quickly pointed out would not be carrots but animals (or would not intentionally be carrots anyway!). So carrots or not, I shall be revealing my efforts soon...


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Friday 5 August 2011

Here goes...

Hello! Here's to my first blog post and hopefully many more to follow...

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