Friday, August 20, 2010

Changes in the Reading Nook

Hi, dear friends, happy Friday.
Have you had a good week?
Today I'll show you some changes I made to our reading nook in our home.
This space has become a nook that my family and I often read and chat in,
it's a space that runs off the informal dining area,
so it seems to function as the area where we often hang around.
These below are the "BEFORE" photos,
Not that there was anything wrong with the "BEFORE",
but I've always thought I'd like to tweak the display on the buffet when I get time to,
and with what I've already got on hand.
I finally did,
and I made some inexpensive changes with some of the forgotten things and craft projects I already had hidden away in the cupboards.
It was good clean out day as well!
BEFORE: Mostly white, more mellow and softAFTER : Add black, more character, accent and definition

I like the way the black pops in this scheme,
I got the letter "E" from a craft store for a few dollars,
it was papier macher and I painted it with black satin acrylic paint.
The picture frame was an old wood coloured one,
I painted the frame black as well.
The random alphabets in the frame is like the eyechart at the optometrist.
My children's eyes were quick and they very quickly read what it said,
I was slow and thought they were just random alphabets put together.
It actually said " Hard work never killed anybody, but why take a chance".
What? That means don't work hard?
Ah well, it's supposed to be humorous, right?
The print of the silhouette is stuck onto a block of wood which I've had for ages,
which I also painted black.
The numbers "2" and "8" are wood and painted black,
also bought from a craft store.
I added some old books which I covered with coffee stained papers to match the colour of the clock,
and black and white papers,
I like the stacked-up-books-look.
Some I left them in their original covers for contrast.
The glass jar with shells is from my son's room,
he was cleaning out and he didn't want that anymore.
The two candlesticks are old ones that I painted and distressed,
moved from the living room.
So there you have it,
a little transformation in the reading nook,
which I enjoyed putting together.
I think it fits with the overall look of this space too,
don't you think?Alrighty, I will leave you here,
have a great weekend,
till next time.

Friday, August 13, 2010

I'm back, finally!

Hi, friends, how are you all doing? I hope you are all well and having a good day. I know I've been away for way too long, I've missed you all. The last thing I posted was about the juniour bridesmaids' night dresses I was making. I'm glad to say that I ended up finishing them two weeks before the wedding, which was a relief. I included a little snippet of a photo here to show you one of the dresses. I ended up doing A-line dresses instead of pleated round the waist simply because the style suited better. The sash was a satin ribbon. The fabric flower brooches were white when I bought them, I couldn't find the right size and right look in that light mauve colour, so I decided to paint them myself, seeing that those white ones were just right in shape and size. I simply used an acrylic craft paint and it worked fine. I don't know what it will do if I wash it, but it hasn't needed a wash yet, and the wedding is over now. Oh, talking about the wedding, it was a beautiful wedding, we had a great time.No, I don't have any roses now because we are in the middle of winter and they have all been pruned. But these were the roses I put in jars ready to give to my friends a while back. I just thought I'd share them with you. Have a wonderful weekend, my dear friends.