A chair and a li'l cross stitch

Remember a little while ago I asked you to "watch this space", to pop by my place in a little while to have a bo peep at how I might transform this sweet little chair?? If you cast your mind back just a little, you will remember my good husband's beady little eyes espied this cute little chair in our new favourite bric-a-brac shop.

It took a little longer than I thought to begin the transformation of this little chair, but this week I bit the bullet and decided to transcend this little chair from it's cute but rather plebian, dark wood condition to a state of winsomeness, giving it a feeling of other world loveliness.

First things first, I sanded the chair and gave it a lick or two of white chalk paint. Having never used chalk paint before I was interested in seeing how my little chair would turn out. Let me tell you, I am the newest convert to chalk paint. I LURVE how evenly and easily it painted on and I love the smooth finish.

With this sweet, little chair smiling with a lovely coat of white paint.....now for the really fun part. I decided I wanted to stitch a little cross stitch using some pretty threads, with the cane as the canvas. I happened upon a few on Pinterest and thought they were really cool. But what design to stitch??

I definitely wanted a floral design. As the size of the cane canvas would only allow  for a small flower, I decided on a single pansy design on the back and an arrangement of pansies on the seat. I decided on a pansy design as I wanted to stitch in different shades of blue, purples and pinks. The sweet, smiling faces of pansies always make my heart sing.........as do a pretty pair of 'stepping out'  boots! =)

With the design decided upon I dived into one of my many suitcases rummaging for some DMC tapestry wool that I bought a long time ago for just such a special occasion, and began to stitch, doubling the wool as I stitched.

A pansy.......a vision in purples with a sprinkling of yellow.

Add some leaves...and voila....the back is finished.

Now for the seat. I thought an assortment of pansies in different shades would give my little chair a touch of beauty.

What thinketh thee?? =)

Of course my pretty little chair maketh my home......home.......(it will eventually live in my boudoir) but it also sings a pretty song under the shade of the Wisteria.

A sprinkling of a posy of sweet, pretty pansies.....perfect!

 My pretty, pansy teapot somehow found itself sitting on my sweet little chair.

Every pansy teapot requires a pretty pansy, tea cosy to keep it warm, don't you think??

Oodles and oodles of pansy prettiness!

Cross stitching this chair was such a fun project. It was rather easy to do and surprisingly, it stitched up quickly. The main concern was to keep the doubled wool flat with each stitch, but really this was not difficult at all.

Who would've dreamt the sweet but rather plain, little chair my husband's beady little eyes espied could have been so delightfully transformed. I wouldn't mind beautifying another cane chair with a little chalk paint and a li'l cross stitch........perhaps roses or maybe a basket of overspilling blossoms, next time??Who knows, perhaps my intuitive husband will find another treasure for me to tart up. He does seem to have a talent for spotting treasures in dark hidey holes. Have I intimated before that I really, really LURVE this sweet li'l chair.....just so you know! =)

Hoping all you lovely ladies are enjoying a pleasant weekend. May you enjoy moments of doing something you love.....oh....and make sure you take time out to enjoy a cup of tea or two, in a pretty tea cup!

Until the next time.......

Linking up this week to:

The Charm of Home - Home Sweet Home
Amaze me Monday

Jann's Share your cup

Sweet Inspiration Link Party

A-thrifting we will go, a-thrifting we will go, Heigh-ho, the derry-o, a-thrifting we will go

Hello lovelies! Thank you so very much for all your sweet comments re my oh-so-theatrical curtain last week. I can put it in writing that my friend's daughter is deliriously happy with her new window dressing. She really is a sweet young lady.

As my good husband and I have been in the car a lot lately, meandering around the country side for one reason or another, I  have been on the lookout for little, out of the way shops, where behind the door, some treasure might lurk. Finding a new treasure trove always puts a smile on my dial. Some days there is not a single thing that makes my heart sing, but other days.......lalalah lala......well....one does sing the happiest of songs! Those are the Eureka moments, the hit-the-jackpot type moments when a 'find' jumps out from it's hiding place, trips you up and finds itself in your bag ready to begin another life in another home!

We happened upon a tiny, very ordinary little bric-a-brac shop. Most people would drive by this little shop as it certainly had no curb-side appeal. We stopped. I asked my husband if he was coming in, to which he replied "I'm game if you are!" 

When we crossed the threshold, oh my giddy aunt, there was treasure everywhere; a treasure trove of articles of people's decluttering and throwing out their trash. From top to toe items were burgeoning everywhere. My eyes darted here and there, ricocheting from the floor, under the shelves, on the shelves, above the shelves. So many shelves and cupboards hoarding one person's past trash and another person's (li'l ole me) future treasure. They were crammed with bric-a-brac.

What did I find. Well..........

I found this sweet cardie. With it's pretty colour, the embroidery and the pearls.....oh those pearls, it is the perfect find for moi! AND......the label says LAUREN no less. You know the American designer Ralph Lauren; not that that matters to me.....I just love the pearls and embroidery. The best bit is I only paid four smackeroos. Those of you in the know, Ralph Lauren can cost an arm and a leg,  here downunder!

Isn't the embroidery pretty?? And those pearls.....as Lulu Guinness, that sassy, bag designer extraordinaire,  once said" put on your pearls, girls"!

Add a little clutch purse, a string of pearls and perhaps a pair of gloves......and....ooo-la-lah!

This little soft leather clutch (or you can wear it as a shoulder bag) is a treasure my family bought me many Christmases ago. My daughter happened upon it in a rather swank vintage shop in Sydney. It is a Patricia Smith design, who designed for Moon Bags in the USofA. If you have time visit this link; there are truly gorgeous purses to drink in. Apparently these purses/bags were the rage and are popular by ladies who love vintage. I understand perfectly why these were and still are so very sought after. This truly is the most darling purse. It is absolutely stunning and apparently a one-of-a-kind purse.

 It has petit point, wool needlepoint panel of pansies embroidered on it with a smattering of luxurious beadwork. The pastel colours are so pretty. The little handle is beautiful. It is a hand painted, lacquered wooden panel with pansies, complementing the gorgeous needlepoint. Truly, this is one of my favourite gifts my family have given me. Aren't I a lucky gal to have one of these one-of-a-kind purses in my vintage collection??

Did I say I lurve this cardie?? =)) It is so versatile. I wear it with jeans or dress it up a bit and wear it with a gorgeous lace skirt with cool boots. A wonderful investment for not a lot of cash.

But....I digress. Please forgive me for oohing and aahing over my gorgeous clutch,.......back to the subject of this post. In this funny little shop is I found this pretty bag. It was the pattern and colours that captured my attention.

The pink and green are so pretty and the soft velvety texture is so tactile.

It is a fairly biggish bag; just the perfect size for an overnight bag. A win win, if you ask me.

I purchased this lovely summer dressing gown from a vintage fair quite a while ago. It is fashioned from the most luxurious and silkiest fabrics. I adore the colours and patterns.

It hangs on my screen in my boudoir all the time. Ooops.....I digress, yet again!

Do any of you lovelies have memories of shopping trolleys like this one?

As a small girl, I remember my mum always pulling one behind her when we went shopping. I have been on the lookout for one of these vintage beauties forever.

Of course you have to use your imagination with this one. I am going to remove the red vinyl fabric and replace it with something more lovely and also give it a lick of paint. This will be an excellent repository for some of my pretties. Here are some linen pretties that came home with me from my treasure hunt in that funny little shop.

I found these golden books hiding under a shelf. In the school house, of which I wrote about last week, there is a very large pin/notice board in the wee two year old, girl's bedroom. It is fairly ugly with a gazillion pin holes accumulated over years and years. So, I thought I would cover it up by pasting oodles and oodles of colourful pages from these Golden Books. I adore the illustration of the little girl in the sweet hat on the Prayers for Children cover, so, so very cute! I have kept this cover to do something creative with it sometime in the distant future.

The noticeboard is very large and and it would be too expensive to cover with fabric. So....my good husband and I, pasted page by page, book by book, all over the board. Such a lovely montage of cute illustrations, wonderful language, rhymes, numbers....a plethora of gorgeous imaginations to thrill a wee, small child.

After pasting the pages onto the board and giving them a couple of coats of Mod Podge, I decided that this sweet little girl must have some pretty bunting to hang on her storybook wall. I stitched..."Once upon a time there lived a little girl, Ari......" on polka dot fabric (Ari loves polka dots) and stitched these onto ric rac to bring it all together.

Little Miss Ari sitting on the ladder, supervising.

I machine sketched a cute li'l girl flying a heart balloon at the end of the bunting.

Then, to add the finishing touch I hung some hexagon shelves to give the wall some dimension. I don't think Little Miss Ari is too young to be introduced to the hexagon shape.....do you?? =) Everybody needs a hexagon or two somewhere in their lives, and the sooner they are exposed to this wonderful shape the better!!

Love, love, LOVE the illustrations of Eloise Wilkin.

 My husband and I crafted the storybook wall for a birthday present for Little Miss Ari who was two years old this week. She really is the sweetest little girl! Those curtains I chatted about last time are coming a little later.....still psyching myself up for them. The truth of the matter is that I just ran out of time.

I am hoping this Golden Book story board filled with rhymes, stories and poems, together with gorgeous illustrations, will not only cover the ugly noticeboard and provide lots of colour and fun from the pictures, but as Little Miss Ari lays in her bed at night and snuggles under the cover of her pretty quilt; she will drift off to the land of counterpane, where her magical dreams will weave in and out of children's slumber.

Though I loved finding the golden books to transform the wall, my favourite thrift find of the day is this piece de resistance, this sweet little chair.

It is a fold-up chair, but the thing that I love is the cane. I have been looking forever for a chair, any chair....big or little....with some cane on it somewhere, to tart up and work some magic on it. I am reading your mind......"what a strange little chair......it doesn't look much" but I have plans for this little chair. Let's hope I can pull it off!

It was my clever husband with those eagle eyes of his, who spotted this chair. He said "you know what you have been talking about for ages, well would this funny little chair suit?" Oh my giddy aunt!! It will suit very well, thank you very much. Soooo happy my husband shares 'the thrill of a thrift shop hunt' as well.

Ooops I nearly forgot......this sweet li'l cup came home with me, too. My husband found it and he insisted it would make a pretty addition to my teacup collection. Who am I to refuse a man of such exquisite taste!

This pretty teacup is marked Queens and is called English Chintz.

This English Chintz teacup is a welcome addition to my collection of other pretties.

So, a new favourite little shop to explore when we visit the city. Every time we visit there is always something new. This little shop is not one where you think I won't buy it now, I'll get it the next trip. No siree, if you don't grab your treasure there and then, it will disappear, be gone forever. The proprietor charges such reasonable prices  that everything is snapped up in the wink of an eye.

The thing that really tickles my fancy about thrifting is the amazing finds one happens upon unexpectedly. More often than not the treasures are hidden at the bottom of a pile of stuff.

Anyway, over the next li'l while, hopefully, I will be able to transform my funny little chair into a one-of-a-kind chair that you will never, in a thousand years, find anywhere else. Let's hope what is in my brainpan looks equally marvellous in real life.....fingers crossed. =) You will just have to watch this space.....though it could take a while.

Until the next time........