These Twixmas Days (Part 2) ........ She's Waving Her Brush Again (!!!)

Greetings lovely friends & readers

The day after I returned from my Kinloch trip I decided to clean out the entire Sleepout.  This involves hauling nearly everything out & Hopefully NOT putting it all back in again 😉

This Nest of tables had been in the back of my sleepout for about 5 years now - given to me by a customer when I ran my Craft Cottage.  I was only just into painting/upcycling then but had thought I could do something with them.
 

If you click to enlarge the pic you can see the blistering of the varnish in the right hand photo

As you can see they were Not in a good state of repair - the thick shiny varnish on them had blistered & peeled & the main table had a crack right through it.  I knew they would require some work & not just slapping a coat of paint on them. 😉  I sanded & sanded the small nesting tables first while The Mr glued the split with PVA & clamped it for a couple of days.  The large table required the most work & the varnish did not want to lift on this one.

After sanding the smaller tables they changed colour somewhat from the dark brown they had been.  I washed the dust off them & dried them in the sunshine.

Because it is now so hot here, it is not good for painting outdoors as the paint dries too fast - so I set myself up a "painting station" down the end of my lounge in the cool - as I knew this project was going to take several days/a week to complete.

(I'm not sure why the right hand photo is showing the cream table as yellowish)

As all our shops were closed still this was very much a case of using up what I had on hand.    I had decided to paint the nesting tables in different pastels so I had to find colors that complimented each other.  

The main table & one small table are painted in Aged White,  The pink is a Resene testpot Pale Rose that I used alot around here & the grey is Grey Mist from Newton's Paints.

While I was happy with my color combination I still felt they lacked something so I dug into my supply of Re-design Transfers that I buy from Paint Me Vintage .

I absolutely LoVed this one.   I used the main part of the transfer for the big table.  Translated this reads "A house is made of walls & beams while a home is built with love & dreams".  How perfect 💕

I then scattered some of the remaining transfers on the bottom shelf of the nesting tables but left the tops plain.  I am really happy with the finished effect & the transfers just seem to set it all off nicely.  I also lightly sanded the edges of them to distress them a little.

Cup of tea anyone ..... I can give it to you on my new/old nesting tables 💗

My lovely friend Jane had given me this plain white cross so while I had my transfers out all over the floor I decided to embellish it a little.  I am so pleased with it & when I texted a photo to Jane she mentioned that she thought I might just be a teeny bit addicted 😉

These little tin hearts were 50c a pair from the Stratford Hospice Shop back in this post * here *.   I painted them with my testpots then added some remaining floral transfers & ribbons - they look great hanging on my fireplace bricks. 

Also in my sleep out was this metal cooking pot. It had been in a banana box of junk treasures that The Mr had come home with at one time.  I decided to paint it for a friend's birthday gift.

I LoVe this green chalk paint - it is called Country Green from Newton's Paints.  The pot took 3 or 4 coats to get a good coverage but I was so excited to embellish it.

Don't you think the addition of the transfers just finishes it off so nicely dear readers?  

I had to stop myself from getting quite carried away but I must say - I LoVe it so much I am just a bit tempted to keep it for myself 😉😊

In the midst of all my painting escapades my friend Sue came over for a visit from the city.  We had morning tea here & then drove around the road to Alphra Lavenders - a gorgeous lavender farm about 5 minutes from where I live.  

This is the sight that greets you when you get out of your car & you can imagine the fragrance.

The mountain in the background is called Kakepuku

Sue took this lovely pic of us both in the midst of all the lavender.

Thank You all So Much for your visits today dear friends & for staying with me through this lengthy post.  

Remember to be kind to yourselves & to each other,

With much love & friendship to you All, 

Julie & the furry ones x0x0x