*Make-It-Monday*-Vintage egg styling...

morning all from the gorgeous Australian coast...

we're bathing in almost Easter sunshine here...Autumn at it's coastal best...clear, blue & warm...

as it's nearly Easter, i thought to day we could share a some of the *Make-It-Monday* goings on 

in our little beach house...

an Easter-Make-It-Monday that is sweet enough to have in the house over this holiday whether you have bambino's or not...

a bit of egg styling...

this is a little idea we came across via Martha- some times she strikes on a bit of lovely that is right up my doily-loving alley...

lace-printed eggs for Easter...

they are stylish enough for the mama's in the house & bright enough for the kiddos in the house...

thank you Miss.Stewart...

with simple pantry ingredients & a carton of fresh eggs- this was an after HW project in our house...

  
tools of the Egg styling trade here are:

carton of eggs hard boiled
food colouring
white wine vinegar
doilies or old lace off cuts
elastic bands
egg carton to hold the dyed eggs till they dried

{Martha actually suggested a piece of wedding gown if, you know,...it hadn't quite worked out as
 you expected!}  

 ok...this is the simplest, most satisfying of little projects!

wrap the hard boiled eggs in small doilies or scraps of lace {or your wedding dress!}...& secure at back of the egg with an elastic band...

it is essential that this is done as snuggly as possible- the tighter the lace, the clearer the pattern on the
finished egg... 

dunk the eggs in a ceramic bowl consisting of the food colouring, a good dash of white wine vinegar & water to cover the egg...

we left ours for a good 15 minutes to play with the dog...turn on the bath...unpack the school bags blah blah blah....

& we returned- we simply snipped off the elastic bands...gently unwrapped the eggs...


& just sat back looking at these...



gorgeous doily printed Easter eggs...


i'm not sure who was more delighted Miss.Audrey at 6...or me!

a little bit of country inspiration by the coast...

what d'ya think?

beats store bought run of the mill decorations for us...

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today i'm sharing over at 

the *Decorating Forum*

~~~

for more creative idea's on virtually anything 

head on over, you will love this site...

~~~

happy egg styling at yours...

melissa

xoxox

 

 

  

*make-it-monday*-a french cafe kitchen blackboard...

morning from the gorgeous beaches of Australia gals...


i've walked, grocery shopped, dropped back to school forgotten library bags & managed to get

a good *rant* in on the merits of homework to the three kiddos this morning- all before lunch...!

i'm on a roll...a monday morning roll...

so lets keep going with *make-it-monday* as i still have a puppy & a few holes in the garden dug


with pride that i need to discuss with her...!

*make-it-monday* kitchen styling by the beach...


in our big old house in the English countryside- we had many a blackboard...

i love to list write & quote write...& with three kiddos on the run, it seemed to work that everyone was

used to checking life reminders on my blackboards- especially the kitchen one...

so on moving home to the beaches of Oz...i set myself a plan to paint a *practical, big* kitchen wall with

some blackboard paint...

as the house has just been freshly painted for our return- i seriously didn't want to make a mistake on the

wall of choice, or the colour...

yep...gals...chalkboard paint comes in ALL colours- but the french putty ones are especially perfect!

so...


kitchen wall chosen...i searched for chalkboard paint as we had seen in little french restaurants 


when travelling with the kiddos in France, over our summers in England...


there was plenty of black...green & even brights like pink & purple chalkboard paint...

none of which i wanted, although black would have worked, as it did in England...

then...i came across The Society Inc Chalkboard Paint & it was looove at first sight...


my favourite new & gorgeous shop {check it out here Honey Bee Homewares} had painted an

entire, enormous wall in the enticingly gorgeous colour *ship chandler*...

it's french...putty coloured chalboard brown...exactly what i had been searching for...

so i grabbed me a big ol'pot of *ship chandler* & went home to slap it on our kitchen wall...

it is D.I.V.I.N.E ...

truly if you are a blackboard lover like myself- you will want to invest in this product...

& like all of my *make-it-monday* projects- 


it's a quick, satisfying, simple living, cool way to give your house- beach or mountain...

country or ocean based...a little simple styling...

simply tape with *painters tape* the shape of your blackboard & slap on two coats- giving an hour 


between each to touch dry...


i like to double up my tape to get a nice thick edge which is easier to peel off later...


give the board a good few hours before you do peel the edges off...

if you're anything like me...love is a french coloured kitchen blackboard...

done in an hour whilst putting the groceries away...after a long walk on the beach...

*make-it-monday*

a french cafe kitchen blackboard

L.O.V.E

see ya tomorrow for a *virtual coffee*

melissa

xoxox

*make it monday*...white clay doily bowls...

*make it monday*...

morning lovelies...here's one for your gorgeous teens...

 after a rocky few days to end our week last week- with my father-in-laws Memorial service...

this was a wonderful way for the lovely teenager in our house, to just switch off & hang out with her

gorgeous girlfriend...

Ella made a speech at her Grandfather's Memorial on behalf of 8 grandchildren...

she was AMAZING...

composed...eloquent...calm...funny & so sweet... 

there were tears....

so amongst all the weekend stuff that 3 kiddos need & love to fit in...we did a bit of nothing with

white clay & typeface stamps...doily's & empty wine bottles...

 i've used DAS with my kids forever- purely as it *air dries*...that suits me- it's inexpensive & 


uncomplicated...


we broke off chunks & rolled it flat with an empty wine bottle- sooo handy when one is waiting for

one's goodies from abroad...

our vintage English rolling pin is slowly rolling it's way to Oz across the oceans as i type...

& this is the essential part they i forgot to snap with my camera, as i was helping girls roll with an

old wine bottle ;)

so...i will endeavour to explain how *truly simple* & satisfying this craft is...without images!

1. roll the clay flat...to the rough size of the dish or bowl you would like to make...

{we were making little jewellery dishes- so used asian sauce bowls...}

2. place a cotton / linen doily over the flattened clay & roll again {not nec using an old vino bottle!}

3. peel the doily away & lay the chosen dish over the clay & cut to size...

4. gently place into the bowl & push into shape inside the dish...

 

the girls are sooo mad about type face...trained well ;)

so once the clay was in their chosen dishes they stamped letters & words inside...lovely...so lovely...

 

 

once the decorating...& stamping...& creating is done...

it's as simple as stepping back over night & letting them *air dry*... 

the girls created for hours- they made bowls,squares of clay for brooches & signs for their rooms

all whilst listening to I-Tunes & giggling...talking...creating together...

just what we needed after so much emotion over the last few days...

*make it monday*

clay creating with the gorgeous teens in your life

although our 6 year old is desperately keen on a slab of DAS to herself

i'll be the one kneading with the empty wine bottle...

enjoy...

melissa

xox  

*make it monday*...french tote from an eco bag how to...

*make it monday* french style...


styling a supermarket eco bag into a gorgeous french-looking market tote...

an eco bag with good bones...a strong handle & lovely shape & size...

i am not a plastic bag person by any stretch of the imagination...

i can't stand to use them at the supermarket...i can't stand the kids to pack anything in them & take 

them to school...i can't stand that they have holes in the bottom of most & therefore cannot be 

justified even as bin liners...

so we just don't use them!

with all my experience of eco-bags...this one is a particularly great one!

so...

tote ready- any labels removed with a cotton picker or pair of scissors...

simple...

i have raved about these french letter stencils before- when i stencilled steel buckets {here}

& when i stencilled a vintage ladder from our village in England {here}

i have always wanted to stencil a tote-& as my sewing machine is still in transit- enjoying the 

sea air on it's voyage to Australia- i am using what i have to make what i want need...

i like to tape my number stencils to newspaper & then to the object so that there are 

no *gaps* which may end up slightly black anywhere else...

i also lined this tote with newspaper as i wasn't sure how the spray would seep through the weave...

& yep i used *fiddly bits* spray paint again that you can find {here}

instant frenchy-looking tote -made on a whim- with what i had at home...

like all the projects that are my *favourite & best*...this was super fast & sooo satisfying...

a leetle bit of the south of france markets to start out week...

hope you're inspired to sweeten up your eco-bags...

this is a little *moment* for a gorgeous new friend

that owns the most *scrumptious* shop on the beaches

french heaven

i'll be taking you all {here} soon

*Honey Bee Homewares*

& 

introducing you to the lovely Tracey

Make it Monday

from the beaches

with a whallop of french market influence & Australian sunshine!

~~~

french stencils from etsy {here}- man i looove etsy!

xox

*make it monday*...doily bunting how-to...

*make it monday*...


doily bunting...

i know this is not a new one...i've raved about my love of doily bunting a zillion fair few times on this

ol'blog o'mine...

but it's one to share again & again...as it makes a room happy, sweet...a little of the old-time-when-

the world-was-simple kinda decorating...

& for me- it says ol"Blighty all over...

anything that reminds me of our life in the English countryside is a heart-tugging winner in our little

house by the beach...

you know what you need gals...


paper doilies...{i found a stack of them in the gorgeous-ness that is PULP }

a ball of good ol'fashioned hardware store string...cheap & white...

a sewing machine...

simply fold in half over the string & sew...


don't attempt to sew the doilies & then thread them onto the string...

this will send you mental a little cross eyed & cause a huge flippin whallop few moments of

frustration...

just fold over the string as you go along & sew in straight stitch...

hang generously ALL over the house...

make it monday

short & oh so very sweet

old fashioned & fresh

the perfect combination

see ya tomorrow for a *virtual coffee*

love you to join me

we're in the garden- a little *Great Gatsby* like- for pots of tea

&

a proper *how's your week* catch up

xoxox

*make it monday*-a coastal country inspiration board...

morning gals...


we're just back from the beach...the surf is huge & the kids were in awe of it-just as i was as a child...

so...

with a cup of tea in hand...welcome to our second *make-it monday*...

a coastal country styled notice board...

*this* is one of our old fly screens...


for some mad reason...our totally *open plan* beach house had fly screens on selected windows...

for some pockets of Oz, this is essential, as fly's in Oz, like midgies in Scotland can send one crazy-

but our house sits on the edge of a small rise and we manage to capture breezes daily...

fly's don't hang out where there is a breeze- so we *ripped* all the random fly screens off our windows

which let me with a pile of frames for projects...

this great little project literally took less than half an hour in total!

that's my kinda *morning tea job* with all the kiddos home from school still & a new puppy in 

the house!

you need:

an old frame- would anyone really notice if you pulled one outa the kids room ;-)

chicken wire

wire cutter

staple gun

pot of tea...

i truly just cut out the old screen, washed off the frame & let it dry in the sun whilst i poured a 


cup of tea...


laying the roll of chicken wire across the frame, i had one of the kiddos hold the wire whilst i stapled

down one side...& let the roll of wire hang over the other edge, to weigh it down whilst i then stapled

both the top & bottom sides...

after cutting the final long side, which was held in place by the three secured sides - i just stapled that

& it was ready to bring it in doors for Sol's birthday cards...

too easy...

the lovely old chippy hinges that originally held the frame to the widow are perfect for hanging...


the frame itself was already a little past it day- a bit of sanding gave it that warm old country farm look...

next time i'm at the hardware store-& i love a good hardware store visit as much as the next 


up-cycler...i'll be buying a box of wooden pegs to secure notes to this...


till then we've simple stuck all Sol's birthday cards, & our daily essentials, like moustache's & glasses

into the wire...ready to change or use when needed...

this will be my inspiration board / notice board in the kitchen...

{way cooler than a shop bought standard pin board}

the perfect coastal country inspiration board...made over a pot of tea...from an old frame...


too simple...totally satisfying...& half an hour from beginning to end...

what d'ya think...

beach house chic...a bit chippy, a bit old - some may even call it vintage ;-) & oh so very practical...

hope it inspires a little stapling at your place....

melissa

xox


linking up at these fab inspirational blogs today - *Home Maker on a Dime*, *Coastal Charm*


& *Get outta my head please* - check them out gals....

*make it monday* beach style....

g'day bloggy gals...


i thought i'd start a little regular monday thing here where i show you a few quick, inexpensive 


up-cycling projects i'm working on for our little beach house...


welcome to *make it monday*...

a few projects anyone can do with a little time...a love of the old & chippy...& a little

imagination...

as much as i love a new set of white china...with the same passion i love to *re-use* something in

another way...to give something a new beginning...

we all do, don't we...

i'm not alone here...i'm not doing anything that we all can't do...

it's just nice to share a little...inspire one another...suggest products...

monday's here are going to be all about making, sharing...& hoping to inspire a little...


so...beach project number one...


a gifted vintage mirror- gold & ornate-lovely...but not really our kinda thing...

this was left to Ritchie by his Great Aunt, whom we have wonderful memories of...

we loved where it's come from...it's shape...it's weight...it's size...

we just aren't particularly *gold* in this little beach pad...

to mix our love of beach & country this mirror just couldn't be sand white...

it needed to be bolder...& a little richer...

welcome to my first *must-have-&-share-it-product*...in a spray can- i really really L.O.V.E a spray 

can...

{is that odd at this age!!??}

so...this will change your life...i can almost promise you that...

for less than $3- *Fiddly Bits* -high gloss enamel fast drying spray in *flat black* is perfect...

check it out {here}

so gold & glamour became black & beachy...

when we decided to re-stain the floor boards dark...it made me see the house is a new light...

depth has become a lovely aspect...deep, dark wooden floorboards...crisp white walls...

a black vintage mirror draped with simple white strands of shell...

white floorboards would have given this little beach house a very different feel...

these dark floorboards allow so much more to catch the eye...they are bright & warm & 

simple but divinely rich...

the mirror reflects them in the same way...the shells simplify it all...

just a real house on the Australian coast full of kids & sand & up-cycled bits...

get your hands on a vintage mirror or thrifted frame asap...


pick up a can of {fiddly bits} & spend an hour in the fresh air spraying your way to a gorgeous

up-cycled gem for your house...

let me know how you like a little *make it monday*...

& please let me know if you've found a spray paint you can't live without...

happy beach days gals

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happpy birthday to our beautiful boy today- 11- we love you so much

~~~~~

we've got a big week ahead with a little puppy making it's way into our hearts

you'll  meet her soon

she is H.E.A.V.E.N 

xox