Second Canvas Sneak Peek

Whilst the first attempt at canvas painting went kind of alright.  I thought I would have another attempt.  Well I am beginning to wonder, if perhaps I am a bit ambitious or just a little impatient.  For the second one I decided on doing a cockerel, on paper it would be a doddle, with my other paints.  I'm starting to wish I chosen a different subject.

I keep telling myself just to keep at it and build on it, that it'll be worth it in the end.  Although it is now a bit further on, than pictured above.  I wanted to go at it some more, however the light wasn't right.  There have been too many dull days and for some reason I can't quite work the colours with the indoor lights on.  Perhaps I need new glasses.

I haven't decided yet whether to keep it to a white background or fill it in.  I suppose I'll see how I feel once it's done ~ whenever that may be.

I can safely say there will be nothing ambitious for the large canvas that's left, or even the smallest one for that matter!

More Charity Cards

I have been a little active in the creative department, however, I have been falling behind in the posting of it all.

This is the next bundle I made, not so many Christmas ones this time!  I'm trying to use up all the bits and pieces that I have saved or hoarded, as well as using up card stock that has mounted up.  Really about time I got around to using it.

I really like bright colourful card, it's just so much more happier somehow. 

Painting

I had this crazy idea, that I would like to do some painting, basically to fill the empty walls of my new home. I bought the canvas set in Lidl, don't know how good they are, but they didn't go quick, so am thinking that they are not so good, for the professionals anyway. The fact that they sell tiny tubes of paint made me really laugh out loud in the shop....... wondering how many you would need of them to fill a canvas and would it even do the small one? What would I know anyway, I've never in my life painted on canvas........ they really should teach you that in school too.

Next step was finding paints that were affordable (after all, this is a first attempt). Who'd have thought getting the basic ones would be so hard. Black, White, Blue, Green, Red and Yellow. I couldn't find the yellow anywhere?? Turns out the white was totally crap (cheapo brand) and transparent when painted, I ended up taking the pot of ceiling paint from the shed and using that instead.......... so the next trip to town is going to be in search of some white and yellow, plus maybe a few other colours for the 'coughs' next one.

I wanted to paint a cow, and wanted to do a different style from my norm (when I have the urge to paint that is), it was supposed to be simple blocks of colour and fun. Nothing fancy.

I can say, it didn't turn out like I wanted and in the end I decided to just stop what I was doing and leave it as it is, before I made a complete mess.... I'm still trying to decide whether to like it or not, perhaps it will grow on me, as I have to look at it daily.

I suppose if this was something I wanted to branch out into, I would have to invest serious money into good brushes and Daler Rowney paints (I'm sure there's a reason Easons don't diplay the price).

Card Recycle

Now that I finally have my desk to work at, I can make a start on recycling all the cards and other bits, that I have stored in a box for the last year and a half.

I'd bought some coloured card and envelopes to make some cards to donate to an animal charity. I'd also bought some card stock in Lidl and won a pack too, so it really was calling on me to get going.  It's great when you know what exactly you're going to do, unfortunately this was not me and therefore, the card making session was time consuming and most of that was spent cutting bits of card and toppers.

The first session went quickly, as I was making a bundle that were the same and also some toppers which I'd made months ago.  However the next lot, was a case of trying to decide how to reuse the bits, what card or paper went with them and what colour of card to stick them on. 

As you can see I only made a few in the afternoon, and it wasn't till I was nearly done that I realised most were Christmas cards, which made me laugh. I'll be keeping one or two for myself.

Dressing Table Completed

It's taken a lot longer than I expected due to health reasons, but it's finally done. (Except for some fine tuning).  

The brass ringlets on the feet were the biggest challenge to me, not the rusty screws that broke and remained in the holes, nor the ones where half the head broke off, but by some good fortune I was still able to remove.

These lovely things were so tarnished, that even brasso just bounced off them with no effect.  I tried the boiling method, nada. Ketchup..nope.  Coca Cola on the other hand cleaned them fabulously, with the help of my little wire suede brush.

I'm so pleased, as I really wanted to use them to hide the join of the new feet. Since one of the castors was seized and the other broken, there was no hope of keeping them.  The beauty of the rings is that they have a lip inside, one part fits the table leg and the other was hopefully the perfect fit for the new feet.

First thing I did was clean the whole desk, followed by removing all that could be removed. Top drawer units came off, as did the back lip.  Took out the front drawer and the two panels.  Removed the castor feet, this required a bit of effort.

Next I sanded down the whole thing.  The top I took back to the natural wood, filled in the holes with wood filler and stained with antique pine before varnishing.  I did the same to the drawer fronts and panels.  I added a bit of wood to the front and two underneath for drawer rails, all of which were missing.

The legs I obviously had to sand by hand so that the paint would bind. I used Gloss paint from Woodies DIY, I have to say I hate gloss painting, but this was so easy to apply.  The first coat just got soaked up, so I let it settle for a day or so before applying the second coat.   Waiting for everything to dry fully is not one of my strong points, but it has to be done.  Since I was doing this outside, I was also hoping that it wouldn't rain! Of course the second coat was done indoors for 2 reasons, it rained and it turned very cold..... no good for painting.

For the new feet I bought pine knobs, stained with antique pine then varnished same as the top.  I had to drill bigger holes into them and made my own dowels to fit, because I came home thinking I had some, only to find out that they were too small.

I also wanted a really cool liner for the drawers, seems to be plenty choice in the States, but here appears to be very limited.  You could use a nice wall paper or wrapping paper.  I just went with a Nordic folk print design, which I tiled on paper and printed out.  For the small drawers this is easy but for the big on I had to use 4 sheets and glue the tiles together.  I could use sticky back plastic to protect the paper, but for now and the photos this is it.

So just to remind you, this is how it started off, very rough and a bad paint job.

And now it has been turned around into my little treasure, and is a keeper for sure.  If I put a mirror standing in the center it can be a dressing table.  Or I can use it as my craft desk as it is.  I'm really pleased at how it turned out.

So keep your eye on Shabby Shik Emporium and you might find a little gem too.  Don't be afraid to ask if they have project pieces. You can find all the links to them in my other post.

Brass Handles from Desk clean up

Well you know from the previous post that the brass handles on the desk were pretty dirty and painted over.  Here's a recap.

Now I tried the brasso first and nothing happened.  So I pondered for a moment, then decided to use my nail varnish remover (sure turps or white spirit would do).  I soaked them in a tub for a couple of minutes, then took an old toothbrush and gave them a scrub. Sure enough the paint, stain or whatever came off.

Step 2: Get an old pot, add 1/4 part salt to 2 parts vinegar, & 2 parts water, throw in the brass and boil for a minute or two.  It will go red or black, this is part of the process, don't fret!  See the pic below, the top one has been rubbed with brasso but not buffed.

Step 3: Rinse with water and dry.  Get the brasso and polish away as normal, buffing to a lovely shine. 

And there you have it, good as new handles.  Of course being me, I forgot to throw in the little screws and had to do the whole process all over again!

New Project - Edwardian dressing table

I've been drooling over those lovely shabby chic retro desks and dressing tables for a long time.  Now after the move and re-arranging of where things go.  I noticed I needed some sort of desk, but I didn't want a modern one, I wanted something solid, which in my opinion is usually an old piece of furniture (they don't make them like that anymore).

Just by chance I took it into my head to have a nosey at what was around.  I came across this little gem for sale by Shabby Shik Emporium, by pure luck.  I'm so excited about it I just had to share.

 

Sadly one of the castors is broken so I can't use them. It was originally a dressing table and is missing the mirror on top between the two top drawers.  I'm fortunate in the fact I can see potential in almost everything.  Yes it has certainly seen better days and some would throw it out, or use it in the shed.   Even my other half just shook his head at me when I arrived home with my bit of treasure (he thinks I'm crazy, but knows I can transform it somehow).

I had taken it apart, then popped it back together to take a photo, as you can see the castors have been removed. One of the screw heads had split in half so I was a lucky girl to get it out.  I'll have to find a replacement for them to raise it up so I can sit with my legs under it.  I've given it a good wash, so that is step one done.  It has been treated for woodworm, which it needed as there were some in the back legs and table top.  I think this might limit my options a little, as I had planned to sand it down and maybe just varnish it, as the original wood is light.  

Idea no.2 is to paint it all cream, except for the drawer fronts and top of the desk which I hope to sand down to the natural wood and just varnish.

The middle drawer has no support, the wood is missing from underneath, so that will be replaced.  I'm thinking about adding drawers to either side too.

So if your looking for Antiques or other little treasures, I strongly suggest you check them out.  At time of writing they have stock for sale on Donedeal & Etsy, you can follow them on Facebook and you can read Jeans blog.  I can say that their little cabin is just a treasure trove, with furniture, teddies, leather bags, jewelry and loads more.