Bargains and Winter Crafting

Dare I say it, do you think Spring is on the way? The bulbs are springing up in the front garden and I came home in the semi-light tonight for the first time this year. I made the most of the sunshine on Monday and our mid term long weekend off from college to refurb a bargain charity shop find from this weekend. I was really umm-ing and ahh-ing about it when I saw it but really did fancy a project and I'm glad I took it on, what a beaut!

Here it is before, my coffee table/magazine rack combo but in a rather sad dark brown.

 





But never fear, my trusty supply of very bright, very brilliant paints to the rescue. And it's PINK! Twee, yes. But I think it's just smashing!

 

 

Cute eh? And this is SO easy to do. Really, if you see anything you like then just go for it. This whole thing set me back £9. I get my paint second hand from a junk yard so that I can have a stash of different colours for just this purpose. You can use satinwood or eggshell. Just give it a good sand before you start and then a couple of coats and you're done. Some varnish would make it a bit more hard wearing but I like my furniture to get a little bit bashed. It adds to the look!

 

This lovely addition to the living room goes really well with the quilt I made last weekend. I've never quilted before so this was a test case. It was brilliant fun and a lot easier than I thought. Sewing a big chunky blanket is immensely satisfying too. I used random offcuts I had around, backed it with a big piece if strawberry print fabric (though old duvets make a great backing material, there are some lovely ones in charity shops if you can get over the whole 'someone else has slept under this' thing. But hey you sleep under other people's duvets in hotels, right? That's the line I'm using and I'm sticking to it!)

 

Anyway here it is, I'm inspired to have another go. Luckily I think I've got a few more cold winter nights to fill till Spring is properly sprung!

 

 





A Vintage New Year

We are now well and truly settled into our new house but that doesn't mean the vintage bargain hunting is over. Oh no. Over the New Year we were in Kent, one of my favourite bargain hunting locations, and the site of a second hand homeware shop that always has me mentally rearranging my furniture at home to see if I can fit the really cute piece I've spotted. This year I came home with this, which was cruelly dismissed by my father in law as 'something you would keep old spanners in' but I LOVE it.

 

There are still some bits and pieces at home that we need that I am determined to wait it out for until I spot it second hand. We really need a shoe rack, but as I've seen how much better my second hand finds look in the house I am determined to find a unique one somewhere. There's something about that that really does build patience. Like when you were a kid and you had to save up your pocket money for months for the item you wanted. You just appreciate it more somehow. It might sound a bit sad but I get genuine enjoyment from walking around my house and thinking about where I got certain items, how I spruced them up and gave them new life or who owned them before me.

The other joy of vintage and having carefully selected beautiful pieces at home is that it encourages you to take time. Rather than gulping down a cup of tea from a Matalan mug you are pouring from a 1950s tea pot into tea cups you found in your grannies loft. That automatically makes you sit back and relax a bit. The same goes for entertaining. Any evening is special when a vintage table cloth is rolled out, a cake baked and some unique touches added to the table setting with old glassware or plates.

Perhaps it seems superficial but after all this is the stuff our days are made with. Getting up, having breakfast, eating with friends and family, wandering about our homes. Why shouldn't it be beautiful? Why shouldn't it be an atmosphere that reminds you of how you want to live your life, with appreciation and open hospitality? There is nothing superficial in that! And all the better when the items you choose are saved from the tip or made by your own fair hands.

So here's to a creative and beautiful 2013. Happy new year lovely readers.

The year that was - 2012

I don't know about you but this time of year always makes me a bit reflective. As the New Year approaches you look back over what has been since you last desperately tried to keep yourself awake till midnight (if you are old like me!) and wonder at all that has passed in the last year. This time last year I was where I am heading today, at my in-laws house. I was pretty grumpy as the clock turned twelve because life was so very uncertain.

2012 - the year of good beer and saying farewell to Summertown

I had no idea what 2012 held in store and at that moment I'd well and truly lost the excitement of that and rather felt frustrated. I'd been waiting one year and three months for my interview for ministry training and had another three months to go until it arrived. The biggest question though was what I would do if I didn't get in. Work was, as it had been for many years, uninspiring and with a constant nagging feeling of being utterly in the wrong place but unable to find the right one. And it was easy. I sometimes long for easy now but when I think back to I hadn't been challenged in a role in years. I hadn't cared about what I did every day for such a long time. 

And then 2012 came. With a bang. Five days in and our house was broken in to. All in all I'm pretty much over it but not enough to want to relive those weeks again. But here's how it was if you want to look back (aren't blogs handy?!)

In the midst of all of that the interview came around quite unexpectedly fast. Before I knew it was back home, waiting for that dreaded envelope with the answer I had been waiting so long for. Accompanied by a burst sewage pipe the news arrived, and as we know, it was a yes. Life had changed for ever and in five short months I was off, not before collecting and renovating enough second hand furniture to fill our new house (if not a small shop!) and with a month long sojourn to Zambia with a bunch of sixteen year olds.

 

Wandering the streets with some bookshelves. There was a lot of this going on!

 

Zambia was unexpectedly life changing. I barely had time to register that I was going before I found myself there. I learnt how much fun it is to care, to see other people develop and grow into themselves and I got back to the heart of what really matter just at the right time as when that plane touched down I had four weeks until we were packing up the boxes and moving to college.

Beautiful Zambia

And so what about this year, as the clock turns midnight and I let out an almighty yawn? What does 2013 have in store? Challenge, that's for sure. Change as I continue on this intense journey of training. Joy, as new Greek words become my words and new ancient worlds are opened up to me through study (I'm a geek and I love it!) Im pretty sure I'll be frustrated. I will probably moan on this blog a fair bit. It won't be easy. But I will care and looking back on 2012 I think that is the greatest gift of all. Days that mean something to me. Bring on 2013!

The view from my college study, where you'll find me in 2013.

Tis the season to....

….sit in a pub, drink beer and have a proper old chin wag. Right?

I haven't given much of an update on here about village life as quite frankly all I've seen of it is has been in complete darkness as I cycle between home and college at 7am and back again at 7pm! This Saturday however was a real turn up for the books and I finally had a free Saturday with no inclination, or previous commitments, to go anywhere further than a three minute walk.

 

Natalie Dee rules!

Luckily our village is abundant in pubs. Pubs are one of the major pluses for living in England if you ask me. And not just any pubs. Local pubs. When we lived in Aberdeen it was either slightly terrifying local dive bar that was reminiscent of a bomb shelter (and called the Broad Sword, I mean, really?!), one dingy student pub where they look at you funny for asking what wines they have or it's into town where you jostle with people who are 'out-out' when you just want a quiet one.

Local pubs are different. It's all jolity and chatting with the neighbours. Think wood burning fires, local ales and gleefully letting a couple of hours tick by. In our local this weekend there was a dog behind the bar, paws up between the beer pumps. I mean seriously, how bloomin' brilliant is that?! I was desperate to take a picture but was worried they would think I was some loon reporting them to environemtal health rather than enjoying the 'dog as bar staff' hilarity. 

 

So this Saturday I chucked on a thick knit jumper and some woolley boots and my long suffering, provider of all my meals and generally hard working husband and I spent a couple of blissful hours catching up over a couple of pints of Old Speckled Hen. I also managed to negotiate stopping by the gem in the crown of this brilliant place, a little second hand furniture and home shop. It had had a little Christmas makeover and I got myself a couple of new decorations for the tree and some gorgeous glasses for a cheeky Christmas cocktail or two. Aren't they beautiful?

 

 

So all in all, amid the essays, VERY dark countryside (whats with all the lack of street lights? Light pollution, pah! I want to see where I'm going!) and slightly perilous cycle rides on flooded roads, all is well here. I'm still a townie and I can't wait to be back and forth into Oxford a bit more once term ends (Shops! Fifteen different options for Coffee!) but for a lazy Saturday, well, what more do you need?!

Our new home

It's taken three weeks, with a slight pause for some sunshine in Portugal, but the house is finally unpacked and sorted. I really wanted to get this done before college started so that home would be a relaxing place to come back to (when I actually so get to come home!!) rather than somewhere that more work is lurking.

I got totally ridiculed my in laws and husband when I brought this table and jug but I LOVE it. It's right opposite the sofa and I just stare at it thinking, 'that looks utterly brilliant!' I'm modest, right?!

I love the feeling of the place. It's so light and we felt comfortable here from the first moment we arrived. Now it has a bit more personality stamped on it and has those all important little reminders doted about the place. You know the kind of thing, a gift from someone that reminds you that you are cared for, or a postcard with a slogan that reminds you why you're doing what you're doing.



The lantern in this picture was a gift from a friend at Uni. It says 'Let your Light Shine', a pretty good message to read every day!

I sewed this picture at the old house and it now lives on my dresser. I love this dresser. It was an old brown Ikea thing I picked up from Ebay and after about a year of looking at it and wondering I painted it bright blue. Best thing I ever did! It came alive and now it looks like it was made to be in the new house.

Isn't it gorge? The chair was a fiver from a local listing site and the crockery were all gifts or charity shop finds. The heart picture was an engagement card from a friend I met in Greece so it always reminds me of her and of how much fun it was being engaged. Speaking of Greece we found this lantern there on a recent holiday and I'm so happy it finally has pride of place somewhere. It took up my whole suitcase so I wore about fifteen layers to the airport but it was SO worth it!

 In the bottom right you can see a wedding pic and a black and white one of my beloved Nanny who passed away last year. I love the picture, she looks so independent, ready to face the world. The world was a different place then and she didn't have half the opportunities I have now. When I see it it reminds me to go for it, that it's good to have that same look in my eye!

One of the best things about the new place is that it has a garden. I love growing and most of them were in containers at our last place so, much to my Dad's dismay on moving day, I brought them all with me. There have also been some new additions like this gorgeous orchid.

I'm determined not to kill it. I've even been reading books about it! I know! Dedication! (Speaking of gardening books for total dunces, check out The Virgin Gardener by Laetitia Maklouf, all her instructions are so basic and for people with small amounts of space to grow like windowsills or patio gardens.)

I have a new lovely lavender to replace the bush that lived at our old house. It's such a deep purple colour and smells heavenly.

The garden is still very much in progress what with going into autumn and all but this is our little sun trap to sit in with a cup of tea and a good book.

Craft has been a big feature of this house move. I am so glad I bit the bullet and bought a sewing machine. I am also so glad that I googled 'how to make curtains' because they are SO easy. Seriously, if you can stitch vaguely in a straight line then you can make them. The fabric is so much cheaper and nicer than buying ones from shops. I used this tutorial to make these:

...for the office and these.....

...for the bedroom.

I also made these simple tab top curtains for the bathroom using Cherry Menlove's tutorial.

All this crafting is now very much assisted by having a craft desk. Every time I see it I swoon.

And of course the house is packed full of obligatory daftness. I have a particularly absurd sense of humour and I like having things around that break any tension I'm carrying and make me laugh. If you can't have it in your own house than where can you eh?!

Note this sign is conveniently located next to the books of church liturgy and a Greek New Testament. No further comment required!!

Ha! Hilarity!

And that is our new pad! :)

New home firsts

Now that I've had a few days to settle in and unpack (and managed to cycle up to college and back, hurrah! I really did make it up that hill!) the house is starting to look more like a home and less like a box factory. It's not in a state for any real recording to be done yet but I did take a few snaps on my mobile of our first few days here and how this homemade home is shaping up.

The first area I got to work on was the kitchen. I was dying to have an area to sit in the morning and this spot is bathed in sunlight from the patio doors first thing. The perfect place for a cup of tea at the start of a busy day.

On the left are my cook books and on the right my favourite poetry and gardening books. The bench is the monks bench I posted about and painted up. I then sewed the cushions for it from some offcuts I had laying about. The chairs were all ebay and local listing finds and I'm painting them in different pastel colours. The poster is my absolute fav and was actually found by my husband (I'll make a bargain hunter out of him yet!) It's a map of the world called 'Tea Revives the World' with the story of tea mapped onto it and is in a frame I picked up for a fiver and dragged home on the bus and then painted. So worth it!

Another first for the new place was a visit from my parents very mischievous and very amusing spaniel, Lily. She is going to be a frequent house guest and wasted no time making herself at home on the sofa.

A first today was a chance to sit down at my new craft table to knock up some curtains for the bathroom. It was so great to be back behind my beloved sewing machine.

And this was the finished result! The blue bottle on the left is an amazing art deco bottle that I found in a charity shop for three pounds. THREE POUNDS! There was a lot of mocking as I struggled home with that. It is rather thick and heavy. But whose laughing now, eh? It looks BRILL! I got the idea for these curtains from Cherry Menlove's blog, check it out if you fancy having a go.

And so there are a few firsts at the new place, more to come as it takes shape!

If these walls could talk

This morning as I was doodling in my Scribble Diary one of the spaces to fill was a speech bubble with ‘If these walls could talk’ written above it. This is what I love about the Scribble Diary, it prompts completely random thoughts that often have legs and helps you to consider things a little differently. And this one really got me thinking.

 

We’ve been in our current house for three years now. It’s a house converted into two one bed flats on the end of a lovely terrace. We live in the bottom one and it’s got a little patch of garden around it where I took my first tentative steps into fruit and vegetable growing, so many happy afternoons spent there. But what about these walls? The more I think about it the more I realise how much has happened here.

 

lovely little house...

Perhaps the walls would talk about the day we moved in when it wasn’t a ‘we’ arriving but just a ‘me’ as Ben had to stay up in Aberdeen for another three months to finish his teaching placement. After the movers (and my ever handy Dad) departed I sat down and wondered about this new place, feeling half forlorn to be without Ben and half desperately excited to be in this beautiful city at the start of a new adventure. I had no idea what a big adventure it would be! A few hours later one of my best friends from home (now just an hour away) appeared on my doorstep with a bottle of wine and one of the main features of that house was born, it was an open house, full of laughter and friends. By far my favourite thing about it.

 

Perhaps the wall would talk about the day I came back from church in deathly silence. Silence isn’t something I do very often! They might say that the silence lasted for two weeks. Every time I tried to talk about what had happened at that service the words stuck in my throat and not a squeak came out of my mouth about it. My brain was whirring and I kept myself busy but Ben knew something was up.

 

Perhaps the walls might talk about the first prayer that came out of my mouth after those weeks of silence. About the flood of tears as I said to Ben ‘I think God wants me to be a Priest, isn’t that ridiculous?’ He smiled and said, ‘No, not at all.’ And so a long journey began of interviews, job changes, new people and places. There was more laughter, more tears, everything all at once, a rollercoaster.

 

Perhaps the walls would talk about when the house became an administration station for the church. About my desperation as I scanned the clergy list and realised I had no idea how to address any of these people and one week to get them invitations to come to the institution of our new Vicar. Perhaps they would tell about team work making the dream work as Ben helped me sticker hundreds of envelopes and convinced me that after a long six months of looking after the church while we were Vicar-less that I could jump this final hurdle, exhausted as I was. Perhaps the walls would talk about vocation tested, about the last stamp going on the last envelope, a job done.

 

Perhaps they would talk about darker times. About someone climbing through our bedroom window who wasn’t invited. About me coming home and finding glass everywhere and possessions gone. About not one but two sets of police officers being kind and calming. Neighbours and friends, shoulders to cry on. Perhaps they would tell about my final forms for my final interview that were due in the day after we were broken into. How a large glass of wine and a cheerleading team in the form of Ben and our upstairs neighbours got me to put pen to paper and get them finished despite my head being anywhere but on interviews.

 

Perhaps they would tell about the day the letter arrived, the shock as I sunk into one of the kitchen chairs and read the words‘recommended for training’ and thought ‘what on earth is going to happen to me?’ They might tell of the cassock arriving and getting its first whirl before the mirror or the quiet afternoons, a breeze coming through the window ruffling the pages of the latest theology text book as I tackled the mammoth reading list from college.

 

And now they would probably talk about boxes. So many boxes. We live in an obstacle course! They would talk about paint and sewing and people making plans. And now this house will have new inhabitants, new stories to tell. We head off soon for another three years in a new home, for another great adventure. After everything that has come in this place what will the next three years hold? I’m looking forward to finding out!

The Mad Woman and the Coffee Hutch

As I mentioned in my last post this weekend was spent gallivanting around East Kent, visiting family and making the most of some good recommendations of charity shops ahead of the big house move next week. And my, oh my, did those recommendations come good. We started off with a trip to Whitstable which is retro and antique shop heaven! You definitely pay for the privilege of someone else having spotted a nice piece of furniture and cleaning it up but there were heaps of great finds to be had and ideas a plenty.

I came across this tin tray in the window of one of the shops and snapped it up for our new kitchen. As my other half hails from that part of the country (and my God he won't let you forget it. He even compared a lakeside in Africa to the seafront in Herne Bay. Err...deluded?!) I thought that this would be a perfect addition. My mother in law did a fantastic job at getting me a knock down price by coughing 'How much?' and waiting in stealthy, seasoned bargain hunter silence for the lady to reduce it to £4. Hurrah!

 

 

Speaking of items that arrived in my possession for four English pounds – on the way to the fish and chip shop in Herne Bay that evening I came across the most obscure, wonderful second hand item I have ever seen. May I present to you, the Coffee Hutch.

This is thrift shop gold for me. Total random, beautifully retro and absolutely unique. There was much scorn from my in-laws who laughed their heads off at my great concern that it would be gone by the time we got back there the following morning. Apparently the only way the Coffee Hutch was leaving that shop was in a bin bag. How rude!! What can I say, I'm a lone visionary in this family I've married in to ;)

The question has been asked, what exactly will I do with a Coffee Hutch? Firstly, 'do with it?' it need have no function other than look brilliant, surely? Secondly, I think I'm going to put bags of tea in it - I know, what a maverick! What can I say, I live on the edge.

Other finds included a lamp stand for a couple of pounds, a green candle stick, some great blue spotty and floral fabric, a super retro 60s style office chair and these little beauties. Not original Cornish blue but a good repro.

 

 

And last but not least the birthday that keeps on giving reared it's beautiful head again and my mother in law got me this sign for my craft corner in the new house. Love it!

Speaking of the new house, we got the keys yesterday! It's even better than I remember and I can't wait to get started with moving our stuff over and settling in. I'm hoping all this eclectic collecting will come together beautifully and we'll have a real haven on our hands. I've had a brilliant time doing it anyhow and the Coffee Hutch alone surely make the swing from 'Nice house' to 'My goodness this place is awesome!' Yes?

House to Home

I’m having a truly brilliant time at the moment as I get ready to move house in just a couple of weeks time. My philosophy with most life events is to just go with it full pelt and get the most out of any experience. If you’re going to be a student then get yourself a satchel and dedicate yourself to take-out pizza like it’s going out of fashion. If you’re getting married spend hours of guiltless time perusing wedding magazines and (if you're anything like me) wandering round bridal fairs asking the prices of things and cackling with glee that you’re making your own for a fraction of the price.

When it comes to moving house there is almost too much potential excitement. There are the home magazine and blogs, the shopping – endless shopping – and if you’re going the frankly superior thirty, crafty home route the many hours ‘winning’ on ebay, the charity shop one-off-wonders, the DIY furniture makeovers and the feeling of being utterly pleased with yourself as you say once again ‘that was a fiver, that was. Destined for the bin before I saved it.’ BRILLIANT!

Charity shop find, re painted and the draw lined from my craft stash!

It has got me thinking though about whether all this nest building can be justified. Is it all a bit keeping up with the Joneses, a bit materialistic? As regular readers will know our house was broken into this year and I blogged about my heart not being in treasures stashed in my home but in bigger things. This is something I believe in and hold to. But does it stay true as I amass more things? When I actual own my own washing machine and bedroom furniture?

A few things have struck me about this. Firstly the really wonderful experiences I’ve had in other people’s homes. I call this the ‘House Hug’ effect. When you walk in somewhere and feel immediately welcome and rejuvenated. Being the hippy wannabe that I am I think this has a lot to do with the heart of the home, do people care more about their beige furnishings or you being at home in their home? Do people have truly generous hearts, cheerfully giving of what they have to you? When they do there is nothing better than curling up with a glass of wine in the lovingly decorated home of a good friend. I love seeing their personality stamped on a place. It is something unique and wonderful to be a guest in that kind of home.

My second thought is creativity. I love to create, whether it’s food or stuff for the house, clothes or a new eyeshadow. It all comes back to creativity for me. I love the ascetic, making things beautiful. I’m a messy creative. I want my garden to be full of bees not to be in regimented lines. Nothing I make is perfect, it’s very definitely ‘home spun’ but I like it that way. When I was doing my Masters we did a personality test as part of the final careers advice. Being a science course everyone else’s traits came up with things like accuracy and thoroughness. Mine were ascetics and creativity. I can say I looked mighty frivolous in front of those scientific types (and a bit of a heads up that I might not be in the right line of work!) It can be seen as frivolous to love beautiful things but isn’t it part of our nature to create, to admire, to feel awe and pleasure when we see something lovely?

My third thought is thrift. Often lovely things come at a price, the cost to the earth of more mass produced rubbish that will be quickly discarded, the cost to the producer who is paid a pittance. Beautiful things become quickly ugly in this light. But the brilliance of reusing, thrift and charity shopping (and fairtrade, handmade, green and locally crafted!) means giving a new lease of life to unwanted items. I long to do this more and escape the now, now, now mentality with each piece having a story of its own and how it came to you rather than being a flatpack from a warehouse. I’m going to go hippy on you again but I think that resonates something into the home, a certain kind of unique appeal. If you’re still not convinced then check out this brilliant kitchen renovation over at Lulastic and the Hippyshake. Isn’t it stunning?

So that long winded blog post is coming around to the fact that I’m guiltlessly celebrating creating a home packed with mismatched but well-loved items. That I’m thinking of the people who will come there, of creating a haven of hospitality that our own lives can operate from and that can bless people that come into it. And that now I’m off to make a bird garland from and old British Birds book, oh yeah!

An ode to chairs

When I was in Zambia I spent a lot of time sitting on the floor or on logs. This was partly because women in Zambia don't get chairs and have to sit on the floor (don't get me started about THAT) but also because chairs were in short supply while we were camping. One evening one of the leaders emerged from the van with a camp chair and offered it to me and I nearly fainted with joy. 'Oh sweet bottom support, how I missed you' I cried. He walked swiftly away.

So now that I am back home the packing for the big house move is in full swing and this also means that the search for furniture and other miscellaneous items that I just know will look amazing has reached fever pitch. The charity shops have been good to me yielding some brilliant items from ornate, sapphire glass bottles to bargain basement photo frames that have been painted and filled with our holiday snaps. Ebay has also been my faithful friend and today came up with a real jem, a monks bench.

Now for those of you not in the know a monks bench is a carved, wooden indoor bench. It opens up into the base for extra storage and looks just plain fab in a kitchen with some cushions scattered across it. Ours is going to be painted light blue and I'm going to sew some cushions for it. I already have it's location perfectly planned, right next to the patio doors so friends can come sit and chat to me while I cook or on sunny days I can study at the dinning room table with the patio doors open.

Already the monks bench is a happy addition to our house in my minds eye which got me to thinking what a sound investment a good chair is (beyond that all important bottom support of course...). My last chair purchase was an olive green Parker Knoll arm chair (another ebay find) True it wouldn't look out of place in a nursing home but my goodness I love that chair. It's so comfy and I fit into it perfectly, almost like I was made for the chair. It has wings so you can rest your head and it practically spurs me on to read good books and think important thoughts. The chair demands it!

The fact that it's old in some ways makes it even more special, as the legendary Gilmore Girl's put it when moving in to their renovated old Inn – 'It's less like it's part of our lives and more like we're part of it's life for a little while.' Gilmores, that's wisdom for you! So get yourself a good chair, one that's built to last and has never heard of mdf. You won't be sorry!

In which I paint too much furniture and get a bit high

The quest for second hand furniture has reached new, dizzy (literally) heights. I have had several pieces furniture sitting around waiting to be transformed from sad brown creatures into gleaming, shiny multi-coloured wonders for some time now. The last few weeks have seen our little flat turned into somewhat of a furniture restoration yard and me into a hunchbacked purveyor of Satinwood.

Some particularly desperate pieces have been salvaged from, in my opinion, the worst of all furniture crimes, bad shabby chic-ing. Now I understand that to some there is a great allure in slopping on paint and then bashing a piece of furniture with chains but not for me. I have just restored a nest of tables sanding off a union jack theme (Yes. Really. Think ‘The Apprentice’) and turned them gleaming, classic cream. Beautiful.

In my quest for second hand heaven I have come across an absolutely brilliant resource that, if you are in Oxford, you absolutely must go to. No excuses. It’s amazing. The place in question is Orinoco, basically a big storage space at the back of a community centre in a suburb west of Oxford that takes in leftovers from DIY jobs and anything else that people are chucking really and re sells them to crafty types.

Think boxes full of old jars, scraps of fabric, rows and rows of half empty paint tins in every colour of the rainbow, plugs, books, paper – EVERYTHING! By redistributing what people would otherwise throw away tons of rubbish is saved from landfill every year. The price is deliberately kept low to keep scrap from landfill so I left with two litres of paint, some tile grout and sandpaper for three pound!

 You have to be willing to climb over boxes and get a bit dirty but that really is part of the fun eh? Ideally coerce someone to come with you and hold your basket by promising them a lunch at Jacob and Fields deli after which is just up the road in Headington. My technique of saying to my husband ‘I have a plan that ends at Jacobs and Field but you have to agree to all of it to get the food,’ worked a treat and is highly recommended!

Tile grout was on my list so that I could try this brilliant idea by Lulastic -  homemade chalkboard paint. The result is a row of little jars with brightly coloured chalk board labels for all my stationary. So brilliant! These will sit proudly on my mini shelves saved from a charity shop  and painted very middle-class but very lovely duck egg blue, lush!

One will never need search for pins again

I have also created this with an old frame my parent were chucking, some blue satinwood and some scrabble tiles left over from my handicraft sale. The idea is that it contains words that sum up God for me. I’m going to hang it over my desk and when I’m staring at another essay or feeling overwhelmed by the task ahead of me I can look at it and remember why I signed up for this crazy lifestyle in the first place.

I love craft!

Homemade Home – the challenge triples!!

I posted a while back about how I’m trying to furnish (and decorate – naturally!) our new home near college with all recycled, homemade and second hand items. This is partly because I like the look of mismatched old items with a history (so nothing virtuous about that!) and partly because visiting a landfill site as a Biology student has left me permanently scarred. There’s also a bit of being keen on giving charity shops a boost and finally because I’m pretty cheap and don’t want to spend £100 on a table when I can spend £10. 

The original plan for college was to move into a two bed flat so I could have a study in the second bedroom. This was quite the lap of luxury as we’ve never lived in anything but a one bed. Though a lovely one bed it is. Since being broken into my priorities have changed a bit with houses. Double glazing and sturdy locks have shot to the top of the list so the new build flat was just fine (if a l little cosy!)

I had only just finished figuring out how to get the maximum out of the space and re acclimatize my herb plants to the indoors when a call came from college asking me to come and look at another house that had unexpectedly become available. This one is owned by them so living there would save a huge amount of hassle with a commercial landlord and agent (hurrah for THAT!) AND it had three bedrooms and, drum roll please, a courtyard garden. 

Now none of these things are essential and I really haven’t earned it in any way so I feel a bit jammy really. Jammy and bloomin’ giddy! I’m anticipating a busy and demanding time at college and to have a guaranteed home for three years where I can sip a martini and stare adoringly at my blackcurrant bush in my own garden is HEAVEN. Pure HEAVEN.

This has raised some exciting conundrums about decorating though. I now have a lot more space to fill and the place is totally unfurnished. A call round is being made for any unwanted furniture at the college from students who are moving on (that eclectic taste comes into its own again…!) and rather than a couple of rooms to think about I have a whole range of decisions to make. Just think of the many uses for old jam jars that I can concoct in a PROPER house! With stairs and everything!!

First things first it’s onto the sewing machine to make some new cushion covers and bunting (have we had enough bunting this weekend?! Nah!) and then it’s charity shopping galore. Yesterday uncovered a brilliant set of mini shelves that I’ve painted and am going to put jam jars on (see!?) full of stationary essentials and old school reference books. And that only cost £3.50, took half an hour to collect on foot and attracted only some odd looks from people in Starbucks when we stopped for coffee with our furniture. No worries eh? 

The quest for cheap furniture require a high embarrassment threshold!

This week in pictures

After my post this week about recording more of the happy making moments in life I have been snapping away on my Blackberry whenever I see something that makes me smile. I'm no photographer but this photos tell a story of the last few days in my little corner of the world.

Laura Ashley paint, so twee but it was on sale! Please forgive me! I'm restoring an old dining table at the moment for our new flat. It's going from dark brown to 'Pale Ivory'. I could also chose from 'Ivory', 'Palest Ivory', 'Pale Biscuit', what is this foundation?! But anyway, I love nothing more than to have paint splattered hands and be a complete mess from sanding down. This ones going to be a beauty!

Here it is in all former glory. A pain to sand down but great fun to paint. Wonderful undulations (as Miranda would say!)

This always makes me smile, my sewing emporium! This used to house my perfumes and other bedroom bits but as all the perfumes were stolen when my house was broken into it became my sewing station. The hidden blessings of burglary, one way too declutter I suppose! Now that the handicraft sale is over I can start some sewing projects just me (and the new house of course!) and I'm loving it.

 And in true Blue Peter style, here's one I made earlier! I got this off-cut in a bargain bin in Summertown and knocked up this cushion at the weekend. I absolutely love it and have been gazing joyful at it since I made it.

So that's my week so far and I'm thankful for it. Any other bloggers sharing their week in pics?

Student Living

Today we received notice that our Landlord is happy for us to skip out early on our contract and so head off to our new (yet to be secured) abode nearer college. Perfect for all those delightful 7am prayer meetings I'll be attending (gulp). This is fab news and potentially saved us the best part of two grand which will go towards a suitably retro old banger for me to drive to lectures. But anyhow, over the weekend I've been browsing some fab websites and second hand shops and that, rather than a general moan about the woes of moving house, is the topic of this post.

I've been really inspired recently by the idea of creating a home (and wardrobe) out of second hand and unwanted items. My sewing machine has made this infinitely more possible when it comes to clothes and I gleefully realised I was wearing an almost entire charity shop outfit the other day, more of that please! I'm now turning my attention to our home which is simultaneously having a clear out of junk accumulated since we made the big move from Scotland but is also being added to with pieces of reclaimed furniture and products from my latest endeavours in craft.

There are a few reasons this really appeals to me. Firstly, the necessity that comes from living on a teeny, tiny grant from the Church. I'm seeing this as student chic with a difference. Less glitter ball curtains (yes, that is actually a thing) and pink plastic glasses from my first University experience and more retro and homemade items to make a comfy and individual home.

This leads me neatly onto the second reason for my new found enthusiasm for second hand and homemade - uniqueness. This weekend I found some gorgeous soup bowls in a charity shop with lion heads for handles that remind me so much of the stonework on the Oxford colleges. You don't get that in Homebase. I also bought myself an embroidery ring and made this with some (beloved) Cath-y K offcuts. Twee but makes me smile every time I see it!

And this is my third reason, creativity. I find it soothing and extremely happy making to be surrounded by things I've made or that have a story behind them. Putting together a unique home and wardrobe is just plain fun.

And finally the do-gooder reason. I want to do a bit less consuming and a bit more putting back. I hate the thought of some poorly paid woman working sixteen hour days to provide me with a cheap top. It's just horrid. That's why I'm trying to up my fair trade purchased. I also hate the piles of junk we have to bury under the ground that could be reused. Shopping second hand means a loving home for all the items that could otherwise end up in landfill and the money goes to charity. There are so many arguments I know could be had about the economics of spending but this makes sense to me given the state of our world and resources (or lack of).

So roll on the new place (ignoring the packing, urgh) and eyes peeled for 'junk' on street corners. I'll keep you updated!

P.S If you're interested in this sort of thing I'd seriously recommend you go to Lulastic and the Hippy Shake, a feast for secondhand home makers!