wielding the paintbrush..................

Having procrastinated for long enough, a particular speciality of mine, I decided to venture into the spider (and probably rat) infested shed and dig out the old paint remnants and tackle a few of the jobs around the house.

Our kitchen table was a £23 ebay bargain. It can be extended using the lovely wind out mechanism and fits in the space brilliantly. The top however was a mess, lots of different colours made worse by my attempts at stripping it back to give it that bleached farmhouse look. That didn't work so the next idea was to paint the top and leave the legs in their natural state. It's taken a bit of getting used to but now I think I like it. I figure if I ever get sick of it I'll just chuck some oilcloth over it.

Next the lampbase I bought in the sale from Homesense. This was a perfectly acceptable cream base but I had visions of a red gloss version, similar to the ones Cath Kidston used to do. Out came the red gloss used for Jack's chair , I added the beautiful shade purchased from Frances at the V&H fair and the transformation was complete.

Finally, my latest treasure, a £1 car boot cabinet, hauled home last Sunday. This was a particularly fetching Germolene pink which didn't really sit well in our bedroom so another paint remnant was unearthed and it became this, a sky blue beauty. This blue is one of my favourite colours, it pops up everywhere in this house, it makes me smile and I find I'm drawn to it whenever I see it. The addition of a little bit of CK wonderfulness and it's a completely new (old)bedside table. Just got to find one for Ian's side now, not sure he'll agree to the floral loveliness though!

Lastly, whilst the creative urge was upon me I raided the box of gorgeous vintage cards I bought last year from the car boot (must show you those at some point) and made a new addition for Kit's wall. She's thrilled to bits with it, in fact she loves all her pictures, zoom in and you should be able to see the latest car boot picture, a Margaret Tarrant print - bottom left. The seller had some lovely large prints but at £10 each, way beyond my car boot budget. He must have taken pity on me because he gave me this damaged one for free, what a result! Don't look too closely at my new creation, as with most things I make it's slightly haphazard and lopsided, I'm far too impatient to get to the finished product. Same with painting, preparation - Pah! Sanding between coats - who are you kidding?! Surround them with enough stuff and nobody notices - I think!

And look there Hen, see who's nestled among the blankets? I saw the one you made for the Munchkin and I couldn't resist having a go myself. I love it, so much so I have thought of adopting it and giving it a new home on our bed but I don't think I'll get away with that one!

Now the sewing machine has been taken out of hibernation there may be a few more creations to show you soon...............