Progress Report.....

So Hello there! Good week so far? I am definitely in a housey frenzy here...you know, when the inspiration to change up pretty much your whole house hits? Yeah...that's happening big time...and there just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day to get stuff done...or enough $$ to do what I imagine in my head and want done RIGHT NOW!!! So, to keep myself happy, and therefore the whole house happy, I am taking it in baby steps. Painted baby steps I should probably add...honestly it is a miracle that the cat hasn't been painted at this point...oh wait...he did.

                                                                                 

So with painting a few bits and pieces for various rooms I have also purchased a few inexpensive yet I-love-them-to-bits odds and ends too which I think will help bring a little bit of spark back into the place.
Here's the yellow chair taking her rightful place at the dining table...see that raw timber chair on the end? Yep...that has succumbed to the brush too and is currently sitting pretty on a drop sheet wearing a few new layers of primer....

                                                                               

I've been wanting to change up the light that was hanging over the dining table for awhile now...I did love our old one but it really wasn't in keeping with the rest of our house so when I accidently layed my eyes on this one a week or so ago I loved it immediately and knew it belonged here with us on the farm....

                                                                                 

Isn't she shiny and pretty?? And I love love love the red cord.....mmmmm....yummy....
I'm still debating with myself I'm very good at that   as to whether I get a matching one for over the island bench...on the one hand it would probably look lovely...on the other hand I'm just not big on matchy-matchy and the two shades are of the same shape and type.....hhmmmmm......

                                                                                   

                                                                                 

And these bench stools are my lucky find of the week...from Aldi...I know!! Seriously, what DOESN'T that store have?!!? I love how these really lift and funk-up typed that one very carefully  the kitchen...I'm finding I'm wanting a little more modern about the place lately...clean, shiny, functional.....amongst the sea of old and ratty around here!!?!

                                                                               

So so much more to do but one must be Patient. Pffftt....I detest even writing that dirty P word....

                                                                                 

                                                                                                                                                                 
Well that's my little progress report completed and handed in...would love to hear of any other DIY projects happening out there.....I am loooving getting messy at the moment.....

Enjoy the rest of your week and stay happy.....


                                                                                      Janelle  xx                                                                              

Catching Up.....

Well Hey There!! First blog post for the week...late on a Friday evening...whoops. We have switched to a new computer so between a few technical difficulties, those being me not actually knowing even how to turn the new one on until yesterday, and the usual busy busy around here has kind of got in the way of this little blog this week.
So...what has been going on here? Creative crafty paint-anything-you-see kind of things really.
First up...I bought a tin of yellow paint. This scared me a tad , yellow can be a tricky colour to get right but with a name like "yellow rose" really...how could I go wrong??!

                                                                                   

And there we are...I have a yellow chair. Oooohhh. This chair has been around forever, it's been stained, painted white, been chippy painted, but recently was just looking..well..a bit foul. So I figured if I was going to paint anything yellow it may as well be this chair. And I'm really pleased I did! It is brightening up the room already and once it has it's final coat of paint applied will be moved back to the dining table to spread it's bright happy cheer to our meal times...

                                                                               

I'm in the process of a little mini makeover for the kitchen/dining area, just wanting to spark things up a bit, and can hopefully share more next week!
Moving on and we have a bit of knitting...always a good thing surely. Since I have spent the past 3 years or so (slight exaggeration but it's been awhile) crocheting my grey rug I haven't really thought of knitting. Until the other night when the urge to whip up a cosy jumper for my coffee mug hit me. I'm sure that happens more than people admit. Yes???!?

                                                                               

And of course I couldn't stop at one. I haven't ditched the crochet stick completely though and have been experimenting with some crochet edges...and I like it!!


                                                                               

And I shall leave it there for tonight...must be time to curl up and get cosy I think......

Have a fab weekend....



                                                        Janelle  xx                                                                                                                                                              

Crates. And A Few Extras.....

Happy Friday to you!!!
         
                                                                               

Like my crates??!? These have been lying about the place for ages now and I have finally got around to doing something with them. Well, painting them anyway. Not exactly sure where they will go or what they will store but one step at a time right??!
Next question...what colour to paint the next one??

                                                                               

Yep, there are still more of these waiting patiently to be dealt with. I'm only focusing on 3 though for the moment. I'm thinking of adding in a yellow next.....
And the cup and tray?
I just love their pattern and colours.....

                                                                                 

Ok...it's nearly pick up time...and let the weekend begin........

Enjoy......


                                                                 Janelle  xx                                                                             

                                                                                     

Homemade Dressing.....

Hey there!! It's Wednesday which would mean we are in the kitchen whipping up a little homemade mayo yes? Well of course, obviously that's what Wednesdays are for.....                                                                                  

Actually I'll come clean now and admit I'm really not too sure as to whether this is technically a 'mayo' or a 'dressing'. Help me here peeps...what's the definition of these? Is there indeed a difference? Is it worth our time me even banging on about it??!?
Alright, let's get on with this...and let's call it 'salad dressing' for today ok?! So, this is the dressing I grew up eating. My mum used to constantly have a few jars of this stored in the fridge over Summer and it was what we'd pour over our salads and spread in our school sandwiches etc. Now I have my own little fam it's really nice to be making this for them. We have over the years been buying the supermarket mayo but since I'm trying to limit/cut-out-entirely preservatives and those nasty numbers that are creeping into way too many products I figured I'd stop buying the dressing and make my own. Well, my mum's...and it is easy. Ridiculously easy...

                                                                               

If you're on a no-sugar kick then this isn't for you. Sorry! I do try to moderate our sugar intake but I figured here I would rather us eat a little bit of sugar than a little bit of I-have-no-idea-what-is-in-this-jar type thing.
Ok....on with the recipe. If you can even call it that. Not much to it really!!

                                                                               

                                                                             
                                                    Homemade Salad Dressing

Ingredients

1/2 tin condensed milk
1 cup white vinegar
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1 teaspoon curry powder (optional)
salt/pepper

Method

1. Throw all ingredients into a mixing bowl.

2. Beat until all is well combined.

3. Pour into your jar or whatever you want to store it in. I'm thinking I need a few pretty mason jars to keep mine in but that's probably not relevant at the moment...

4. That is it!

                                                                                     

                                                                                 

This should keep for a week or even more in your fridge as the vinegar should help preserve it. But if your family is anything like mine it has no hope of lasting more than a couple of days!

                                                                                 

                                                                               

Right, I'm off to scrub the house so I can give myself a few hours of fun-time before it's school pickup and the chaos begins. I'm thinking I can hear my sewing machine calling me today....

Have a good one.....


                                                                                Janelle  xx



                                           
                                                         

Weekend Project Time......

Well Hello again...how was your weekend folks? Ours was a little bit productive, a little bit entertaining, a little bit social and a little bit hang-about-the-house (always my fave)....all in all a good one I would say.
So, whilst the husb was in a hang-about-the-house stage I ever so nicely managed to steer him more towards the productive stage as I had had the thought earlier last week to change up our bedside tables. That ever happen to you? Just out of the blue a little idea creeps in and it seems so obvious and easy that it would be silly not to pester your husband to help you  go with it??

                                                                                 

The bedside tables in our bedroom are both hand-me-downs that we have had forever. I have never bothered to replace them as nothing else has really jumped out at me and really, these function quite well...they are the perfect height for our bed and the cupboards are a good size to hold a reasonable amount of junk items....

                                                                                 

They were originally both timber with a coat of varnish  popped over the top. A few years back we sanded them back and I slapped some white paint over them with a little rubbed back effect happening. That was definitely an improvement and did help to lighten things up a bit. We have since painted our bed white (from black) and tossed out some other furniture but things still looked just a tad blah and bland. And matchy. Matchy matchy!! Oh no....

                                                                               

                                                                                                                                                               
So my idea was to take back the tops to timber but then just leave them in a nice raw and rough state. Which my husband very kindly helped me with on the weekend. I really like how they've come up but yep...still got that matchy match thing going on.....

                                                                             

I'm thinking my next plan of attack is to completely strip back the table on my side (the one with the gorgeous hydrangeas sitting on it. Oh yes and the knitting book. Just in case you thought that may have been Mr WF's side...) then maybe slap some form of colour (yes...we are having a major "colour moment" around here at the mo) maybe a yellow? green? Still working on that.....

                                                                               

For now though I am just enjoying the raw timber tops....and plotting what else I may need to finish this room off.....love a bit of plotting, don't you?!?

                                                                             

                                                                                                                                                                   
Ok I am off to start dinner...minestrone soup tonight...what's on the go at your place??

Have a fab week and stay happy :) ..... :)


                                                                          Janelle  xx


                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Friday Roundup........

Well Happy Friday to you!! How's the week treated you? We are off and running nicely with the start of a new school year. I am preparing myself though for a quick shift into 3rd or 4th gear in the coming weeks as school and activities start to take over our lives again!?
So anyway this week I have had my creative crafty hat on trying to get a few projects done and dusted...
I whipped up this cute pillowcase for our sheep-obsessed 6 year old....and yes that would be sheep asleep in her bed....and sheep hanging above her bed....suffice to say - she loved her new pillowcase!!


                                                                                     

I'm also in the process of giving one of our much loved Ikea stools a little facelift...nothing like a bit of mint to make one feel brighter no?!!?

                                                                                 

         
And of course the crocheted rug....an ongoing..and ongoing project....I have been getting a few squares done most nights...hands get a bit sweaty on the hot muggy evenings but we must keep going!!!!!

                                                                               

Next up....more painting and a few more pillowcases....I can feel an obsession coming on.......

                                                                                 

Enjoy your weekend folks!!



                                                                Janelle  xx                                                                                

Patchwork Quilt Cover....tick......

Hey there...quick post today to share the finished, that's right, c.o.m.p.l.e.t.e.d. patchwork quilt cover I have been sewing away at for my daughter. I really loved making this...I love sewing things that ARE NOT clothes...they don't need to fit around oddly shaped body parts and, in this case anyway, there wasn't even a pesky pattern to follow. Just pretty little squares, some more square-ish than others I will admit, to cut and then sew together.....

                                                                             

For the opening end of it I decided to just sew up a few ties and use them...I'm liking those pretty bows....

                                                                               

And for the back I used an old white valance that was sitting unassumingly in the linen cupboard and chopped it to size....worked a treat!!

                                                                                 

Most importantly though...my daughter loves it..phew!! She is a real rainbow girl so this, I think, is perfect for her.....

                                                                                 

I would now love to have a go at quilting however I will be buying pre-cut squares for that one.....apparently one needs to be very exact with all that...hhmmmm, could be a worry for this slap-dash girl......

                                                                                   

So...there we have it....another project down.....7398 or there abouts to go....

Enjoy your Wednesday yes?!!


                                                      Janelle  xx                                                                              

Monday.....

Hey Monday....how's it goin'?

                                                                                 

It's all pretty cruisey around these parts today...just the way I like a Monday to be....

                                                                                 

                                                                               
That will of course all change once 3pm hits but in the meantime.. I shall enjoy....

                                                                               

                                                                             

Wishing you a fab week ahead.....


                                                                                   Janelle  xx