Tackling the cutlery drawer conversion project

Having been foolish enough to go to a boot fair just before going on holiday and lugged back a project to do I resolved that it was time to tackle it. Quite apart from anything else it was making the place look untidy. Few things look worse than a half done DIY project.

So! Sanding first. The intent was to just take the top layer of grime off with a fine grade sandpaper so I could keep the patina. Unfortunately the gunge left on the drawers from the weird fake wood plastic veneer meant that I had no choice but to go for a proper sanding job. I was less hardcore on the rest of the chest but needed to take enough layers off to make the colour of the wood blend together nicely.

Sanding done it was time for the magic that is Briwax to go on. Ooh it came up luvverly!

However the insides of the drawers were still a bit of a mess. The glue that held the fitted interior was tough and was not budging. After several hours of scraping and sanding I accepted that the bottom of the drawers were never going to look great and I was better off giving them a pretty lining and hiding the mess.
 

 But what lining? Oh so many choices of lovely wrapping paper, some astonishingly expensive. In the end I went for this one from Judd street Papers. I thought the 30's feel would work well with style of the drawers and the yellow would blend nicely with the colour of the oak.

At £2.20 per sheet it was a little more expensive than I wanted but as the drawers only cost £7.50 I thought I could stretch to it. (This got slight more expensive when I realised I had stuck one sheet the wrong way up.)

I was going to show you this 'bloggified' photo pretending that my life is fabulously stylish.

In reality though the printer has to sit on top of the drawers as there is nowhere else for it to go and artfully placed bits and bobs would drive me mad every time I used the printer or opened the drawers. So instead here is how it has improved life in a very ugly corner.

I am truly thrilled to have got all those papers hidden away. I do not claim to be a neatness obsessive but surface level tidy makes me feel very happy. Just don't open the drawers.....

Being brutally honest I  am 50/50 about the success of this. I am really pleased with how the outside has come up but the insides of the drawers are less than perfect. I just couldn't stop the paper from going crinkly from the PVA glue. It didn't matter whether I left the glue to get tacky, put a thick coat or a thin coat. Solutions on a postcard please. Fortunately the drawers are pretty full already so nobody will see much wrinkle.

It's been a year

I married my Matey just over a year ago and it was, and still is, great! At some point I may go over some of the mad DIY bits we did for the day but here are a few very general things that I think are worth bearing in mind if you are planning to tie the knot.

Phone everybody you’ll be inviting and tell them the good news. Don’t email. Yes you’ll get loads of lovely emails back but nothing beats spending a week having chats about it all with your friends and family, you will not stop smiling all week. You will also discover that by the end of it you have the first draft of your guest list

Decide as a couple which things are REALLY important to you and which things are not so vital if you have to sacrifice them?

Our cake was very simple with the words from 'The Red Tree' handprinted around it. Apparently it took nine hours for my brother-in-law to print. Simple doesn't mean quick or easy apparently!

Whatever your budget make a spreadsheet and list everything with expected costs. Things can add up so even if you buy a bargain for 50p for the wedding it goes on the spreadsheet.

You don’t have to have a theme if you don’t want one! You don’t have to have a colour scheme if you don’t want one! (Not having a colour scheme makes life so much easier. I did not want to spend hours trying to match a particular shade of anything) Dare I say that you don't have to have something old, new, borrowed, or blue if you don't want to.

Chocolate leaves!

Don't forget to focus as much, if not more, attention on the service itself. It is easy to get carried away with the fluffy stuff for the reception which is great fun to plot. The service is the point of the day (to state the bloomin' obvious) which  everybody is there to see and will be focusing  properly on with no distractions.

Making things for a wedding takes a lot of time and the materials are not always cheap. If you are on a budget do some calculations to see whether it really is cheaper. We designed our invitations, order of service, menus and thank you cards and printed them on beautiful thick card at home which would only fit through the print one sheet at time. With 400 bits of card to print we spent HOURS standing over the printer which died post honeymoon. Factor in the cost of a new printer, inks, wasted card and suddenly the cost of going pro is cheaper. In hindsight we should have designed them and had the lot printed professionally.

Oh the madness of scanning 100 images from classic books so each person had a different one in their place setting envelope. The words 'Whose idea was this?' may have been said a few time. I would do it all again though.

Be realistic with what can be achieved in the time you have. Look at how many months you have left and aim to be pretty much done a month before your wedding. Trust me you will have a lot to do in the last month so don’t leave making 200 metres of bunting till then. You will probably have loads of offers to help but it may prove impossible to coordinate so assume you are on your own and go yippee if jobs are taken off your plate.

Terrible photo. 100 cushions which took 5 days to make. I felt sick at the sight of them by the  end.

Just enjoy the day. Things will go wrong but nobody will know. You may not notice either. I spent hours fireproofing string to make jamjar lanterns for candles in the evening. Never got used and I didn't notice till we collected all our stuff three weeks later. At the end of the day you have just got married so does it really matter?!

If you can, take the greetings cards with you when you leave. It is weird when it goes from being everybody to just you two and there is no way you will go to sleep. Having a glass of fizz together while opening cards and talking about the day gets it all back to normal and ends the day with it just being the pair of you.

When I'm cleaning winders

City living has its pros and cons. I am fortunate to live in a little Victorian terrace with high ceilings and nice big windows. The con is that it looks straight out onto the street and while I am happy to look out I am not so sure about other people looking in. (When I say 'other people' I am of course imagining a horde of swag-carrying burglars in fetching Breton stripes with their noses pressed up against the window.)

For years I have solved this problem with thin plain white muslin curtains. A graceful solution but I can't get away from the fact that they are still middle class nets and block a lot of light out.

As the nets...sorry... muslins.... needed washing I thought it was time to try the other city dwellers solution. Frosted window film. (I could mention that it took an absurd 3 weeks to arrive but we don't need to go there.) I am not going to be tedious and go through how to put this stuff up. Suffice to say it comes with instructions and it works better if you read them as it's not difficult exactly but it is slightly fiddly. However here are some top tips that I discovered as I went along that aren't in the instructions.

Top Tip: Bloomin' obvious but do take the time to clean your windows before putting the film on. Anything under the film will be stuck there and you will end up doing the whole job again.

Top Tip: Take time to smooth out all the bubbles under the film with an old credit card. It is worth it in the end.

Top Tip: As the instructions say do spray the film with the soapy water but just dampen the window a little. Too much of the mixture is a pain and you will have to spend ages smoothing it out and trying to stop the film from slipping.

It does look a bit rubbish to start with as the soapy water needs time to dry out. After a few days you will see that all the nasty streaks that you have been looking at with annoyance will have dried out.

So there we have it. Do I prefer it as a solution? Frankly no. I don't really want either. However as we have to have something it is arguably easier to ignore than the muslin curtains, unless you want to look out the window of course, and it does have one major pro. More light coming in.

As this was hardly the most scintillating post I'll finish up by saying that in the new look garden the plants appear to be growing and the slugs seem to be taking a holiday. The honeysuckle is still looking very sad but look at the pretty Camellia flower that emerged after a shower of rain.

Letter bunting for presents

As my Matey works in chocolate I am rather spoilt when it comes to Easter eggs. This pretty thing was this years present.

Too pretty to eat really.....until last night when it was destroyed and scoffed with great pleasure.(I think that the snowflakes are meant to be daisies but this year snow does seem more accurate.)

The trouble with a Matey who works in chocolate is that a Smarties egg just won't cut it. To be honest most chocolate won't come close to the stuff he is surrounded by each day so each Easter I have to come up with something innovative. This year there was only one thing that felt right:

Ahem. Private joke. I can't explain it because you'll think I'm bonkers.

I adore wrapping presents. Few things are nicer than making a present look enticing while imagining the recipients face when getting it. Currently I have bit of a thing about decorating a simply wrapped parcel with cut out bunting of letters in jolly colours. It looks fabulous and as though it took ages but it really doesn't and is a pleasant task to do while watching the tellybox.

Tools

Computer with Word or Publisher

Printer

Card

Scissors

Thick but pointy needle

String or embroidery thread

Method

1. Create your letters in Word or Publisher. I like to use the Word Art function in Publisher as I find it gives me more control over size and colours. Once you have the letters right choose which colours you want and fill in both the body and the lines of the letters. 

Top Tip: If you want each letter to be a different colour you will need to have a text box for each letter.

2. Print onto the card.

3. Cut out the letters. Nail scissors or a scalpel can be handy for the fiddly bits.

4. Using the needle make two holes on either side of the letter. You can use one hole but I find the letters hang better with two. Gently pull the needle all the way through the card. Giving the needle a little twist as you go helps with this.

5. Thread the needle with the string or embroidery thread and string the letters together.

6. Stick one end of the thread to the back of the present. take the other end and gently pull it taut before sticking it down. Adjust the letters to look splendid and wait to see the lucky person who is getting it.

Easter is over!

Golly! It's been a week since my last post. I've been on happy, happy holiday and I've been awfully busy celebrating so there hasn't been much time to sit down to type much.

Much chocolate has been scoffed and Spring has truly Sprung. I know the weather is yet to realise this but the clocks going forward makes all the difference to my cycle home.

Having taken a few days off post Easter my Matey and I went to the Doctors, Dissection and Resurrection Men exhibition at The Museum of London . It's only on for another week and a half but I would highly recommend it as I came out having definitely learnt stuff and pondering the continuing and controversial issue of the need for donor bodies for Medical Science to grow.

I often don't go to exhibitions that are ticketed at museums in London. I feel that the whole of museum is free so why do I need to pay for a small exhibition when I can occupy a day in the main part. However when I do fork out I always realise that it is often easier to really learn something from a small and well curated exhibition that focuses in on a subject. Wandering round a vast museum it is easy to learn nothing at all despite being surrounded by fascinating objects.

I did finally get on with a very small project I have been meaning to do for sometime now. (Why is it that the small tasks are always neglected.) The recycling system has changed in our area so we now have plastic bags to put it all in. The only problem being that the bags go everywhere and with a small kitchen it's hard to fit things in anyway without a sprinkling of green bags everywhere. Simple solution. A bag stuffer! This was one of those things I always thought was a bit naff and too cute for me. Until I was given one for plastic shopping bags and discovered that they do the job very well. Time to make a new one for the recycling bags.

This is a truly easy job and takes about half an hour.

1. You need to cut out a rectangle of fabric for the main body and a strip of fabric for the handle.
 

2. Iron both strips in half and sew along the long edge to make two tubes of fabric. (It is worth ironing the seams open at this point for a nice finish.)

3. Turn the strip for the handle inside out and iron.

4. Fold the two ends of the main body tube over twice so that you have a hem that is wide enough to feed some elastic through.

5. Sew the bottom hem leaving a small gap, around 1cm, for the elastic to feed through. I always double stitch around the gap to make sure it is really secure.

6. The top hem needs the two ends of the handle inserted under it and folded back up to keep it hanging nicely (see the photo below). Stitch the top hem in exactly the same way and stitch the top of the hem where the handle is.

7. Using a safety pin as a needle feed the elastic through the gaps at the top and bottom, decide on the best tension for you to be able to get the bags in and out and tie a knot.

8. Trim any loose threads and stuff with plastic bags.

 

Told you it was quick and easy! Free as well if you use leftover bits and bobs.

Decorating Challenge: The Kitchen - Part 1

Having sold an impressive £120 worth of stuff on eBay......more than I expecting...yippee! It was time to tackle the kitchen. The main reason for this is that it is the second smallest room in the house so it wouldn't be to much disruption. Or so I thought

After much discussion we decided that we liked the old combination of red and cream. So time for some more testers (Yes we are sticking with Dulux again. I can't bear to spend £10 on a few tester pots when I can get 6 for £2) and some 'before shots' into the bargain.

As you can see there is one twist to our sticking to the red and off white. We are reversing it. The one large red wall is turning white and the rest is turning red. In theory there will be less red on show as it will be covered by the cupboards but what can be seen will be set off nicely with the wood cupboards and make much more of a statement.


And so it begins......now this is a truly nasty sight. The old paint, which I thought was clean, next to the new paint. YUCK!

At the end of the first day I was getting a tad depressed at the sight of the mess so I painted a small corner with the red (Burnt Autumn 1 - I think I'm enjoying the daft paint names too much) to show me that there was an end in sight and it was all going to be ok eventually.

A bit of paint sploshing around, this is a tad of an understatement...at the end of two days painting we were both knackered, and we are getting there. Just have to wait till the weekend to do the next and rather exciting bit. For the time being it's a bit like camping with half our stuff in boxes:

(Note the new position for the cupboard....crazy times!)

This wall is waiting for the truly exciting part.......

Bathroom makeover Part 2 - In which I set myself a challenge

The bathroom is looking pretty smart now in its coat of Dulux Blue Diamond 4. However painting the first coat on a Friday night (yeah I'm cool!) was mildly traumatic as I vacillated between an overwhelming desire to get the paint on and a growing dread that the blue might be a bit too shocking. Post first coat this involved a great deal of wandering up to the bathroom and staring at the walls in a thoughtful manner guaranteed to cause brain ache. I should add that the walls were also framed in green masking tape that gave the blue a decidedly unpleasant hue.

Top Tip: It is really is worth paying for the more expensive tape. I would rather say that it's a waste of money but it just does do a better job and cuts out having to do hundreds of touch ups.


Second coat on and green tape off the blue started to contrast rather pleasantly with the the white tiles. However the shiny new white paint job on the skirting and door/window frames did have the unwanted effect making the tiles look a tad dingy. It was time to scrub.

Top Tip: I favour bicarbonate of soda and white vinegar over any other cleaning products. Good results with the minimum of effort which as I hate cleaning is imperative.

The taps were shiny and clean in minutes. BUT! After an hour with a toothbrush scrubbing the grout between the tiles I had to admit defeat and reached for my least favorite product. Bleach. Yes I know that it is truly dreadful stuff but sometimes it is the only answer and mixed with the slightly abrasive bicarbonate of soda  it did the trick. FOUR HOURS of scrubbing every white surface. I was pruney, wet, slightly high on the mix of chemicals and knackered.

I should add that my Matey was downstairs doing an excellent job of restoring an ebay bargain (£3.50 for two very heavy vintage mirrors. One to use and one to sell.) of a mirror for the bathroom.

This is where I admit that I have always been a tad dubious of the 'designers' thing of how having a mirror will make a small room feel bigger. I think it depends a great deal on the mirror, the room and where it is hung. This time however it really does work.

New mirror hung, cleaning products cleared, just the shower curtains to hang and time for a very late lunch (closer to dinner) in the pub. The shower rail came down. I nearly cried. I would have cried but I was just too tired. Upon inspection the new parts that held the rails to the ceiling had worn away already. (Yes I have complained to the shop) The solution was obvious. It just needed small nail to hold it in place.  However simple the solution the hour it took two weary people to take down the rail, hammer through the thin metal tube and get everything back up was very painful indeed.

Just two small jobs to do. Find a replacement hot tap indices and a small shower bracket to replace the frankly disgusting old one and we are in business. They are proving a tad tricky though as we seem to need an unusual size for both. (Of course!)

Oh and I'm looking a bathroomy picture that doesn't have fishes, the seaside or shells involved....

In the meantime I have set myself a challenge. Having re-done the bathroom for the princely sum of £75 I wonder if it is possible to redecorate the house by selling bits and bobs to pay for it. I should add that I am talking of the stuff that we can't take with us. Paint, shelves, shower brackets. Pictures, furniture, frills and furbelows don't have to count. Though I would rather they do as getting rid of stuff means more space.

Is it possible? Possibly!

In the meantime the ducks are feeling a lot happier.

My new bits and bobs box restoration- Part 4 Upholstering

One of the things that attracted me to this box in the first place was the padded top. I like things to have more than one purpose.

So having cleaned, scrubbed, painted and waxed this box into a rather handy thing to have around I had to tackle upholstery. I am no upholsterer. But I have nailed fabric to wood with a bit of padding before so I was determined to make it work this time.

As a technique this was successful if not correct. More importantly it was easy and I was able to do it with no help.

Cut out your fabric so that you have a margin of just over the depth of the foam (loads of places on ebay to get pre-cut foam). Fold the edge of the fabric over and iron it flat. This will help you get  neat edge.

 At this stage it feel like you haven't cut the fabric big enough. Don't worry! Place the box (or whatever it is you are covering) upside down on top of the foam:

 (At this point you really will be losing faith in the size of the fabric. Trust me!)

With care kneel on top the the box so that you can push down the foam just enough to nail one upholstery pin in into the centre of each side.

(Yes you will be looking daft right now as your bum will be in the air and your face will be getting slightly red from being upside down.)

Put another 2 pins in on each side to get the fabric evenly stretched:

 Start hammering pins in all round the fabric. I find it easier now to right the box up and gently push down on the fabric covered foam till it is in the right place:

 Top Tip: If you are using a fabric that has a right way up do make sure that you have the correct way for the furniture....Ahem I may not have done this:

 I had to unpick everything and go back to the start so things were not as neat as they would have been.

Anyway once you have got everything pinned in place it's time to tackle the corners. They are not as tricky as they seem.

Take one of the sides of fabric, fold it over the edge and snip it about 2 cm in from the edge:

On the other side of the flap cut a corresponding snip and remove the small square of fabric:

Hold the first fold down and carefully fold the second part over to make a nice tight fold and pin. It is worth not hammering it in too far so that you can fiddle with it a bit to make it neat.

Once you are happy you can finish it all off:

Do the other three corners.

Top Tip: It is neater to fold the same way each time. I had the fabric from the short edges of the box fold inward first followed by the long edges.

After a month we finally have a fully restored box. Hooray! Time for some before and after shots....

I was going to take some snaps of the inside empty and pristine but who am I kidding? This is as tidy as it will ever be. It is a working box you know.