Blossoms and bargain bed status

Good morning my lovely friends

This is one of the stunning Iris' that has bloomed in our garden this Spring.

I adore close up photos of flowers - there is something about the veins, the colour changes, the velvety textures, the light shining through the petals and the almost intimate sense of being so close...I just love it! Plus, I must admit, I get a real thrill too when I see little bugs I had not seen whilst taking the photo.

Following my Dahlia painting I am very keen to collect as much inspiration as possible to keep me painting for a while, however I am due to do a special painting for my Mum - a request she has had for some time. Lucky her patience may finally pay off and this may be coming her way soon!

Before I do a painting for Mum however, I have a revival to complete on the bed picked up with my, as I like to call it, "bargain of the year" Ebay win! (see post here)

Secretly, I think my lovely husband refers to it as the day his wife lost her sanity and filled his garage with overlarge furniture that smells like moth balls.

 I will have to eat broad beans before he lets me live it down.

 

I can't wait to complete it so that I can share it with you... I am really exicted, because so far, the improvement by just undercoating it has been nothing short of miraculous.

And the lovely husband admitted it was actually coming up okay and looked...pretty!!?

...maybe I will only need to eat brussel sprouts...

It's been a big week really...painting furniture AND I got to use the jack hammer drill to remove tiles from our bathroom...oh! I haven't told you that the bathroom is under way and we should have a new bathroom by the weekend. That's great for two reasons 1) we will not be sharing our ensuite with the kids anymore (woo hoo!) and 2) I will get to have a decent bath - yep, them kids are gonna have to share with me!!

Wishing you a truly wonderful day,

Hugs

Cath

Christmas wish list

Hi lovelies

Sorry I have been MIA - my Mum and I have been interstate visiting with my brother, sister-in-law and my new lovely, sweet, darling, cuddly, alert, gorgeous, dimpled (I could go on), nephew.

 {sigh}

More on that in the next post.

Today I received the latest newsletter from Pale & Interesting introducing the Autumn/Winter 2010 range. Let me just say - devine!!

As one does in the months leading up to Christmas when a catalogue arrives with lots of lovely goodies, we browse, oooh and ahhh and drop hints about Christmas ideas to any family member silly enough to feign interest.

So, in the name of trying to help my family know what to get me for Christmas, I have "cyber-circled" some of my favourite things for my Christmas wish list.

all images Pale & Interesting

I should mention, the actual rooms and everything you see in the images are on my wish list.

A girl can dream, right!

Hugs

Cath

xx

Inspiring Grey...

Hi all my lovelies

We are almost done here with painitng, so I am allowing myself to start thinking of my first big furniture renovation.  I have a few thoughts about a couple of the pieces and what I would like to do. 

I know the general consensus is to go with lashings of white and some good ol' distressing.  And I will! Promise! But there is one piece that I am thinking of something a little different, so I have been hunting around for the right "mood" and tone to suit what I want to do.

Sarah Kaye

It sure is a step away from white, but there is also something about the sumptious element of the dark grey, white, silver, black...it is where I want to be taking the piece,...but will it work?? Time will tell.

Hugs

Cath

Lovely Spring

Hello all my lovelies

Thank you so much for all your kind comments over the last few days - I got a real thrill to see so many new visitors stop by and have a look around my little corner of blog-land!! 

This weekend has started off as classic Spring!  We have had such good rain this year - the first time in a while - that the gardens are all going crazy and it is fabulous to hear the sound of mowers and have the smell of fresh cut grass on the air; one of my favourite smells, after coffee of course!

Second to Autumn, the light in early Spring is a favourite. Whilst Autumn has all the colour of the changing leaves and the Summer heat is (finally!) replaced with the soothing hint of cooler nights...Spring brings all the new buds of green, followed by the arrival of lots of flowers.

By Winters end this year I had a house full of family suffering cabin fever (please someone let them out!!), so for the first time ever I am celebrating the arrival of warmer weather. It has been just lovely to turn all the heaters off and open the house up to let in fresh air.

At a deeper level, there is something about Spring that makes me think of beautiful memories - memories triggered by a particular light, a particular smell and a particular temperature.

The air is cool but carries warmth and a hint of lilac,...

the light is golden and lazy as the sun slowly drifts towards the horizon.

I can't tell you what makes it so, but those moments really fill my heart with joy.

The sunlight coming in this afternoon reflected this light quite beautifully.

...

I hope your weekend is truly special.

Hugs

Cath

Rednesday link!

Hi all my lovelies

I have linked up to Rednesday at It's a very cherry World - a perfect place for me to link up my Red Dahlia.

If you are popping over from Rednesday, please follow the link to the Red Dahlia post...silly me posted to my home page (I am a new party girl!).

Have a super Wednesday!!

Hugs

Cath

Linked up - White Wednesday

Hello my lovelies

Well, backing off my first foray into the Party scene I have linked my lovely chair up to Faded Charms White Wednesday #68.

Head on over for a look where you can enjoy lots of beautiful links over a coffee...I'm thinking an apple and cinnamon muffin would be perfect too.

Have a beautiful Wednesday.

Hugs

Cath

A hung painting...and exciting news!!

Good evening all my lovelies

Okay, I am busting at the seams and I can't leave my exciting news until last...

The gorgeous and wonderful Kristin, over at an Uncommon Slice of Suburbia chose my little ol' printed fabric label as one of her favourites at her Link Party!!

I am beyond excited - Kristin's was my first peek around the corner at a Link Party: I was the shy chickie in the corner, holding a plate of Anzac cookies and wondering who to talk to.

Well, Kristin just made me feel enormously welcome in a very talented group of ladies. 
Thank you Kristin for the honour!! You are an angel. :-)

So, onto my painting....

Remember the abstract painting I did for my gorgeous sister in law (read about it here) - it is now hung above their fireplace.

My sisters home is warm and inviting, with lovely little details that just make you smile. So it certainly feels odd to walk in and see my painting hanging in the middle of their main living area.

Unlike most other paintings I do, where I see the improvements I can make the more I see them, this one perplexes me: there are elements I like...and whilst I don't dislike it, it challenges me visually. Perhaps this is a good thing!!

Anyway, they love it and that is what counts!!

I hope you have a truly wonderful day and to make it better I am sending everyone super hugs...big squishy ones.

Did I tell you I was excited....

Cath

Have a seat....

Good evening my lovelies

What a weekend!! They say there is no rest for the wicked...and of course the other day I felt terribly wicked: I impulsively bid on a 1930's, 5 piece, Queen Anne bedroom suite.  I saw beauty in the lines, rather than the colour.  I imagined great things...I never honestly believed I would win.  But I did, for a measly $160 I won the lot! Then this little can called worms popped open.

I did have a mini hysteria moment, where I tried to blame it on all you gorgeous, talented wonderful bloggers that I follow so closely. 

I was too inspired!!

I was all frothed up in images of shabby, distressed, deco, mapped, freckled, ruffled, greige!! 

But in real life, (not happy creative land where I sometimes escape) I was faced with questions like:

• where would we put it,...
• how would we get it...
• would my husband ever breathe normally again?

 Well now I would like to say a big thank you!

Thank you!!

Thank you gorgeous bloggers who inspire me for your sanding, priming, painting, glazing and waxing, not to mention all the eye candy! Because it was SO worthwhile being inspired and thus, impulsive.

Once my lovely had regained consciousness and was "fixing" what I hadn't thought through so clearly, we hired a very big trailer, one step short of a truck, and drove 2 hours towards Sydney to collect my winnings. One word to describe me when we saw them was "chuffed".  The furniture wasn't as oppressive and heavy looking as it appeared in the Ebay photos, but moreover, there were little finds about them that thrilled me to pieces.

The chair needs the least work.  Aside from a minor water stain, the fabric on the chair is in fabulous condition. I had thought it would need to be re-upholstered based upon the original photo, but in real life the pale pink and champagne tonings are to die for.  The pale gold braiding around the edging is still very intact and there are beautiful little brass brad details.  The underneath of the seat is also very complete, finished with a tidy row of pintacks all around the base.  

The frame is as sturdy as the day it was made, with gracefully arched arm rests.  The back is fully upholstered and tilts so that you can get comfortable.  The timber is a darker stain and I am guessing this is to match the rest of the suite which is a dark timber veneer. 

My lovely was actually very taken with the chair: he propped himself up in front of the TV last night and claimed it as his - payment for driving the truck trailer and lugging all the furniture.  It made him feel better, so I let him believe it.

As part of the suite, this chair cost me $32.  Bargain!

The only change I would make would be to give it a light sand, then just a wax.  What do you think?

As for the rest of the furniture, well as I said it is a dark wood veneer.  Guess what I will be doing to those!!  I have some ideas, but time will tell.

For now, here is a little teaser of the 3 door wardrobe.  When I opened the doors, I found these...

Aren't they amazing!!!

So what do you think of my purchase?  I think I did alright - now I just have to splash a little magic...

Hugs to you all.

Cath