How to follow me with bloglovin...

 Just click on this link if you follow and read with Google Friend Connect because apparently that's all coming to an end.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Also, Krista W and Loo please get in touch about your prizes!

Car boot treasure...

My friend Theresa and I hit the boot sale this morning and I did really well. I mean, REALLY well.  I scored this little beauty for 20p. The sellers were astonished I wanted it and were glad to see it go.

 

Swoon! It was love at first sight... and it's actually not that little!

 

A bit of bird poo was no deterrent...

Look at that chippy loveliness! And dirt.

Best of all, I didn't get told off by the husband. I told him I would paint some lovely wordage on the glass and hang it on a wall and he said he ''gets it''. So thanks to Drew Pritchard and his TV show 'Salvage Hunters' my husband is turned on to architectural salvage! Progress!

Anyway, he couldn't tell me off for spending 20p could he?

I did get in trouble for buying a half bike that fits onto an adult bike as I'm still failing to teach my daughter to ride a bike. He didn't ''get'' that. Probably because we currently don't have an adult bike...but that is easily remedied!

And it was a bargain.

Still not quite finished this...

But it's coming along just fine!

Yes, I'm going hardcore again! The Marmite of furniture painting. Milk paint. Shield your eyes Curtise!

Happy weekend!

Giveaway results...

Well, the school fair was dreadful. Is it possible to sue the BBC weather man? After seeing the weather was going to be in the low 20's I changed out of my jeans at the last minute and went for a silk maxi dress. What a mistake. The 'light wind' was an icy northerly that almost took a double gazebo over a 6 foot hedge and into the field next door. If I hadn't taken double sided tape we'd have lost our tablecloths too. And I froze. The sun didn't appear for more than a few seconds at a time and it felt like 10 degrees to me. 

My daughter and I were simultaneously struck by a vomiting bug yesterday. And my goodness, children really can puke everywhere! I've been washing everything and scrubbing rugs and floorboards. Even doors! Not great when you feel pants yourself. My husband was away. :(

And Bad Bobby has been backwards and forwards to the vet with a tail abscess that won't clear up. He first got it at the last bank holiday which is typical of him, when the vets were closed! Apparently it's common in cats that fight as the tail is a good place to bite. And he's a tough guy.

As you can see!

So this post is a total winge fest!

Let's cheer ourselves up with the Bloggiversary Giveaway results!

I stuffed up on the dates. There was no Wednesday 13th. It was Wednesday 12th. Doh! Anyone hoping to enter at the last minute - tough.


Drum roll please...

The winner of the marmalade pot is... 

 KRISTA W!

The winner of the crate, nail polishes and tea towels is...

LOO from Jumbles and Pom Poms!

Congrats ladies! Please send me your addresses and Loo, have a think about if you'd like some text on your crate?

Painting progress is non existent but we have had a house full of sparkies today and we are now ready to do the dining room floor! Yay! Because at the moment it is this:

...which is upsetting. But certainly not the worst I've ever had. 

Nor was this!

Or even this... 

...nope, I've had worse than pot holes...

This is the all time worst carpet (from my last house)...

I mean, what were they thinking? It didn't stay long after I moved in! The mis matched bannisters were an unusual design feature too.

But before the floor can go down, the walls need a little TLC now...

Lovely! Good thing this house is a ten year project!

Table tutorial...sort of

Ok, I'm not a master carpenter. This will become apparent.

But I had these lovely rusty iron table legs and I thought I'd make a table top.

I mean, how hard could it be?

Well, it is actually quite hard. I found a big old plank in the wood pile I keep in the garage. I think I saved it from the old pantry.
 
I measured it carefully and luckily there would be just enough wood to make a table top with 2 shorter planks side by side.

So I divided the length by two and sawed it precisely in half.

Here's what I got:

Those observant people among you might have spotted that a miscalculation had occurred. These two 'halves' are not entirely equal. It was that tricky dividing by two that tripped me up. Should have used a calculator.
(I felt kind of foolish photographing what is not my finest moment but I also felt duty bound to warn you that this can happen.)

So, I decided I didn't actually need such a large table top anyway and sawed another piece off to make them properly equal.

At this point I was getting a bit fed up so I decide not to measure anything from this point on, just do it by eye. You probably don't want to do things this way. I just wanted to steer clear of numbers.

So I turned it all upside down, placed the legs in what looked like the middle, cut some bits of pallet to fit inside and drilled and screwed them on. You need to make sure your screws are not as tall as the thickness of the pallet piece and the plank as you don't want the screw tips peeping out of the top. I did mange to get that bit right.

 Then I turned it over, holding the top on, as it's not really attached  to the legs. 

Ta daa!

We hey! I then forced my family into the garden to admire my handiwork. My husband pointed out some possible deign flaws. So naturally I pointed out that he had never made a table in his life and that this was supposed to be rustic.

I had planned on painting the top slightly and distressing it but it's a perfect match for my crate collection so I will leave it be.

So there you have it. All you need to know about table building. If you already have some legs and don't care too much what it looks like.

Think I might stick to painting...

Next up? This baby...

School fair to get through today though...

 Funky Junk 190

Bloggiversary Giveaway!

It's my bloggiversary!

Blogging for me, has been an entirely positive experience. I have found a supportive network of friends who have been very welcoming. A sisterhood. I love the community I have become part of. I have found some wonderful people through blogging… people who I have more in common with than many of my friends.

It has increased my productivity. I'm getting things done like never before. A kick up the arse. It's chanelled my creativity. It has also brought me new clients.

It never ceases to amaze me that people read this! To say a BIG thank you to my readers and fellow bloggers I'm having a giveaway. Here's the stash...

Firstly for the UK people:

My husband was given a box of OPI nail varnishes when he filmed an OPI lady at a show.

They aren't Alpine Snow...

 
Now you know my hands are like these...

...except with added paint and bitten nails but I stashed them away for a future giveaway. I believe they are worth squillions. There are 4 bottles in the box.

They are: Natural Nail Base Coat, Russian Navy Nail Lacquer (looks purple to me,) Barre my Soul Nail Lacquer (pale pink) and a bottle of Top Coat.

I'm also offering this sweet little crate...

...which I will paint for you with the text of your choice if you wish.
Like this...

...or these...

...whatever you want. (But it is small!)

Cat food shows scale of crate...

 And two vintage unused groovy tea towels...

And this time, to be fair to my non UK readers there is another prize that I can post overseas. You won't get the nail polish,the tea towels or the crate, (some countries are funny about wooden products being imported) but you will get this very sweet vintage English marmalade pot.

And when I say 'vintage' I mean dating from 1873-1898 so actually 'antique'. I love these pots for holding paintbrushes. You can also use them as vases but you sometimes need to have a jam jar inside to hold the water as cracks and crazing means they aren't always water tight. Sorry to the UK folks but this prize is overseas only. (They are quite plentiful here though.)

So, to enter you must be a follower with Google Friend Connect and leave a comment below. If you are overseas please tell me this as the overseas people will be entered into a separate draw. Easy peasy. Oh, and please make sure you aren't on a 'no reply' setting as I will need to email you.

The deadline is midnight on Wednesday  13th June.

As for the future of this blog, I just hope I never run out of ideas. Or indeed furniture. My husband is a film maker and he's trying to persuade me to get in front of the camera. We'll see...

But for now, THANK YOU for reading! And good luck.

In an English country garden...

It seems summer might have arrived at last. As a nation we are all heading into the garden. Now, I am no gardener but I am a prettifier so I'm going to share my garden with you. (Well, the pretty bits.) Bear with me as 'Painted Style' goes 'Country Living.'

An old eiderdown makes a comfy place to sit and tell the husband it's his turn to mow the lawn.

This topless table is a work in progress. I love the rust! It would have had a glass top but I'm thinking of something else...at the moment it's not all that practical.

And for my overseas readers, let me share my spot, under the apple tree where we take afternoon tea...

                                                           ...unless it's raining of course.

                                    I just knew that old crate would be useful for something.

 

Would you believe the patchwork seat pads were found in Primark? (Overseas readers, it's like Prada.)

The herb garden under the kitchen window and the rhubarb...

And if you're very quiet, you just might see the fairies at the bottom of the garden...

 A fairy garden always needs a castle...

(Found this one at this mornings boot sale!)

                                      And the fairies need a toadstool house. (Charity shop)

                         They also need a place to take afternoon tea. Or is that pot filled with wine?

A peaceful spot to catch up on blogland. Who knew fairies had laptops? Crazy paving: a B&Q mosaic tile.

 

Definitely wine.

Enjoy the sunshine! Back soon with a stonkingly fabulous giveaway! (Even something for overseas readers!) 

 
Knick of Time Tuesday; Vintage Style Inspiration