summer mantle

I didn't plan to do this post - I have a few other's up my sleeve - but there is a mantle party going on, and I've just changed mine around, so here it is.

When I was doing it, I wasn't thinking summer.
I had almost forgotten about the summer as we have had so much rain here recently. I just needed to change it because the last mantle was too difficult to dust (therefore I didn't, for ages !).
I started with the idea of doing it all white, but it kind of evolved.

I used things I had (some of you will have seen them before), mixing the textures and keeping the colour palette pale.

Old books, an oriental postcard and a piece of metal (found at the beach) have the perfect colour to tie everything together.

On the other side of the bird cage, my galvanised planter has lovely shades of grey, and the dried moss, raffia and driftwood tie in with the items on the other side of the birdcage.

At the end, a white corbel from my old office and a wire basket, that I usually keep in the garden.

Another little postcard, an oriental fan with a fish. I put one in the cage too - a little bird hung from a clip and some string.

I loved the last (dusty) beach junk mantle, but I think I love this one even more. The colours go so well with the rest of the room. I wish the photos looked as good as the actual mantle !

Before I go, I just want to show you something else.

This isn't a pond in our garden, this IS our garden. Virtually our whole garden was under water. That's how much rain we actually had one Sunday. Well that's the UK for you, and why I forgot about summer.

(It's also one of my many excuses for not making the garden pretty !)

Linking up with

'cheap as chips'

I shouldn't really be spending any money, but I can't help it when you find something as 'cheap as chips'.

This phrase was really coined by David Dickinson, a flamboyant antique dealer, who has become a tv personality. Btw chips = fries if you're outside the UK. Dried potato or wheat based snacks, flavoured and sealed in air-tight bags are called crisps over here.
Crisps are obviously cheap too, but 'cheap as crisps' just doesn't have the same ring to it !!



So, here are some items I've found to be as 'cheap as chips'.

Musical sheets, maps and a tray - total £2.95.

The cute little tray, although a bit bashed was only 50p.

Love some of the graphics on these.

Recently I found this - a score board for billiards, £2.50. I've hung it over one of the doors in the kitchen.

I just like it's shabbiness.

I found four pretty tablemats in a charity shop for £3.00 but they were stained, so I didn't buy them. Then I was shopping with my old friend Pandy (a couple of weeks later) and they were still there and she insisted on buying them, saying that her Mum was a stain-remover-extraordinaire. She was right, and I love them and the pretty shade of pale grey. 

I got four of these as well, for £1 - cute little brown transferware saucers for my mini guest room.

And lastly, I didn't buy this. It was as cheap as chips, but it's not old and I'd prefer to make one.

Love that sentiment though.

linking up with -

Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays @ Coastal Charm

Knick of Time Tuesdays @ Knick of Time

french script demi lune

Painting actual script on furniture - as opposed to adverts or labels - wasn't my idea. I first saw it here and stole it !
I love the randomness of it.
So when I won 25 graphics from Antique Graphique through the Silver Pennies  giveaway, I made sure to choose some hand-written graphics.

The table was £10. 

I painted it in AS Off White. This is the before picture - well almost before  !

It took me about an hour to get the right size on the graphic. I KNEW it was a complete fluke, the first time I enlarged something , and it only took about 10 minutes.

In the end I had six pieces of A4 taped together.

I also had loads of different sizes of script. I used these first, tracing them onto the table with carbon, and then painting them in pale grey.

I knew I didn't want the graphic to completely cover the top of the table, so I did it askew, and then did the second layer at a different angle, in a darker grey.

I added some script to the front and sides, and a little bit to the legs. Then I distressed the edges, and added clear and dark waxes.

I'm really pleased with this piece, I'll definitely be using this graphic again.

And thanks to all bloggers who think outside of my little box and inspire me.

And thanks to Heather and Danielle for the graphics.

And sorry Mrs. C - I know I shouldn't start sentences with an 'and' !!

Linking up with

Tuesdays Treasures @ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Chalk Paint Link Party @ Shades of Amber

Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays @ Coastal Charm
Be Inspired @ Elizabeth & Co

Cowgirl Up @ The Farmhouse Porch

Knick of Time Tuesdays @ Knick of Time

What's It Wednesday @ Ivy and Elephants

White Wednesday @ Faded Charm

Wow Us Wednesdays @ Savvy Southern Style

Primp Your Stuff Wednesdays @ {Primp}
POWW @ Primitive & Proper
All Star Block Party @ Full Circle Creations

Open House Party @ No Minimalist Here

What Have You Redone @ Redoux

Feathered Nest Friday @ French Country Cottage
Vintage Inspiration Friday @ Common Ground
Shabbilicious Friday @Shabby Art Boutique

a little bit of this, and a little bit of that !

Although I have been painting and doing all sorts, I just wanted to write about a couple of things.

First, I received an award - the Liebster Award, from Diane at The Checkered Apple.
I have received this before, and been tagged, and told you many things about myself - so I hope Diane won't mind if I just use this to send you in the direction of other bloggers. Let's all 'share the follower love' as someone else put it !

For those of you I name below, dear bloggy friends who would like to accept, please go to Diane's post here to read the rules.

Share the follower love with  Danielle @ Silver Pennies

Maureen @ It's All Connected

Carol @ Art and Sand

Stacey @ Flickerwhips

Carol @ Juniper and Roses

Also, please visit Diane - she still has her Patriotic Link Party running - link through the button at the top of the page.

The Jubilee is now over and all the focus is on the Olympics. I must say, I watched most of the fun from the comfort of my sofa. We did go to a street party, where there was a rock and roll dance group trying to get everyone involved, and also a great band but we didn't stay too long. Luckily we had no rain down here, but it was really really windy.

The best part of the Jubilee for me, was visiting friends (because there were four screaming 13 year old girls in our house !) and then sitting on the sofa in the evening in a blissfully quiet house (they had gone to a party, and the old geezer was doing a gig), blogging, drinking tea and watching the concert in front of Buckingham Palace. It was amazing and perfectly topped off by Paul McCartney singing old favourites.

I have written many things about myself before, so I'm sure you don't want to hear any more but let me just tell you that now the rain is back, and spiders have been coming into my studio to dry out and I REALLY DON'T LIKE SPIDERS. The old geezer has been removing them for me and I have been caulking up any holes I can find !

Lastly, can I just say thanks to everyone who comes by and leaves me a comment. It's so great to connect with people all over the world. I occasionally come across British bloggers and try to connect with them, but for some reason they aren't interested and normally they don't write back or follow. It is well known in the UK, that Southerners don't talk to each other, whereas Northeners will talk to anyone - lol - I'm a Southener. 

 Well, I have just met a great lady who lives in the next county. She is the last one on my list - Carol at Juniper and Roses (she does gorgeous furniture makeovers) and so it's great to have someone who completely understands a statement I've always thought, but never written 'I'm just a Blue Peter kid at heart'.

Share the follower love people, share the follower love !!!

mini guest room post #1

I'm making slow progress, because as usual, I'm working on multiple projects (do I repeat myself a lot ? ! ).

The guest room is approx. 6ft x 9ft, so it really is small. It also needs to have a dual purpose, as a guest room/sewing room. Not that I will go in there to sew, but I need a place to store all my sewing stuff.

The guest that stays here the most is Pandy, and I'm pretty spoilt at her place. I get the pink toile bedroom with an en suite ! You can see more pictures of it here in a very early post, as well as other photos of her amazing home.
There is only one bathroom in our house, definitely no chance of an en suite, so I want to make the room as cosy and inviting as possible. Besides, I have that great bed I found here, and it lends itself to a more classic style, much more up Pandy's street.

This is my starting point - an Ikea blanket and two cushions, that were in the sitting room.

I hate blankets just thrown over chairs, but I did this to hide an Ikea bucket chair that seriously needs a makeover (idea already logged for this and added to long list). All three things came from the guest bedroom in my last house. That's the flooring on the right, which we still haven't put down, except in the kitchen - hmmm !!!

I found some remnants of the fabrics, and some other pieces to use. I had covered a headboard in this previously, which unfortunately I no longer own.

There's a large enough piece of this fabric to upholster the seat of a chair I have, and the rest is going to be used in a pelmet.

I love bobble fringe, and the little linen table mat was £1 in a charity shop. I have ideas for all of this, but the first thing on my list was a bed cover. The cream one under the fabric is very old and not particularly nice.

There was nothing in TKMaxx - not that I've got the money anyway. I wanted to put my blanket on the end of the bed, on top of a cream quilt, or something similar. My generous friends - ie Pandy and her mother - bought me a gorgeous duvet set and some extra pillow cases.

Aren't they lovely ! The duvet set is from TKMaxx, and the pillow cases are from The White Company.

I also got a cream bedcover, similar to the white one, but much, much nicer.

There is no photo, because a strange thing happened, and I didn't need it (Pandy's mum was totally cool with this, it was only £5.99 I think).

I was talking to my ex, about the room (he's another old geezer and gets on very well with the current old geezer !), and he told me that he had a bed cover I made !

I couldn't remember making one at all. I even had a whole discussion with Pandy about how I couldn't have made one, because I would have remembered working it all out and sewing it.

The ex old geezer dropped off my lined and inter-lined bed cover with the scalloped edge !!! 

I am 2 years off 50. Actually, make that 1 1/2.

Is it all down hill from now on ? 

The knees are already on the way out. I've just got my first pair of glasses and now my memory ??

I'd remembered covering a headboard, so how on earth could I have forgotten actually making a bedcover.

Well, at least I have it - and it's certainly very Pandy !

And although there are no pics, the black and white check blanket looks great along the end of the bed.

Onwards and upwards. I have a list of about 12 things to do in this room, added to the one thing I have done already - but I will share that with you another time, if I remember !!!

booth shopping !

A couple of weeks ago I went with Pandy on a little trip to the gorgeous town of Lewes.
It's full of historic buildings, gorgeous, individually owned shops and antique centres.

One of my very early posts was about Lewes - you can see more pictures here.

We went to look at a place with booths, but first we just HAD to stop for coffee !

Pandy's paying - my turn next time ! We shared a Welsh Rarebit as well. No, I don't like to eat fluffy little bunnies - it's basically melted cheese on toast, sometimes mustard is added, and in this case, beer !

I've been to this place before. It has a coffee shop at the front, and restaurant at the back.

I love that industrial type lighting over the counter.

I digress - I seem to do that a lot where coffee is concerned. Below are pictures of the antiques centre and various booths.

There were about 5 floors and they used every spare inch. Great cabinet with the flag going across the legs as well.

Cute little enamel sink unit.

There were two women running this place, and not the friendliest of women, but we had come to ask about a booth, so ask we did.

One of the women reluctantly showed me a book, with what could have been about a hundred names - the waiting list was very, very long.

I asked the price.

She said £185 to £220 per month depending on the size.

Unfortunately she caught the look of horror that flashed across my face, she nearly closed the book.

Luckily Pandy took control of the situation, and told me to put my name down anyway.

I did, but we left deflated ( we hadn't even bought anything ).

We would have gone for tea and cake here, we needed another pick-me-up, but time was running out on the car.

When we got back to my house, the old geezer talked some sense into us. He thought the price was pretty good. He said that if the waiting list was that long, then none of the booth owners were unhappy with their takings. He made sense.

SO, next week I'm going to look somewhere different with another friend and I reckon that in about 10 years I might just get a phone call from Lewes - I should have enough stock by then !!