our creative space . . . 'i give you my sweet craft cupboard'

Greetings all,
I might not be crafting but i'm getting ready to get back into my beloved sewing & designing soon.  Over the Easter weekend i painted the buffet & hutch.  It was SO windy (i was working on the driveway - while the children were playing volleyball in the street, there is pink paint on said volleyball, get my drift, i got hit in the head a few times, ditto the buffet) so i brought it inside before i shabby'ed it up & sanded it back, but it'll do . . . better than "mother crushed under glass buffet clutching sandpaper, an Easter crafting tragedy". 

 I've spent the week decorating it, playing around, pretty versus practical.  How glorious is the wall paper, even better than i expected.  Also glad i kept it white inside, all pink would have been too much.  I'll keep tinkering too, i really do have some lovely craft supplies.

 What more does a girl need when she has lolly jars filled with lavender, beads & buttons??

 I twirled my favourite ribbons around the pole, there must be 200m of ribbon in this hold all.

 What can i say, i love little suitcases & straws.

 My blue ribbons set against the beautiful bird on the Laura Ashley wall paper.

 The drawers hold my stamps, stationery & other difficult to display supplies.

 The cupboards hold my die cuts & paper craft goodies, like lanterns & my letter press.

 I know i'll add to this craft cupboard, i see pom poms & bunting too.

 Quick tip on wall papering - don't worry about bubbles, they dry smooth, just focus on the joins!!

 So this is how it currently stands, between my cutting table & fabric racks, & stores batting on top.  So want to light up those flamingoes!!

Phew, there it is, done, i'm happy, it's homemade & the final cost . . . $60 second hand buffet & hutch + $15 paint + $20 (from $60 roll) wall paper + $35 on knobs + $10 back board + free child labour = about $140!!  I have left over paint, wall paper & paste, MDF board, so the next project will be free.
It's not perfect, but the children had so much fun painting this, the bits they missed are the parts i love the most - like pulling open a drawer & noticing they skipped the top, makes me smile, we did this project together.  Happy Creative Spaces folks, love Posie

our creative space . . . 'furniture revamp trial run'

Greetings all,

Yay, finally something to link up with Our Creative Space.  Now before i tackle The Buffet Project, i thought i'd do a trial run on a smaller piece of furniture first, namely . . . The Bureau Project.  Armed with the tools i'll be using on the buffet & hutch (paint, wall paper) i sanded back & primed this $15 second hand bureau for some girlie flavouring, practically for free.

My child labour force took turns on the roller & brushes after school, they have skills!!

 The following day i gave it a coat of Dulux Gala Day, yes, it's bright pink!!

 Perfect painting weather during the mornings this week (too hot after midday) but i struck a snag, my Laura Ashley crystal heart knob's screw was too long for the slim wooden bureau lid, so i threaded a wooden bead behind the knob, crisis averted.  Yes, the knob cost more than the bureau ($40 for 2), the beauty is in the details folks!!

 Now the wall paper, it's so pretty, Laura Ashley Elveden Celadon, just released.

 I took basic measurements for the pigeon holes at the writing desk & cut them roughly (i used a soft tape measure & edge of magazine as a straight guide, that kind of rough).

 Then neatened the edges with the slicer!! 

 I bought proper wall paper paste for when i do this paint'n'paper job on the hutch, however, on reading the instructions, the small bag made up enough paste to wall paper 20 metres square.  Um, i had about half a metre square . . . so i borrowed my daughter's Clag paste.

 It worked a treat - i did 3 sections before school & 3 with the children, they loved doing this small scale wall papering.  Then it was instantly ready to pop in my 3rd girl's bedroom.

 I sanded the paint back a bit to shabby it up, it's a pretty rough 2 day job (note i didn't bother painting the undersides of the shelves) but it was a trial run after all & yes, my hands . . . 4 weeks on from surgery . . . are both a bit tender.  I used 100ml ($3) of the feature paint, amazing & the roller set ($7) made the job so speedy.

All that matters is that my vintage loving crafter has a new homework station & nooks to pop her favourite stationery pieces.  She's not finished styling the bureau yet & really needs to reduce the clutter hanging from her lanterns!!  Her favourite part of the whole project - the crystal heart shaped knob, yay, that's my girl.  Love Posie