Five Star Locksmiths - Securing the Mansion

Hey Guys,

As you know I have been working on the entry for sometime now and as we know with DIY there are things where it is best to call in the experts.

Case in point, our deadlock died, well it was sick and then I killed it, I broke my key off in the lock, instead of calling the experts, I mucked about with it myself and completely destroyed it, no pictures because I never thought I would be sharing this tale.

Then Dad came by and did DIY a new lock but in this particular case, we were left with a chunk of wood out of the door. We wont even mention how likely someone would have been able to get in should they have chosen to try.

Lucky for me the good folk at Five Star Locksmiths contacted me and asked if I would review their service and of course I jumped at the chance.

First up I have to say for tradesman they have customer service down to an art. Every call was answered right away and the staff were friendly. Given I live out of the city they had to send someone down here and they travelled quite a distance. Even with the travel, my friendly locksmith Tom was right on time and got to work.

Tom was lovely and not only did he replace my standard hardware store lock with a brand new compression lock, but he also epoxied up that gaping hole, which I just need to paint over.

Sorry about the photo but the sun was glaring in and the night photos didn't really show the work but you can see how it looks it just needs to be repainted.

Here is my fancy new compression lock

Tom also happened to notice that the front gate was missing a screw on his way out and fixed it on his way out.

Loving the new door locks and the repaired frame and honestly while I live by the motto "Trust in God", it's always a great idea to lock the door as well. If you require new deadlocks I strongly suggest calling Five Star Locksmiths.

You can call them on 1300045397 or check out their website www.fivestarlocksmiths.com.au

Disclaimer, I did receive this service in exchange for a review, as always my comments are reflection of my experience and are written in my words. I was not paid for this post.

Thanks for reading,

Mel xo

Entry Dresser ... Oh What A Difference Some Paint Can Make

Hey Guys,

So I have been working on the entry and I have to say I am loving the direction it's heading. So far less than $100 which is quite amazing. What I have really discovered, which won't be a big surprise to most of you, is what a huge difference some paint can make!

This piece was ready to go to the tip it was in terrible shape, but I convinced Jules that I could paint it and it would be fine. He might have implied that he's heard that before and how many years will it be until it's painted.

The baskets were in great shape so I took them out and gave it a couple of coats of chalk paint.

Brought it in and waxed it, I read you have to wait 30 days for it to be properly cured. So under the punishment of death I told the children NOT to even breathe in the same direction as it.

There she sits in my almost finished entry and no jokes I am so in love with it. Seriously I blog and stuff, to keep the membership you never throw anything away, and I am thrilled that I didn't.

DIY Delight or Disaster? Come on, she's looking mighty fine!! Delight.

Have you saved anything recently from anyone you know lately?

Thanks for reading,

Mel xo

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

Entry Update

Well haven't I had a heck of a lot of fun trying to do this entry! just a reminder of the before as seen here

Next On The List, The Entry.

With the Craft Room finished and the boys room never going to be finished, (there are future plans making that pointless) I decided I just wanted something small to end the year. So I decided on the entryway.

Here it is at present, I will freely admit that I had done some major de-cluttering before I decided to do the room, so you are seeing it much cleaner than it normally is.