Saturday 15 June 2013

Hi Ho Hi Ho ... It's Back To Work I Go !

No blog last weekend as we were up in Scotland for my niece's wedding. We had a lovely day and the weather was perfect! She looked stunning !!
 
Mr & Mrs McGinnis
The venue was perfect too.
Culcreuch is a beautiful 1600-acre Scottish Country Estate dating back to the 14th century. Its centrepiece Culcreuch Castle, ancestral home of the Clan Galbraith, is Central Scotland's oldest inhabited Castle.
 
 
It was so nice catching up with the family, and seeing my son Barry and his fiancée Erin, who live in New York and are getting married next March in Brooklyn! So excited!!
 
Last week was my last week off work as I started work as a temp yesterday at
Keele University Medical School :0)
While I am temping there I can apply for internal posts, and I heard yesterday that I have been shortlisted for a cool admin post and have an interview in 2 weeks time. I will need to brush up on my Excel as there will be a skills test before the interview ! Keep your fingers crossed for me !!
 
Keele University Medical School
 I finished off a few shabby chic projects, including the pine sideboard and the little table I showed you in the last blog. I will start with the sideboard. Here is the before pic -
 
 
I decided to paint it in Annie Sloan French Linen. I love this shade as it seems to go with everything!
First step - Remove the drawers and turn it upside down! :0)
 
 
 
Sometimes you can get away with just one coat of this colour but you could still see some of the wood through the paint so I gave it 2 coats. I then distressed it quite heavily before applying a coat of Annie Sloan clear wax to seal.
 
you can see that the wax darkens the paint slightly
 
 
The handles would have been difficult to remove so I just painted over them.
 
 
I also lined the drawers and inside with some pretty Laura Ashley paper (Gosforth Cranberry)
 
 
 
It was listed on ebay a few days ago and it has already sold and is being collected next Saturday.
After that large project I felt like working on some smaller items. I was dying to get started on the little table, but when I went to get it from the shed I discovered I had lost the key for the padlock!! We searched everywhere and couldn't find it, so Russell had to hacksaw the padlock off for me!! I will be more careful with the key for the new padlock ;0) 
 
 
Here is the before pic first......It was in quite a state, the wood was badly marked, the drawer had wax crayon drawn inside, and the handle was broken. There was also some trim missing.
 
 
 I decided to mix a soft lavender with Annie Sloan Old Violet and Old White. I love this new colour!
 
 
I then painted the inside of the drawer with Paris Grey to hide the crayon.
 
 
It took 2 coats of paint and I sealed it with clear wax. I also had some nice coordinating wallpaper that I used to line the drawer, and the final finishing touch was a beautiful sparkly crystal knob for the drawer. Look at how the light reflects through it :0)
 
 
Really pleased with this one, and it is now listed for sale on ebay.
 
 
 
 I also painted the two photo frames I bought at the car boot sale. painted with French Linen instead of the usual Old White I paint frames in and I like them so much I think I may keep them for myself !
 
before
after :0)
I also painted (in French Linen) the beautiful scroll design plaster mirror, and might have to keep this also !!!
 
 
 
I love how the design of this mirror frame is not symmetrical, and I may rub it back a bit more to let more of the gold shine through.
 
Heading out tomorrow to look for more treasure at our local car boot sale. It really is the best place to grab a bargain and maximise profit ;0)
 
 
Also booked to see Man of Steel after work on Tuesday so really looking forward to that!
 
That's all for this week, and things may quieten down slightly on the shabby chic side as I am now working Monday to Friday, but I will still try to blog every week when I can. Please leave a comment or follow me. It's always nice to get some feedback. Thanks for reading!!

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