vintage linens

Hello again, 2 posts in one day I can't believe it! I have been very busy lately and neglected my blog, so I am making up for it. I am overcome with Spring Fever, and have been frantically cleaning, sifting, sorting and painting. Whilst going through the linens I came across these tea-towels which had belonged to my mum. They were made by women during the war using flour sacks. My mum loved them and used them everyday. I was going to frame them, but have decided that I am going to use them everyday too. I do believe in using your beautiful things and not keeping them in a cupboard for a "special occasion".I am also going to try to do the things they say, for example, wash on a monday, clean on a friday. I have never been a "creature of habit" I prefer to do things on a whim, when I feel like it, but that makes for a rather disorganized household sometimes. So, as my New Year's resolution was to simplify I am going to give it a shot. I don't have the tea-towel for saturday and I don't know what it says on it, but as there has been no mention of baking, I think that I will bake on a saturday.Let's just see how I get on.

restore, renew, recycle

pine dresser top

sanding the top back to bare wood

updated to2011!

closeup of  the dresser base. I think this would look good without the top.

I thought you may like to see a project I have just completed for a client. It was a pine dresser which had belonged to her grandmother. She didn't want to get rid of it because of the memories it evoked, but felt it did not fit in with the rest of her decor. After lightly sanding the piece to get a good surface fot the paint to adhere to I gave it a coat of water-based primer. Normally I paint furniture with emulsion paint and finish with 2 coats of a matt water-based varnish. However the client wanted me to use an oil-based eggshell paint, so I used Lead Colour 117 for the main colour and French Grey 113 for the backboards, both colours from the Little Greene Paint Company. The worktop I sanded back to the bare wood with an electric sander and then stained it a couple of times with a walnut woodstain. I wanted an aged distressed finish to this, so I sanded it back a bit and then rubbed in some grey emulsion paint and sanded again, I finished off with a couple of coats of a dark wax. I love this kind of job, it is so good to bring something back to life, to be beautiful and useful again. Have a happy day!

universal symbols



hearts via tumblrvia tumblr





star cupboard knob via willow and stonevia willow and stone





stars and circles via tumblrvia tumblr



Check out this wonderful website Bliss & Bloom, they have gorgeous things for the home at sensible prices. Combined with friendly and efficient service, it is a real WINNER!Bliss & Bloom



I turned on my computer this morning to write a new post. I didn't know what I was going to write about until I looked at my screensaver, it is a lovely photograph of some sparkly stars. I got to thinking about stars and why I love them so much. Then I thought about hearts and circles, all these very basic shapes are precious to me. Then it dawned on me, you see these shapes, everywhere in every country and culture, they are symbolic and mean something. Hearts the symbol of love, stars symbolic of heaven or of a higher being, the circle symbolizing the full circle of life, birth, marriage, death. It's no wonder these simple things are so important to us, and I thought it was to do with fashion! Silly me!

comfort food

Today I really felt the need to spoil myself, so I decided to do a little baking. Just to have the comforting aroma wafting around my kitchen was enough to really lift my mood. The scones are my own recipe ...Raspberry and Almond Scones. They are fresh tasting and delicious and really easy to make. The muffins are Ina Gartens ...Blueberry Coffee Cake Muffins from her book "Family Style".To get her recipe look here. The muffins are light and absolutely full of blueberries really good for breakfast or with a cup of coffee,or as an afternoon snack for your children when they come home from school.

bring me sunshine

Oh dear just noticed the cobweb!

Have you ever noticed when something is brought to your attention that it seems to crop up over and over, or if you bump into someone who you havn't seen for ages and then all of a sudden everywhere you look that person is there? Well this is how I have been with the colour yellow. I was out on a walk and picked some Forsythia which was just coming into bud. About a week later it burst out into a riot of bright yellow stars which really lifted me and my hubby actually noticed! So ever since I have been noticing how bright and cheerful yellow things are. Strangely I don't like yellow flowers in my garden, I lean toward pinks, blues and white but I do love them in my house, especially when it's grey outside. I would love you to drop me a note and tell me where your preferences lie. So, I am sending you a little bit of sunshine via some photographs, I hope you like them. Have a lovely weekend! All photos are taken by me apart fom the last 2 which are from http://www.flickr.com/

Martha Stewart - Organizing Tip of the Day

Martha Stewart - Organizing Tip of the Day