Room Revival - The play room

Autumn for me is like Spring, it creates a sense of calm and i shift down a gear and float through the next few months simply enjoying the weather, the cosy nights and the comfort food and dare i even say it be the whole lead up to Christmas.
Watching my daughters become over whelmed with excitement at the prospect of a fat, hairy man, entering our home and leaving behind a mountain (they wish!) of presents they have be removing and adding to a list for a good three months prior.
Its also a time of year that i begin to nest build, i get this overwhelming urge to strip every room of unnecessary 'clutter' and redecorate it within an inch of its life, is that just me???? ( you must all think I'm mental!)
High up on my list of, 'Seriously must get done before the fat hairy man arrives' was the playroom. It used to be my office as with having 3 daughters no one ever wants to sleep alone so we have always had a 'spare' room.
I had painted it light pink and wallpapered a few years ago but after the girls had been using the room it looked tired and kinda MEH!
So i whipped out the rollers and some white paint and i got to work.

Sadly, like an idiot i had forgotten to take any before photos. But here in all its glory is the new room..

Its not the biggest room so the space had to work for us. The wall unit is from ikea and it comes with two sets of 2 drawers and 2 cupboards plus 12 squares that are large enough for storage baskets.

Even with all the toys they have there is a spare square and i used the spaces to display their things instead of hiding them away. Behind the cupboards are their books as well, children never put books away tidily. And in the drawers is Lego as that's another thing that literally gets EVERYWHERE! The unit is surprisingly sturdy and the best quality unit i think i have ever bought in this type of style.

The plastic table and chairs is also from ikea, i was surprised how large they are in all honesty as children's furniture tends to be on the smaller size which is a pain for our eldest.

They where really easy to put together and a really fab price.

This little corner is behind the door and not a very large space but i put their rolling storage box from Vertbaudet, it looks like a pram so it holds all their build a bear and doll clothes and accessories and i made them this cute dolls house from an old bookcase as most dolls houses aren't big enough to get 3 in front of. i plan to use some wash tape to create a background and a roof for it also.

You can find all the furniture here

http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/20099496/

http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/70169533/#/00168650

http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/S89000964/

http://www.vertbaudet.co.uk/storage-chest-white.htm?ProductId=705023055&FiltreCouleur=0019&t=6    This isn't the same one as we have as its old stock but there are some lovely new designs to choose from, i especially like the one I've added the link to

L x

My handmade home

The blog has been neglected this last few months in favour of decorating and crafting and its been a lovely break, however i have 'lost' several hundred hrs of my life ill never get back on browsing pinterest for inspiration. Yet i say that like its a bad thing! lol

Here's a few quick and easy Saturdays makes we can all spare the time for to bring some personality into your home with little to no outlay.

Halloween was creeping up on me and i was seriously unorganised this year, i mean who doesn't manage to get a pumpkin on Halloween?? Yeah that's right, ME!! So to make up for my lacking as the Halloween Queen i whipped up these little bats for the girls. I got the pattern and tutorial from Pinterest which was free and i simply used whatever fabric scraps i had lying around and some old buttons.
The girls LOVE them and they are super snugly as i used fleece for the back, would your little monsters like a 'scary' pet too??

But of course you always get one that doesn't want what your making so with my thinking cap on i found a tutorial and pattern for a fabric doll but i couldn't let the little lady be naked, and Emma didn't approve so i whizzed up some clothes too from some fabric scraps.

As I've been decorating where i can between Christmas crafting and the sort I've been making some bits for the house from what we already had that wasn't being used.
The french doors in the dining room being a major headache for me as i need to get out a few times a day to tend to the chickens but i also wanted them to look pretty and possibly cosy when needed.
So after much pondering i had a route through my vintage fabrics and found two table cloths that where the perfect size to make into curtains.
i simply hemmed the top on both to be big enough to slip the rod through, i moved it from the outside to the inside of the window as i thought it looked nicer.
then i needed some tie backs to keep them back for easy access to the back so i dug out some large doilies and cut them in half and zig zag stitched the raw edge.

Then i decided to make a new lampshade and after some careful consideration i decided to try my hand at making a doily one. There are loads of tutorials on Pinterest for them and being low cost i thought id give it a go.
I blew a balloon as big as i could get it, i would suggest trying to find the really big ones or like an inflatable beach ball you don't mind sacrificing for a more round shape but either way i love mine.
I simply laid on the doilies and painted over with wallpaper paste.

Then left to dry for 24 hours, i then popped the balloon, some times they will pop themselves once they are fully dry and contract against the doilies.
i cut out the top, carefully, to slip the bulb through and voila! new lampshade!!! i made a full one so had to use string to tie the shade to the fitting but i am currently making an open end one for the lounge so i wont have to tie that one on.

I love how it throws the light out and casts beautiful shapes all through the dining room and into the hall.

I then decided to up cycle a large, and damaged photo frame to home some James bond post cards my hubby brought home. They are all retro prints so i could resist putting them up.
It was a purple plastic so i simply repainted with a few coats of grey left over emulsion which took great and inserted the prints. it now has pride of place in the lounge.

 I also made a dream catcher after seeing a gorgeous tutorial on pinterest for one. i got the large hoops from a local haberdashery for £1.50 for two which turned out to be much cheaper than eBay but i would like to get some really big ones and make another.
I simply wrapped a doily around the frame and hand stitched into place then hung charms and feathers etc from the bottom and hung in our bedroom.
its to cute, i need to make millions!!

Next time id like the bottom to be fuller.

Our stairs window, which i hate as its huge and slightly pointless needed a loving touch so with a lace vintage table cloth that had seen better days i whipped up into a pair of curtains that subtly frame the window making it less imposing on the stairs.
i used a little ribbon and some lace edging to make little tie backs and it took all of 20 mins to hem the top and edges and hang them

And finally, an already repainted table needed a make over from red to something more subtle ready for decorating the lounge next year so i painted it a gorgeous cream tone that i picked a tester pot up of for 20p in our local homebase. it was just and i mean just enough to cover it and i customised it with some pacman star wars images.

A little PVA glue and it looks like a completely new table. it now homes the games consoles again and everyone is happy.

This just proves that with a few pounds, a little imagination and a whole lot of patience you can turn your house into the home you want.

 L xx