Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Making a pact with myself ................

Greetings dear friends & readers
Please tell me what is different (And wonderful) about the picture below ???

For those of you that noticed ... Yes indeedy there is No cat basket on the table !!!!!!!!
 Just a lovely jug of flowers,  a candle & Not a cat hair in sight !!!!
(long may it last)
                                                                  
Last week, I made a pact with myself .  .  .

pact ... to agree .... an agreement or compact between two or more parties or nations ...

The pact was that I would remove two items per day from my sleepout & either give them away, throw them away or do something with them
It began easily enough .... there are a zillion empty cardboard boxes in there, so it was simple enough to just remove several of those.
Until The Mr pointed out to me ... it's all very well stacking up piles on the deck table but you actually need to do something with them!!!

So I began with the smallest articles first .  .  .
Two small wooden bowls & a serviette holder/ letter rack from the Church Op Shop
The little carved wooden bowl got painted using my Cottage Cream wallpaint, then lightly sanded & made into a pincushion using some of my pretty Tilda fabrics


I loved the way the rough sanding seemed to make the carving on the side show up more


The taller wooden bowl got the same treatment, but I added some pompom trim & braiding to the middle to break up the depth of it


The little wooden serviette holder (or letter rack) got painted & sanded quite heavily to give a real chippy paint effect
I then added some brass embellishments & found a cute pack of cottagey serviettes to complete it.

This wooden letter rack got the same paint & rough sanding ... then embellished with some wooden butterfly cutouts ... this is able to be hung on the wall or can stand up all by itself   :-)

And last - but by no means least - this cheap wooden slatted box got painted & very lightly sanded ... just to add a touch of shabby chic to it

 I lined the bottom with a lovely scrap booking paper ... actually a "christmas paper" apparently ... but on sale for half price !!
Just a simple embellishment for the ends completed it

I have been lucky enough to have been gifted two gorgeous vintage items this past week
The first is this unusual teapot ... an elderly customer wondered if I might like to paint & plant it ??


I am thinking with its twin spouts it might be useful for when I have large groups having a cuppa here?
The second item was this gorgeous old woollen blanket - a gift from my lovely friend, Marie


I had not seen a blanket in this beautiful mustard & grey colouring before & I just adore it.

Thank you so much for your visit here today ... the sun is out & I am off to garden in a shady spot .  .  .
.  .  .  in this garden here actually by the old wringer washing machine.
I hope the rest of the week is kind to you dear readers,
with much love & friendship,
Julie, Blackie & Pippi Longstocking
x0x0x0x0


19 comments:

  1. Wow, Julie! You are so clever! I love the scrapbook paper redo! So cute! Is the cat sad? Where did the cat basket go? I can almost feel that sunshine!

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  2. LovE!! Missing visiting...........the road to your place is calling me my friend! Tell me where will poor Miss Pippi and Mr Blackie spend their time? No sunny pretty dinning room table to curl up on? I hope they don't call the SPCA for loosing 'their' space to a bunch of flowers and a candle!

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  3. good morning Julie,lol i did notice the basket and cat werent on the table. Oh my you are amazing with how you recycle items you turn them from ugly ducklings into beautiful pieces,well done my friend and i hope you have a lovely day also xx

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  4. Great Julie, but where have they gone???(the miss pippi and blackie I'm meaning). You have been busy which is your usual and made some beautiful things again. Hugs Shirley

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  5. HeHe! I'm not going to comment on the missing
    basket on the table...And! Not even a photo of
    Pippi or Blackie...I find it to upsetting! :).
    AND..I was a bit worried about the idea of giving
    or throwing away 'two' items a day...!!! mmmmmM! :).

    Oh! Love the kettle with two spouts...I used to have
    a china one, also with two handles, but it got broke!
    Colour...? Can't remember! Oh! Yes! PINK! HeHe! :).


    Well..nearly seven over here...off for a second lemon tea,
    l need it...Tut! Tut! No Pippi..No Blackie..I think there
    should be an eleventh commandment...'I Will Not Post, Without
    a Photo of the Furry Ones'. =(^..^)=.
    HeHe! Hang on...Something else...When you iron a table cloth,
    'Do Not' fold and iron as you go..Because..as you see it leaves
    and shows the creases...!

    Great post Julie..Great fun..Love it...!!! :<).

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  6. Well done you! I have read of the same pact recently...to deal with two things a day. Don't seem to have made much head way this side of the island, but I am trying! I am always amazed at the transformation that you work on such plain old wooden bits & pieces. Delightful effect on the carved wood & I love the tape measure around the middle of the other. You do such a grand job of using salvaged objects in your garden. The dear old washing machine looks fantastic. Must have taken a bit of filling up! Much love from steamy Hastings, Catherine x0x0x

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  7. Such a beautiful display of flowers on the table. I love your up cycling, especially the little pincushion xx

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  8. Two things a day sounds easy...hang on, that's 14 things a week! hope you can do it, loving the pincushions xx

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  9. Wow you have been busy!! Your table looks great, love the vase of flowers. I saw straight away no cats!!! How are they coping? Beautiful work you have been doing on your found treasures. Good luck with the sorting.

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  10. Well the table does look pretty but I hope the little cat still has his basket (under the table maybe!) it's a very good idea the turning out thing, I have been doing it too - you have made some lovely things with your spare pieces. The two spout kettle is unusual! Betty

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  11. The flowers look gorgeous on the table! Cloudy here, which I am loving as I don't do well with my fair skin and the hot sun! You have been busy!! My pact I made with myself was to put away all the Christmas decorations-still a few to go, there are so many other things I want to do!

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  12. Hello Julie,

    I want to come and sit at your table, the flowers in the pot are stunning. The wooden letter rack, what sort of wood is on the bottom spotted piece? A twin teapot, how useful for big groups, I presume that belonged to a church or ladies group before. Have a lovely weekend Julie, not one cat appeared on this post.

    Happy days.
    Bev.

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  13. I have never seen a double spout on a tea pot, that is very cool. Guess you can pour two cups of tea at a time then. Well done on all your pimping, at this rate you will so keep your pact. Well you have to now because you told us all here!!! Garden is looking lovely, enjoy the good weather.

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  14. Soothing eye candy, and a gentle render to myself that I have projects of delight I should take time to play with. Like that vanity case makeover. Remember, Julie? xx

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  15. Lol I thought I was seeing double for a second there with the twin spouts. lol I'd love to
    know the history of that teapot. Gorgeous creations as usual, you have an eye for turning things
    into beautiful pieces of work. Oh...no cats????
    Cheers, Anita.

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  16. Er......Julie, there seems to be something missing on your table....... Love the wooden slatted box and the gorgeous blanket - I also haven 't seem one that colour. Dreamy.

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  17. Honestly you are an inspiration, where do you get your energy from. I love the idea of use/give/chuck 2 items a day, I'm going to try that in my garage, it's so full of junk (treasure) I must do something with it ..... Jillxo

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  18. Your garden is so beautiful, Julie. I love that last pic especially, it's so romantic! You amaze me with all the ideas you have on upcycling pre-loved goods... too cute! Hope you're having an awesome day! Vikki xoxoxoxo

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  19. Your garden is so beautiful, Julie. I love that last pic especially, it's so romantic! You amaze me with all the ideas you have on upcycling pre-loved goods... too cute! Hope you're having an awesome day! Vikki xoxoxoxo

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