I am definitely looking for my craft mojo of late, or indeed mojo of any variety. I know I’m not the only one feeling sluggish right now and the temptation to blame it on the weather is a strong one but I think I need to try and snap out of it! Easier said than done admittedly but I have only a week until I discover whether I’ll have a job past the end of March so I’m trying to make the most of this time. Of course my priority as ever is to try and make this house a home!

Newer readers may not be aware of our home history. In 2006 whilst on maternity leave after having Nairn I became obsessed with looking for a new home after a series of events at our flat including a fire downstairs that trapped us. The very first house we looked at was this one and it was priced very cheaply for the locale – it needed a lot of work done but in my usual spirited manner I convinced Bob that we could totally renovate the house quickly while living in it with the kids. BIG mistake, because as it apparently the trend I fell pregnant with Erica the month we moved in and by 16 weeks I was on bed rest with her. Three years down the line and although we’ve done a lot of work, the only room in the house which has been properly decorated is the living room.

Of course with four children the living room almost always looks like the epicentre of a large earthquake but I am determined to make it more homely with a priority on freshening up the paint. But… But. We have a problem.

Since we moved in, we have regularly marked off the kids’ height* on the back of the living room door. It’s been the place we displayed the artworks sent home from nursery & school. It was where we pinned the sign language crib sheet that we needed to learn so that we could communicate with Nairn and subsequently Erica before they started speaking. It is filthy and really desperately needs cleaned up and repainted but what am I going to do with our markings? What would you do if you were us? If you have a young family and keep track in a similar way, how do you do it?

*Interesting (to me) points: Nairn at 3y11m is two inches taller than Findlay was at 5y10m. Erica at 18m was three inches shorter than Nairn at the same age. Greer at 9m is 1.5 inches taller than Erica was at 11m. I strongly suspect my children as adults in order of height will be Nairn, Findlay, Greer and Erica. All of whom I project to be 6ft+. Based on the premise that a child will have reached half their adult height by the age of three then they’re all going to tower over me!

Posted under interior decorating

LOOK!!

I posted a photo in my “A day in the life” stream, showing a project I haven’t quite finished yet and it was picked up and posted on OhDeeDoh which is one of my favourite blogs, ever. I am so honoured – thank you for featuring me!

The project featured is this table which I’ve découpaged for Findlay and Nairn’s bedroom. The kids’ Godfather, Dave, is moving out of his flat and has given me a few bits of furniture that he was going to throw out. He and I are hoarding kindred spirits, can’t see any crap thrown out ANYWAY, one of the things he gave me was an Ikea Lack table which had seen better days but which I decided could be given new life!

I used a vintage annual (the 1991 Bash Street Kids annual, for reference!) and a LOT of PVA glue to stick it down and then seal the top. I had a bit of a disaster with the top which I am hoping to resolve this week – I wanted a hard, clear varnish so that the paper would be safe if the kids were to spill something on it and when I asked someone in B&Q for clear acrylic varnish they gave me Ronseal. I didn’t think anything of it but when I applied it, it cracked the PVA. Disaster! I’ve now got some plastikote clear enamel but it’s been raining here today and I haven’t been able to get the table out to spray it.

I have also left one leg uncovered just now until I decide if I like the legs découpaged or not. What do you think?

Posted under interior decorating, me, site stuff

Thank you all so very much for your help and advice with picking paint. Over the last week I’ve been in a frenzy of decorating, designing and mopping up after the kids who have been sick again hence me still not finishing part 2 of “A day in the life” But! Fret no more, starting this afternoon and running until Monday you are going to be treated to not one but TWO fabulous giveaways, a review of some cleaning products I have been sent and asked to talk to you about, some bona fide crafting and maybe a recipe or two. Also as a general reminder, the “A day in the life… Crafter’s special” takes place on Friday 25th September. I will write a post just about this, later.

I have also decided to start a new feature called “Fabulous Friday” where I’ll showcase fabulous interiors that I’ve found. Doing my research in order to finally make my house a home has been truly awe-inspiring and I’ve found some jaw droppingly gorgeous rooms. If you’d like to be featured, please email me with a link or photo.

In the meantime, can I point you all towards a resource I found today and fell in love with? The fabulous Indie Fixx site has been running an art project called Feed Your Soul and is giving away free downloads of gorgeous prints from a variety of different designers. Free! Gratis! I can’t actually decide which ones I want to use but it’s fine because the downloads are free! I am extremely excited by this and have already selected three for the girls’ room and one for mine.

Posted under Fabulous Friday, inspiration

OK! Further to my last post asking for help picking paint for the girls’ bedroom I got some samples and painted them against the wallpaper.

My feeling is that the colour on the top left (dark cream/light coffee) is too dark for the paper and the white makes the paper look dirty. The colour on the bottom (buttercup) is just the wrong shade. That leaves the lilac on the left and the dusky pink on the right. I’m leaning towards the pink but I do like the lilac too.

The dark pink on the bottom? That’s the colour the bottom half of the room is just now. It was my choice and I absolutely loved it at first, but it’s such a small room that it’s overwhelmed by the pink.

What say you? My gosh, this interior designing malarkey is hard work isn’t it?

Posted under interior decorating

OK I’m relying on you lovely ARTISTIC bunch to help me out a little here.

My girls share the smallest room you could imagine. It’s an L shape, with a built-in closet making up the missing square. The longest wall has just enough room for Greer’s cot and the head of Erica’s bed. The short wall has maybe a foot of space at the end of Erica’s bed. It is tiny and until yesterday was decorated in a very bright pink that was pretty but a little loud for a baby & toddler room.

I found this gorgeous wallpaper in B&Q the other day and I’ve bought a roll of it to do the biggest wall with the intention of painting the other walls white BUT after giving the walls a quick once-over yesterday I realised that white paint will make the wallpaper look dirty because it’s more of a cream colour.

SO! I come to you experienced people for help. To make it easier, I can paper the wall today and take photographs if that will help but I’d rather paint before I paper so I don’t risk damaging this gorgeous print. What colour would you paint the walls if this was your room? I’ve been thinking of either a baby pink (which risks looking like pepto-bismol) or a light grey (the wallpaper has metallic accents) but that could highlight the less-than-perfect walls.

Ideas..?

Posted under interior decorating