A Weekend Project

This is what I got up to this past weekend...

...finishing off some fabric art for my wall. This is a wall which forms part of the lounge but is on the other side of the stairwell that leads to downstairs The only way to hang anything on this wall is to balance on the balustrade and lean over to the other wall across the stairwell. It's a balancing act for the love of colour. Yikes!! I did it, but these are staying there forever now!

This is what I started with....two of these at the thrift store for $5. They were matching and looked brand new. I loved the frames and I had a larger matching one at home. Mmm - the mid started racing....

 I pulled the back out and the orchid print was glued onto the board. No matter! The surface was smooth enough, so after a good wipeover it was ready for the transformation..

 I cut one of my favourite pieces of fabric the same size as the print and glued it down with my trusty Mod Podge. I always make sure that I use my roller to flatten out any air bubbles, just as you would in decoupage.

I then painted the frames with two coats of white paint, and distressed it a little. The original frames were green. When everything was dry I inserted the board back into the frame

And here they are.......the beginning of my cluster wall.

This is the larger one that I did as well.

I just love this linen fabric. I picked up a remnant of equivalent to about $15 in the UK last year and have been dying to use it in some sort of art form on my walls. Needless to say there is not much left of it now. It is a Diamond Barratta design for Lee Jofa in Julieta. I did use a piece of it in a previous post here.



A budget beginning for this wall!

Coffee, Tea and Sugar...

Loving my new purchase - Coffee, Tea and Sugar canisters...

As much as I loved the Dutch stoneware containers, they were way too small as I was forever re-filling them!

I had been keeping my eye on these  larger ones for a while and at 30% off today why wouldn't you?  That clinched the deal to put it mildly. Can you see the difference in size?

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I bought them from our local House and Garden store ,and at first I thought they were enamel ware. They look like chipped enamel but I was surprised to find they were china.  Loving that look on the kitchen shelf!

My absolute last rose in the garden. I pruned them yesterday, well okay......cut them right back quite harshly, and was amazed this one survived!

Linking up to Courtney's  Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage.

Pam x



Stop and smell the Roses!

I stopped to smell these roses from the garden this morning!

Pam x

Lunch Beach Vintage Style...

I consider myself so very lucky to have been invited to Simone's Flood Relief Lunch  lunch she was hosting yesterday. Simone is of course from Beach Vintage and you can read more here

I walked into her home and I fell completely in love (as if I wasn't already) with her  Beach Vintage decorating style. Vintage and florals, candles, lamps and roses - you could have knocked me down with a feather- really!!... And such a nice touch to have the lamps on and candles lit in daylight. The ambiance was amazing.

Of course I was too busy chatting and stalking Simone's house to take photos of the lovely ladies that attended.  Fabulous company, fabulous surroundings, fabulous French champagne and fabulous food what more can I say? It was great to see my friend Katherine from The Old Boat House, and lovely to meet Linda from Lilly Cottage and to meet Tiffany from Mrs Tiff Living Creatively.

Simone's friends were as just as delightful as Simone herself. Thanks everyone I had a brilliant time. Let's get  more of these blog get-togethers happening...of course we would have to find a reason, would we?  :)

Have a wonderful Monday.

Pam

Ramsign Giveaway Winner

I am delighted to announce the winner for the Ramsign Giveaway is Entrant No 1 - Natasha from 5 Minutes just For Me.

Random.org just does not like me as I haven't been able to print out the evidence for you this time, or last time for that matter. A simple 'cut and paste' or a 'save and cut and paste' will not work. Wondering what I am doing wrong? Feel free to give me some valued direction.

Thanks to all of you who entered and Congratulations to Natasha

Pics are from the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers in September. Don't you love those baby tulips?

Pam x



Exquisite Embroidery Love

Just wanted to share this exquisite piece of embroidery with you. It is a 'tufted' stitch almost like a rug -making stitch, it is very fine and gives a more dimensional look than other needlework. Almost sure it is called a Ghiordes knot, but I could be mistaken.

 I am in the middle of going through boxes of things I have collected over the years and listing items in my Ebay store. Things I will never use, or have never used and this embroidery is one of them, sadly to say.  The list goes on....

How neat is the back of this embroidery?

Have a wonderful weekend and don't forget to enter my giveaway here !

Pam x

Giveaway - Ramsign

The lovely people from the Danish company  Ramsign have offered my followers the chance to win one of their classic enamel hand stencilled signs. They are offering a real traditional house number sign featuring their age old stencilling techniques.

 
 

Now for the giveaway. Just leave me a comment on this post for one entry, and if you're new here become a follower.

If you want an extra entry, feel free to blog about this giveaway to spread the word. Just make sure you leave me a separate comment so that I know you have blogged about it as well. It's really important that I have an email address or contact details so the winner can be notified.

There are a variety of options to choose from with these porcelain enamel signs to give your home more sophisticated charm. Visit here to choose which style of sign you would love. I know which one I would love to have.

Giveaway drawn on Sunday 20th March.

Pam x

Inspire Me Vintage Yellow!

This vintage chair  was a fabulous find from the local thrift store on the weekend. The back panel is on a swivel and tilts back, - does anyone know anything about this style? I don't think I have seen one of these before.  It has obviously been recovered by a previous owner and pretty neatly too.

At present it is in a corner of our bedroom and it looks quite  good  except for the washed out autumn tones. The cushion adds a pop of brighter colour....so.....I am kinda it liking it and I really  wanted a vintage chair for the bedroom. Our bedroom is fairly neutral so it is blending in .......but.....I know it won't stay like it is forever.

I am thinking of painting it white and recovering it in a floral of course. What do you think?

Pam

Letterboxes, Leis and Abandoned.

Letterboxes on the Tutukaka Coast (We are on the East coast of Northland NZ now)- that's seaside living for you...

A tree stump wrapped in colourful leis in a bayside backyard at Church Bay on the Tutukaka Coastline. I noticed that a lot of homes in both the city and the country have similar decks attached to their homes on the lower level which give them additional outdoor living spaces  in their backyard. They usually don't have any railings - this one has some bench seats. There is always a huge expanse of  steps and it does give the feeling of a more extended living space - this is what I noticed anyway!

I love this image of a solitary abandoned church in the middle of nowhere. I guess at one time it would have been a church that serviced the local farming communities. Hubby jumped the fence to have a look in as he is the eternal explorer and reported back to base commander that it was in a very sad state. Glad I didn't have a look inside as I loved  the simplicity of this building from an external view - just how I want to remember it.

Have a lovely weekend.

Pam

Give-Away Winner

These stunning lillies were out last week in Northland, NZ and they were all along the roadside. Beautiful pink and white ones. The hydrangeas were all along the roadside as well but they had just finished blooming, so they were looking a bit sad.

The red blossom is from the Pohutukawa bush or as some call it the NZ Christmas Tree Bush.

And then there are the luscious black seed pods from the NZ Flax  plant which are very common in the local landscape and particularly striking near the sea.

The Giveaway winner via Random.org is Laura from Kit and Nancy. Congratulations Laura!! Please email me  your details and I will get your special surprise giveaway items off to you as soon as I can.

Thanks to all those who entered my giveaway.

Pam