Finding my voice...

It has been such a long time since I was last here; and now putting ‘pen to paper’ again, I realise how much I have missed following all of my favourite blogs and of course writing my own. Thank you so much to those that have emailed and left messages for me asking how I am and if everything was OK ~ this really means a lot to me!

I lost my voice.

Then I lost my inner voice…

I got tonsillitis followed by the flu (of the piglet variety that everyone is talking about). Add to that a few family issues and the result was that not only did I lose my speaking voice; but the natural rhythm of writing and finding words ~ my inner voice ~ that I share via this blog also seemed to abandon me. I haven’t sewn a stitch during this time ~ I actually think that I lost more than my voice, I also lost my sense of direction and purpose.

I think I have come to realise that ‘big plans’ don’t actually really matter, it is just the happiness we can find in day to day living which is most important. So now, I shall not only be nurturing my relationships with family and friends, I shall be looking after my creative self, and continuing to make, sell, restore and collect the vintage & antique treasures that I love so much, just because it makes me happy…

We were lucky enough to take a wonderful family holiday in the Loire region of France (more of which later...) which has given me the much needed boost to get back on track . Like a door that has been opened for the first time to reveal something new behind it I now feel refreshed and energised and thankfully have discovered my voice again…

Doorway in Candes St Martin, France ~ a secret glimpse into another world...

Springtime Garden

Lily of the Valley arrived just in time for the 1st May...

I love this time of year in the garden ~ not that I can claim to be a gardener...I am to gardening what a back seat driver is to driving ~ I can imagine how I would like the garden to look, but not sure exactly how to get there! I can just about tell the difference between a weed and something more valuable that should be left alone (or perhaps watered occasionally!) I always start the year off with great enthusiasm for cottage style gatherings of pots and containers filled with lavender, geraniums and the like, but sadly by the end of summer my promises of watering every evening have quietly fallen by the wayside and mutterings from my husband of 'I told you so' which makes me so mad I could go and trample across his azaleas (if we actually had any!) This year no doubt, will be no different because already I am teetering on the edge of a shopping precipice to purchase some more floral lovelies...

I do have a husband that thankfully loves gardening (giving him a very valid reason why he cannot be inside doing any other kind of jobs...) and is good at it, which in return lets me off the hook a bit...I am better in a more supervisory role, explaining that of course the garden is an extension of the house and therefore colour schemes, planning and design all come under the main heading of 'This Is What The Wife Wants'.

The latest project has been a small decked area on which to place a bench we have had for ages and recently painted white. Husband made a raised deck as this small patch of garden is on a bit of a slope and created some little steps at one end. He painted the deck a soft sage green colour and here it is in all its glory...it just needs a pot or two with maybe some hydrangeas?

We wanted a bench in this little spot as it faces the sun in the evening and looks out across our rose garden ~ I am imagining the month of June sitting here peacefully after gorgeous girl has gone to bed slowly sipping a glass or two of fine wine and taking in the wonderful aroma of the fragrant roses.

I am of course romanticising ~ in reality gorgeous girl will have probably got to bed later than hoped after a mad day all ending in tears (mine not hers) and I will be clutching a much needed extra large gin and tonic. The sun will have all but disappeared behind the trees and with flailing arms; having forgotten that I was standing on a raised deck will lurch backwards into aforementioned roses. The following morning will be spent contorted into some ungainly pose whilst poor husband has the unenviable task of removing the thorns from my perforated derriere with a pair of eyebrow tweezers. Ho hum, well it wouldn't be the first time...

Have a lovely bank holiday weekend everyone ~ I promise to do some more catching up with your blogs over the next few days...

Ali x

Makeover Madness

I hope that everyone had a nice Easter break ~ it all seems such a long time ago now, and I have been absent from blogging for too long!

It's amazing how a deadline focuses the mind isn't it? I have a stall at a local antiques fair in Hungerford tomorrow and wanted some new (old) items for displaying buttons, ribbons & fabrics etc. I had some pieces under the bed waiting for a makeover and I finally decided that now was the time to get the paint out and try and work some magic. My motto recently has been; 'if in doubt paint it white' ~ which is essentially what I did!

I have had this miniature vintage trug on my desk for ages holding pens & pencils etc.

Three coats of Chalk White later, with a bit of rubbing back with a sanding block to give it a timeworn feel it now looks like this...

Months ago, I bought a large sized jewellery stand in the shape of a mannequin (a modern one, with lots of glitzy decoration, not my style ~ but I wanted a larger size and couldn't find anything else) so I stripped her bare, took it all apart and then covered the body with scraps cut from an original vintage French embroidery magazine. I didn't want to photocopy the magazine as I like the flimsyness of the paper on the original and the worn texture, so I cut it up into varying sized pieces and slowly covered her in a decoupage manner, overlapping as I went until the resin base was completely covered. I then coated her with PVA glue which works just as well as any varnish and let her dry. I am sharing the stall at the fair with my Mum who specializes in 1950's costume jewellery, so I expect she will be adorned with beads and baubles along with a little bit of lace and silk. I forgot to take any 'before' photos, but here she is now...

Next for the white paint treatment was a little old wooden box with compartments that I bought on ebay for next to nothing ~ this time I used Joa's White from Farrow & Ball which is a creamy aged white. After a bit of scuffing on the edges with the sanding block and lining the little compartments with some of the same old French paper it now looks like this...

Using the same colour, I overpainted an mdf trug that I had painted red about 5 years ago! After a couple of coats and some rough treatment, I managed to get some of the old red paint showing through which I was quite pleased with ~ and it is a perfect size for displaying some small pieces of vintage fabric...

Gorgeous girl felt that she was missing out on the painting action and had to join in ~ the kitchen table was a busy little area, I just managed to stop her from painting everything green!

I found this lovely vintage Terry's chocolate box with drawers for a song with the thought in my mind of covering it with old fabric. Firstly, I had to paint it with a coat of white as the fabric I had chosen was quite thin and the dark pattern showed through.

The fabric is French c.1900 and pretty shabby ~ very faded florals, my favourite kind ~ with a few holes here and there so I knew that I couldn't really use it for much else ~ but it covered the box like a dream...

Last on the list was a peculiar little single drawer also bought on ebay that looked like an old tool box drawer ~ very dirty and odd looking, but I have a thing about miniature drawers (nothing to do with lingerie!).

I used some leftover paint from my Easter egg project in another Farrow & Ball colour called Pale Powder which has the merest hint of duck egg blue and then covered the top with another piece of 1950's French paper, I love the typography and graphics! The little vintage brass drawer knob I already had in my box of treasures just waiting for the right project.

Phew! That was my week of makeover madness ~ I think I will put the paintbrush away for a little while ~ until I can work up some energy to tackle the stack of old picture frames under the bed. ('Under my bed' works in the same way that Mary Poppins' bag does!)

Have a great weekend, until next time...

Ali x