The Grey Blues

Who knew finding the perfect shade of grey paint could be so difficult?

I have been driving myself potty with tester pots. It started with boxing in the ugly pipes in the downstairs loo. This left a lot of bare MDF and made the rest of the room look a bit shabby in comparison. A grey makeover is planned but grey is tricky!

It is a pretty small room so there is some concern it could end up looking like a Bat Cave if we go too dark. Too green and it looks a bit like a hospital period drama. Too blue - ditto. I don't like lilac much so I don't want lilac tones but I don't want it too cold either. You can see where this is going can't you?

Anyway..... 17 paint samples later and some have been instantly discounted. Dulux Grey Steel 2 is definitely veering into Bat Cave territory. Porcelain Doll is pretty but pale. It feels like a waste to spend all that time covering up the white paint with a slightly creamier white paint. Lots of samples are more greige and they seem to work. Grey - Beige. Perfect!

Five shades of greige currently occupy the wall. They are painted onto A4 paper and blu-tacked up so I can add comments to them at various times of the day. There is no clear winner as yet. Polished Pebble was leading but, since I changed the light bulb for a brighter LED one, it's all up in the air again. Thimble Case is edging into the lead now... I think.... maybe. I am boring myself with the indecision. Please somebody just confiscate my colour cards!

The playroom is going much better. I completed one project this week with no such messing around. Coral Flair looked gorgeous in the Dulux colour book, I convinced DS it was hardly pink at all (it isn't - it is a really beautiful coral) and painted a huge backdrop for the kid's pictures all in one day. I really love it - the room was a bit cold and boxy before so a splash of colour is perfect.

I am now trying to decide on a nice complimentary teal colour for the other end of the room. Dulux Teal Tension is nice but a bit dark. Blue Hawaiian 2 is also lovely - a lot like Teal Tension except fractionally less green.....still a bit dark though. Maybe I should get 17 samples, blu-tack them all to the wall and rate them out of 10 at varying times of the day as the light changes? Or maybe I should just stick pins in the Dulux book and let fate decide?

In the Garden 2014....

A little annual update on the garden:
This time last year, I started to take a keener interest in our garden so I thought it might be nice to keep track of how it flourishes. Flourishes might be a bit strong. Doesn't wilt is more what I'm aiming for.

This time last year, the Magnolia tree was in full bloom but this year the flowers are long gone. It is still looking good though:

The Red Robin was growing well and continues to resist dying. This is good. I am not actually sure it has grown much though. Many of our neighbours have the same shrub so I think this must mean it likes the soil. I shall have to stick with it:

Not everything has been so successful though. Laurels are supposed to love chalky soil but are really not taking off. Hebes, which apparently tolerate anything, are looking a bit leggy and grim and there's an Rosa Alba in there too but it is getting prickly rather than big:

I planted lilacs only last year following my chalky soil guide and they seem to be coming along well. The dogwood went in the year before and looks healthy but not much bigger. I have no idea how fast these things grow:

 The clematis, which last year were too skinny to even photograph, have been making valiant efforts. I just don't think they can withstand the unique snail-exposed position combo that my garden offers them:

We have such ugly fences and I really wanted to cover them ASAP. Even ivy doesn't seem to grow. I am pondering getting Russian Vine (mile-a-minute vine) which I don't much like the look of but am desperate now for something to take off.

The front garden is a similar mixed bag although all of the good bits were here when we arrived so I am not sure how much credit I can take for them. The Calla Lily has gone totally mad. It must like wet winters:

The Acer Tree is as beautiful as ever. I just love it and leave it well alone. The bluebells are back and (my own addition) two wallflowers grew. That's 2 out of all the seeds I planted last year but I don't care, they look really lovely and must be very hardy indeed!

I don't think the roses are quite so happy though. Normally they grow all summer long but a lot of them seem to look a bit manky this year (a technical gardening term indicating either pest or disease). One of them looks fine but the rest seem a funny shape.
So that's the garden for this year and I shall leave you with a shot of happy wildlife out enjoying my front drive this morning:

Since ladybirds are lucky, I am taking this as a doubly good omen for the year ahead!

Annie Sloan Addict....

With half a can of Annie Sloan "Old White" left over from my fireplace and a chest of drawers kindly donated, I am up-cycling again.
Honestly, it is so easy. No sanding. No prepping. Just painting!

For an impatient up-cycler like myself this is totally ideal. I hate sanding. I'm not that keen on priming either but this was completed in just one afternoon. I waxed it the next day and buffed it the day after and it is being used already.

The obligatory before and after shot

The ceramic knobs are a bit of an eBay bargain. I went for mismatched not with any great design statement in mind but because I liked all of them and couldn’t decide.

I am eyeing up more furniture to paint. I don’t think I own anything that wouldn’t be vastly improved by a coat of Chalk Paint and the addition of ceramic knobs!!

A Mini Makeover...

Not for me unfortunately but for the house.
A few years since moving in and we realised we had stopped noticing the awful bits!
In a bid to break out of this DIY lull, I invested in a big tin of Annie Sloan paint, a small tin of wax and revamped the fireplace:

Before & After

                                           

To be honest, I felt quite brave because - and let's be frank here - nothing I could do to that monstrosity would make it any worse. It turned out much better than I expected though - I am really pleased with it. I just need to get some logs to put in the grate and a mirror and pretty candles of course...

Used: 

• Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in "old white". 
•  Zinsser BIN spray - Chalk Paint covers pretty much all woods except Teak and 1930's dark wood which has some kind of seeping stain added to it.
• Rust-oleum All Surface Paint in Matt Black
• Annie Sloan Clear Wax
• Low tack masking tape from my scrapbooking stash 

Merry Christmas

We enjoyed a wonderful Christmas Day with all the family - 16 of us for Christmas Dinner this year!
I opened my last advent gift too:

As you can see it contained gorgeous alphas, veneer butterflies and lots of add ons from the Hello Again range. It is very generous Sandra and I love it - thank you very much.

On Christmas Eve...

My Santa gave to me...

Bazzill cardstock to match my Hello Again papers – perfect - thank you Santa.
I have absolutely loved my advent present and am thrilled with the gorgeous papers, card and embellishments Santa sent. I loved my extra bits too - my candles and chocolate. It has made December a much brighter month to have a lovely gift to open every day,
Tomorrow is the last day of course but just look how pretty my 25th present is:

I am being very good and hardly poking it or shaking it at all!
I don't think I will be able to update tomorrow as there are a lot of people relying on me for their turkey but I will take a photo and upload my last advent pressie very soon
Thank you again Sandra and Merry Christmas xx

On the 23rd Day of Christmas...

My Santa gave to me...

Carta Bella Hello Again papers to complete my collection. I am really thrilled with these and can now plan a mini album or set of pages using our holiday photos from earlier this year. The colours are perfect for outdoor activity and beach photographs and I have a lot of them to scrap! Thank you Sandra xxx