Friday, June 28, 2013

The "Befores" & the "not quite afters..." !!!

Hello dear friends & readers,

This past fortnight has seen me somewhat disappear into the land of winter ills & chills..
I have managed to fulfill my plan to paint my cottage walls,  but not without plenty of sweat & a few tears too



Last week the Mr very generously shared his nasty flu virus with me :-(


By the weekend I was feeling ever so slightly improved
so I ... very stupidly ... painted the Cottage walls - twice!!




The pics I am showing you above are the colour it was before.
The colour is Marzipan & was a warm yellowy toning which would take on different shades in different lights & at differing times of the day.
I did love it once . . .  but I wanted a fresh lighter look as it had been this colour for just over 7 years now
So I chose Clotted Cream - a rich vintagey deep cream colour

Just prior to painting - holes filled - all ready to go

Plus I wanted to remove the gollies I had stencilled all around the walls - you can just see some above the bear shelf 



You can see from the above 2 pics the very narrow channel I had to move around in


My photos do not really show up its true deep richness unfortunately.
And that dear readers .... is how it remains, as this week has seen me feeling so dreadful that I have had to take myself off to bed  & just rest & recuperate - which is exactly what I should've done in the 1st place!!

An indication of how I have felt this past week !!!
Painting the Cottage walls while running a temp & feeling unwell was kind of like . . .  well as I explained it to my friend Leeanne
"like trying to stuff an elephant into a walnut shell!!!"
Now for those of you that have done this before (stuffed an elephant into a walnut shell that is) then you will know exactly what I mean...
but for those of you that havent ...
well you can only imagine!!!!!


Above are pictured some of my lovely new displays in the revamped Cottage!!!!!!!!!

I am pleased to say I am now feeling on the mend :-)
I did learn two very important things throughout this past week ...
the 1st important thing I learnt was ...

(1) when you feel unwell you need to listen to your body & rest & go to bed (like your Mum used to make you do when you were little & then you got better real quick) & all the other stuff whirring around in your head "to do" will still be there waiting for you when you are well again!!!


the 2nd very  important thing I learnt was ...

(2) Our bedroom ceiling could really do with a nice fresh coat of paint :-)  !!!!!!!!!!

So as I sit & type this I must confess to fretting somewhat over all my poor ol' stock sitting stacked up in my sleepout ...



but I figure that can be next weeks job ...


Although I have done very little sewing while feeling like this (for some reason even the fabric felt heavy to hold on to) ... I did manage one completion before I caught the virus - when I made this lovely pink angel back in January I made two bodies ...


 So the 2nd little lady got dressed in blues - she is Charlotte Angel, a Rosalie Quinlan design - I love them both equally...


Her lace collar is a vintage treasure from my friend Elaine + her button is also from my vintage stash - a gorgeous deep blue glass button

Her basket was brown but I waved my paint brush over it + added a doiley
I have found (from experience) that it pays to paint the fabric wings with Stiffy to prevent them from curling forward when she is hanging up
(or even P.V.A. mixed with water would do the trick)



And lastly, this precious little treasure arrived in todays post - I had actually purchased her sometime ago from my friend Donnas shop after I did this post 
I had planned another visit to bring her home but life kinda got in the way of things ... so Donna kindly posted her down to me


I adore her :-)

She is the work of Juliet Novena Sorrel whom (I think) is a Dunedin artist
Her delicate face (& torso) are hand sculptured



She is fragile, exquisite & delicate - I thought I would name her "Petal" or "Rose Petal"   ... what do you think ????
I have to find just the perfect spot to hang her as yet.

Well folks I am off to make a hot lemon, honey & ginger-root drink & read the latest Good Magazine (a Mothers Day subscription from my son)



I hope you are warm or cool, wherever in the world you might be
thanks so much for stopping by my "pity party"
I look forward to showing you more Cottage pics next post.
Much love/hugs/friendship,
Julie x0x0x

11 comments:

  1. Hello Julie,

    How awful to have all that work and to feel unwell. Hope that Lemon and Ginger and Bed rest is working. You chose a mammoth job to do. I can just imagine that you will be very pleased when it is all finished. I do love Rose petal, she will be right at home at your Cottage. The fabric on the 2nd doll is so beautiful. I presume the other half is much better now, so nice of him to share!

    Enjoy the weekend.
    Bev.

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  2. Hi Julie
    Know how you feel....I thought I was over my cold but no it came back!! You will get everything sorted in time and then we Northern Girls can come for another look!! YAY. Get well xxxx

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  3. Oh poor you, and trying to paint and deal with moving things around when you are not feeling well. Hope you are much better by now. I love your new Charlotte angel and Rose Petal is very beautiful. Thanks for the tip with the wings, I have an angel I will try that on. Get well, hugs Wendy

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  4. Sorry you're so under the weather - all that work will have sapped all your energy although it will be satisfying to know it's all done. I'm about to decorate my dining room which is only small - and keep putting it off, once I start I find everything else looks dull by comparison and the job stretches to other rooms! I have an idea for leafy loveliness but not sure how to bring it to life so that's my excuse for not getting started! still planning. Lovely angels and fairy - I like the fairy's dress a lot.

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  5. Yes my friend, I think we have all done the elephant stuffing thing! You are doing well all things considered. Loving those dolls! I'm with Kerry, I look forward to another trip down to visit, after all it will be a new shop!
    P.S maybe you should hold off for a wee while to paint the bedroom ceiling!

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  6. P.P.S what quilt is that on the bed? The one that the doll with the soft lemon dress is sitting on? Looks like Angel Story.............

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  7. Julie you had me belly laughing of the vision of you compared to that sad plant!
    I have to say I love how you captured the image in the mirror of your cottage.
    I would love to come poke around and shop there. I spied so many cute things.
    But boy oh boy you have a job to finish. Wish I could pop over and help you out.
    I love to organize and straighten. Its a weird love. I hope you are up and back to yourself soon.
    Go slow take lots of tea and rest.
    Amy

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  8. I hope you are feeling heaps better now and that sunshine is streaming in and warming and soothing the soul. You did well with the painting in spite of the flu but you do know that bugs feed off paint fumes don't you? (That's my story and I'm sticking to it!) Love your gorgeous dolls. I am sure you will have fun re-stocking your shop, finding treasures again and making beautiful displays. GET WELL SOON!

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  9. Hope you are feeling better Julie,I too have this flu/cold and it has knocked me on my butt!! Still not feeling myself and can't be bothered doing anything!! just have a nagging cough which is driving everyone barney!! Your cottage is going to look GORGEOUS!!!! Can't wait to see her all finished! Take it easy, you don't want another bout of this flu.
    michelle

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  10. Hugs Julie, hope you are feeling much better xx We are so far managing to avoid the winter ills and chills. Good luck with the revamp, thank goodness we don't have paint on our shop walls as I know a couple of staff members who would be wanting to paint every few months!!

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  11. Well done you!! You are going to be so pleased with your painting when you're done & everything is safely restored. It makes quite a difference doesn't it..the colour change. I guess we made the same kind of change in my sewing room, only didn't have any Gollys to rub out ; ) Gorgeous fabric in "Petal's" skirt. I have to say, her face is slightly odd, but I love her feather wings. Yik, don't impatiens get funny when they're had it. I have been pulling out soggy, ugly ones today. So glad you're on the mend. Much love Catherine x0x0x

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