RAIN!!!

Yesterday it bucketed down. For ten minutes. But there was 13mm of rain. The little track that Jake Dog made on his treks up to Outer Bungolia turned into a little ravine gushing with water. Not big enough to lose him...

And after a couple of weeks of the temperature hovering between 40* and 45* it was soooo lovely when it got down to 25*!!!!!

Pantry cupboard

Green inside the doors, and red door knobs. Might just sand it back a bit and leave it at this.

I found this lovely flower illustration on http://cargocollective.com/brittanyburton and am (probably) going to decoupage it on the inside of the doors cos the colours are SOOO pretty! Having fun cutting them out at least...

I See The Light!

Well, almost see the light. Getting there...

I am being creative with a couple of old crystal chandeliers that The Sweetheart found (in the pine wardrobe in his garage) and was about to sling into the garbage.

I pulled them apart, washed 20 years of garage dust from them, and polished up the crystals. Then I ripped the electricals out of them (who wants plastic fake candles anyway???).

I managed to get the two of them screwed together - with some ingenuity and grittings of teeth - and  draped  them with the original crystals as well as a pile I have been collecting for a long time.

What they looked like to start with - less the plastic fake candles and the flickery light bulbs...

Rippin' out the electricity (NB - I painted the shelf which is going into the pantry cupboard)

More ripping!

The two chandeliers screwed together and with extra dangles, prisms, crystals, beads etc.

And from the other angle. The gold cup screws up over the hook that will be in the ceiling. When I find something strong enough - it now weighs about 10 kgs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They are going to be draped with a string of tiny LED lights left over from Christmas, and then hung above my sink. Nothing nicer than a crystal chandelier to wash dishes by...

A Get Well Song

S4's girlfriend is a wonderful singer and songwriter. She has the sweetest voice, and is very talented - she is studying music at university, and has some regular gigs as well.

A few months ago she wrote me a Get Well Song, and she and S4 recorded it. I have finally figured out how to add it to here!

It is called  Oh, Jasmine so click on the link and have a listen to the lovely song!

(Listen right to the end and tell me if their 'not so hidden track' didn't make you smile!)

The Snuggle Chair

In 1987 when the boys were tiny and we were living in San Francisco I bought a wonderful old armchair in a garage sale. It was the chair we could all fit into for a cuddle and became known as The Snuggle Chair.

Over the years it has got so very sad and saggy, and it got past the stage where another bed-pillow stuffed in under the cushion wasn't enough to stop us falling through.

Finally the tacks gave up the ghost and the springs fell out onto the floor so I am compelled to un-upholster it in readiness for re-upholstering.

About 20,000 tacks later I discovered another layer of upholstery under the tatty, faded and ragged brocade that was on when I bought it. (It has had a couple of slip covers I made over the years, and then I left it Shabby Chic until it sailed past Chic and even left Shabby behind...).

I have almost got it back to bare wood, and also remade the seat squab with more layers cut from an old doona cover, and added the feathers that were originally in it along with the feathers from the doona and balls of polyester wadding that I rolled up and stuffed in the centre of the feathers and down to give it all a bit of body. It is about 15" high, but will foof down when it is sat on.

I have photos of the process but they are on my phone and I have yet to discover how to get them from the phone to computer (there must be a cable that I have mislaid last year when the camera was new, thinking "Dunno what this is for, shall just put it ...here". Now I just have to find where 'here' is...). (No, don't have bluetooth and I tried emailing them to myself but it seems I don't have data transfer on my pre-paid 'plan').

Some shots of it so far:

The start - I had taken off the back cover and was about to tackle the webbing and springs when I discovered the little nest of red-backed spiders (very dangerous. Deadly even). So sprayed and waited. And then sprayed a bit more...(NOTE: the pine cupboard in the background - more on that soon).

I gessoed the legs and have some blue oops paint that may well be their new colour...

Discovering the second layer of upholstery - lovely glazed cotton.

My impromptu work-bench. Six besser blocks stacked 3 high with a wide plank over the top (which will be new shelf in that pine cupboard mentioned above, and below)

The new seat squab. HUGE new seat squab!!!. I traced around the old cover - only had red texta and it wasn't until I sewed it up that I realised I should have sewn that to the inside. Hopefully it wont bleed through.

Pine wardrobe from The Sweetheart's garage that will be a new pantry cupboard. Here it is with a first undercoat of gesso. It has a top shelf and hanging rail. Am going to take out the hanging rail, and add a couple more wide pine shelves and this will be a lovely mouse-proof cupboard in the pantry for my bins and crocks, and the big posts that are too large to be anywhere else. Don't know what colour it will be yet - there are a few oops paints in my tool cupboard.