The Sledmere Carboot

This Sunday I attended my first Carboot as a seller. Though this was not for selling anything I had made or created I still was very nervous and excited.

The 6am alarm, grey blustery skies and bleary eyes did not quash the excitement! Though the increasing wind speed was something of a worry, great British weather hey?!

The Carboot that I attend was at Sledmere Hall a beautiful stately home in East Yorkshire. This particular Carboot is renowned for attracting discerning clientele, hence why I packed up all ,y better things that I know longer wanted!

My mum, sister and I shared a stall and with the help of some bunting, floral oil cloth and a good eye we created a rather smart looking stall.

Super fun was had by all and tempting though it was I didn't not purchase anything and not only that I made a nice amount to put into savings! In fact I enjoyed it so much I am already planning my next one, maybe at this one I will dare to sell something I've made! 

The wonderful world of twitter.....

Since I have set up a twitter account linked to the blog a whole new world has been opened up for me! There are some seriously amazing shops, crafters, magazine editors and collectors out there.

Twitter allows you to not only find out who is doing similar things near by to you but also contact with others from around the world!

It's also great to see what people are creating and what trends are coming up.


One of my favourite things I found on twitter this week was this lovely blog  Sprouts House 

I'm currently following over 845 amazing people who are inspiring me every day and creating an online creative hub for me to link into

Thanks twitter!

Project chair part 2

The lovely wooden chair that I acquired is now fully painted but not yet waxed. I absolutely love the Aubusson Blue as a paint colour and am hoping that some old mustard yellow curtains that I have will make for an excellent seat. Though I am still undecided on which fabric to use, something yellow or with yellow within it would be my first choice. 

I am considering not distressing this as I love the finish and think that the matt, fresh will look great! So once I finally decide whether or not to go with the mustard yellow the chair will be finished.

Quickest Upcycle ever!

This candle is a fixture on our dining room table and makes for a rather romantic atmosphere when lit. It looks great but also is the easiest upcycle ever and looks better with age as the candle drips down the bottle.

I would recommend using the coolest looking bottles you have. I love this one as it reminds me of our Californian road trip.

Happy Upcyling!

Vintage finds in Glasgow

Trips to city's are never the same once one has caught the up cycling bug. Or if you have a passion for antiques and vintage.

This weekends trip to Glasgow to visit friends was mostly spent chatting and catching up but Saturday afternoon allowed some time for seeing what hidden gems could be found in the city!

Due to lack of space in the car and high prices nothing was purchased but I did get lots of ideas.

Here are a couple of photos of the places and things we found!

Glasgow is a fab city but no luck this weekend on my mission to find bargains!

Project Chair

My test run with the chalk paint went quite well, the stool is nearly done but I am still not 100% happy with it. Before I put the final photos up I am going to try a couple of other things out. In the mean time I'm starting on my next project.

I've had this chair in my garage for the past couple of years. It's a lovely shaped chair but it had some awful fabric on that I ripped off months ago.

So this is what it looks like now.....

I've decided to paint the chair in the Annie Sloan Aubusson blue,  this should go really well with some floral printed fabric that I picked up at the Hull vintage fair in spring.

It will be the first chair I've reupholstered so its going to be something of a learning curve!

Watch this space as this is what Hattie is doing next.

Oh Annie

My mission to do my next house up as cheaply as possible has lead me to upcycling furniture.

I've been a woman on a mission searching for pieces of furniture for as little of possible and I now have a growing collection of mismatched and unloved pieces all in need of some TLC!.

This is where the wonderful Annie Sloan comes in, she has produced the wonderful chalk paint that I am going to use to spruce up the furniture!

Chalk Paint is a unique decorative paint developed by Annie Sloan in 30 decorative and historical colours made specifically for painting furniture, painting floors, and for giving walls a completely matt, velvety finish.Chalk Paint  sticks to just about any surface... wood, concrete, metal, matt plastic, earthenware and much more, inside and outside the home. 

I'm looking forward to seeing what I can create and improve with this wonderful paint! 

The first colours I've invested in are English Yellow and Aubusson Blue. 

On the Annie Sloan website there is a little write up for each colour: 

Aubusson Blue

The colour is named and designed after the beautiful deep grey blue found on the classic 18th and 19th century Aubusson rugs from France. It is an elegant colour that works well with many colours as it is a dark neutral but in particular it works with Paris Grey . It is also a colour found in Scandinavian painted furniture 

So this is the stool just after I started painting, it's incredibly easy using this paint. It goes straight onto the wood, no sanding or primer!! Amazing!  

First stages ........