Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Trees ........... & Trunks !!!

Good Tuesday afternoon to you dear friends & readers

I have been plodding along busily making stock for the craft fair this coming Saturday in my local town . . .

I wanted my stall to have a Christmassy theme so made some small Christmas Tree decorations this week


These 10 little prim christmas trees are just a simple triangle of fabric sewn around & stuffed with a cinnamon stick for their trunk.  For some of them I have glued a Star Anise to the top - others I have stitched a rusty bell or heart

This wooden tree had been a display unit in my friend Gail's gift shop ... I rescued it from her rubbish pile & it made the perfect spot to display my tree ornies
I have scented each tree with some cinnamon/clove oil so they smell quite delicious.

I have finally completed the second trunk .  .  .
.  .  . the rusty brown one in the background

Once again, The Mr made me paint it with anti-rust protectant paint after I scrubbed it thoroughly
Then I used some leftover cream wall paint as an "undercoat" to give me a better coverage as I had decided to paint it  ...   Pink !!!

Any painting projects around here are usually done under serious supervision .  .  .  & this was no different
I'm not sure which is the trickiest . . . cleaning the pink paint OFF the cat or picking the ginger hairs OUT of the paint work at the end  ???!!!


I gave it 3 coats in the end .... all using testpots Resene Pale Rose & then once dry, I light scuffed up the edges a little


A hastily thrown-together display on top

I am thrilled with my new/old trunk & an added bonus to this project is that I can now store some blankets & linen inside the trunk as well.




Having been born wild, Blackie has always had a definate preference to be Outside during the day.  
But this past week I have noticed him sneak inside & curl up a the end of my lounge by the French Doors where the afternoon sun streams in . . . amongst my potted baby's tears cuttings


Miss Pippi ??? Well she is no doubt outside supervising the Painter !!!

Last month I received a wee surprise parcel in the post from my lovely friend Leeanne
She had been shopping at the Salvation Army Store (the Salvo's) & thought of me .  .  .

How wonderful !!!  Thank You Leeanne  :-)
I am sure there was some choccie in the parcel too (but the cats must've run off with it !!!!)

Beautiful scented Stocks in my lounge - a gift from Kerry - thank you So Much Kerry, they have only just finished now & I am drying the heads for potpourri

I have been drying citrus fruits in my dehydrator & making up batches of citrus potpourri for my market stall
The house smells delicious . . .

Though I used to have to make it continuously, I have not made any for almost a year now & it is something I sooo enjoy doing . . .

. . . along with collecting up different seed pods & cones from my garden to bulk it all up.
Lets hope the weather is kind to us for Saturday folks as it certainly has NOT been this past week or more !!

Be kind to yourselves & to each other,  & thank you so much for your visits today.
I hope the rest of the week is good to you all.
with much love & friendship,
Julie & the furry ones x0x0x

19 comments:

  1. Hello Julie,

    That is a decent size trunk, love the pink colour, a real girls trunk! What a find with the apron you are so lucky Leanne found it. I love stocks, the perfume they give out is divine, it makes you want to breath in deeply. Good luck with the stall and hopefully the weather God's will be nice. Oh and potpourri looks good enough to eat.

    Happy days.
    Bev.

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  2. Hi Julie the trunk has come up so pretty in the pink,well done.
    I can just imagine all the lovely smells at your house,i want to dry some oranges now,lol,and do some xmas potporri.
    Hope you do well at the market and hope the weather is kind to you my friend xx

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  3. So when can I expect you to come and do some 'hastily put together' displays at my house? That trunk looks fabulous, must have been Pippi's supervising skills. Wishing you much luck and fine weather on Saturday and a full wallet and an empty car! :-)

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  4. What a transformation! Must have had excellent supervision! Your new trunk is just gorgeous! Love the soft pink colour you have used. The potpourri looks amazing and I can tell it is gonna smell super!

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  5. Oooh....I want to take a snooze in your lovely loungeroom. LOVE the pink chest. What a treat it looks and practical too. LOVE those sweet li'l prim Christmas trees. How delicious your home must smell with all those lovely aromas wafting around. I have a serious attack of the wanties.....that apron is divine....I don't suppose you would consider sending it on over here. =) Have the best fun on Saturday, Julie. Everything will fly off the shelves within the hour!!

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  6. Wow! What a great post Julie...But, then they
    always are..! :).
    And, what you've done with the old brown chest,
    is brilliant! Love it! And as a Sicilian..ideal
    size for a small body..HeHe! :0).

    And Christmas...Goodness! Not to long now! Love
    those little trees, with the cinnamon sticks!
    What a good idea..!

    Love the potpourri to..have some around my home,
    though l do buy mine, as it must be more pink in
    colour! Wonder why..?

    The furry~ones look lovely, Blackie!x catching the
    sun's rays..Heaven! And Pippi!x seems always on
    the alert for mischief..but that's what cats do!
    Bless Them!x

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  7. Amazing what a lick of paint can do...(and a lot of hard work!) Good luck with the fair, I'll pop in if I'm passing! I reckon those pretty trees will sell well.xx

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    1. Thanks E.E. I would LoVe you to pop in to the fair if you are in the area !!!! You could give me some tips & we could have a chat :-) Joking aside ... it WOULD be great if we could do this. Shame about that ruddy great big ocean between us !!!

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  8. I laughed at your ginger hairs versus pink paint, one of our little dogs once put her whole leg in a pot of paint then ran round trying to shake it off, spraying even more paint about! Beautiful trunk and I can imagine the glorious smell coming from your potpourri xx

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  9. How inspirational you are Julie. I'm crocheting a Xmas Tree for my sister and your cinnamon sticks have given me an idea for it. I just love your little trees. And that trunk!!!your an amazing craftswoman. Wish I lived close to you!!Good luck with the Fair.

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  10. Hi Julie, love your chrissy trees, hope you do well on Saturday, and best of luck with the weather, the trunk looks gorgeous, our German Shepherd stepped in our paint tray and then ran off down the hallway into one of my sons rooms, I'm still finding dried up grey paint in different spots on the floor, pets you just gotta love them.
    The potpourri looks amazing to, have a great week....Chris xoxo

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  11. Hi Julie I just love what you do with "Junk" and I too envy not being bit closer to be able to... shop shop! All the best for the fair and fingers crossed here for you that the weather is kind for everyone. Also ditto to Leeannes comment about coming north one day -:)

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  12. I'm of the same mind as Nana Go Go! I wish we lived closer to you!
    The tree ornies are so cute!
    You are so smart with color! Perfect pink!

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  13. Love the little Christmas tree decorations, I bet they smell beautiful. The trunk looks amazing now you have painted it, Blackie obviously feels at home inside now!! Good to see the supervision is happening lol!! Hope the gimger hairs came out ok. Your house must smell so good when the potpouri is brewing, it looks wonderful. Best of luck with the market.

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  14. Hi Julie, I'm the lucky one here, I live near you and can pop around to drink up all the beautiful smells and see the lovely Xmas trees you made. They are a clever idea.Your old brown chest is wonderful, love it. I too hope it's a great day on Saturday for you.Love to Blackie and miss pippi. Hugs

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  15. lovely makes, hope you do well at the fair. if only we could smell that beautiful pot pourri you are making!

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  16. you have done some amazing jobs here .
    loved the boxes after paints .
    you craft fair and Christmas trees are great too .
    miss pippi is a lazy supervisor

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  17. There is simply no end to your cleverness! Have I not told you that before? I would love a tour inside your mind as you survey what others leave by the wayside. Incredible. xx

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  18. the trunk looks awesome, what a lovely chest/trunk for your blankets!
    wonderful post
    can't wait to hear all about the craft fair too, cute trees
    thanx for sharing

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