A few painting projects at home …

I find great pleasure in picking up a paintbrush & taking on a few decor projects; not usually walls but furniture that needs a lift. Before anyone raises the issue, no antique or vintage furniture is painted, just rather ordinary wooden things that have a new lease of life. 

At least a decade ago, I did a few Annie Sloan paint courses to learn the techniques needed to update ordinary but dated furniture & I’m still inclined to personalise & modernise. 

My breaks from tutoring are always a time to catch up with such things & to tick some off my list. 

The gold frame of the Ethiopian crosses was in desperate need of an uplift. It had hung in a different room but was moved around & it did not work any longer. 

I decided on a creamy white paint & it looks better against the handwoven fabric with the brass & silver crosses. The wall it hangs against is a creamy Natural Calico colour so the gold was jarring. 

The cream frame now allows the crosses to take centrepiece with their interesting & unusual designs. 

This tea trolley has had several paint transformations when the living room still had a red wall which has now gone. However,  it is needed in the craft / sewing room upstairs as it was a better height to the one that is  in use because it was just too low & was creaking my back working at it. 

This paint is useful because it has a built in wax. 

It was painted in what I thought would be a browner shade but it turned out a little more grey. However, since everything else is cream in that room, it will be fine & the additional working space the 2 side flaps is useful for projects. 

The third project was to re-wax the top of the conservatory sideboard so it was once again more waterproof. I redid the cream backboards recently in the same brand of paint but in cream & I was impressed with it. 

The conservatory sideboard is used all the time & needs to be robust for drinks, food, cake stands & just about anything else. 

Last week was a hot week & the wax stayed tacky for several days, necessitating polishing it several times to smooth it out while it sets & hardens. 

However, it is once again more waterproof with an even finish which is a job well done.  

It goes well with the cream sideboard back & the slightly darker sides & shelves. 

Three much needed jobs ticked off my list, time well spent on projects I enjoy doing. 

Do you stack similar jobs up to do so when you have everything out it is easier to do? What are you busy with at present? Tell all … 

Thank-you for stopping by, it is always appreciated. 

Dee 🖌️🎨👩‍🎨🖼️

Refreshing the sideboard paint

You all know how well used our conservatory sideboard is - we use that space the most in the house, the large table can seat 12 & the sideboard is used for serving from & for having the things we need most at various times like

Coronations, Jubilee , Royal Weddings, 

Easter , Easter favourites, 

Christmas, Deer, 

New Year , Baubles, 

Summer, autumn, Spring, 

Africa, Woodland,  Family crockery, Rugby, Cheese & Wine, Blues, 

I change it several times a year because things are used when they are at hand. 

On Sunday, while pottering with my many plants there, I felt a drip on my head, then another & another. WHAT? Hubby came to investigate & one of the roof panels had slipped slightly in its mounting & was letting in water. 

I completely cleared the sideboard so we could move the panel directly above it. 

Handy grips (from a local hardware shop) helped to secure it back over but it needs to have seals & silicone in place but  our weather has been too wet to do it. 

While it is cleared, I decided to repaint the back of the shelves. I did them a few years ago but the paint was patchy & it irked me. I did some Annie Sloan Chalk Paint courses locally years ago & am confident to repaint furniture, chairs etc 

I had bought this brand of chalk paint some time back, different to the usual one I use & thought - seize the moment. 

It was wiped down & then the paint was well stirred, slightly watered down (about 30ml of water) and then applied. 

It actually went on rather well. Instead of masking the shelves, I cut a sturdy bit of cardboard from packaging & held that against the shelves - it worked very well to keep the line straight. 

A coffee & some rusks on a tray I had bought in Toledo on my Spanish adventure last year kept me on track. 

A second coat a day later & it will be ready for a change of things. What to put on? What will we use over the summer when we eat there all the time? What do you suggest? 

Thanks for stopping by, it is always appreciated.

Dee 🖌️👩‍🎨🎨

Mixed media creative workshop ...

 Hi everyone, 

This week we have had snow in Shropshire so no lessons for me. However, it is the third year I have signed up for an online mixed media sewing course. 

 

It is led by a well known textile artist & is broken down in to daily activities which makes it manageable. I browsed one of Gwen Hedley's books I own for inspiration & made two air drying clay blocks which I thought I might use to print with but did not use them in the end. 

The first day is using watered down acrylic paint to mark 2 cloths - one with dense marks in two colours, the other with less marks to create the contrast in the same colours. 

The next day the two cloths are cut up - deconstructed - then pieced together to form a new pattern using existing marks to make connections between the sections. 

They are then enhanced with stiches using various weights of threads etc. 

Because I did this workshop last year, I had an idea of the process & choose green & gold / brown paints as my two colours. However,  I was once again not too happy with how the paints came out so late evening did another cloth with just the gold marks (the colour I thought came out least well). 

While the paints were out, I did a different cloth with green & blues that I will use later. 

I decided to go with the gold & greens as a challenge to see if I could stitch my way to something I liked. I love hand stitching so it is hardly a hardship & I have lots of threads to choose from in my stash. 

I decided to put the cut up sections together in a long scroll shape as I have a wooden thread reel that came from a mill.

Some connections were easy across the fabrics, other sections will need a lot of stitching to look cohesive but it is workable. 

This is my progress with the last day tomorrow when we will look at backing it. My stitching will continue for a while longer & that is fine because it is very relaxing to just choose some threads & stitch away. 

The light in the conservatory is perfect for stitching (even if it is a little chilly this time of the year.) The red needle threader was in great demand to get the embroidery thread through the eye of the needle. 

Who else uses one of these basic (but essential) needle threaders? 

There is no rush to finish within the 5 course days so it is very relaxing to go where the stitching takes me. The stiches I am using are very basic ones that need little thought so the process can flow:

Satin, running & back stitch (normal & detached), seed stitch (my favourite) french knots, & whipped running stich. 

Thank you for stopping by, do you have a project? I love how artists share their skill & knowledge to inspire us to try something different ... 

 Dee 💕