Before and After

I had wanted a new chair for my sewing table for quite a while when I came across an old, battered, wooden one in a reclamation shop which for some odd reason, I liked. A fiver later, I was trying to squueze it into the back of my little Corsa :-).

It stayed in the garage for ages until the summer holidays arrived and I had a bit more time than usual to give it a little TLC. Someone with woodwork knowledge very kindly made it sturdy again and sanded in down, in a much better way than I could. Here is what the chair looked like after the first couple of steps.

 

 

From here, I gave painted it with white undercoat, and then two coats of my chosen coloured emulsion. I had my paint mixed but it's still not the ideal colour. I'd have preferred it to be a bit more green.

Once it was dry I used a decorating knife to scrape off parts of the paint to reveal the wood underneath, giving it an old, battered effect. Finally, I painted it with quick drying emulsion and upholstered a drop in seat pad with some nice, new fabric.

 

The photo isn't the great quality and you can't see the colours very well but hopefully, you get the idea. I must admit, it was quite a bit of work to get the chair to this point, but I'm happy that it's completely individual and it does look lovely in my sewing room :-).

 

Thanks for reading.

Rachel xx 

 

Gypsy Love

Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE the shabby chic look and my house itself is quite calm with a 'country' feel. BUT, I feel the cupcake, pastel look has gone a little too far and become, if I dare say it, a bit sickly. I'm sure that most people have got the look right, but I think a lot of high street shops have offered cheap versions of things and smothered them in cupcakes, which in my opinion, don't look nice.

That's why, I have begun to love the gypsy look. The jewel colours are brave and sumptuous and the soft furnishings add beautiful detail in a range of fabrics, featuring folk type florals and beaded/sequinned embellishments.

Have a look at some of these pictures I've found.

I really want to inject a bit of this look into my own bedroom. Not that I will be able to paint the walls bright colours or decorate them with floral wallpaper as I like my walls quite muted. But I would love to be able to add the theme with the help of accessories and soft furnishings. Only problem is, where do you find such gorgeous things? High street shops don't tend to go for this sort of style. However, when I went into Marks and Spencers the other day, I discovered they have a new home range called 'Caravan'. Most of the things are for the kitchen, but at least there was a not a cupcake in sight! Here are a set of tea, coffee and sugar tins I liked.

I hope this 'look' becomes more popular. In the mean time, if anyone help with where I can buy some 'gypsy' inspired bedroom bits, I'd be very grateful!!

Thanks for reading.

Rachel x

Home is where the heart is

After a comment made by one of my friends, I realised that I'm a bit of a heart lover. On a quick glance around my living room I could count nine heart inspired items. I have a knitted dress covered in hearts tights with hearts on numerous necklaces with a heart as the pendant and a jumper with a red heart on it - amongst many other items in my wardrobe! I'm not suite sure why I like the motif so much. The only thing that springs to mind is the fact that it represents love and is a happy symbol.

Here are a few pics (badly taken I know) of some heart items from my home.

Dining room curtain fabric.

Jug (mainly used as a vase) with a sweet little red heart.

A large wooden heart which hangs in my entrance porch.

Another hanging heart. This time it hangs from a mirror.

A handmade picture with a heart print fabric as the background.

Candle holders on the fireplace in the living room.

A hand stitched heart above the fireplace.

I will post some more heart inspired items in the future. Has anyone else got a fetish for hearts? Or a love for a different emblem?

Thanks for reading.

Rachel xx

Storage

Storage solutions are key in my little two-up, two-down house. I have managed to fill the whole house with 'stuff', even though I moved into it from my one and only bedroom at my parents house. As much as I like the homely, cottagey and homespun feel, I'm not a fan of masses of clutter and prefer the things that aren't there to look pretty to be away somewhere, in an organised fashion. However, this doesn't mean that the storage itself can't look good. I probably spend more on the storage than the things that goes in it! Here are some storage solutions that I like at the moment.

 A gorgeous basket by Rice, perfect for anything, from toys to shoes, dvds to books and magazines.

Cake tins have become really fashionable, but you don't have to be a baker to own some. You can keep allsorts in them, from jewellery to buttons.

Some things even look great in clear glass jars. I love this rainbow of organised button jars.

These flower baskets are very pretty. They'd be brilliant on a desk storing pens, pencils, glue, sticky tape etc.

Here are a couple of storage solutions in my own home.

A set of lovely Greengate tins in my bedroom to store my jewellery.

A collection of various sized glass jars to store sewing/craft stuff. The labels are are from fabric and stamped using alphabet stamps and fabric ink. They have then been tied on with garden twine. I have a feeling I will be needing more jars soon!!

Anyone else got lovely storage items?

Thanks for reading.

Rachel xx

Cushion Love

Wikipedia states "A cushion (from Old French coisson, coussin; from Latin culcita, a quilt) is a soft bag of some ornamental material, stuffed with wool, hair, feathers, polyester staple fiber, non-woven material, or even paper torn into fragments. It may be used for sitting or kneeling upon, or to soften the hardness or angularity of a chair or couch."

Don't worry, I'm not writing an essay (I wouldn't use Wikipedaia for that!) merely displaying the view and prupose of what cushions are for. However, this is really not my own, personal view of cushions, in fact I don't think I have ever bought or made a cushion for any other reason other than that they look nice!

I've heard many men (I'm not being sexist, I just haven't heard it from women!) saying things like "Why are there cushions on the bed when you have to take them off when you go to sleep?" and "We realy don't need another cushion" and other things along those lines.

The truth be told, I'm a sucker for cushions and I reckon those loads of other women (and men!?) who are the same.

I love these bright coloured ethnic coloured cushions with the gorgeous pom pom trim.

These are gorgeous Jan Constantine cushions and I would reeeeally like one - although I don't think I'll ever afford it!

These crochet flower cushions are so bright and colourful - one day my crochet skills might reach that standard!?! Any tips much appreciated.

And these are beautiful cross stitched cushions designed by Emily Peacock - I definitely don't have the patience to make these but my Mum is currently stitching two, maybe she'll give me one as a gift!?

I have made loads of cushions for my own house, everytime I buy some nice fabric I want to use it for cushions (crafters and sewers alike will know cushions are an easy bet!)

These are a selecion of patchwork cushions I made for my living room. They are all slightly different - squares, stripes, different shapes, some with pom poms, some without. However, they are all made with goregous Tilda fabric from Crumbly Cottage . They haven't got anycomplicated zips, but are finished with an envelope fastening, button holes and some lovely East of India ribbon to make some bows. 

These cushions are both in my bedroom, (yes, I take them off the bed before getting in!) The smaller one is made from felt, blanket stitched round the edges and the heart and flowers are all hand-embroided. The REALLY big cushion is patchwork, made from various scarps of fabric from Fabric Rehab and Frumble.

However, I don't think Bertie appreciates the lovely patterned fabric, and is more interested in he nice soft, feather cushion pad inside!

 Hopefully, I'll be adding to my cushion collection soon, if anyone can point me to a good, easy crochet cushion pattern, it would be greatly appreciated!

Does anyone else share the cushion love?

Thanks for reading.

Rachel x