Chalk Paint makeover.

Well I did it, I went for the dark wax and love it!!  I have tried many times with the Annie Sloan dark wax and lost courage as it just seems such a contrast.  But this time after watching a youtube tutorial I just did it! This is the little shelf in the previous post all done up.  It is now in its new home, the little summer house in the woods.

So Scandinavian pink Annie Sloan, two coats; clear wax, one coat, dark wax, one coat.

This little summer house has had such a make over.  It was very drab and dreary having been in storage for ages.  I used a garden stain/protector to give it a face lift.

 We lined it with insulation then added some cladding.  One day I hope to have a little wood burning stove just to make it more cosy.

Our woodland garden.

Annie Sloan painting again!

Well yes I am back to my Annie Sloaning again which I do so enjoy!

We found this nice little shelving unit to go in my little tiny summer house and immediately

I saw it in Scandinavian pink with dark wax finish!!  I just love the pink but haven't dared to use it on an item yet (only inside a cupboard).  The dark waxing also freaks me a bit but having watched a video on the Annie Sloan website  anniesloan.com  I will go for it!!

Finished results will follow later.  Have you used Annie Sloan chalk paints before?  What about dark waxing?

Colette sewing pattern helping me to make my first dress!!

So  a lady in our little village suggested that it would be nice to get together for a sewing group utilising the knowledge and skills of experienced sewers to teach those of us who are novice and  learners.  What a lovely idea and the first 2 meetings have attracted 7+ ladies which is great.  It really is the best way to learn these skills, tips, hints and ideas just flow during the evening and the 2 hours rush by!  There is a wide age range which is great and sharing is the name of the game!

I decided to give a dress a go as I knew there would be lots of help available.  So I searched the web for a beginners pattern and finally chose this Colette Crepe dress which states it is for beginners.  Next I needed to find fabric- I found a lovely linen vintage look fabric at Cloth Spot - clothspot

Not only is the fabric lovely at Cloth Spot I also love their site which really displays the fabric to its potential and they help mix and match as well as giving lovely descriptions.

I found the pattern at www.sewbox.co.uk the patterns are lovely and come with a little booklet of instructions.  I have never used a paper pattern before.  So far I am all cut out and have started sewing!!  Will post photos of progress as time passes!!

Fabric decoupage

Well I have had some lovely fabric for ages now and never really felt I could make use of it, until that is I found a lovely little unit at a car boot sale a couple of weeks ago.

Quite a cutie I think just needs a lift.

I cut the fabric to size, and started with the lid, covered it with good old Modpoge then applied the fabric smoothly making sure all crinkles and bubbles were smoothed.  A good tip found on the web- not to pull or stretch the fabric as you apply it.  I then did the same with the body of the box, cutting out around the small silver button.  I then applied Modpoge to the whole lot making sure I covered it all.  I have then varnished with a water soluble varnish 4 or 5 times.  This blog was a great inspiration for fabric decoupage http://www.parlourhomeblog.com/2010/08/decoupaging-my-table.html.

I so love this little box now and it will look lovely in our bathroom to hold bits and bobs.   The fabric came from Fancymoon: http://www.fancymoon.co.uk/  Circus cotton.

Napkin Decoupage

So my experimentation continues with this lovely craft.  I am working on perfecting the art of napkin decoupage and trying it out on anything that sits still long enough!  Let me know what you think!

Little mantel clock covered with vintage music pages and overlayed with napkin images. I have steam punked this  clock by removing the none working parts adding a new quartz movement and reusing parts I could for a steam punk effect.

Vintage brush and mirror set decorated with black lace paper napkin

Small hip flask decorated with the lace paper napkin

Hip flask in lovely peacock paper napkin

Small vintage cigarette case once again covered with peacock paper napkin.

All for sale in my Folksy Shop!          http://folksy.com/shops/HouseofFfion

Annie Sloan Painting Again!

Well following a lovely break in France with my parents my creative mum inspired me to give our kitchen table a little make over!

This is the poor table to be made over!  Yes the marks you can see are bite marks made by our little dog  when she was teething!  She started her furniture design hobby early!

Oh yes and the cats do love to sit on it too!

So Bite marks still evident of course but now the distressed look is enhanced by the Annie Sloan paint- a mixture of 1 part Chateau Grey and 1 part of Old Ochre 

Clafoutis in the making!

Some more decoupaged clocks and other things!!

So this is a collection of unloveds waiting for a makover!  The one on the right turned into my round the world clock as seen in an earlier post.  I am currently deciding what to do with the  tall one on the right- just waiting to find the right book/paper/ 

So this one I forgot to photograph before I took the ugly finials off it and replaced the face but gives you an idea of starting condition- the finished result is a bit further on in this post....

This large china cheese cover has been hanging around for ages waiting for the right paper to come along- I often find this actually.  I have an idea how I would like it to look and eventually it all works out!  So this lovely is very chipped and has lots of crazing and hairline cracks- I used the paper napkin technique to cover these blemishes and then lashings of varnish to cover and protect.  I really love it!

This was my first paper napkin decoupage project- an old sewing machine drawer.  I really love peacock design and this was so handy on the coffee table.  I painted the inside of the drawer with Annie Sloan and distressed it.

Here is my peacock beauty!  Such a change from the black one earlier.  

I added a lovely vintage style image to the inside.

I used Distress Ink to add an aged effect which I think really enhances this clock.

This little lovely is so rich and vintage looking  Again using paper napkin technique.  I really love using paper napkins, it is a challenge but there are so many lovely napkins to choose from and I love the texture they give.

And then there was this one!  I love this one again in peacock- I had to replace the movement and really overhaul this clock.  So far the sewing machine drawer, the large peacock clock the one above have sold on my Folksy shop- Houseofffion!  I do hope that the new owners are happy with their purchases as I love all my clocks.  What do you think?  Also I am always on the look out for vintage/old lovely new papers/images to use on my clocks, and always on the look out for clocks wanting a makeover! 

Decoupage Clock Tutorial

Well as part of the British Sellers on Etsy team I have taken part in the Team Swap- I have received an absolutely lovely brooch made by Shalotte and in return  I recycled one of my little clocks with designs that I thought she may like.  I used this as an opportunity to provide a bit of a story of the little clocks journey.

There once was a little clock that didn't work and had a dirty face.......

 

It's top and bottom were removed.... these clocks are assembled in much the same way- removing the feet and nuts at the top releases the top and bottom.

This allows the door and glass to be removed

Often the faces are held in place with sticky pads.  This clock didn't work so I removed the hands

and the paper face- removing the clock movement is a bit of a challenge but eventually comes away.....

the clock in pieces ready for a new life!

I added a brand new quartz movement...

I used an image from Graphics Fairy ( the front of a photo album) and placed a clock face within the image- I photocopied this .....

and added it to the clock.  I fitted the new hands....

Now it was time to start covering the clock... I used pages from books and printed images to decorate the frame.

removing the handle helps to give a clean finish to the top....

Remember to keep all the small bits safe in a little pot.....

Top, bottom and door...

Top bottom and door after revamp.....

I like to add a small detail to the handle.

Reassembled and ready for more embellishment 

The theme for this was 'Spring'- as the receiver of this gift likes Pre- Raphaelites I used pictures in this style to depict the Spring theme

I like to add detail to the base...

I added some lovely pictures to the sides and top- I used a boarder from an old book to decorate the front of the clock.

I then added a good few coats of varnish to protect the whole thing..

I added a cutting from an old dictionary to the inside of the door...

The finished item

This little metal embellishment I think adds to this little clock- I had it in a box of items  of spares for repairs - the Mucha design for 'Spring' 'Pritemps' reminds us of the Spring theme.

I hope my swap partner likes this as much as I do?????