20.8.11

friday pretties on a saturday morning in a village...

friday pretties...
a gorgeously rare morning to myself...
i love school holidays...i truly do...
but every now & again...a day to myself is pretty heavenly...
i had the day, almost a whole day, to sew...catch up on orders...cook & pick up after my divinely lazy busy family...
but before i did all of this i wandered through the village...
& drank coffee...
& hung out in second hand shops...
& just stopped for a moment on my own...yep...on my own...
i picked up this *lovely-shaped* pile of goodies from *oxfam*...
i wasn't looking for colour today- just shape & form...
& how perfect is that little muddy brown one...
colour- hmmmm...
shape- mmmm...


lovely shaped, ugly old left on the shelf *vintage* vases looking for a little colour...
i have been desperate to try the virtues of my new found spray-bestie on some ceramic ware...
i have a love affair that is border-line manic for all china, that started when i was in my teens on the beaches...
where all my friends were saving for shopping spree's to the mall...
i was working to fund a china/homewares obsession that meant when i eventually moved out, i was ready to have my space...
no ikea box sets for my first house...no plastic cups...
but we also had no furniture...
we literally covered outdoor furniture in calico slip covers that i made for our indoor dining table & did the same with moving boxes for bedside tables...
but man...did we have great plates...& glasses...& bedspreads...we were young & very happy...
so...having just discovered this *spray-virtually-everything* amazing paint-i can very safely say it would have been my paint bestie way way back then too....


you know how much i love chippy...& worn & old...& dented & french...
but thrown in with all my authentically old vintage pieces, i do love me a bit of almost modern simplicity...
simple lines...
lovely shapes...
no patina or perfect chippy-ness taking your eye away from the *form* of a piece...



i could never have done this little experiment on any of my so very loved, used-every-single-day-old china...
but the experiment also needed pieces of a particularly interesting shape...
the little squat bud vase with it's beautiful blue insides...
stocky almost...but sweet with a rim wide enough for a teeny bunch of flowers...more than just a bud or two...
& that beautiful fan of a vase...muddy coloured & a little too sadly unaware of it's beautiful lines...
a modern, simple take on some wonderful old cast shapes...



i can now see a very cool, very sweet looking tea-party happening in our garden before the end of summer...
my chippy old french garden table, wine, some nibbly bits & some lovely english girlfriends...
i'll get the B.B {british bestie} onto that...
hear that janey- my front garden in two weeks sweetie...
start thinking about it...& where we can *put* the kids ;)


when i walk the village on my own...no kiddos...no bikes or scooters or drink bottles in tow...
i walk the long way...winding up & down past the houses i covert love...
aahhhh-ing over the fences at the garden's i wish i had the patience for...
always pinching a few bits...a few friday pretties...
hydrangeas...are everywhere at this time of year...
beautiful colours...
beautiful shapes...
beautiful in these vases...


that is one seriously shapely little vase....L.O.V.E  I.T!
& love my chippy chair ;)



friday pretties
shared on a saturday morning
because when the storm of kids came home last night
there were endless stories of muddy stomping through the english countryside
&
pizza's to make!
~~~

have a bloomin' great weekend gals
love me in spray paint heaven

xox
melissa 






19 comments:

  1. Spray paint heaven....you are funny :)

    Tea& china in your garden sounds wonderful....room for a London girl too?!

    Happy Weekend sweetie X

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Melissa

    I love your story and your photos - they are very loved and refreshing indeed.
    It all has a history and now a new history to behold.

    have a great weekend

    x
    Loulou

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Melissa, great idea, they really do look good and the spray paint unifys them but I also like the way you left the blue inside one of the vases, perfect with the hydrangea x

    ReplyDelete
  4. love this idea! interesting shapes you found.
    x

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hello you
    What a transformation. Got to say I was a bit flumoxed when I saw the first picture... they were some seriously ugly vases (pre-white loveliness)... What a transformation! I wouldn't have the eye to get them in the first place. Got to say though, I'm loving that spray paint... I just updated the mirror on our ugly medicine cabinet... bye-bye ugly brown wood... hello lovely white mirror... Certainly beats dropping $160 on a new one! Hope you're having a great weekend! Lx

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love what you have done with those vases! I should venture into spray paint heaven too!

    ReplyDelete
  7. They look beautiful now! So lovely!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thank you for sharing your stroll thru the village ... your pieces are lovely! :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. PS love your new blog header....gorgeous :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Beautiful !! enjoy a happy weekend...have fun !! ...love from me...xxx..

    ReplyDelete
  11. so beautiful, clever lady. I am envious of your lone walk through town and I would love to come to your afternoon tea! Bec x

    ReplyDelete
  12. Everyone should
    go through the
    calico slip phase
    in a marriage; that's
    how you KNOW that it's
    true love and NOT
    about "the things!"
    Perfect find. You're
    such a love.
    xx Suzanne
    PS: Great new header.
    I'm hoping to bribe my
    daughter into finishing
    mine before school starts
    back up : ) !!

    ReplyDelete
  13. What a great product Melissa...what is it...I could get addicted too as there is plenty of ugly stuff in the charity shops which could be re-invented...as you have done with great results. Also, I love your new banner...don't know how long it's been there...have been a bit slack with the blogging lately...need to catch up! Robx

    ReplyDelete
  14. Gorgeous transformations! So pretty on your chippy chair! X

    ReplyDelete
  15. Ok I'm sold! Fabulous revamps there and beautifully written and photographed as usual :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Again a great story Melissa, I was indeed thinking why you wanted that metal one but the following photo explained it all and you have a good eye for these things, it looks great!
    We are boiling here these last days so I'm going to close the computer soon and try to get some more sunshine before the weather starts to change.
    Hugs my friend,
    Maureen x

    ReplyDelete
  17. They've come up a treat, and don't they look so pretty with those hydrangeas spilling out of them. Your story made me smile - back in my student days, while my friends were laybying clothes, I laybyed a dinner set, a lovely white Thomas dinnerset. It was so beautiful. I just bought it at a crazy time. But it made me happy too!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Melissa, I don't get to visit you enough but when I do, it's often on a Friday. And it's a lovely precursor to the weekend. Such a place of lovely you've got going here. Love hearing your news and seeing your projects evolve. Another gorgeous post xo

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for taking a moment...x

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...