One Year On - Still trading!!

Hello yes its me! I have been silent for nearly a whole year, this was to allow me some space to get my business up and running properly. Think I might have nearly got there.

During the year I have had some ups...............

Opened up at GosfieldShoppingVillage an antique centre with a farm shop and nice cafe. I have cabinets and an 8 x8 bay here.

Sales are going well here, two chairs, childs chair and most of the books have sold.

The cabinets have smaller more cherished items in them. Oh and a lot of bling jewellery.

Still been painting furniture and tutored a group of Back to Work Adults for 16 weeks in Colchester. That was pretty challenging but fun. These are my most recent chairs.

Annie Sloan paint, first go at painting over the fabric, great result looks and feels just like leather. Just got a booking to do a follow up demo with the company that employed me before, they have an open day. Must have done something right!

I'm continuing to sell every month at Long Melford Antique & Vintage Fair and also on ebay. So everything is going in the right direction and so far the bills are paid.

Only one down and that was an injury. I dislocated my ribs, have now done this 4 times!!! But this time there was a lot of internal swelling and it caused my heart to struggle. So emergency ambulance, 7 hours in A&E Colchester. Fully recovered and dreading doing it again, worst pain since childbirth.

It's been a fun year with some steep learning curves and a whole lot of packing boxes, loading boxes, unloading boxes and unpacking boxes. Bit like constantly moving house.

Looking forward to your comments.

Painted Furniture and Decoupaged Mannequins

My little summer break from my blog is over. I've painted a whole bunch of items. This one I was very pleased with, made from reclaimed pine and painted with Annie Sloan Old White and Duck Egg Blue, stencils are ones from Jamie at Home and meant for use on cakes!

Inside painted and finished with some scraps of modern wallpaper. 

I Fell in love with some wonderful fabric by STOF bought from Mill Shop on Line French Linen well worth the £19.50 per metre. That works out at about £5 a chair, but it makes your item look a 1million $. The ribbon was left over from the last mannequin.

 

Another STOF fabric for six chairs ,that have taken forever, as there were over 800 staples to remove. One had 20 staples on each corner to hold the fabric down. I could only cope with one chair seat a day. Then the chair frames had to be repaired, new stretcher bars, missing wood filled, joints redone on all of them. Phew, then I have had to do two coats of paint on very fiddly carved fiddle backs. Just a lime wash and waxing to do. Nearly there now be finished by next week. 

I worked really hard on this chest of drawers for my Granddaughters 19th birthday. Annie Sloan Graphite and red car spray paint, over a net curtain. Dark wax, new handles from ebay.

We all loved the effect and I'm going to do some more, having learned a lot this time.

Two new mannequins, ebay what would I do with out you? This one has London Scenes and French Script and roses paper napkins.

She's still a bit naked here. I'm using a handy pasta dish to soak the Victorian paper in to make it more pliable. Very difficult around the bust to get a neat finish.

Here she is with her bodice all neatly done. The other mannequin has a different napkin and will have black veil lace from the Victorian era as a costume.

Just the fancy ribbons and bows to do now.

Lots been happening, on 1st September I shall be opening a 1/2 unit at at Bocking Antiques Centre selling my painted furniture, mannequins and an eclectic selection of vintage goodies. This a a fairly new centre, been open just over a year and has a younger feeling than some antique centres. There is another furniture painter there already who does younger style items so hopefully we will compliment each other and I will sell some things!

I've missed my weekly visit to all the lovely blogs. So now off to Hand Made Monday  on Hand Made Harbour.

Cinderella Bureau to Upcycled Shabby Chic Star

It does feel rather like being a Fairy Godmother when you up-cycle items. They are horrible, broken, ugly shapes, faded, veneer peeling, woodworm, or just plain forgotten in the corner. Then I wave my magic paint brush and izzy whizzy they are new and useful again. (Come on some of you must remember the phrase Izzy Whizzy Let's Get Busy?)

A wonderfully stylish bureau, but so damaged by damp and mis-use. Standing all alone in the outside auction, another bidder liked the look of her but I won. A lot of filling, sanding, painting waxing, more sanding, curses, sore fingers, sweat and tears and six weeks later she is transformed. Oh and to make her really pretty I used some gold leaf, first time I've done this and it is so easy. Expect gold bling on everything from now on!

I've left things like the marks on the drop down from the supports, years of use have left slight groves. Its part of the items history, so those had to stay, like wise the drawer that still sticks a bit. I sanded and sanded but it still sticks, almost like it contains a secret never to be let out.

She's now for sale on ebay. I will miss her it has been an emotional journey for us both. For her she never thought she would look so glamorous again, for me I never knew I could achieve something like this.

I'm onto chairs again and this one has been salvaged from a church or village hall. It has a number stamped at the back where the seat pad goes. Another dark treacly wood, brought back to life by Henrietta paint, some paper napkin decoupage and pretty script fabric. Still got the waxing to do and some more distressing.

Had a bit of deja view this week, there I was hammering tacks into a seat pad for a chair. When I was transported back to childhood and my hands became my Dad's hammering nails into shoes. I was back in his shed where he used to mend shoes to eek out our meager income. I used to sit on a high stool watching him. Really knocked the wind out of my sails and I had to have a good cry. I really still miss my Dad he died when I was nine, I'm sixty one now. In those few short years he taught me so much, how to garden, make and med things, to love and respect others, but most of all how to cope with adversity in life and just get on and keep on going. You just never stop missing loved ones do you?

Molly has been under the weather with colitis. Its an inflamed large bowl, making her have an awful upset tummy. But worst of all is the foul wind. She can't even stand it herself. Yesterday we were driving back and she was sitting in the front seat, foul smell arrives and Molly exits right to the back of my large estate car. I mean right to the back as the seats were down. Not only that she gave me the most awful look as if to say "Did you do that?" She's on a diet of chicken and rice, with horrible bitter tasting pills from the vet.

Answer:- It was Sooty.

Big thank you to all of you who leave lovely comments. It means a lot to have your love and support. 

Now what have you all been doing this week.?