Beryl gets a new hat!

When I bought Beryl the Cockatoo lamp, she came with a shade that I liked but always wanted to change at some point.

So I finally got around to doing something about it!

I bought some cute spotty fabric from Spotlight and a cheap shade from Bunnings.

To see how much  fabric I would need, I placed the seam of the shade on the edge of a towel and rolled it along the towel until the seam appeared again.  I made a mark on the towel and used a tape measure to find the length.

I measured the width of the shade and added an extra inch either side to fold over the wire on the inside. For a nice tidy finish I folded over an inch of fabric and gave it a press with a  hot iron.

I used a can of spray on adhesive to hold down the fold and allowed it to dry for a few minutes.

I then spray the entire length of fabric with the adhesive and very carefully began to roll the shade along the fabric.  I lined up the raw edge of the fabric with the seam on the back of the shade and finishing with the folded edge.

I folded the edges into the inside of the shade and left to dry for a while.

I’m really pleased with the results.  The whole project from beginning to end took less than half an hour and approximately $20.00.

The Mighty Fine book Swap.

I have been driving past this cute little cabinet on a busy road in Chelmer for months now and recently decided to pull over and investigate .  Its full of books and this notice.

I think it’s a wonderful idea!  You can find out  more about it here!

Have you seen anything like this in where you live?

 

 

 

 

 

 

June Mary

A few weeks ago we lost a very special member of our family . June Mary, our lovely, sweet Nanny.

One of the main reasons I began this blog was so that my grandparents could be kept up to date with the renovations.  Despite the fact that they only lived thirty minutes from us, it wasn’t as easy for them to jump in the car and pop over as much as they would have  liked.

For as long as I can remember, my grandparents have always  been keen DIY’ers,  Nanny always keen to pull up her shirt sleeves and give things ago but in her element out in the garden.

Accessing the internet was a new thing for them and a challenge at the best of times but they were always keen to know what was going on here at the house, I would encourage them to jump online and  ‘check out Old Pearly Jenkins’.  With a few hiccups here and there, they’d do it, ringing me to give us praise and bucket loads of encouragement.

My Nan was a twin, born in Derby, United Kingdom on the 29th of May 1937.  June and Valerie , the only children for Bernard and Florence (Flo).

June met my grandfather Stan  the mid 1950s. They married and started a family.  My mother Beverley, the oldest of their three daughters.

Stan joined the British Army, The Royal Leicestershire Regiment and together as a family had the opportunity to live in Malta and Germany as well as other parts of the United Kingdom.

After my grandfather retired from the Army in the early 1970s the family emigrated to New Zealand and eventually to Brisbane, Australia.

In the last few months of Nanny’s life I would go to their house after work on Wednesdays for dinner.  After the dishes were done, the television would be turned off and the three of us would pull our chairs together.

Between the two of them they would talk about their lives together and I would quietly listen and record these conversations on my phone.  Both Nanny and Stan wanted their stories recorded before it was too late.  I’m so glad that we spent the time doing this.  We have captured these precious memories forever.

Never one to dwell on the negative, Nanny June soldiered on despite being so ill,  always with a big cheeky grin and a funny joke to share.  Only in the later part of the illness did the cracks being to show.

She was taking a lot of medication to try to ease the pain but the side effects were rough on her. But again, never would you hear her moan or complain!  She was just so grateful for the little extensions of time it gave her.

Stan and June celebrating their wedding anniversary this year.

Always full of positivity, laughter and happiness our lives seem a little empty without Nanny June.  My grandfather Stan has lost his best mate, my heart goes out to him.

I miss you Nan,  we all miss you xox

 

 

The hunt for a coffee table.

And what a hunt it’s been! I thought finding a coffee table for the living area would be easy.. but when it comes to trying to find the right coffee table for a decent price it was harder that I thought. I initially had thought that I’d like to have a go at making a padded ottoman . Something like this.

or this..

I’d read a few DIY blogs and they made it look kind of easy.

I’d even gone as far as hunting through op shops, Gumtree and ebay looking for a second-hand coffee table.  I was excited about making it and had even roped my ‘ever faithful mother’ into helping me.

But then last week when we were finally able to unwrap the sofa that was delivered back in march and unroll the pom-pom rug we brought last year, we realised that we just wouldn’t  have the room for a large coffee table. So I abandoned the ottoman idea and started the hunt for a small coffee table.

In hindsight it’s probably better not to add another project to the ever-growing list.  I’d purchased another old timber standard lamp a few weeks before that needs my attention first.

I went to the online shops of  Ikea, Freedom, Domayne, , Early Settler, Vast Interior, Oz Design, , Far Pavilions, Matt Blatt …….and so on….. until I finally found one at Nick Scali

It will fit the space perfectly and was it on sale!!!!   It has a concrete table top.  Something different, I’ve always wanted a concrete bench top in the kitchen but they’re not cheap, so this is a great compromise

I have to now wait a week to pick it up from their warehouse.  (don’t ask me why..  I rung today to see if I could come and get it but I was told I have to book in a ‘pick up’.  Far out!!  

Window Decorations.

I’d like to share with you a very different style of ‘window dressing’.  It’s made from hundreds of cardboard tubes from toilet rolls.

The window is in the bedroom of the oldest son of my friend’s house  from work.   Like me, she also  has three sons .

Her boys have their own bathroom in the house and when  they’d used the last of the toilet paper they’d leave the empty tubes on the floor of the toilet.

My friend refused to pick them up and the boys rather than throw them in the rubbish would stack them into a pyramid which was knocked down by my friend every time she cleaned the floor but  rather than spend a minute throwing them out, they would spend ten minutes re building the pyramid.  This was a battle of wills.  I would have gone crazy!!!!!

Over time the pile  got too big for down beside the toilet so the pyramid of toilet rolls  was  moved to a corner in the bathroom then eventually  into the bath tub. This  took a couple of years to collect !!!

My friend who feels she is ‘pretty  tolerant’ had  finally had enough and it was” either in the bin or his bedroom” (the oldest son), so they were  moved into his bedroom window creating this rather interesting but if somewhat unusual window dressing.

At least she says, she doesn’t have to look at them everyday!!! He can’t close the window though so he has had some cold nights over the winter.  The coloured areas are cupcake patty cases.   Sooo, what do you think?  I think it’s cool!

Cushions.

On my home from work on Friday afternoon I went via DFO (Direct Factory Outlet) to look for some European pillow cases for the day bed on the porch.  Every six months or so I like to change them and ALWAYS manage to find a bargain at ADAIRS.

The photo above shows some cushion covers that I brought from Adairs last year (this years dust rags).

I never have to pay more than $5.00 each.  As we’ve just painted the porch dark grey, I was looking for grey covers. $49.95!!!!!!!! who pays this for a pillow case?????

 

I also spotted some cushions that were half price as they were shop soiled.  I decided to grab them too as I’m sure they’ll be looking twice as bad in a few weeks.

I’ve since washed them, the stain hasn’t come out completely but it’s on the back of the cushion, so it doesn’t matter.

I know, I know, they look wrong on this bench seat, I’m on my way to work and wanted to do this post before I run out the front door.

I also pulled out the sewing machine from under the bed and began stitching together this old tea towel for a cushion.  The machine started playing up so I finished it by hand.  It’s not perfect but I’m happy with the results.

Happy Monday!