The Greatest Love Of All

Hi Guys,
Whitney once sang that the children are our future, I belted that tune out as a 10 year old in spite of the fact that I have 0 singing talents and I am sure I drove my parents crazy, Today I know my future will, at some point be in their hands. This is why I whisper lovingly into each of their ears when the others can't hear and say "you're my favorite, don't tell the others". I figure which ever one ends up choosing my home will believe my words and pick out something nice, at least my fingers are crossed that will happen. To clarify I don't really have a fave but there are plenty of days when I have a least favorite depending on who has or hasnot done what.

I can honestly say that while I love many things I do, within a short period I hate it. In fact I think I would haveto say there are only a few things I still love and until now my deepest DIY love was my patchwork chair.

This DIY was actually Jule's idea and it was BLOODY BRILLIANT, sorry but it deserves that kind of praise,

So those who have been around here for a while might remember a few craft rooms ago I had this table.

Then I covered it in houndstooth contact paper, which I did like but I missed this particular dining table so a few months later I ripped off the contact and placed it back into the kitchen

One evening, the night after the new peel and stick vinyl floors were laid, I went out when Jule's came up with an awesome idea. He took the scraps and off cuts from the flooring and placed them on the glass to imitate an old farmhouse wood topped table.

You see a few days before I was leafing through a Country Living or something similar when I saw an iron and wood table, it was only about $3500 and I fell in love, I showed Jule's and declared it to be my ultra dream table.  Anyway one night out I go and when I get back there was the newly covered table, he made it look pretty with candles and everything. I went out of my mind, fell in love (with both the table and Jules all over again, he's a keeper). Can you believe that the wood is in fact peel and stick tiles? I'll tell you now, I had a recent termite issue and the pest control guy was stunned, this guy inspects wood for a living peeps!

This top holds up to anything my lot can throw at it and believe me, if you have seen a four year old at a table that is quite a feat! I LOVE IT.

So since I work real quickly these days, 8 months later I took my old wooden chairs which the kids over the last 15 years had pretty much rendered them to the ugliest chairs on the face of the earth and painted them up.

My goodness can't even begin to tell you how thrilled I am with this dining set. My suburban country style home is coming together and for this all I spent was $15 on paint WOOOT!!!

She truly is a beauty, so in honor of my lovely lady I dedicate this song to her, take it away Whitney




Thanks for reading,

Mel xo

Tween Girl Cottage Style Room - Elizabeth's Room Reveal

Woohoo, I finally finished! Actually in the grand scheme of things this room went pretty quickly.

The befores:

DIY 3 tier stand

Howdy all,

So back in June my Mum took Elizabeth and I out for high tea, Have to say it was a really great day. If you're in Melbourne go and checkout the new Emporium and visit The Tea Salon it was lovely.

Anyway we are sitting there having a wonderful tea and my Mum says "Look at those holders, they're just old plates, someone drilled a hole in and put them together."

Hoop Wall art

Morning All,

Elizabeth had been pinning her little heart out prior to me starting on her room. One thing that she pinned a gazillion times was Hoop Art displays. Sadly this one didn't have a link, if you know where it has come from please let me know so I can credit the photo. She loved this one she pinned it 4 times. She told me she wanted it but in green.

Beauty Case to First Aid Kit

Remember when I found that vintage beauty case and the little ones took a hold of it? Well I finally got it back and gave it a make over.

As soon as I saw it I knew exactly what I wanted it to be, a first aid kit, which odly enogh the little two, who have recently been loving the nursery rhyme, Miss Polly had a dolly had the same idea. They called it their doctor bag and played with it for a few weeks.

As soon as they got bored with it, I grabbed it and painted it up.

I have to say I just love this, I really wanted to keep the buttons and latch in the condition they were in some I taped them up and painted around it. 

DIY Delight or Disaster? DELIGHT!! I just love they white paint against the old latch. it's roomy enough to hold everything in and portable so we can take it with us when we go away. Sorry kids, Mummy is not giving it back!


Thanks for reading,

Mel xo

Trestle Table

You know that feeling when you're in a store and you see something and immediately fall in love with it. You must have it no matter what the cost....until you see the actual cost and then start either laughing hysterically at how overpriced it is, or cry because it was never meant to be.

Well when I was in Freedom Furniture this desk was my dream for my new craft room. I wanted it so badly Julian was all ready with the credit card so I could have something special in my new craft room (I really shouldn't tease him the way I do, he is actually a keeper, shh don't tell him I said that.).

source

I lovingly looked at him, then rolled my eyes and said "Are you serious? It's $449 I could make that for about for less than a quarter of the price!" So I did.

Two trestle legs from Ikea for $25 each, in hind sight I could have made them for about $10 but you know what, sometimes it's just easier to have it done already and $28 for the door which just got a couple of coats of paint.

Then she was done for less than a quarter of the price and not on the credit card, which makes me love it more! Also just to break up the all white you can see I added a pink grain sack pattern to my $2 thrift store chair that I made over a while back.

DIY Delight or Disaster? Oh man it's a delight for me, so much cheaper and honestly I like the black legs for contrast which is why I didn't paint them and it is around twice the size for much less than a quarter of the price, total delight!

Stencilled Clipboards

Once again in an attempted to be the organised person I want to be, I thought I would make something to keep all my craft manuals together. Enter the stencilled clipboards

Washi iPad Cover

Well, well, havent I been a little MIA lately!

It started with just being crazy busy and then I had technical difficulties, by that I mean I'm technically stupid, paid my water bill twice and didn't pay the ISP. Did not discover this until I had no net and called tech support, furious about being offline. Oops!

Toddler Fabric Bowling Set

Howdy Guys,

So I am not sure what has been at me this year but I have been in a real crafty slump. For Months now and there have been times when I have made things and totally forgotten to take any pictures or couldn't be bothered and so I haven't blogged them. Then I realised I hadn't used my sewing machine in SIX months. Enter my lovely friend Jane from Lil Pip Creations and her sewing challenge

Vinyl Chair Makeover With Chalk Paint

Hey Guys,

Remember those two infected snot coloured chairs I got for $2 a piece? Well they've had quite the makeover!

I was worried about how painting would go but I figured if iut was bad I could always make a slip cover. The paint felt quite hard once it was painted but it was amazing what the wax did. It really softened it up.

By the way is it just me or is applying wax kind of romantic?? I don't know what the best method is meant to be but I have found the best way for me is to apply it with my hands and really massage it into the paint. Jules took one look at me applying wax and said "I suddenly want to be a chair".

DIY Delight or Disaster? Romance aside I would so do this again. The chairs look amazing and everyone who sits in them is like, $2?? No Way! Oh yes way my friends, yes way. Also I am loving the fact that I kept the wooden legs, total delight!

Any crafts get you thinking of romance??

Mel xo

Old MacDonald's Farm Felt Puppets - No Sew

Hey Guys,

So I saw these puppets on Pinterest and I was so desperate to make them. My kids LOVE singing Old MacDonald's Farm and I had to make them. The patterns were free from a gorgeous blog Just Another DAy In Paradise, available here.

She sewed hers but seriously I was going to do the whole sewing thing, then I remembered that sewing those tiny bits, who was I kidding! So I decided to hot glue them.

DIY Planter Box or The Time I Used The V Word!

My DIY Planter Box means I am going to use a word that I thought I would never use in my life or on this blog, the V word....Vignette!

I'm putting some finishing touches in the entry and I want to create a warm and welcoming space and I realised that meant Vignette, then I immediately felt like the worlds biggest tool because it just sounds so formal, so posh and so very unlike me or the mansion. Oh well, turns out that maybe I can pretend to be a little more décor sophisticated than I really am. Actually I think it turned out quite pretty but it cost me $0, so I shouldn't expect any invitations to high society any time soon!

Supplies:

• Scrap Wood
• Scrap trim
• Nails/Hammer
• Paint/Paintbrush

I grabbed some scrap trim and wood from the garage.

Nailed it together

About this point I realised I probably should have measured it, but the DIY angels were with me because it actually fit my "vases" (plastic milk bottles), another reason the elite won't be contacting me any time soon.

Then I just gave it one coat with a dry brush and I really liked the kind of white wash feel that I didn't bother with a second coat. This baby took me less than 20 minutes to make.

DIY Delight or Disaster? Apart from feeling like the worlds biggest sell-out for using the word vignette, truthfully I was really happy with the way it came out and it was so easy, first project of the year and I am going to go with Delight! By the way middle of Feb and this is the only thing I have done all year, what a sucky blogger I am at the moment!

So was something that pre blogging/ blog reading did you think you would never do but have?


Thanks for reading,

Mel xo

My Favourite Posts of 2013, aka the Delights!

So I showed the posts that you and by that i mean mostly pinterest peeps, loved best in 2013 now I though I would share my favourite posts of 2013.

I have no particular order but these are my faves from last year

The Peg Board Door, still my favourite thing about my craft room!

The Wire Wrap Ring, I think this is really pretty!

My First Dress, I am so proud of this and I really hope to do some more sewing in 2014.

When I showed you all how "perfect" I was at the celebration of one year of blogging.

My Organising Buckets, as much as I love them I should be using them more!

These Balloon Balls I made for the little ones, they just loved them and I have to tell you those balloons last for ages in them I eventually had to pop them and replace them.

Of course then I told you how to be the perfect parent, you know, like I am...

Then there was that time I made a real bag, that I actually thought looked pretty damn good!

Only one Room reveal for the entire year...I really need to work on that this year, My Craft Room

But the thing I loved most (and sadly I let the kids play with it and well it now looks pretty sad The Train Table.

Well they're my delights for 2013, hopefully there will be plenty more this year!
Btw still on holidays and while you guys are freezing we are about to melt!
Thanks for reading,

Mel xo