Finishing off jobs and Merry Christmas...

Better late than never, here I am with jobs aplenty to share...

FAMILY LOOK AWAY NOW. AGAIN.

I turned an ordinary bread bin like this...

  into this...

for a special lady from Cleveland Ohio with a little help from ESP, The Graphics Fairy and a fine Sharpie pen.

If she hates it she can always use it the other way round...

The stocking that was brutally savaged by Gardania the hamster...

is now finished...

and is hanging by the fire in anticipation of the big day...

only a small hole from the tattered quilt remains...

It makes it all the more authentic.

Speaking of things being authentic, remember the crappy louvre doors?

that became these?

Well, they are finished too and are looking like this...

Hopefully a bit more like authentic 100 year old shutters from a French farmhouse...

Worth hundreds no doubt.

I'll just show you my Christmas crib...

with my 'new' camel that arrived today from ebay...

I'm thrilled with him and relieved I got the scale right! There are so many different sizes out there.

So all that remains is for me to wish you, in the words of our eloquent window cleaner, ''Merry Christmas and all that...''

Have a good one dear readers. I must away as I have some, (ahem) authentic 100 year old French farmhouse shutters to flog on the internet...
X

Frantic Festivities...

This year I'm trying so hard to concentrate on making Christmas a pleasurable and stress free time after last year was  NOT. I let Connie decorate the tree with decorations I wouldn't personally use. I let her forbid me from using some of my favourites. I didn't terrify her by pointing out the age and value of certain ornaments. We had carols playing and she really enjoyed it.

We built and decorated a gingerbread house together. (Not baked. Building and decorating ONLY round here.) I didn't point out when she used two or three of the same colour sweets in a row. I shut up. In fact she told me! ''Don't use all the same colour!'' She enjoyed it and is very proud of our little house.

Kit $4.49 from Home Bargains. £4.99 from Morrisons.

So I'm learning to relax about how I want things to look. It doesn't come naturally as I'm a control freak but I have to do it. I know how lucky I am to have Connie. It's far more important to have fun with her than a tree I'm proud of. (At least I've got Curtises baubles eh?)

Last Christmas I was totally stressed over a breast lump which was removed the day after Boxing Day. Thank God, it was all fine but the waiting period to find out was the worst.

This year we have no guests, no pressure and no stresses. Aaah...

Anyway, the louvre doors have gone from this...

to this...

Er, no, not finished yet. But I don't let that stop me starting other things.

I'm a hive of Christmas activity. While the rest of the country are at the post office sending their gifts, I have decided, only now, that I will make some of mine. Using nothing but scavenged items from charity shops, car boot sales and the flea market. (Oh my lucky family!) The time frame is okay as I've been hatching the plans for how to do each project for years.

So here's what I came up with last night.

FAMILY MEMBERS LOOK AWAY NOW! ( I don't think anyone in the family really reads this so it's safe to show you... shh, don't tell.)

For my lovely Uncle (retired maths teacher) a vintage ruler picture frame!

My husband seemed concerned at the pile of vintage rulers I'd collected and the fact that I was sawing them up. I'd like to tell you I won him over with the finished product but that would be a lie. He didn't get it.

I would like one of these and I am crap at maths. And measuring. Hopefully my Uncle will like it. He always has kind things to say about my carpentry.

I started out with a plain wooden frame with a wide border. I washed all the rulers so years of dirty childrens finger grease wouldn't affect their gluability. I sawed the mitred corners with my hand mitre saw. This is the first tool I ever bought.

A squeeze of the handle lets you change the angle from this...

to this...

and you can set it at any angle in between, say if you want a straight cut.

I glued the pieces with wood glue and clamped them with my fantastic Poundland clamps...

The smaller rulers in the centre were folding rulers and they slightly overlap the edges of the original frame on the inside.

I love that one has a childs name written on it.

I need to apply a little antique pine wax on the raw cuts of the corners today so they don't look so new.
I've also seen coasters made from vintage rulers which is another fun thing to do.

Plenty more ideas on Pinterest.

I also started a little sewing project. I picked up a few vintage quilts at the flea market a few weeks ago. The dealer actually gave me a few more that were really wrecked.

Very Cabbages and Roses I thought...

I managed to salvage a small amount of one quilt to try and make a Christmas stocking. I carefully soaked, washed and dried it, cut out my stocking shapes, tacked them and left them on the back of the sofa.
As you do.

Someone, who shall remain nameless, sat on the sofa, nudging the stocking backwards towards the hamster cage with his head and Gardania dragged it into her cage and ate the heel.

I was heartbroken. I was furious. I nearly cried because I didn't have enough quilt to start again.
So I've modified the shape and am hoping to clear some space on the dining table to finish it soon. 

A much daintier stocking. I hope to show you the finished article next time! Gardania is none the worse for her vintage textile snack.

A week of very nice things...

You'll never guess who popped over to comment on my last post. Martin Holland himself! Winner of BBC2s Great Interior Design Challenge. Woop woop! Made my day. Thank you Martin!

But the good stuff doesn't end there, no siree. I had a lovely parcel arrive from the delectable Curtise  which made me gasp!

First, this beautiful Christmassy vintage biscuit tin...

Just gorgeous, but look what I found inside...

A lovely old box of vintage glass baubles! Thank you Curtise! I love them!

And as if that weren't enough, I won Katies giveaway over at Hook Line and Sink Her. But this was no ordinary giveaway, oh no. This prize is a book called 'Craft Fail: when homemade goes horribly wrong...'

Yes, we've all been there...

Featuring the craft fail of Katie herself...Special Fox. I'm so proud to 'know' her and I forced her to sign it for me. If you're not familiar with Katies blog, do pop over. She cracks me up.

Thank you Katie!

Yet another wonderful thing; look what I found at the flea market for just £12...

The missing piece to Connies bedroom set! I'll let the brown one go. This needs some tlc.

It feels like it's stuffed with straw. The top is stained and Connie's appalled by the look of it. That can be changed.

I also found this little beauty for my desk...

Rusty and crusty and utterly perfect.

And Fat Freddy (not so fat anymore) is back to his old self. His wire is out, his jaw is healed and he's accepting the fact that he's not allowed out extremely well.



We think he's too stupid to be crossing roads. He's a very lucky boy but we can't risk him getting squashed.
Bad Bobby (the clever one) goes out but Freddy isn't even asking to anymore. He seems to know we couldn't bear to lose him. He knows he blew it. He's adjusting to life as a house cat very well. The cold weather helps!

So it's all good over here.

Still no progress on the Christmas decs but the pre decking the halls clean up is plodding on. We'll get there. And work has stalled on the louvre doors as my ebay selling has gone into overdrive. It's next on the agenda after Project Christmas Tree.

I hope life is good where you are.

The Great Interior Design Challenge Series 2...

Thank you lovely readers, I'm now fighting fit and Fat Freddy's jaw is fully mended. I'm always touched by your kind comments.

The Great Interior Design Challenge...

Oh how I love this show! Last night I found myself shouting at the telly like a common football supporter when Martin was announced as the winner. I loved his rooms throughout the series but that kitchen in last nights show was DIVINE.

Many congratulations to Martin.

I like to play along with the series, first of all, judging the contestants on their own homes, then the rooms they create. I question whether I would be happy with that in my home. Most of the time, I agreed with the judges. Occasionally I felt they got it sooo wrong.

In particular the episode with Kate who put a British colonial themed scheme in a medieval house. Why would you even do that? It held the worst piece of painted furniture I've ever seen. The huge pine wardrobe looked utterly patchy and shoddy. I'd have wept if someone did that to my furniture. And bizarrely, the homeowners reaction to the room wasn't shown. I wonder why?

I much preferred Leilas room which didn't win. The grey and yellow one. And that's saying something as I have a strong aversion to yellow. Ooh, I was miffed that night.

I liked Charlotte and her masculine Victorian living room and I adored Kelly, particularly the Oast house episode which she totally nailed. I really loved Jack and his unflappable easy going attitude. The bedroom he created in the 1930's flat was right up my street and despite the most demanding brief (yin yang meets art deco meets art nouveau meets Celtic if you're wondering) he pulled it out of the bag with a stunning room and a massive headboard made from old doors complete with pulley lights. To die for. Despite having 'distressed' it by throwing bricks at it until it broke.

When it was down to the final two I was on 'team Martin' all the way. The recap of his work was just stunning. Um, apart from those louvre doors.

 Fiona is clearly experienced and very talented. I did like her panelled wallpaper last night, just not the dado with a picture rail. One or the other, especially if your ceilings aren't high.

 I'm praying there will be a third series. I know all three of the presenters have been criticised, but I find it so much more interesting when the presenters aren't presenters, but are actually experts in their field. I have a soft spot for Dan and his manly jaw and Sophie glammed up this series with some different hairstyles and as always, gorgeous dresses. This series I learned that purple walls are fantastic and I'm fighting an urge to paint my living room dark grey. But why do the contestants and judges have to wear the same clothes for three or four days? Just to give the editor an easy time?

The format really works well and it's great to see the diverse style of homes our country has, from honey coloured stone cottages in the Cotswolds to groovy 1960's houses.

As for Martin, someone give that kid his own TV show. Perhaps Jack could be on it? I'd be watching!

You can catch up on BBC iplayer and play along.

Agony, ambulance and Advent...

I'm totally behind schedule with everything. I've been very poorly and was rushed to hospital a week ago with the most awful pain in my side. It came on very suddenly. I had a pain when I was in the shower and went to ask Jason where your appendix is. He was asleep and not that helpful. By the time I made it back to my room a few feet away, I flung myself on the bed shouting, ''I can't take this anymore!''
That quick. The next half hour was spent lying on the floor, puking, shaking violently and moaning. During this, Jason was dressing me. Lets just say he learnt an important lesson in which type of knickers a lady needs to wear on a trip to hospital.

The ambulance came and they gave me morphine which I have to say was very disappointing. I always thought morphine was the utmost in pain relief. Well, it didn't relieve mine.

I spent seven hours in the foetal position in A&E waiting for tests and having silly questions asked. ''Can you tell me your name Emma?'' ''Do you live at home?''

First it was an appendicitis, (albeit in a very unusual location) then a waterworks infection. I looked at the doctor like she was mad, I mean this was worse than labour, so she went to get her boss. He decided it was my appendix after all and sent me to see the surgeon.

At this point, a miracle happened. As fast as the pain came on, it went. ''Im cured!'' I announced to the nurse. They sent me up to the surgery ward anyway where they told me I'd have to stay the night. Later that night I was visited by a very nice surgeon who diagnosed a kidney stone which I must have passed and said I could leave. I had to wait a few more hours for a prescription but I was glad to go home.

I thought kidney stones were something that happened to old men. Apparently not so. And it's the worst pain. I now need to change the habits of a lifetime, drink more and change my diet. Less salt is the hardest to bear as I'm addicted to crisps. Less protein; we shall go semi vegetarian. Reading the Internet, you can add just about every food group to the bad list, depending on what your stones are made from. I'll never know about mine, unless they can tell from a scan and I have more of the little buggers.

In case you're wondering where your appendix is...

Ta-daa! Nowhere near your kidneys. I hope we all learnt something important today. I also had no idea your liver is in your chest. Fancy that.

Our medical knowledge is somewhat lacking. Jason was convinced I'd caught something off some very dirty quilts I brought home from the flea market the day before as I writhed in agony.

Ridiculous! I've obviously built up total immunity to all flea market contagion.

Moving on... the vintage sledge!

The pink wasn't doing it for me. I painted it dark brown, rubbed it all over with a candle, painted it red (just emulsion tester pots) distressed it with sandpaper and Bob's your uncle...

A triumph among stair sledges...

 

We mustn't get too carried away, it's still not quite December and let's not forget...

Obviously stair sledges are allowed.

Join me next time when I shall be educating you all on the location of ones brain AND...

I shall be attempting to turn this crappy car booted louvred door...

 ...into a desirable piece of architectural salvage worth hundreds. It might even be considered forgery.

If it works.

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