interiors

DIY, home, how to, interiors, organising, repurposing, Upcycling

DIY: Clay Wrapped Pots

04/13/15

I love me a pot, jar, “caddy”. I like coralling things together and having little places for everything; keeps me CALM; and pots are perfect for that. If it can be a pretty pot, then I’m a very happy bunny indeed…

And these are pretty, non? My love affair with air dry clay continues and these pots are very much in keeping with the style of my torn clay bowls. In fact the process Â is more or less identical….

Except for the “mold” of course. That is….these pots hold a sneaky secret!

Boring old food cans!

Cunningly disguised….

…and keeping me calm 😉

You don’t need a step by step tute for these, right? Good…because I fluffed the photography up so I don’t have one for you, lol. Â Just follow the same steps as for the torn clay bowls but instead of draping it over a bowl, wrap it around a can and trim the base with a sharp knife. Wetting the surface of the clay before you wrap helps it stick to the can and itself once wrapped.

Simple as that!

Crafting, decor, DIY, gift ideas, home, how to, interiors, Tutorials

DIY: Torn Clay Bowls

03/19/15

Staying with air dry clay for now, these bowls were actually the first thing I made, and the clay and copper magnets the last. While I smoothed and sanded the fridge magnets, there was also something that appealed to me about the texture of this clay in it’s unrefined state. I had planned on making simple circular bowls cut out with a knife, but I liked the uncut edge so much I thought I’d make it a feature….

I think it gives them a lovely delicate organic feel!

To make, you’ll need air dry clay, bowls (to use as molds) rolling pin, and a palette knife…

Knead the clay until soft and pliable then roll out flat. The edges will take on that “torn” appearance naturally as it’s rolled.Â About 3-5mm in thickness depending on how delicate you want it. The thinner it is the more fragile it will be. The edges of my bowls are pretty thin because I’ve never been great at rolling with an even pressure. So my bowls are pretty delicate around the edges and thicker around the base. But hey, I’m embracing the uneveness!

Drape over a bowl and gently coax into shape…you can see there are some faint cracks around the base….

I recalled from pottery at school (don’t ask me how because that was some time ago!) using tepid water to smooth the surface of the clay. Just a little on your hands and smoothed gently over the surface of the clay in a circular motion will smooth out any unwanted cracks, lumps and bumps…then leave to dry for a couple of hours on the bowl but not for the full drying time as the clay will gradually tighten on the bowl as it dries and shrinks and is liable to get stuck!

After a couple of hours veeeeery gently use a palette knife, slipped between the clay and the bowl, Â and gently work around the circumference until it pops off. Place on a rack on a sunny ledge and leave to fully cure for a couple of days…

This stuff dries a beautiful natural white. You could choose to decorate or leave it au natural like I did. When dried it has a very lightweight almost unglazed porcelain feel to it.

Gorgeous!

I have another project to share with you shortly. But considering how much I’m crushing on this material at the moment there may well be more!

DIY, getting my house in order, interiors, Sewing Room Organisation, sewing space

Getting my house in Order # 4 – Making Progress

08/21/12

Hooray, we’ve finished the “main” stuff in the lounge! The aim was to go for a blend of neutral tones and whilst I loved the colour of this dark wood unit, J was adamant he wanted it much lighter. I can see his point I guess. Our lounge is not particularly big and darker colours can close the room up in theory. So this was my first job. The veneer was real wood so it was easy enough to sand and took the paint well. I opted to line the insides with my bargain Laura Ashley wallpaper to save me having to paint the insides as well. (It doesn’t actually match the room scheme but as the inside is only visible when you open the doors, I wasn’t too worried about that. The unit itself was easy enough. The glazed doors were a bit of a pig if I’m honest! This job took me several days, as the unit is around 6ft long and it took 3 coats of primer, and 3 layers of topcoat because it was so dark to begin with…..

Here’s the finished unit. I was sooooo glad to get this one finished…….

Next up was the actual decorating. I painted the ceiling and coving as J has pretty nasty rheumatoid arthritis and painting the ceiling would have been far too painful for him. Pig of a job too! Painting white emulsion on an already white (textured, ugh!!!) ceiling was tricky. Difficult to see where you’ve been and as it dries it looks as if you’ve missed patches everywhere. Add in my dislike of teetering on stools and it’s a recipe for much swearing. I’ve actually concluded that I do not like decorating! Luckily J was able to take over the painting of the walls and woodwork AND hanging the wallpaper….

What a hero! I think he’s done a great job and we’re really pleased with the finished effect….

AND, not to be left out…

Throughout the past few weeks my Summerhouse (aka my sewing space) has become a dumping ground for various paints and tools and bits of furniture. It was starting to grate on my nerves to the point where I thought it might be months before I’d ever get any sewing done again. If ever! Ok, maybe a bit melodramatic. But I am seriously having stitching withdrawal. Seriously! I’m getting agitated and snappy and everything! Not good. Something had to be done to calm my frayed nerves. So I set about overhauling my sewing space; and it’s turned into something of a mission. It is so transformed in fact that I might actually finally get around to sharing a little tour of my space on this blog at last 😉 Here’s one project I finished up the other day. Some tatty shelving from a now defunct Billy bookcase. A fresh coat of paint on the top and then tarted up with some wallpaper underneath after I saw this idea on Apartment Therapy (I love that site! I mean, who DOESN’T love a nosey round other peoples houses?!)….

Anyhow, I’m off to sort through my fabric and pattern stash. Purging I am peops. PUUUUURGING!

getting my house in order, interiors, oooh she's cheap, Thrifting

Oooh She’s Cheap # 3 – Contemporary plant displays

08/21/12

As part of our push to add some decorative detail to our blank canvas of a home, I wanted to include some life in terms of houseplants. Now I’m ok in the garden but when it comes to houseplants I have a track record of killing them off in a very short space of time. Succulents, I’m assured by online guides, are very forgiving plants and virtually indestructible. Well that remains to be seen. But they are super pretty and come in some very interesting forms, shapes and colours. I like the way they look in sleek and simple contemporary containers. Here’s some I found online from BHS of all places! Cute huh?

Well, as you know, I’m not one to shop on the High Street when I think I can save money by shopping elsewhere and come up with a cheaper DIY alternative. Well, whilst we were on holiday in the Isle of Wight I came across this little group of miniature succulents on a charity plant stall at just Â£1 each. While J rolled his eyes when he saw me trapsing back to the car with a tray of plants (he had that “why can’t you just buy a fridge magnet like a normal person” look on his face) I had plans for these little babies….

With some ceramic pots from my local charity shop at 50p each, and some white aquarium gravel as top dressing (Â£4 for 2kg from a nearby aquatics centre so I have LOADS left), I’m rather pleased with the result AND they cost a fraction of what I would have paid on the High Street…

Now I know they’re a little smaller than the High St alternative, but given time I’m hopeful that they’ll grow into a super display….Hmmm….does checking them every few hours make them grow any faster?!
The one in the square planter was super tricky to repot. The leaves are really delicate and kept snapping off! I’m hoping it will rejuvenate itself in time. Anyone out there got any knowledge of succulents? I’ve given them plenty of drainage underneath and a specialist compost to give them the best chance of thriving. I really don’t want to kill these off!

DIY, getting my house in order, interiors, organising

Getting my House in Order # 3 – Behind closed doors…

08/16/12

First off I apologise for the shocking quality of the photos in this post. One of the reasons I’ve never really shared any photos on here that have been taken inside our home, is that the light just isn’t conducive to decent photos. So, well, sorry!

If you’re a regular reader you’ll be aware that normal sewing activity has been put on hold for the summer as we spruce up our home and try and get it working for us in the best way possible. We live in a very small property with practically no decent storage built in. When we moved here we had to try and fit in the contents of a 3 bedroom detached house into our 2 bedroom bungalow. Add to that the ever growing collection of toys the Little Tornado seems to accumulate, and you can probably understand that STORAGE is an ever present dilemma. I hate clutter and mess. I find it oppressive and find myself getting agitated. (You wouldn’t like me when I’m agitated. Heck, I don’t even like me when I’m agitated!) The old adage “a place for everything, and everything in it’s place” is sooooo true. I find that if things have a “home” I find it easy to keep things tidy. The problem with a property that has little or no built in storage (and little space to add any), is finding a home for everything. You just end up with random piles of “stuff” dotted around with nowhere to go. We all have a junk drawer/cupboard/bowl (delete as appropriate) somewhere in our homes, right? Receipts, packs of cards, Euros from last years holiday, earphones, screws that we might need one day, chargers for phones we no longer own…….rummaging through stuff to find a screwdriver or some batterries that I know I’ve seen somewhere….. well I decided some time ago that enough was enough.

I’ve been on an “organising” drive these past few weeks and have been finding creative ways to maximise the storage that we do have. One of the conclusions that I’ve come to is that the humble old cupboard door has storage potential just waiting to be unleashed. With a few screws and fixings I’ve used the insides of our kitchen cupboard doors to organise and make it easy to access the stuff that we use on a daily basis, and free up storage space inside the cupboards in the process…

With a few screws and miniature bulldog clips at 15p each from our local post office; I’ve put an end to hunting around for J’s prescriptions and hospital appointment letters. The shopping list is at hand for when I open the cupboard and find out we’ve run out of something, and money off vouchers are there to grab before I head off to the shop. Now I just need to print off an A5 size planner to pin up and fill in at the start of each week and we’re good to go….

Left: These cutlery holders from Ikea (erm mine were only 50p each from the charity shop though, hehe! fixed to the inside of the door keep all my everyday cleaning materials to hand, and free up space under the sink (that part I’m still organising!)
Middle: I used tool clips and cup hooks from my local hardware store to keep everyday diy tools to hand so that if a little job crops up I can do it there and then instead of putting it off because I can’t find the screwdriver. The miniature screwdriver kit is velcro’d to the door and is in constant use with Elliott’s toys constantly needing repair or new batteries
Right: A simple cup hook to store chopping boards, racks etc

Tool clips, cup hooks and bulldog clips. Cheap as chips to buy but are now my new sanity saving heroes. Erm, if you do fancy organising your cabinets like this, a word of warning from someone who learnt the hard way. Don’t eyeball it. Double check the length of your screw against the width of your cupboard door. Wouldn’t want a hole right through to the outside would you….ahem! (Yes. Yes I did. It’s only a teeny one though and I don’t think J has actually noticed yet. Shhhh!)

And what about this canny idea for your fridge door…….

Haven’t had to rummage around for a pen since. Not mine this one. I shamelessly copied it from here….

DIY, getting my house in order, Handpainted Furniture, interiors, Tutorials

Handpainted Furniture – Step by Step

08/09/12

When I first started painting secondhand furniture back in my teens, my youthful impatience meant that the most thought I put into it was what was the cheapest tin of cream gloss I could get down at Wilkinsons. My nextÂ criteriaÂ was whether I could get away with just putting one thick coat of the stuff on, and to hell with sanding, brush marks and stray brush hairs that would fall out from my equally cheap brushes and stay embedded in the paint for all eternity.
Part of that was to do with a youngster’s budget. But I’ve always been an impatient sort, especially back then. Always eager to race to the finish line rather than enjoy the process itself. It’s a trait that manifested itself when I first started sewing too. Over the years though I’ve become more interested in taking the time to get it right, with each stage of a project. Be that sewing, painting furniture or whatever else I decide to apply myself to. So that I don’t spend the rest of my time, thinking I should’ve taken the time in the first place! (We’ve all been there right? That dodgy seam that it’s too late to unpick now because, heck, it wouldn’t notice once it’s finished, right? But WE know it’s there, and it’s mocking us for our slap dashery every time we look at it, mwah ha ha ha ha … 😉
So, the process I’m about to share is not a quick one. It involves (yawn) allowing paint to set hard overnight, and (double yawn) sanding between coats and such like. BUT, when I take the time to follow this process properly, I’m only ever chuffed with the finished piece. In fact, when I’m sure there’s no-one around, you could catch me running my hand over bits of furniture….ahem…everyone does that don’t they…? : /
So here goes. My top tips for a finish you’ll want to keep running your hands over again and again……

Stage One – Prepping and sanding

1. Remove all hardware. Handles, hinges, drawer runners, door catches. The lot. (seriously who can be arsed to paint around them?!)
2. Keep all screws and fixings together in a safe place
3.Â Wearing a mask and eye protection (Please at least wear a mask. I made myself VERY ill a few years ago because I didn’t bother) Go at it with your sander (or sanding block if you’re not as lazy as me!) like a thing possessed! I start with a 180 grit pad and depending on how effective that is I’ll either stick with it or try aÂ slightlyÂ more or less coarse grade of pad. Â If you go too coarse you can end up grinding ridges into the wood. NOT a good look. You’re sanding just to take the surface finish off so the primer paint has something to adhere to….

Kinda like this….obviously darker stained/varnished woods will look slightly different, and untreated wood will require very little sanding at all….but you get the gist….

1. Once you’ve finished sanding you’ll need a lint free cloth dampened with white spirit or turps
2. Dust off any excess sawdust with a brush then wipe down thoroughly with your damp cloth

Here’re my bedside tables all ready for priming…

Stage Two – Priming

1. Dismantle what you can. Take doors and drawer fronts off for painting etc. It’s much easier to paint them and then put them back on than it is to cut in around door edges, drawer carcasses etc
2. I never fork out for specialist primers. IMHO they’re pricey and not necessary (melamine primer is one exception though. That is genius!) On wood furniture I always use humble ‘ole matt emulsion as a primer AND as topcoat. For use as a primer you want it watered down a bit at approx a 3:1 ratio of paint to water. You’re aiming for a consistency similar to Salad Cream! Â Just stick it in a big jar, add the water, put the lid back on and give it a vigorous shake. I also like to use sponge “brushes” as you don’t get the brush marks in the paint like you do with standard brushes. But at this stage it’s not vital as the primer will get sanded smooth in the next step.

Paint the piece with 2-3 coats of primer allowing to dry thoroughly between coats and letting the final coat of primer set overnight. Then before you move onto the next step remove all jewelry (if you haven’t already) as until the paint is sealed in the last step, you can mark it quite easily with rings, bracelets etc. I’ve even had coloured nail varnish make a mark (I’m a glam DIYer oh yes sireee!)…

1. Your primer coat will have very fine bits of dust and grit in it when you look closely or run your hand over it. We don’t want that! You’ll need a 280-400 grit (fine) sandpaper. Start finer, and go down a grade if you need to.
2. With a gentle sweeping/circular motion, gently sand the surface. Constantly running yourÂ (ring free!)Â free hand over it as you go toÂ gaugeÂ the smoothness you are achieving. You’ll be amazed at how little effort is needed. The paint will come off like chalk, so be gentle, especially on the edges and corners, as you want to avoid sanding back to the wood as much as possible. Once you’re done, dust off any powdery paint with a brush and wipe down with a slightly damp cloth.
3. This technique uses matt emulsion as a top coat too. (the latter stages of this technique do not work with any other kind of emulsion other than matt emulsion. Or with kitchen/bathroom formulas) Water it down a little (about 6:1 this time) in a large jar. Shaking vigorously again. Watered down paint is much easier to work with. It goes on more smoothly and the brush marks are less obvious. Again, using a sponge brush reduces the lines in the paint even more.
4. I decant my paint into a plastic food storer a little at a time so I can stick the lid on between coats and don’t make a mess of my paint jar every time I put the brush in and out.

Stage Three – Top Coat

1. When adding your top coat brush the paint on first in one direction (across in this instance)
2. Then gently drag the brush (without additional paint on it so it’s damp only) in the opposite direction, at right angles to your initial brush strokes…

It’s tricky to photograph the effect this has. If you are able to enlarge this photo then you may be able to see in more detail. Hopefully you can see that the second downward stroke smooths out the more obvious brush lines…

I prefer to do 3 light coats of topcoat rather than 1 thick one…

Stage Four – Finishing (aka “where the magic happens!!”)

This is the part that really makes the piece look super delicious and worthy of lots of stroking…ahem. Ok, maybe that’s just me. Anyway….

1. Using a 400-600 grit (very fine) wet and dry sandpaper, wet the sandpaper and the surface you are sanding with clean water, and in gentle small circular motions sand the surface. You’ll see the paint start to mix with the water and make it cloudy. Go gently!
2. Wipe the liquid away with a lint free cloth and marvel at the magic!

Again, tricky to photograph, but hopefully you can see how the brush marks have blended into eachother here. (Try enlarging this photo if you can) This is after just one go with the wet and dry sandpaper. You can repeat this step until you are happy with the finish but be careful not to sand all the layers of topcoat back…
Once finished, allow to dry thoroughly and then wipe down with a clean, lint free cloth.

Finally…..

1. With a wood balsam, rub a generous amount into your surface in circular motions..
2. Buff with a clean, lint free cloth or according to product instructions. Allow to set hard overnight before placing anything on the surface.
3. This is the stuff I use. It smells just divine. (Beeswax, linseed oil etc)

You can repeat this step as many times as you like. Just leave a few hours inbetween to allow each coat to set after you’ve buffed it. The more coats of this you put on, the harder and more durable your finish will be…

Just look at the sheen on that! I much prefer the sheen that a beeswax/balsam finish gives to that of say, a clear varnish, and it’s unbelievably durable too. No brushmarks, and often a “clear” varnish isn’t actually clear at all and can alter the finished colour of your piece with a slight yellowy tinge…the balsam finish is quicker, easier, smells nicer, and you can keep using it every month or so to preserve your the beauty of your finished piece…

…and there you have it. My own personal method of revamping tired old furniture with a simple tub of matt emulsion. No fancy paints or messy varnishes. As Alexander would say…Simples!! Â 😉

DIY, getting my house in order, Handpainted Furniture, interiors, Thrifting

Getting My House in Order # 2 – Bedside Tables (Part 2)

08/06/12

So, my nails are a mess, I’ve sustained several mosquito bites, and our garden is strewn with painting and sanding paraphernalia. But this weekend I finished revamping the two bedside tables we bought on Ebay, and I have to say I’m pretty chuffed with the result 🙂
I opted for a very pale grey, mixed from some Fired Earth Chalky White and some B&Q Slate Grey emulsion we already had. So I hope J doesn’t expect me to match this colour anytime soon because I have no idea of the ratios! I just dumped a bit of both paints in a large jar, put the lid on and shook furiously, decided it looked about right and off I went. Despite my rather slapdash approach to colour selection they look fab in our bedroom and tone perfectly with the wallpaper sample we have blu tacked to our wall and the new lampshades that are still awaiting the perfect lamp bases to go with them. I like to think of it as a natural instinct for colour…..(ha ha, NOT!) that’s what I’m telling myself anyway!

I found these handles on ebay for a mere Â£1.45 each with free postage. Score! They remind me a little of grosgrain ribbon 🙂 What’s great in terms of fitting into the room scheme we have planned is that they echo other details. There’s a metallic element to the wallpaper we’re going for, and they pick up on the vertical pleats of our lampshades and the horizontal ribbon tucks of our bedding….

I managed to achieve a nice clean finish on the drawer fronts because the way they were constructed allowed me to dismantle the drawers and paint them seperately. I didn’t want to go for an overtly “distressed” look on the paint finish so there are just a few subtle areas that kind of came about naturally during the finishing process, and the existing nicks and scratches on the wood kind of enhance that without it looking like it’s particularly contrived. Not really visible in these photos is the subtle sheen achieved with this particular technique (a step by step on that to follow just in case anyone’s interested) All in all I’m a happy bunny with the way this project has turned out.

Unfortunately there’s no rest for the wicked and I’m still painting, still getting mosquito bites (how do they find the one spot you haven’t smothered in repellant!!) and still trashing my nails. I’ve begun work on our 6ft sideboard, a cute vintage chair that I rescued from the recycling centre and a mirror that I picked up at the charity shop. Then after that there’s ceilings, walls and woodwork to paint and wallpaper to put up. All with a nutty toddler running around. We are frickin’ knackered!