All things bright and beautiful

Whilst out shopping in Manchester at the weekend I popped into Primark and picked up a few bargains. First of all I could not help myself when I stumbled across the reduced to clear section and spotted bed shorts for £1, I paid for 2 pairs the pale blue and pink and then went back and bought them in a floral print too. Once I had got home I went back the next day and bought the pyjama bottoms for £5 and 3 tea towels at £1.20 each.... what a bargain. I have decided to turn a pair of bed shorts into two lampshades as they are just the right size and also the print is very pretty.  

Three pairs of pretty bed shorts

Vintage rose style tea cloths

Just a glimpse of how the bed shorts will fit a lamp shade

(You get the idea)

Bird on a glass bottle 

I also picked up this lovely glass bottle with a bird stopper from TK Maxx for £2.99 my partner did not see the pretty side of this but I knew it would go lovely in the bathroom, I wish I had bought two of these because they would of made lovely gifts. Enjoy your day!!

In need of a desperate make over

I bought this table a few months ago from a good friend she is a bit like me changes her furniture like she changes her socks. We had a struggle to get it from one end of the country to my house but with a little help of freight we had it delivered in once piece. 

It is a stunning carved piece from my favourite collecting Château, although their items are quite pricey you are usually guaranteed quality oak hand carved furniture. Most of the items I have purchased are heavy and painted 3 times to achieve that distressed look. This table however had been repainted by my friend and has major damage to the sides and centre of the table. I knew about the damage when I purchased it but I just love the heavy detail on the sides and the legs.

Due to the damage I have hidden its beauty away under a table cloth in desperate need to find a way of fixing the problem. Has it had its day? or is there something I can do to renovate it to a substantial looking table? If there is anyone reading and has any advice of what I should do I would be very grateful as I don't want to hide it any longer. I was contemplating on sanding the top and then using a wood filler to fill in all the cracks and then painting it with Annie Sloan in white but I am unsure to weather this will be full coverage for cracks like this. Also the chairs need a splash of paint too so it all comes together, in the meantime I will pray that someone from the decorating gods will answer my prayers.

Huge crack on the side you can see the thin lines running on each panel. 

The table top looks more like floor boarding

Kitchen clear out

So my parents are visiting this weekend and I decided to have a good clear out, when ever I find a shelf i automatically fill it with mugs, jugs, jars, tins you name it. I get bored of looking at clutter I endlessly buy things because they look pretty or it was a bargain, but I think too much of a good thing doesn't always work "less is best" they say and I have to agree. Due to the lack of cupboard space in my kitchen it has overflowed onto the dresser. I have a neat collection of American groceries on the top shelf if I told you how much I paid for a box of Swiss-miss you would probably collapse. American food is becoming a big hit in the UK everywhere you go nowadays they are trying to exchange your right leg for a box of Lucky Charms. And yes I did cave in and burnt a hole in my pocket. So....... back to summer cleaning I kind of feel guilty but I ended up throwing out quite a lot of stuff, I should of taken it to the local charity shop but I really have not got the time this weekend. If Eason manages to get his hands on it I am sure will be broken anyway. I took some photos this evening hope you enjoy. I will be back on Monday with a table dilemma until then have a great Fathers day everyone.

My friend called this the radioactive teapot I had to agree

De cluttered shelf

Ceiling Drapes

Whilst I was in North Wales a few weeks ago we visited a little seaside resort called Llandudno, fortunately we picked the hottest day in the UK to visit and what a lovely day we had. We visited as a family with a close friend of ours who bought a long her DLSR camera. We managed to take lots of nice scenic shots and photos of pretty things.

Me and my son Eason on the cliff side

Anson and Eason on the tram

The tram ride to the top of Llandudno

On the way to the car we stopped by and took a look in a beautiful shop unfortunately I can not remember the name of this boutique. As soon as I entered this room I was blown away by the ceiling drapes, she said she used 300 metres of material to achieve this look I instantly wanted this in my front room but my house is too small to carry off this look. I will add this to my book of future renovations this would look perfect in a bedroom don't you think?.  

Beautiful and romantic

Pink Clouds Never Rain

I have been making good use of the Annie Sloan paint and decided to paint everything that needed renovated "PINK". Out of one litre of AS chalk paint I have managed to paint a plate rack, display cabinet and a double headboard and I still have a quarter of a tin left its truly amazing. Here are some photos of before and after.

Before

After

 And now for the long waited renovated display cabinet, I held out for the right colour and here is finished result.

Before

After

I used AS clear wax and on the distressed areas a dark wax 

I love the end result and have decided to keep this piece in my home.

This gives me an excuse to fill it with tea cups and saucers and odd's and ends.

What do you think of the Annie Sloan paint?

I will be definitely purchasing more in different colours.  

Hello Annie Sloan

After reading dozens of inspirational blogs on interior decorating I have often come across the name Annie Sloan I didn't really take much notice as most of the blogs that I read are American. I don't know why I didn't look into this paint but it turned out that Annie Sloan is British, I was just under the impression it was an American brand paint "Stupid me". I looked up the nearest stockist in Manchester and did a bit of research on this paint, a friend had recently been using this paint on her shabby chic furniture I was intrigued. I was torn between the Old White and Antoinette I figured that if I was going to buy a higher end paint I might as well pick a colour rather than a neutral.

This paint is being used on my slim line dresser to make sure I knew what I was doing I tried it out on my plate rack, its been bare for all these years and is the only thing in house which I have not let my brush loose on. I also purchased the soft wax along with the dark wax I cant tell you how excited I am to renovate the second hand dresser. 

Poor quality of a photo but I am sure you get the idea.

BEFORE

This was with 2 coats of paint
DURING

AFTER
I mixed it up a bit with Annie Sloan's clear and dark wax and distressed in areas.

I think the Cath Kidston plates look so pretty in contrast with the Antoinette.

I love this photo it really shows how naturally distressed it really looks.

I love Annie Sloan and look forward to painting the dresser today it is totally fool proof and a little goes a long way.

Vintage shopping

I do apologise for the late blog updates I have been busy with one thing or another. My last project was the display of the mix matched mirrors which didn't really go to plan, my front room was too small and the idea of displaying these up the stairs should of made an illusion of light and space but instead it was too overpowering and busy. So I resorted to small mismatched coloured photo frames instead which looks much better. Lately I have laid off the second hand furniture shopping as my house has no more space for any more treasures. Having said that me and a friend went for afternoon tea in Manchester's Northern Quarter! as we passed a vintage clothes shop I spotted a French headboard at the back of the shop.

 I popped in and asked if it was for sale and she said she could sell this headboard for £50 I was shocked as it was worth much more than this, she had earnings and necklaces hanging from the rattan board. I have collected many headboards over the past few years in search for the perfect one it is hard to find a French Double headboard they are either single or king size. I quickly paid and left the shop asking my good friend to help carry it to the car! it didn't fit so I had to book the largest taxi in Manchester to get it back home talk about flustered. Anyway here are a few pictures of our Jubilee weekend adventure.

Sugar Junction Tea Room

Perfect Pinkie!

Kay with my Headboard!