a little bit of art...

Here are a couple paintings I have done in the past, now I just find it alot harder finding a good couple hours to indulge myself.

 I find it very hard walking away from an unfinished work....but I plan to work on that, or it may be a while before I complete any more paintings. Starting to dabble in some abstract works too...

I have a real love of dogs....in particular Jack Russell terriers, sadly I have had a few over the years, the ones above have all been dearly loved pets...

This painting (above) is actually one I copied from dutch artist Rien Poortvliet, (I figured if it came anything out like a proffesional artists work then maybe I wasnt to bad) 

A lighthouse in Maine USA, a special spot my sister and I got to visit on a trip to the US.

Daddys "fix it" box.

One thing about having little kids, there are often toys and bits and pieces that tend to break....dont know about you but in our family I constantly hear "Daddy can you fix this?".....lucky for the girls their  Daddy is very handy and seems to have an endless supply of fixing bits and pieces! I have even called him our plastic surgeon as he is getting very good at fixing Monster High dolls or Barbie....hip replacements, knee replacements, even the odd "reattaching head!"

Anyhoo, because he doesnt always get to these little jobs straight away and I find broken toys/dolls put in little piles, especially on the kitchen bench, well, now they have their own little allocated box...

The little things...adding colour.

Next step to our kitchen fix up was adding some much needed colour and I LOVE colour! was hard to decide on one particular colour so I went with a few....(colour in your life just makes you feel happy I think).

So I started with a fabric design I liked from Ikea....and went from there.

Now, firstly, I dont have a sewing machine. (I have a basic sewing ability too). So I opted for a "no-sew" approach using an iron-on heming tape from Lincraft.

Once I measured the window and added on extra inch for hemming I then cut an exact size out of basic calico to have for the back of the fabric, just to make it hang nicer and also block out a little more sun (plus it would look nicer from outside of course).

I made a slot at the bottom to add dowel, (which Chris found among loads of things in his shed, he cut it to size for me). Just so it would hang better and be easy to roll up when I wanted to open the blind.
Then a piece of timber was cut to size for the top to attach to the architrave (spelling?) Which I stapled the fabric to.

Added some black ribbon (was hard to decide which colour to go with....) which fell in equal lengths in front and behind blind just so I could simply tie them up once the blind was opened.

Anyhoo, heres the pics of how it turned out. After it was up I could see what colours I wanted to bring out and of course I didnt just settle with one.

finished result.

So, below, the little added things to "pretty up" the kitchen....( that includes my two beautiful daughters Ashley and Hayley.)

Even though I loved my cupcake stand as it was I decided to spray paint it a bright yellow....especially nice for Summertime!

 

 A Miffy (or Nijntje) postcard from Holland from Oma (my Mum) framed in an Ikea frame (2 frames 5x7 size cost under $5....other colours too). On the right is a left over piece of fabric in the red frame. (A castle which we think is fitting considering two little princesses and one little prince do live here).

(And I have a thing for snowflakes....)

So thats pretty much the kitchen, nearly complete...still just have to decide on a colour for the rest of the walls (above the chalkboard paint) and would love to do something with the floor....(not a big fan of the tiles).

plate inspiration, love these colours.

kitchen revamp...

Heres our eldest daughter Hayley and I back in 2005!
the kitchen as it was when we bought the house....yeeeek!

So a few pics from our kitchen revamp (as opposed to renovation) to share...Our house is about 40 odd years old now, so the kitchen was well and truely due for a facelift. (Going by the previous paint on the walls it had already seen a couple in its time).

I quite like living in an old house as I find it has loads of character and I find it very rewarding "fixing it up". (Plus its what we could afford at the time). And it definatley helps to be married to a chippy, together I think we make a pretty good team.

We are a single income family so we tried to keep it as simple and affordable as possible, I think we were succesful. All up our kitchen revamp cost only a couple hundred dollars.

 We had always wanted to repaint the cupboards but because they were laminate this made it difficult, so next best thing was textured wallpaper! we picked up a 10m roll from Bunnings for only $29.95 and it turned out to be the perfect amount! It was also easy-peasy to paint, went on SO well and we actually found we only had to do one coat on the face of the cupboards.

I also love the pressed metal look, so painting it in the brushed silver gave it that look too. (Matched up perfectly with the dishwasher)

Anyhoo, heres the pics.....and please bare with me as I find my "blogging feet!!"

Hayles and I last year sometime...

 I quite liked the look of my little blackboard wall, so we decided to continue with the chalkboard paint throughout the whole kitchen.

(Got to love my hubby Chris for "cutting in" for me too! xxx)

Keeping the kitchen in black, white and silver means I can add any colours now or in the future if I want to change again.

Me, easy-peasy rolling on the paint

Hayley was more than willing to help,
she loves getting involved!

 We painted the brown trim along the benchtop in a white gloss to help freshen up the look.

I find endless inspiration and ideas on pinterest, this little drawing is similar to a framed pic I saw from ETSY. (Carol from the childrens book "Where the wild things are").

BEFORE cream and brown....yeeek.

AFTER! much better

My family...

Meet my fam... daughters Hayley and Ashley, little boy Beau and husband Chris (who happens to be a chippy by trade, so very useful!) We live in a little old fibro house where we have been for nearly 8 years now....have been doing it up since day one. This is a blog for all things home improvement & diy as we continue to make our surrounds that little bit nicer.

welcome to our home....a few pics

the girls at their nook...

perfect place to snuggle.

little things....girls room

Beaus nursery, little touches.

deecreated for all things created/decorated by little me....SAHM to 3 kiddies, my inspiration every day!