Beading therapy...or not!!!!

Fed up of decorating and feeling that I am getting nowhere, yesterday I decided to do a bit of beading. I decided to try out a laddered bracelet using Super-duo beads......and although I really like the end result, it has been such a pain to bead. The thicker beading thread I like to use wouldn't go through the fine beading needles and I kept getting tangled and splitting the thread....so I have painstakingly threaded by hand.

I have struggle so much with my eyesight, and just cannot find the right balance between my glasses and my magnified, daylight lamp. I have had glasses prescribed earlier in the year and just cannot get on with them, if I wear them they are permanently balance on the end of my nose with me peering over them!!!

Hey ho.......live and learn. I will persevere....squinting every bead I thread! LOL Looking on the bright side and glad I am only making a double wrap and not anything bigger!

  

One week later!!!

It's been a week since I last blogged, how time flies!

I have had a lazy day today, made some cheese and bacon scones and this afternoon I have measured out all the dried fruit for our Christmas Cake and soaked it in Brandy....probably wont get a chance to do much more until the weekend but the alcohol should have certainly soaked in by then!

Am I finished decorating? NO!!! Nowhere near still. Only three weeks left until carpet fitting day, hallway and stairs still need a few finishing details, my craft room is almost decorated but still needs complete re-organisation and de-cluttering, a massive and ongoing project I think. Jack's room is untouched and only yesterday did I cut and lift band of Amelia's carpet and started working on one length of skirting board!

OMG!!! Only 3 weeks to go and the kids are at home on Half Term.....I feel I am going backwards.

Not much to share with you in the way of progress but I can share a crafty purchase with you and a crafty win!!!

I entered a newsletter give away competition over at Charmed Cards & Crafts  and was lucky enough to be drawn as one of the winners. Thank you so much Karen! LOVE my goodies.

I have been looking at fabrics for my craft room, I want a wacky, mish mash but I am struggling with combining patterns. Although I like what I have got so far I feel I am still missing that bold element I had pictured in my poor little mind.

I was rather disappointed with the top fabric as I ordered it as being red roses on turquoise , and to me it is more like pink roses on green! I have messaged the buyer but with no response so far.

Over the weekend Chris cut back my long worktop so it wasn't so deep and imposing in my little crafty space, we also bought a few kitchen wall cupboards, which are shallow enough to go under my worktop. Frustrating that we cannot put them in until the carpet is fitted but I will just have to be patient....she says drumming her fingers!

I have been gathering ideas over on Pinterest and saved loads of pics of gorgeous and structured craft rooms (who am I trying to kid that I could ever be that organised) and one thing I have had my eye on is a pegboard. SOOOOO......I have ordered one!!! Whoop, whoop, cannot wait, come on Mr Delivery Man, just hurry along with that board!

CHAOS & KNOBS!!!! Ceramic ones!

The house looks like a bomb has hit it, dust and clutter from rooms being decorated upstairs are slowly having an impact on the rest of the house and with another 4 weeks before carpet fitting day, I know it's going to get much worse before it gets better!

My poor craft room has been literally ripped to pieces, at the weekend wall cupboards and shelves were taken down, the upper part of the wall painted brilliant white, and on Sunday my lovely hubby rehung the cupboards and put up some new cube storage. Does happy dance! The actual storage boxes were not what I had in mind but were half price in Argos so I plan to give them a bit of a re-vamp too...eventually.

After the wall cupboards and cube storage were in place, it was time to clear the clutter underneath.......and heavens above, what do you know, I had a 3 metre worktop under it all. I hadn't seen that in ages! I was going to stop at that point but no, I wasn't going to be happy until the worktop had been removed so that I could paint all the wall and skirting boards behind it all. But that is as far as I have got and my poorly craft room hasn't been touched since Sunday!

I don't think I'll being doing any crafting in 

here for some time!!

Yesterday I decided it was time to rip up the rest of the stair carpet, the old gripper rods and underlay in preparation of today, when my plan is to paint the staircase. It made sense to me to do it today as, apart from Bruce, I have the house to myself.

Despite all the chaos, Mr Postie arrived yesterday with a lovely box of goodies, no, not craft stuff. KNOBS! Ceramic ones. I love them, cannot wait to finish revamping the few few bits of furniture and getting these babies out on show! LOL

Little things please little minds!

Best finish my cuppa and get on, those stairs aren't going to paint themselves.

Adele

xXx

Craft Room Claim back - Day 5 Metal cabinet revamp

Not been feeling it the last few days. My cold is lingering and just contributing to the aches and pains I suffer every day. My sleep has been awful and I suppose it's just all taking it's toll.

Yesterday I did a bit more decorating, the staircase, but I have decided to leave the rest of the staircase until the weekend and get it all done once we have taken all of the carpet up. We did manage to get to the carpet shop and we have a date for fitting...EEEK!

Today I spent time in my craft room trying to organise and de-clutter, despite throwing away a large black sack of tat.....my room looks no clearer!

I have however got my little black filing cabinet back in place, all I need to do now if decide what to put in them!

I already had four colours of the eggshell paint but I got the pink and blue as tester pots for £1 each. I mixed the two to make a lavender colour to make up my sixth colour. I am not sure how durable to metal paint will be, I was wondering whether or not they needed sealing. Time will tell.

I had to share this one to show you how Brucie Boy has found himself at home on the dustsheets, on the bare floorboards, by my feet as I sit at my workbench. Bless him!

Okay, so my craft room is a complete mess. I have a staircase, a hallway, two bedrooms and a craft room to decorate in less than 5 weeks....but lets just forget that and focus on my pwetty cabinet!

LOL

Bye for now.

Adele

xXx

Craft Room Claim back Day 3!

What happened to day 2? Well, it was pretty uneventful and despite my attempts at de-cluttering, all I really achieved was moving stuff around.

Yesterday, tired and aching after a terrible sleep on Sunday night, I went into the clutter and caused yet more chaos.

Did I achieve much? NO.
Did I throw much out? NO
Am I nearly finished? IF ONLY!

My priority was to sort out my main "work area" under the window. Did I do it? NO!!!

Feeling defeated!I am just not making enough of a positive impact!

Ceiling partially painted, worktop taken down, walls partially painted. Aching all over but instead of cracking on, I get distracted by THIS!!!!

It was just calling my name. "Adele, paint me. Paint me Adele!"

SO I DID!

I took a pic of the other side of the room and how I managed to barricade myself in with my clutter but I am too ashamed to share! 

Far too many years of collecting boxes and bits of ribbon off packaging, and thinking "Ooo, I could make something with that!

TIME TO GET DRASTIC.

Adele

xXx

Craft room claim back!

Yesterday I decided I deserved a break from decorating.....I still did a few hours of gloss painting in the morning but after a quick lunch I decided to brave the chaos of my craft  junk room. I cannot remember the last time I actually went in there to craft and as I tidy and de-clutter other areas of the house, anything that hasn't really got a place, tends to get chucked into my little room.

What with all the decorating and getting rid of an little office area in the upstairs hall it got to a point that I could hardly even get in the door! Solution, take the door of the hinges and paint door frame!lol

OMG, outgrown clothes, the curtains just taken down from decorating the hall, furniture and paperwork from Chris's little office area, bargain furniture I have bought ready to re-vamp....you name it, it's in there!

Right, door off it's hinges, door frame painted, I am going in. Bruce looks suitably impressed.

Craft room claim back -End of Day 1

The worktops are smothered, shelves stacked to the hilt, boxes piled high....but you can actually see a bit of the floor now. 

I will be some time!

Adele

xXx

Whoop, whoop I won a prize.

I was lucky enough to win a prize over at Trimcraft the other day, I was so shocked because I haven't entered anything like that for aaaages! There I was yesterday afternoon, music on, happily painting away when the door bell rang. I couldn't work out what it was at first because the other little sneaky, crafty buys had already turned up!

Upon opening it up I wondered which colour way Christmas Decoupage pad I had been given only to find I have been sent 4!!!! Whoop, whoop....Happy Dance!!!

Got a rather hectic day ahead but hopefully I may even make a few toppers up later.

THANK YOU TRIMCRAFT!!!!

Adele

xXx

Olbas Oil, paracetamol and paint!

What a mixture it is today. Feeling like my head is about to explode but I am determined to crack on with this decorating. The carpet people are visiting next week to measure and then we can get a date booked for installation. I CAN do this!

Here is what our hall looked like yesterday! Please do not judge. LOL

Need to cut the edges of the carpet so that I can paint the skirting, can't rip it all up just yet, don't want any injuries tootsies or paws do we!

 

The staircase has been our cause for concern for so many years, we have often thought of ripping the whole lot out and getting a nice oak staircase fitted but time, money and energy always against us. I have a hair-brained idea of paneling it! Only time will tell if it looks ok.

Original Hallway taken from extension, the tiny alcove of clutter on the left was our original old bathroom!!!!

Looking towards the extension.

My pile of DIY Stuff and the hacked back carpet as I go!

DO NOT LAUGH!!!!!!

My craft room!

LOL

I have booked my flu jab, taken my paracetamol, dropped Olbas Oil onto my tissue, let the painting continue.

Adele

xXx

Slow progress....

but any progress is good!



Up to my eyes in decorating, I am a fool to myself and put myself under pressure to get our hallway and staircase finished ready for re-carpeting. Went to the carpet shop yesterday and have booked a home visit for measuring and have paid a deposit for not just the stairs and landing but for Jack's room, Amelia's room and MY CRAFT ROOM!!! LOL

It's going to be a bit of a challenge getting the hall and stairs done, but the children's room only really need a quick freshen up of paint.....but my craft room, well that's a completely different story. Used as a dumping ground for quite some time now, I can hardly get in the door. I have wanted to step up my crafting again but have found it so much more difficult with crafty stash all over the house. What better motivation do I need to get myself organised again! EEK.

Not much to show you but I do have an almost finished bracelet on my work board at the moment. I LOVE these colours!

Excuse my obscure photograph, I took this the other day and was being distracted by a rather moody, teenage daughter!