How excited am I? I'm getting an actual SHOWROOM!

O.K.  Some people might term it a shed.  Some might call it an outhouse.  Me.  I'm going to call it a showroom.  A shop.  My store.  Oh yes I am.  And its not just in my head.  Or on the interweb.  It's actual.  It's real.  I can touch its walls - in fact I painted them. Want to see what it looks like right now?

I know it looks all weird and wobbly that's panoramas for you - it is an oblong room I promise!  But you get the idea.

It is currently the office for my 'other' business, run by my very talented husband and his equally talented business partner, (not me, doofus, I'm talking about Brett), want to see what we do?  Go on then, you twisted my arm.  Take a shuftue over to The Digital Mix our awesome Digital Agency - who are at this very moment working on my brand spanking new web site.  Oh yes they are!

So back onto more important things.  That would be me.  I have plans and ideas and stock!  I have furniture that has been re-finished and I have pictures waiting to be displayed.  I have wonderful Charcuterie Boards and Baguette Boards ready for public display.  I also have a set of kitchen doors that need to be 'half & halved'  for 'before and after' display, plus a couple of items of furniture roadkill ready to have the 'half & half' treatment.  Excited? Much? Me?

So what else does this mean? It mean's I will have an empty stable for either a) furniture in waiting or b) a pony.  Hmmmm...anyone fancy taking bets on what will win? (The Barristers Horse I'm looking in your direction).

What else have I been up to this week?  Here are some pictures.  The Sideboard will be available for sale shortly and the Rocking chair is on eBay right now.

Heavy Oak Sideboard finished with Crackle Top & Silver Leaf.

Super Shabby French Farmhouse Style Rocking Chair

Until next time.

M x

Whoosh...where did the week go? Oh and you can win something today!

Happy Monday one and all.  I feel I have neglected you all a little this week, for which I apologise and present myself to you for your forgiveness.  Am I forgiven?  Good.  Thanks.

Last week was a whoosh of kids on half term, the frustration of not being able to get to a can of Annie Sloan and feed my addiction and a lot of travelling.  On the plus side, I can create my lovely, (no false modesty here people), pictures, even when the sun goes down.

So last night I finally got around to listing some of the pictures on my Etsy Shop - take a look if you fancy a nice little something for your home.  I have these little beauties to work on:

Work in Progress.  Available for sale.

I have also started work on the lovely curvy sideboard I picked up last week.  The first coat was completed on Saturday and this morning I have gone for it with coat two.  I'm just waiting for the paint to dry, those of you who know me know I love watching paint dry and I would ask you to cross fingers for me - I have tried a little crackling on the top which may or may not work.

So I was going to give you a nice pre-finish peek of the sideboard, but instead I will continue my challenge from over on my Facebook Page:  First to add a comment correctly on the blog or FB page wins one of my little pictures.  

Question:  What are the three Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Colours used in this picture? 

First to guess wins a prize!  Which 3 ASCP colours feature here?

That is all.

M x

Preview Alert. A sneaky peek at what I have been making this week.

Gil Elvgren Pin-Up's on Solid Oak

Today only Pictures. A selection of my latest products.  Prices and Etsy Shop listings to follow .

Gil Elvgren Golfer on Solid Oak

Gil Elvgren Archer on Solid Oak with Live Edge

Oops! Gil Elvgren Archer on wood

Close up

Close Up Golf Girl 

Retro Typewriter on Solid Wood

Retro Typewriter Series on Solid Wood

Retro Typewriter 2 on Solid Wood

Retro Polaroid

Retro Cine Camera

Retro Camera

Photographers Tryptich

Paris is always a good idea

Selection of Wood Pictures

Retro Clock before the clock mechanism is added

Bridlington 

Twinkles Cereal on wood

And not forgetting our wonderful Charcuterie / Bread / Cheese boards!

Beautiful Double Sided Charcutere Board

Close Up

Beautiful Wooden Cheese Board

Yew Wood with live edge

Hope you like this little preview!

White Goods? Pah. I Paint Mine. Pink.

Today is Pancake Day, so a Happy Shrove Tuesday / Pancake Day to one and all.

With food on my mind, I'm considering adding a lovely big Ice Cream Cone to my newly painted Fridge Freezer.  Yes you read that correctly.  I have painted my Fridge Freezer.  In fact I have painted the Fridge Freezer, and it is lovely.

I have always wanted a pretty Smeg or a Smeg-a-like, but as our kitchen is the size of most peoples ensuite bathroom, there is no chance.  I have a plain Jane 'Kelvinator' sitting in my workroom.  She hums away in the corner and keeps things cold.  She is bumped, scratched and pretty boring.  She is very useful, but could not ever be described as pretty.  You can see where this is headed.

I would never offer a service to a client I have not tried and tested myself.  So looking at her in her pale and uninteresting light, I thought she deserved a makeover and my clients deserve the opportunity to have 'Mulitcoloured' goods instead of 'White' goods.  It's win, win.  I should give this a go.

Out came the paint.  And the experiment shall begin.  If she still looks lovely in a fews months, 'White Good's' will be added to my Kitchen Painting Service.  Wonderful.

Now, since you have stuck with me this far, I will even tell you how to do it.  But don't go telling everyone OK?

Step 1.  Clean off all the grease and gunk.  Remove all the kids pictures and magnets and crayon.  Allow to dry.

Step 2.  Choose your paint colour.  Now I only use Annie Sloan Chalk Paint or Autentico Paint.  In this instance I went straight for my tin of Annie Sloan Anitoinette.  It's pink and girly but not sickly sweet.  So a perfect fit for my new look refrigerator.

Painting a Fridge Freezerr

Step 3.  Get stuck in.  Now I like to use a brush when I paint, but you might prefer the slightly dimpled  look you get when using a roller.  Your choice.  The first coat will have some transparency and look a little patchy, but worry not.  As soon as the first coat is dry apply coat 2.  Probably as soon as you have finished coat one!  Yes, this paint is awesome, has no odour and is lovely to work with.

Step 4.  Leave for 24 hours so the curing process can at least get started.  Remember this is a shiny surface, so I don't want to wipe off the paint when I start to wax.

Step 5.  Go for it with your wax.  I use Annie Sloan Clear Soft Wax, as I find it very easy to work with.  You can apply with a brush or with a cloth.  Work in 2ft x 2ft blocks, waxing and then wiping.  If you want to, apply a second coat later.  That's it.  Brand, spanking new Fridge Freezer! TaDa.  Pat yourself on the back for being so clever.  Or have a cup of tea.

Step 6.  REMEMBER IT TAKES BETWEEN 21 - 28 DAYS FOR THE WAX TO CURE FULLY HARD so keep the fridge magnet free for 3 weeks.  After that you can go crazy!

Want to see a pic?  Oh, OK then, (I know rubbish pictures, but the room is tiny!).

|Close up of the Kelvinator

And here she is.  Pink Fridge.

For my next trick I will be adding a lovely big Ice Cream Cone to the front, though I also think some stripes would be rather purty too!

And that, my dear friends, is how to turn boring 'White Goods' into 'I'm here to be seen' beauties!

Let me know if you try it.

M x

UPDATE...

Here are the Ice Cream Cones:

Ice Cream, Ice Cream, cold & sweet...

Ice Cream, Ice Cream, good to eat!

Ooh, la la! I have been nominated for an award. Get me!

Liebster Blog Award

Bonjour Mesdames et Messieurs.  Je suis fier d'annoncer que j'ai été nominé pour un prix.

OK, enough of the fancypants lingo, but I have indeed been nominated for a Liebster Award.

I have done a little research, more commonly referred to as 'I Googled it' and apparently the Liebster Award is granted to up and coming bloggers with fewer than 200 followers who deserve some recognition and support to keep on blogging.   Is that me? Do I deserve some recognition?  Oh, go on then!

So first of all I must say a big 'Thank You' to Antonia of Tidy Away Today whom is the kind nominatrix, (is that even a word?  It should be).  Super kind and I am very touched by your thinking of me.

Secondly I need to add this to my page (to the right, pretty heart picture?):

Look it's an actual 'Award' type thing...shall I add another one just because I can?  OK then.  A badge.

It's pink you know.  With a love heart.

TeeHee.  I've gone award mad!  Now to be eligible for this award I have to answer 11 questions as set by Antonia.  So bear with callers - it's going to get personal.  It may or may not be interesting, but if I want to claim my award I must do it.  So here goes:

1.  Can you ride a bike?

Yes, but I once went up a curb and knocked out my 2 front teeth with the handlebars.  Luckily they were baby teeth.  There was a lot of blood, but I got ice cream.

2.  What was the first concert you ever went to?  Delamitri at Leeds Poly when I was 18 and a sixth former in Harrogate.  I thought pretending to be a student was the height of sophistication. 

3.  What is your favourite fruit? Pineapple.  At one stage I ate one almost daily until the dentist mentioned my teeth were turning onto PlayDoh.

4. Favourite rainy day activity?  Jumping up and down in muddy puddles. Obviously.

Bathers at Asnières, 1884

5.  Person you would most like to be for one day?  Georges Pierre Seurat,  French Post-Impressionist painter.  I would like to see the world through the eyes of the man said to have devised the technique of pointillism.  Innovative and ahead of his time but a lover of colour and form.  

6.  If you ever had the chance to travel to the moon, would you?  No.  I would let my son take my place as long as he wrote 'Hello Mum' on the surface of the moon.

7.  Have you ever broken a bone?  If we are getting technical - no.  If we are using everyday parlance, yes.  I broke my nose on the dry ski slope when I was 13 when someone turned around with their ski's on their shoulder.  Sadly my nose was in the way.  It was comedy gold.  Well it might have earned £200 on You've Been Framed had anyone recorded it.

8.  Can you sing?  Like a drain.

9.  Nicest beach you have ever been to?  Beadnell Beach in Northumberland simply because we spent many a summer there in the caravan when I was a child.  We liked to sledge down the dunes.

10.  Tea or coffee?  Coffee if I'm making it Tea if someone else is making it.  I'm essentially lazy.

11.  Have you ever been on TV?  Once.  I was 7 and dressed as a pea-pod full of peas.  I had to say the word 'pop'.  

How did I do?  Still reading?  You darn well better be since I now apparently need to avail you of 11 random facts about myself.  So read on dear readers and do not dismiss my inner ramblings for I am pouring my heart out here.

1.   I LOVE Cowboy Films.  Full on Westerns.  Yup.  And I'm not afraid to admit it.

2.  The first horror film I saw was American Werewolf in London. Scared? Yup.

3.  My husband is much younger than me.  Everyone assumes he is older, (Boots moisturiser I salute you).

4.  I really, really, really want a Metal Detector.  I bought one for my son when he was 5.  I liked it a lot.

5.  I asked for a nail gun for Christmas and was delighted that Santa deemed that a good present.

6.  I am dangerous in a clothes shop.  That is why I live in a small village with no clothes shops.

7.  I have shoes I have owned since I was 16 that I still wear.  They look brand new.

8. When I was a teenager I had 2 pairs of Wallaby shoes.  Blue & Purple.  I wore one of each colour. 

9.  I have a law degree.  Really.

10. I have a big birthday this year.  

11.  I hate blue cheese.

Now, according to the rules I am supposed to nominate 11 blogs that are in a similar place to me when it comes to readers and encouragement - here lies my problem.  I like to follow a few blogs, but most of them are pertty big, so forgive me but I'm going to only name 3.  Oh, and then I'm going to set 11 questions for them.

I apologise if these bloggers have loads of readers and are way ahead of the game, but I'm new to blog-land and it's not always easy to tell how many followers someone has.  So, in no particular order, like to nominate:

http://adiamondinthestuff.blogspot.co.uk/ Courtney says ' I created A Diamond in the Stuff to share my creative ideas and gain some inspiration along the way'.

http://hookedonhouses.net/  Just lots of lovely houses.

http://www.ourlakelife.com/  They say 'This blog space of ours is sort of like a DIY Diary along with a healthy amount of Real Life thrown in.'

Now each of these bloggers need to reply to the following 11 questions / statements.  If they want to.  Here goes nothing.

1.  Home or holiday?

2.  Ketchup or Brown Sauce?

3.  Most embarrassing moment?

4.  Favorite decade & why?

5.  Best moment today?

6.  Most interesting person you have ever met and why?

7.  Snow or Sun?

8.  Biggest DIY disaster?

9.  Fantasy meal?

10.  School - Swot or Dunce?

11.  Favorite web site?

So thats that.  Back to my paint now.  Afterall, you may now realise that I like to watch paint dry.

Ta ta.

M x

How to apply Silver and Gold Leaf. It's a tutorial don't you know.

I thought it was about time I shared a few tips with you chaps.  Last week when I was finishing off the silver leaf on my dining table I decided to make a little video for you.  This may or may not have been a good idea.

Close up of silver leaf once applied

In my head I was going to take you through the process of applying leaf, in this case silver, (Aluminium), to furniture that has been painted.  What was in my head and what is on the screen may not bear much resemblance to one another - but you might crack a smile.  You might even learn something.

Regular followers of this blog will know that my paint of choice is Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.  I can't fault it.  It achieves a wonderful velvety surface and is fantastic to work with.  

Video reviews are important.  Here are the friends & family reviews of mine.  YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

'Made me laugh out loud.  You paint furniture like Nigella cooks food'.  OK.  He likes Nigella, I'll take that as a complement.

'That the video amounted to furniture porn'.  Thanks a lot.  All I can say is, I was alone in the house and this was the most fun I have had in months!  Enjoy.

To apply silver leaf to a recently painted item of furniture you will need:

Gold Size Application

1.  'Gold Size' a waterbased adhesive developed specifically for use with leaf.  I use Annie Sloan's which is available from her stockists.

2.  Leaf of your choice, (I used aluminium loose leaf).  Again I use Annie Sloan products.

3.  Flat head artists brush & a pencil. I don't use a good quality brush but I do make sure it has no hair loss.

4.  Soft, but strong bristled decorators brush.  I use a standard on from my local decorators suppliers.

5.  Cloth on the floor for collecting the 'shavings'.

6.  Clear Soft Wax & Dark Wax, again I use Annie Sloan.

7.  Wax Brush or cloth for applying and removing wax.

8.  Soft cloth for buffing.

OK.  Lets do this.

I started with recently painted, unwaxed, chalk paint, but you could apply directly to clean wood or pre-waxed painted surface.

The first thing you must do is, using your pencil, mark out the outline of the area you want to cover.  It may be an edge, as I have done on this table, or you may want to do a little more, like I did on the front of this sideboard: See how I marked around the edges and under the handles?

Once you have marked out your leafing area, take the jar of size and shake well.

Open the jar and use your artists brush to fill in the area you wish to gild.  You only need a thin film, not a goopy splodge.  The Size has a purpleish haze to it and you must leave it until it is transparent.

Once the size is transparent, carefully take a sheet of leaf and gently place it onto the size.  Press it gently using the larger brush.  Lift away the unstuck leaf ready for the next area.  No need to rush it stays sticky for ages.

Don't worry about a perfect 'stick'.  The beauty is in the missing bits.  

The next stage is the 'Push Off'.  Now you get to watch the video!

Finally I like to give the leaf a nice clear wax and buff, to stop it discolouring, or if I'm going for a old style antiqued effect, I add dark wax on top.

And that, my dear friends, is how I guild.  Here are a few pics, just because I have them uploaded...

Removing the loose leaf

Top of the sideboard demo of Sliver Leaf

Close up of leaf application

Leaf on table

Hope you found it useful - please feel free to comment / share / laugh at me.

M x