Sunday 24 February 2013

Super Duper Weekend!!

After a slow start to the year I stepped up a gear this weekend and got loads done, so a nice newsy blog this week with lots of pics :0)
By the end of this week I had sold everything I had listed on eBay so my aim this weekend was to get some more items finished and listed for sale. I started off by waxing the oval coffee table, really pleased with how it turned out.


Then I finished off the two picture frames, and found some unusual cat pictures to put in them to attract some attention to my listings.



The little shelf unit turned out nice too, painted in Old White, distressed then waxed.


Last week I showed you a white chest of drawers I bought on eBay to refurbish. It was finally delivered on Thursday, but the condition was not as described so I contacted the seller and he gave me a £5 refund. I didn't get that sorted out till last night so only started work on it today. I will show you pics of this one at different stages, then do a before and after next week.




It is a good tip to always turn pieces of furniture upside down to start painting them. That way you don't miss any odd nooks and crannies ;0). I decided to leave the handles on the drawers and paint over them. I did this once before with a sideboard I painted and I liked how they looked after the paint was sanded back to show the metal shining through.

Drawer handle
Painting drawers

First Coat on Drawers
What a difference with a coat of Duck Egg Blue! I think this one is going to look brill when it's finished!
I manage to get another "gross" pine chair transformed too. Decided to try out one of the new Annie Sloan colours I bought recently - French Linen. Nice colour, but it does darken quite a bit when you wax it as you can see in this pic.


Happy with the finished chair, and decided to distress this one quite heavily. I wanted it to look like it had been well used in a farmhouse kitchen :0) Works well!


I saw this beautiful vintage dressing table listed on ebay yesterday. Turned out that I knew the seller, as he had bought a few pieces of furniture from me last year to sell in his shop. I messaged him and got the price down from £60 to £45 and I will go and pick it up and have a look round his shop next Saturday. he might have some odd chairs I can buy cheap.


I would love to keep this one for myself, but sadly it does not have enough drawers to hold all my stuff :0(  One of the handles is broken, but I have some really nice ones I bought ages ago that will be perfect!


These might be nice painted over and then sanded back. They have a nice "Arts & Crafts" look to them. I bought quite a few of them and used them for a chest of drawers a couple of years ago.



Won this chair today on ebay for 99p!! Can never understand why people are willing to sell things so cheap!  It is a child's dining chair and it has already been painted in cream. I might change the colour and add a touch of stencilling. Might even hang onto it for a while for my friend's little girl to use when they come to us for dinner :0)

Do you remember this nice dressing table mirror I finished recently?


Well, I had a bit of a disaster with it this week. A lady bought it on ebay, and to make it easier for her to pick up, I took it into work with me. I went into my bag to show it to one of my friend's at work and got the shock of my life! There was a crack around 8" long right across the front of the mirror! It must have got damaged in the car. I called the lady and told her what had happened, but she decided she still wanted it, so I ended up knocking a fiver off for her. She said she knew someone who could replace the glass for her....phew!!

Well I think I have remember to tell you about all the projects this week, and I hope I have an even more productive week this week to report !

Just before I go I thought you might like to see what my husband bought yesterday in town. I usually have all white bedding on our bed, but we couldn't believe that they actually had this bedding set for sale  in "double" size !! Can't get my own way ALL the time !



Have a "SUPER" week !!!!


Sunday 17 February 2013

Spring is on the way!

Had a busy week at work but a special surprise bouquet of flowers delivered on Thursday to work from my wonderful husband. Had a lovely evening too watching a romantic movie with a chinese takeaway - the perfect Valentine's Day. Thank You Russie!


Well I as going to start work this weekend on the white chest of drawers I bought last weekend, but it has not been delivered yet, and after being charged £15 delivery! I hope I will have it before next weekend, but I really should stop buying things that are not local, as I can pick up most of the local items in Russell's Jeep :0)

Finished painting up a couple of photo frames today, and I will find some nice pics to put in them and list them on ebay soon


Close up of distressing  

I finished off painting the oval shaped coffee table. Once the paint has completely dried I will distress and wax. I have painted in Annie Sloan Old White, and I will use Annie Sloan clear wax to seal it. I love the shape of the legs on this one. I also think it would look nice with some freehand painting. I would love to take a class on this.

2nd coat of paint on
I was having a look at the stuff I still have in the shed awaiting transformation, and I came across a pretty little shelf unit I bought at a car boot sale last Summer. I gave it a coat of Old White this afternoon, and I will have a think about how I am going to finish it off. It might look nice with some stencilling?






My next project is another chunky pine chair. I bought a couple of these and recently painted one in Annie Sloan Duck Egg Blue. It sold almost immediately after listing on ebay so it's good to know the single chairs sell, and they are good projects to try new colours out on.
Before 
After -  in Duck Egg Blue
Went up to IKEA yesterday. Hadn't been up since well before Christmas, but didn't buy much. Russell bought some new shelving units for his den, and he has been busy today building them. I only bought some napkins and light bulbs, oh and I did get 2 lovely picture frames to show off the prints I got reduced to 50p a pair the last time I was there. I love the retro colours and they will match my bedroom perfectly.



It has been a gorgeous sunny weekend, wont be long till Spring is here and we can look forward to longer days with extra hours to paint furniture!

Hope you have a great week!

Sunday 10 February 2013

Short and Sweet

Sorry I have not had time to get any furniture painted this weekend.
Yesterday, I went to Crewe to get my hair cut, and we met up with our friends and went for a coffee and a look round the shops. Helped my friend choose new glasses, some stylish new vintage style glasses and then ended up having Chinese take away for dinner at their house.


Today I had to spend quite a lot of my time working on a form I have to complete for my "one to one" meeting with the new bosses at work. I can't remember if I mentioned in a previous blog that Rethink were unsuccessful in the tender to run our IAPT service and we are being taken over by NHS Combined Health. The new service spec has less posts available than the staff we have so everyone is a bit worried just now. My meeting is on Friday, but I wanted to use today to make sure my form is filled in with as much information as possible. I will finish it off through the week. Hope it helps my chances that my husband, Russell teaches at Keele Medical School !!


Booked a weekend away in July to Cardiff. Got a bargain on a Travelodge for £21, and planning to take Russell to The Doctor Who Experience. I think my biggest challenge will be getting him to leave! He says it takes over 3 hours to go round it! Hope I have some time left to hit the shops!!


 
I did win an auction on ebay today for a nice chest of drawers that needs some TLC. My friend Helen at work had asked me to look out for one for her so I am hoping this one is suitable. Paid £20 for it, but they charged me £15 to deliver.



Sorry it's short and sweet this week. I promise to have more shabby chic updates next Sunday.
Have a great week, enjoy Valentine's Day, and wish me luck for Friday!!

Sunday 3 February 2013

Day Trip to The Big Smoke


Well, after my busy week OFF work, I have had a busy week AT work. Sold quite a few things on ebay this week so very pleased with that. It was Russell's Birthday this week and one of his pressies was a day trip to London. We went down by train and it only took 90mins!

Piccadilly Circus
Our train arrived at Euston Station, and we walked down in the freezing cold towards Shaftesbury Ave. Thankfully it was a nice dry day.  On Tottenham Court Rd, I discovered the biggest "Paperchase" I had ever seen! Three floors of stationery heaven, and a big section with all the Christmas stock with up to 75% off!!

Paperchase on Tottenham Court Road
Our next stop was Forbidden Planet. Russell got himself some toys with his Birthday money, and he bought me a nice Simon's Cat coaster :0)

Forbidden Planet on Shaftesbury Avenue

Next we walked down Monmouth St and found the Orla Kiely shop. I was so excited to have a look round but found it a bit disappointing. Way overpriced, and nothing really that I could afford. I am lucky that Russell bought me lots of nice Orla Kiely things for Christmas including a pen, magazine file, soap, phone cover, mug, large A4 notebook. Last Christmas (2011) Russell's parents bought me lovely white stem pattern bedding, and it took me a year to actually put it on the bed!! I must stop saving things that are special, and should just get the pleasure out of them.

Downstairs in Orla Kiely
The other place I really wanted to visit was Covent Garden. It did not disappoint. Full of lovely shops, craft stalls, street entertainers and nice places to stop and rest our weary legs with a coffee. Treated myself in Crabtree & Evelyn, and bought a nice bracelet in EAST.

Covent Garden Market
Finished off with a chinese buffet dinner in Chinatown, and caught the train back at 7pm. We were so tired we were in bed by 10!! We did so much walking, but it was a great day out!

Colourful Shop in Chinatown

Promised you I would show you the chest of drawers for the spare room when I finished it, so here it is. I am not sure about the mirror yet? Might paint it, but I am really pleased with how the furniture looks.

Finished Chest of Drawers
Finished off the little swing mirror and that has just sold on ebay today, along with another pine mirror that I decided not to paint. I can sometimes make as much money not painting things.

Swing Mirror painted in Annie Sloan Old White
Decided not to do any painting today. Spent the day catching up on ebay stuff,  tidying the house up and ironing. Also planned a trip up to Scotland over Easter and got a hotel booked in Edinburgh for the second night of our trip. Diet is going well this week, loosely following Weight Watchers programme and have the app on my phone. Have a few weddings coming up, the last one being a year away when my son is getting married in New York! So excited! Determined to lose at least a stone before then so I can treat myself to a special outfit ;0)

£5.50 chair from ebay


Won this nice chair on ebay today for £5.50, and will pick up locally this week. I might try my hand at reupholstering the seat! I am sure there are plenty of "How to.." guides on youtube :0)
I have a lovely piece of material I bought about 20yrs ago at a market and will paint the chair in a coordinating colour. The material is a gold coloured Rennie Mackintosh design and I think it would be perfect for this.......I just have to find it!!!!


Going to have a nice soak in a big bubble bath now and hopefully my legs wont be aching as much tomorrow! Just goes to show me how unfit I am!
Have a great week, and hopefully I will have some more paint transformations to show you next weekend!