Decorative Art Change

Change is what this old washstand needed......from Brown to White with a coat of paint.

 Silver stencil ( bought at the Dollar shop), then a gold layer....

 Next an image transfer on the top left side....

Another stencil, some gold text this time on the right hand side from Seth Apter from thealteredpage.blogspot.com

A bit of distressing & a watery layer of gesso over the transfer....part of a poem about stars (author unknown) hand written over the transfer......

 Dry brushed silver & gold on the legs......some more distressing with sandpaper on the edges of the washstand.....

 & what a difference this easy makeover  made to a tired old washstand!

(raylee).

Birds & Bees

 Spring is here!
Time to give this old stool a new coat of paint.

 All white with a black pattern on the top. I just used painter's masking tape to make the design.

Hand painted a leopard print with some coloured spots onto the legs.

 Found a tutorial for the leopard print at Tracey's Fancy.

Tracey has lots of really great furniture painting tutorials.  

 Used the same colours for the trims on the legs.
 Stenciled little spots around the edge of the top.

Pretty little bird stickers complete this makeover. 

The stool will be used as a bedside table.

(raylee).

footstool revamp

time for a revamp...

from a lovely gifted table runner...

to a fresh neat footstool cover...

and off to a new home...

Paint & Paper Chair Makeover

 my brother gave me this second hand office chair more than twenty years ago. i am not sure how old it is. it's still going strong, i use it every day at my messy desk.
 when he gave it to me it had a grey vinyl seat & brown varnished back & legs. i gave it a makeover many years ago, but it needed another.
 above is how it looks now.......much bluer,  lighter & summery.
 below:  the back of the chair before i removed the old orange  suede seat covering, then some sanding, a few coats of paint, used wrapping paper from my grandson, an image from a newspaper & a decoupage paper image of a mermaid painting was all it needed for a new look.

 the back in progress....

 & the front......i cut some fish from the wrapping paper & glued them over the sides of the mermaid image.

 old style image on the back......& older still on the front.

 i stitched a new seat cover from an  old pair of  denim jeans courtesy of Simonne, & the blue spots on this piece of new fabric matched the blue of the denim & the fish paper.

i am always amazed at how paint & (paper) can make such a difference.
(raylee).

Makeover, Almost New Again......

hello all , nice to see you here.

 spring has sprung , birds are singing, flowers blooming, sun shining & the sky is blue, i do love a blue sky. thought i would share this kerbside find with you. the after photo.

the chair was a bit sad looking but was only missing the back rest.

gave it a scrub with soapy water, some pretty tropical fabric ( a great find from the op shop, brand new fabric)

 & a lick of paint did the trick!

  i painted the canvas  seat  & made a tie on cushion. 

 the before photo.

 finished it with a new back rest.

now a nice cuppa tea!
(raylee).

Oh.....to be a Cat!

distressed chair looks good too!
(raylee).

From the Lake to the Garden.....

 we live close to a lake where a lot of leisure time is spent.

 we go out in an old boat that husband has restored.

 he likes to go fishing, i just like being on the water.

 sometimes he brings home fish or mud crabs.......
but this one time he brought home a chair that he found in the lake almost submerged. being the inquisitive type he had to investigate what was sticking up out of the water!
it was muddy & yukky, but after a good scrubbing & some new cushions made from fabrics that i had unpicked from a couch cover, a piece of floral curtain fabric(found in my art tutor's rag box for cleaning oily paint brushes) much too pretty for that!, & trimmed with some piping i found at the op shop.

 the chair now  looks quite comfortable in the garden.

 i had to save this floral piece from being destroyed by oil paint. it just happened to be the right size for the chair seat cushion.

(raylee).

Garden and storage

we recently had a need to move some old furniture out...

it should go off to a new home at the tip...

but we had an issue with the how?!....

so...

it's become a sculpture in the blank bit of the garden...

anyone for a cuppa and a bit of telly??..

 

only one has noticed with a hiccup of a laugh...

and a - what is that??...

Raylee often asks what's on your work table?...

well she sent me some lovely jars she decorated...

and now they are waiting to be filled with stuff...

on my work table...

and this lot is holding some more stuff...

I cut the tops off the 3 litre milk bottles...

they make lovely containers for little bits and pieces...

and sit nicely in a wire basket...

or the pretty cane one...

on my work table!!...

Outdoor Summer Table

don't throw out that old table or the chairs!......

look how good they are on a deck........perfect for lazy summer lunches!

hope you are all having a great weekend!
thank you to all our visitors, we love to have you  drop by!!
(raylee).

Old Chairs - New Look

do you like this look?....... you don't have to spend a lot of money to smarten up old chairs.

 the chairs came from the tip shop & the calico from the op shop & the hessian was left over  from a previous project 

 i bought the spotted fabric draped over the chair on the left thinking i would recover the chairs the right way. but when i wrapped them in calico for a garden wedding i liked the look, so will keep the fabric until i think they need a change.

 the blue cushion courtesy of simonne. the picture on the drawers  is a collage from the 365 creative challenge 2013.

  liked this one so stuck it onto an old book cover & then onto a small canvas. still going strong with the challenge, thanks to ihanna for setting this challenge.

the paper flowers i made from rusty wire, book pages & paper doilies, & metal container, another garage sale find, & the table made from wall boards from one of our old houses we renovated a long time ago.these  have been previously  posted  on our blog, from way back, i can't remember when.

under the covers...... what the chairs look like ......really.

early morning sun on paper flowers.

i would like to say thank you to the graphicsfairy for some of the images i used to make the second wedding guest book recently. there are some photos on the previous post

a couple of links to some very impressive paper work: annawilihighfield

& papercouture.

.

for the wedding i wrapped & knotted the calico & tied the hessian strips around the chairs to keep it all together & finished the look with pieces of old lace tablecloths draped over the backs of the chairs.
 have i inspired you to try a no- sew new look for your old chairs?
(raylee).

Vintage/Country Style Wedding

 setting up for the wedding........

(raylee)