Friday, February 16, 2024

Cleaning & Creating

 Greetings lovely friends & readers

It has been wayyyy too hot to work outdoors this past week plus the Inside was looking like it was desperately in need of some attention ... this dry weather brings the dust which just coats everything.  

Oh This Is ME to a tee !!

I decided to start with some jobs that I had been putting off for a VeRy long time!


The vintage Chandelier in our bedroom was constantly blowing bulbs - one every few days sometimes.  The Mr ordered some fancy filament bulbs through our electrician who assured us they would last for years.
  I decided to clean the chandelier as it has been years a very long time since I had done this.  I cleaned all the crystals with vinegar water & wiped down the rest of the light thoroughly.  How it shines now - the new bulbs are just wonderful & I am so thrilled with it. 


I have Indian Cotton drapes in my lounge with crochet panels at the hems.  I love these drapes & have 8 drops ... 2 at each set of French Doors & then 4 at the big picture window at the end of my lounge.
  I last washed them in January 2020,  so they were looking dull & grubby.  I can wash a pair at a time in my machine on Delicates, hang them out quite wet & then iron them.  The ironing takes FoReVeR! All those gathers & the crochet lace at the bottoms ... I began doing a pair a day so it took me 4 days in total.  I worked out it took me over an hour to iron each pair. 

Of course ... there was quite a bit of this going on ... Little One thought they made the most wonderful hut under the ironing board & just look at all those tassels to play with !!  😸 
 I cleaned all the windows & doors thoroughly & hung them all back up.  Phew what a mission it was but it felt great to have it done.  

The Before

I did not have it on my list to clean out the Linen cupboard but when I went to get fresh pillowcases the whole lot fell down on my head.  That did it!!  I hauled everything out.  Many items that came home from Mum's had been shoved in & older items pushed to the back.  I plonked all the piles on my dining-room floor to sort through.


I decided to use up some plastic baskets that I no longer used in my craft room.   As you can see - I had the utmost helpful assistant (!!)  Can you believe dear friends - I removed 62 items from this cupboard ??!!  Does one person seriously need 24 handtowels ??!!


The Mr took quite a bit for wiping rags, I kept some cotton sheets for dropcloths & the rest went to the Salvation Army Op-Shop - here is my car boot load to prove it.


And the "After" ... Yes I even labelled the baskets because I am pathetic thorough like that  😉


This stack of primitive boxes were all stacked inside each other in my sewing cupboard.  I think they came from my friend Elaine quite sometime ago & I'd never used them for anything.  I decided to revamp them & use them for storage in my craft room.  The labels mostly came off easily, some of them required a scraping & a light sand.  


I wanted to paint each one a different colour but just use what I already had on hand.  Some of these paints were hard & needed water adding to soften them a bit.  But they did the trick okay. 



These are the colours I used from top to bottom.  Pavlova, Grey Mist, Aged White, Soft Duck Egg & Old Linen.  I lightly sanded them & then added some of the left-over botanical transfers from when I revamped the stool 


A good coat of wax to each box & they are ready to use & look much nicer don't you think?


This was Mum's favourite silk scarf, hand dyed, & purchased on one of our trips to Australia - she loved to wear this & the colours really suited her.  I knew I wouldn't wear it so I decided to cut it up & make it into lavender bags.



I got 10 bags altogether - the silk was a horrid thing to sew.  I filled them with this years dried lavender from my garden.  As I am going to be gifting alot of these I decided to make a label for the back just to add that special touch.  My sewing room smells wonderful  💜



My dear friend Julie is downsizing & gifted me this beautiful picture that she thought I might enjoy.  I just love it & it fits in perfectly on my mantel along with some other gold/brass coloured items.  So special.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend dear friends - thank you so very much for your visits here today,
Remember to be kind to yourselves & to each other,
With much love & friendship,
Julie & the furry ones x0x0x

30 comments:

  1. It's been hot here, too. Perhaps I should take a leaf out of your book, Julie, and give everything a thorough clean.......but then....=) Love those chandeliers. We have spiders weaving magnificent webby masterpieces. Love those curtains. They are gorgeous with their beautiful hems of lace. Those boxes you repainted and decorated are beautiful. Such a fabulous idea to make pretty lavender bags out of your mum's favourite scarf. What a treat to stroll through your home and gaze upon your beautiful vignettes♡

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  2. Wow you have been busy , I have been doing the same , started with my craft room , now going around the hose to see what can go, but went out shopping with a friend , and I brought back more , never mind the grandkids will have fun Ha
    Love the boxes , Hugs June.

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  3. It always feels good to have clean curtains and windows, your curtains are lovely. Haha, airing cupboards always tend to end up full to overflowing with stuff we dont need! Lovely transformation of the boxes, they do look great. Such a pretty scarf and lavender bags. You always have such great ideas. xx

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  4. I love Chandelier's....l don't really know why l've never got
    one for my front room, though being 6ft 3in tall, it could
    be a bit worrying hitting my head on it...! :(.
    But, we had one at home when l was growing up, my Dad,
    was 6ft+ so Mum put a single settee under it, so he would'nt
    bump his head...! :).

    My curtains in the front room, now aged 40yrs, are amazing,
    bought them ready made all those years ago...90x90...and
    they cover the entire window and walls either side, they look
    really nice when drawn, all you see are heavy duty curtains,
    that cover the entire window side..! :).
    And recently l've had to fix the Paddington Bear curtains in
    my daughters old room, well, more the brackets really...all
    running smoothly now..!

    The Little One, certainly looks as though he had a lot of fun...
    HeHe! Bless!x Anything dangling for a pussy~cat...Heaven!
    And Miss Pippi..Blessx What is it with pussy~cats and boxes
    and baskets..?
    Hope Blackie's o.k. Have'nt seen him in a while...Hopefully up
    to his usual mischief , bless him!x

    So..Your much the same as me at home Julie...Being a typical
    Virgo, l have things all clean and tidy, everything in it's proper
    place, so if l need something, l can just put my hand on it...! :).
    Some say...l'm over the top with it..But! Hey! That's how l was
    raised..! :O).

    Best get on...last few days the temp. been 10+ though the rain
    is still about..so, slightly warmer..
    Another lemon tea, couple other Blog post to reply to..Busy! Busy!
    🍁🍂🍃🍁🍂🍃🍁 🍂🍃🍁🍂🍃🍁 🍂🍃🍁🍂🍃🍁 🍂🍃

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  5. How strange! I was looking at our ceiling lights and thinking they needed a good clean - but that's as far as it went. Yours look wonderful. The boxes are gorgeous, so pretty, and the lavender bags are lovely. How can you bear to part with them?
    I am so impressed with your clearing and decluttering - it's on my to-do list and that's probably where it will stay. Still, making a list is a start, isn't it?

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  6. Please, Don't make me look UP!! Lolol...
    Glad you got things more orderly...it just makes you feel so much better.
    Love the boxes!!
    And a sweet idea for your Mom's scarf.
    hugs
    Donna

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  7. A thorough tidy and clean feels wonderful doesn't it? Well after it is done anyway. The lavender bags are so sweet, such a nice idea to use your Mum's scarf. Oh and the picture is charmimg. Have a wonderful weekend.

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  8. I think your round boxes turned out just great. I like the lighter color and the transfers better than the old look. Brighter. And I see Miss Pippi getting a bit of hot sun outside as well as a needed nap inside, lol. Too much ironing! The one chore I avoid as much as possible. I'll take cleaning the bathroom before ironing. The lavender sachets turned out great with the silk colors fading back and forth so pretty. Your mum will smile down on these as they are gifted. We have had 2 whole weeks of basicly dry weather. Very unusual and a bit worrying for any kind of drought this year. But the nights are still well below freezing and I am getting in walks most days if the wind is not as bad as yesterday, 40 MPH all day long. Lynn and Precious XX

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  9. What a busy week you have had ... all that cleaning... you deserve time out crafting now!!! The curtains are well worth the effort - I am always surprised just how much dust gathers in curtains. How pretty are your lavender bags - that repurposed scarf is perfect for the job! And great use of your boxes....
    Hugz

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  10. My goodness did you get a great deal accomplished. I can just imagine how long it took to iron those curtains.
    I really like the containers you redid. They are beautiful.

    God bless.

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  11. Julie you must have the patience of a saint to wash and iron those curtains, I think if they were in my house they would be off to the op shop to, just so I didn't have to wash and iron them😂 Love the revamp of the boxes, super cute! Wonderful bags of lavender, and the pic looks lovely on your mantle, hope it cools down for you over there, we had a couple of hot days in Melbourne, but I still did without the air con.

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  12. You've been super productive lately. I admire your determination to get these jobs done. You made a great job of the linen cupboard. Looks fab now. Also what a great use of your mum's scarf. I find silk hard to sew too.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much for leaving me your kind comment. Yes the silk was horrid - I changed the needle but it made no difference. The first time I have actually sewn real silk. xx

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  13. Wow - lots of organising and cleaning going on there. You must feel pleased with all that you've done. More lovely upcycling too. That's a lovely idea for using your Mum's scarf - and wouldn't she feel happy to know that people are going to enjoy the scarf in its new life. Little One looks so happy in his tent with the tassels!
    Have a happy week
    Best wishes
    Ellie

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  14. Your silk lavender bags are beautiful, what a lively way you tepurpise your mums scarf. Betty

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    Replies
    1. Thanks so much Betty - yes it was nice to make the scarf into something we could all enjoy & remember Mum by as she loved Lavender. xx

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  15. oh those boxes are absolutely gorgeous! and the lavendar bags are beautiful too and such a lovely idea. I can't sew a stitch but when my dad died I had some of his flannel shirts made into pillows for his grandkids - such a lovely, tactile rememberance.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much! I am really pleased with how the boxes turned out too. Making your Dad flannel shirts into pillows for the grandchildren just sounds like such a wonderful idea - how special. xx

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  16. Hi Julie .. I just adore those boxes you have repurposed - they look so pretty now. Well done! Sarah in USA xx

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much Sarah ... I am really pleased with how the boxes turned out too. xx

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  17. You have been busy Julie, great job sorting and cleaning out the cupboard and washing the curtains and all the ironing!! I feel tired thinking about it!! Trust the cats to find a play or resting place! The boxes look fantastic Julie.

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  18. Wow Julie, it must have been HOT work ironing those curtain's! Your Linen cupboard looks so organized, it will be easy to find just what you need. The revamped boxes could double as a wedding cake for a couple on a diet! So pretty. Sticky hugs from the humid north....xx

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  19. Hi Julie, it's been very hot here lately too - the only good time to get things done is first thing in the morning, even the late evenings are still very warm! You have been on the go, I really enjoyed reading about your latest projects. Isn't it funny, how one little thing can lead to a complete sort out of something, ha ha. Your boxes have turned out fab and I love the little lavender bags, so pretty. Have a lovely week x

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  20. I'm trying to be as diligent as you Julie but at the moment nursing my Mother who has a broken shoulder. I really need to stay awake 24/7 to get everything done!Great results in your linen cupboard.xxx

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  21. That opening meme is so true it hurts! LOL
    You had so much "help" of the furry variety in your cleaning out and refreshing chores.
    The refresh you did on the stack of primitive boxes is just stunning. So very pretty and fresh!
    What a sweet way to honor your Mum's precious scarf. I hope you can save a couple of those bags for yourself.

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  22. Hi Julie, gosh you have been busy but way too hot to spend hours ironing!! Those storage boxes turned out absolutely beautiful, the soft paint colours and transfers stunning. I hope you kept a lavender sachet for yourself? What a heart warming idea to use your Mum's scarf. Pam

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  23. Wow! You worked very hard! My linen cupboard is a lot like yours was. I love your storage boxes...they look beautiful. What a gorgeous way to use your dear Mum's special scarf xx

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