Fireplace Fun - a Transformation!

Thanks for the lovely comments on the Lumberjack's paintwork - he was very chuffed with your kind words!  He says there are more Ikea transformations to come...!

In living room news... pictures below of our fireplace transformation!!

And the finished fire.........:

We love it!!  Although trust us to get a fancy fire fitted in the middle of the hottest weather we've had for a long time!  But, as it was cooler this weekend - we thought we'd grab the opportunity...:

A little kindling fire!

We just need to find a picture to go up on the chimney breast - and maybe a floating shelf too we think.

We love it!!

Furniture Transformation - Lumberjack Style!

Well hello!  Thanks for the comments on my last post.  Also, the comments on the pillowcase too - that was my feeble attempt at a bit of styling!  We had different bedding on at the time, but I whacked that pillowcase over it, as I thought it would go so nicely.  We were also still sleeping on a mattress on the floor, so the pillow was actually way down out of sight of the top of the bedside table - so I propped it up sideways to get a sneaky peak of it into the shot!  (It's all fake - mwuhahahahaha!)  Maybe I should have just left the illusion of a glimpse at perfection!  ;o)

Ok... onto a bit of furniture transformation!  The Lumberjack had this Ikea Leksvik chest of drawers, from his bachelor pad (in those dark days before he met me!)

Not my picture - stolen from the internet, as I didn't take a before shot (sorry!)

Well, inspired by the blogging world I've subjected him to, the Lumberjack became determined to "upcycle" and paint it!

I'll admit to you now, I wasn't convinced (mean girlfriend that I am)... but I let the boy get on with it.  This is part way through:

He chose a blue/grey eggshell paint (Dulux Steel Symphony 4).  When he tried it on a test piece, he decided he wanted it a bit darker, so added a tester pot of black paint to it.  Here is the end result:

Excuse the carpet - a new one is on the (giant) list!

He would have preferred it to be darker still but I'm very happy with it!  It turns out I was harsh to doubt the poor fella!!

Didn't he do well?!  He's quite excited about his work featuring in a blog post!

In other news we've just had a weekend away from DIY - we went down to Perranporth in Cornwall, with my brother, sister-in-law and nephew, to visit my Grandad who lives there.  It was a lovely weekend!  Here's a little beach pic for you...

I'll be back soon with more house pictures!

Prettiness...

Hello!  Well - after the bathroom transformation there has been slow progress around here.  But things started to come together this weekend - and it might not be too long until we can start using the living room - we've been using the conservatory as our living room so far!

But in the meantime I have treated myself to a little extravagant purchase for the bedroom...

A Greengate alarm clock!  (I found in the sale!)

And in the background you can see the colour we've painted the master bedroom.  It's Wickes Duck Egg.  It's actually not what I would call duck egg - as it's a bit more aqua in real life than the blue it looks in the photos.  We love the colour though!

The bedroom isn't finished yet, and we're still waiting for our bed to be delivered - we've been sleeping on a mattress on the floor.  Will show you more when I can!

The clock is actually rather useless as an alarm clock - there is no snooze, and the off button is a tiny little on/off switch on the back.  When you've just been woken up, the last thing you want to do is scrabble around for a tiny little switch on the back of an alarm clock!  Oh well... it looks good!

New Home - Bathroom Transformation!

Thanks for the comments on my garden!

Now, from something that was ready-made pretty... to the bathroom.  This needed some work!

Here are some pictures (too many maybe?!) to take you through the transformation!

BEFORE

DURING

AND... AFTER!!

As you can see - it's a teeny tiny bathroom - but it's a fancy teeny tiny bathroom now!  We just need to add some accessories and personal touches.

(The main tiles are white with pale grey horizontal lines going across them - but that doesn't show up very well in the photos - they just look plain white).

Have all these pictures made it difficult for the page to load?!  I hope not.

Well, I'd better go and ready for work!  I hope you enjoyed the transformation...  :o)

New Home - Garden

Hello!

Thanks for the lovely comments on the wedding embroidery in my last post!

Progress has been made with the new house - we got the keys three weeks ago yesterday, but we only stayed over for the first time on Thursday.  We've been having gas central heating installed (as there were only old electric heaters) and the bathroom replaced - all very disruptive stuff!  My parents kindly put us up while those bits were being done, but it's great to be living here now.  Still lots to do, though, to get the house sorted!

Despite the chaos of the house, the garden has been a beautiful haven!  Here are some pictures (finally Anna!)...

Spot the old hot-water tank in the background, awaiting disposal - how attractive!

This tree was covered in blossom when we got the keys - it was so pretty!

I can't believe this is my garden!!!!  I love it!

Next time - before and after shots of the new bathroom...!

Wedding Embroidery

Well hello!  The move from my flat happened last Friday - 17th May.  We've had the week off work and have been working on the new house - stripping wallpaper, knocking out a fireplace, and generally being very destructive!  There will be pictures to come when/if we finish anything...!

In the meantime, we had a nice day away from DIY yesterday to go to my sister-in-law's sister's wedding (that's my brother's wife's sister!)

I had done a bit of crafting for the wedding - I gave you a glimpse of an embroidery outline in a previous post.  Here is the finished embroidery:

 I drew the pattern on paper, then traced onto white cotton with a fine permanent pen.  I then used purple embroidery thread to stitch along the lines.

In the bottom corner are two mother-of-pearl heart buttons, outlined with stitches...

And a bow in the top corner...

I framed it in a white box frame...

And it went on the table with the guest book, post box etc...

The bride, my sister-in-law, my Mum and myself decorated the guest book and post box too, and did other crafty bits and bobs for the wedding.

It was a lovely day!

Moving!

Yep, you got it - I'm buying a house!

Contracts were exchanged during the week, on the sale of my flat and the purchase of the new house, and this Friday (17th) the move will hopefully happen!!  (Unless anything goes horribly wrong...)

There is some work to be done on the new house, including the installation of gas central heating and lots of redecoration - I will be sure to show before and after shots as things progress!

Here is a little taster of one of the rooms needing a transformation...

Wow!

I'm going to miss my little flat, it has been a lovely home for the last 7 years, but I'm very excited about the new house!

Well, can't sit around blogging all day - I've got a flat to pack up!  See you on the flip side!!!!

Busy!

Hi everyone, and thanks as always for the lovely comments!

Things have been very busy lately, and I've not had much time for crafting.  Although, I have been fitting in some wedding stuff for my sister-in-law's sister's upcoming wedding.  Here is a glimpse of one thing...

I'll show you the finished item after the wedding at the end of this month!

Last weekend I was in Marbella for the hen do... here is a shot of my sis-in-law and me enjoying some delicious cocktails!

Much fun was had!  (And that white dress was dyed pink by the end of the night - courtesy of the feather boa...!!!)

And for a touch more crafting, here is a little practical something I did the other month...

These are ribbon (and button) hanging loops I added to the two hand towels I use in the kitchen, so they could be hung up more easily.  I know... thrilling stuff!  ;o)

Changes are afoot in my life at the moment (well, one big change) - related to my 2013 goals.  I'm sure you can figure out which one it is!  I'll let you know more when things are definite, but this is why my crafting and blogging have been suffering lately.

Until next time...