A country couch for the new look lounge

I finally decided on Sunday it was time to make a new couch for the country lounge instead of just thinking about it.

So I got my box of wood bits out and this is what I came up with.
Even hubby was surprised at how well it turned out.

I just get happier with this room every day!

'What Mr Nylon saw in the kitchen' is coming soon!

Mercedes

What a difference a day makes!

Mr Nylon is one happy chappy! The not so pesky decorator worked late into the night (without being paid overtime) and look at the sight Bri woke up to this morning. The decorator even cleaned up! (Mr Nylon is also especially pleased with himself now that he has figured out how to stand up without leaning on anything!) Mrs Nylon will also be very pleased that the lounge now has more of a 'country look' to it.

'Ahhh, yes!' he is thinking, 'this is the life, a room free from the wife's clutter'. (The wife and children have sensibly gone to visit relatives in Shabbyville). 'Hmmm, maybe I'll just make a cup of coffee...' (He can't afford to buy a coffee now that he's redecorated. And new clothes are simply out of the question, he's a man and sees nothing wrong with the outfit he's been wearing for the last twenty or so years, there's still plenty of wear left in it!)

'Doh! *^#$* Didn't there used to be a door here!'

Why yes, there was a door but the decorator never liked it, all it did was take up valuable wall space where the wife can have extra shelves for designer knick-knacks and bric-a-brac, the things that make a house a home. Do not worry there is another door into the kitchen on the other side of the fireplace, it will take a while but Mr Nylon will figure it out.

Poor Bri has yet to see the disaster that awaits him in the kitchen...

Change...

Little Mr Bri Nylon there is freaking out, he got up (late) this morning and his lounge looked like this.

Stay tuned...

Mercedes

Tiny Rosebuds

I had a bit of fun making these tiny rose arrangements. They were very simple to make and if I had more roses I'd show you how I made them. The pink ones are going in the shabby house.
Here's a birds eye view.

The rosebuds are the tiniest I've found, 1/8th of an inch. I bought them at a craft market from a scrapbooking lady who was selling them quite cheaply. But that market is three hours drive from where I live so I won't be back there anytime soon. If anyone knows where they can be found online please let me know.

Here's my new 'currency scale' lol!
The first coin is a New Zealand 10 cents, it's the smallest coin we have now (both in size and value). Then there's the Australian 5 cents, a Canadian 10 cents and a US dime. Those coins represent the extent of my global travels, sorry there are no European coins - am still saving up for that trip!

Mercedes

Magnificent Magnolia

This magnolia tree is right outside our front door. This week it is in full bloom and looks magnificent

Liberty can never resist climbing it and taking a giant leap!

I have a feeling Spring is just around the corner...

Mercedes

Gifts from Freddy!

I have been a very lucky girl again this week! My miniaturist friend Freddy (who has no blog as yet) arrived with these beautiful baskets full of goodies for me the other day.

Freddy has been doing some mini knitting!!! She made this little doll for me and the piglet for Liberty. The doll is just an inch and a half tall.

And she made some bath salts and a special towel for the washstand in the shabby house.

Thank you Freddy!

Mercedes

Shabby Wardrobe and My First Mini Clothes!

Here's the wardrobe I've built for the bedroom in the shabby house.

And here's how it looks in the room. I'm going to make a curtain to go on the front of it instead of a door, I just have to find the right fabric.

Thought I'd have a go at making some little clothes to hang in the wardrobe. I just twisted some wire to make the coat hangers, I'll have to have a go at making some nicer ones.

This is the first mini dress I made! The fabric is silk in the palest shade of pink, it was a scrap from the sashes on my flowergirls dresses at my wedding - so I've only had it lying around for almost 16 years!

This dress turned out a bit long to go in the wardrobe but I like it so much I think I'll just hang it in front of the curtain on permanent display!

Mercedes

Primitive Country coffee table this time!

Here's a bit of a change from the shabby chic look! Another style I love is 'primitive country'. Believe it or not I did set out to decorate the big dollhouse in a country style however I find it very hard to stick to one look because I love so many different styles.

This red table I have made for my dollhouse, it has a number '5' in it because Liberty wanted to find a letter or number in the alphabetti after I had made the word 'simplify' and because she is five years old we decided it was a good number to have there!

And this blue table is going to a friend who loves primitives too.

Now I'm thinking I need a little house just for primitives...uh, oh, I can hear the hubby groaning already, lol!

Mercedes

A shabby chic couch

I thought I'd try and make a little shabby couch in the same style as the wash stand. And here's how it turned out! I surprised myself, once again, lol!

I already had that fabric and it goes perfectly with the wallpaper!

This couch I sent to Sylvia.

And a shabby coffee table for Sylvia. Dromen is Dutch for 'dream' (I hope! lol!).

More shabby fun to be had soon!

Mercedes

Shabby Chic Mail!

Today I recieved some wonderful mail from Sylvia. I LOVE this card she sent. On the back Sylvia wrote 'Mercedes and Sylvia in Paris waiting for Sabiha' LOL!!

Little Dutch surprises!

In the packages there was a special tap for the shabby house, a little wall shelf, some teeny handles, that gorgeous cherub ornament and..

This most wonderful basket of pansies made by Sylvia especially for the shabby house.

The pansies are STUNNING!!

Dank ye wel Sylvia!!!

Mercedes

Shabby little dining table and chairs

Take a look at that gorgeous wallpaper in the downstairs of the shabby chic house, once again it's 1:1 wallpaper with a small print.

The backs and seats of the chairs were part of a kitset from a magazine series. I gave them new front legs and added the bead trim around the seats and also added the flower embelishment on the backs.

I made this 'pie crust' table at the club a while ago. The lady who showed us how to make these tables was 90 years old!! She still uses a lathe and turned the piece of wood for the pedestal of the tables for us. The rest we had to do ourselves! Of course she had sanded and stained her own one to perfection. However, I have never been able to get mine to stand up properly so it was in the box of 'things to fix later' (a rather large box!) . But the other day I saw it and it was just screaming to be in the shabby house. I've got it standing as straight as I can! (It doesn't look so straight in that pic, I'm sure it's the angle I took the photo on, lol!)

Thanks for all the lovely quilt comments! I made another quilt tonight but I can't show you yet, it's off to surprise someone. More shabbiness coming soon!

Mercedes

How I make a mini quilt

Kathi has asked me to show how I make a miniature quilt. She saw the one I made for Sylvia here. I always forget to take photos of the things I send away! Let's not call this a 'tutorial' that implies I know what I'm doing and I don't, lol! This is just how I do it. I'm more of a pictures person when it comes to instructions so I hope you can understand all this.So first you spend an hour or so going through your fabrics to make your selection. For the quilt top I am making here I used 5 different fabrics.

Cut a square from paper just over 1 inch square. Use this as a template to cut 6 squares from each fabric.

Line them all up (I just sewed the first line there to make sure my square was the right size).

Move the fabric squares around until they are in a pattern that you like.

Sew each row together. The seam allowance is the width of the side of the sewing machine foot there. It just makes it easy.

Make sure you keep your rows in order as you sew them (this will save time and confusion later, lol!).

Trim each little seam as close as you dare!

Flatten the seams all in the same direction. If you pull the end square it helps to flatten it out nicely.

Then sew the rows together. Try and get the squares to match up as best you can.

Trim the seams and iron all in the same direction.

Find a fabric to create a frame for the quilt. Cut four strips about an inch wide. The two for the sides should be the length of the quilt. Make sure you cut the top and bottom ones long enough to go across the ends of the side strips.

Sew the side strips on first, then the top and bottom ones.

Place the quilt top on your backing fabric and cut a piece the same size.

Stitch all around the edges leaving a gap at the bottom for turning inside out. Trim the seams.

Turn the quilt inside out. Cut a piece of something soft to fill the quilt with. The stuff I have used here is just cotton wool that comes in a roll, it's very soft. Hand sew the opening closed.

TA DA!!!!

Looks cute folded up on the end of a bed too. Alas, this one isn't staying here, it's going to a friend!

Hope that all makes sense Kathi!

Mercedes