Procrastination is good for the soul.

At least that is what I hope. Because today I have done b*gger all and I now feel refreshed as a daisy.
I have some dull cupboards in my  bedroom that I was planning to be doing a make-over on, and as I am on a minimal budget I decided on some decorative painting with scrolls and flower baskets and such stuff. Like so.

 But I became rather stuck.
So today I let it go and played different bedding and things like that , and procrastinated like crazy....

while my dogs made sure the whole shebang here remains messy to keep me suitably relaxed .

They like the old tussle on the bed, and it keeps me distracted and stops me from worrying about what the heck I am supposed to hang over the bed now that the decorative wooden carving I painted looks rubbish where I want to put it.

Why is interior decorating so difficult ?Thank goodness for animal distractions!


You know cats  love cardboard boxes and things that are specifially not for them, like shopping baskets.
So I reckoned placing an old cat bed in a big toy bag would probably work a treat.And I wasn't far wrong.

 Hahaha!You can always count on Thomasina being there when you need her!

 

 Of course having 2 cats, this inevitably happened..

One-nil I think :-)

 Have a great rest of the week ,people!

XOXO

Bea

bedroom make-over

I made the best of the good weather this week and did a lot of outside painting of furniture for the main bedroom.Here are some pieces being transformed- an old blanket box, a side table and a decorative piece of wood carving which I figured I could make into the headboard .

Some quick shots of the make-over in progress..


Here are my handpainted curtains ( I still need to make the curtains to the right of the window)- this is when the wall was still painted blue.

 ..footstool make-over..

and an " after" up to now.. - I need the headboard above the bed - still haven't hung it up- and I may do a design or stencil on the wall which I find  a bit dull..- o-well,

and some of the jobs done today..

Have a great weekend, people!!
XOXO

Bea

 

Spic and span

Well I told you I would keep you up to date on the 8 week challenge - so here is the latest- my hand-painted and hand-made curtains with My Aunt Agatha " Spring Flowers" fabric. It was pretty late last night when these were hanging so I am definitely burning the midnight oil - but who cares.
 Anyhow, I am now off to tackle those blue walls.Clean then paint.And paint some more. Meanwhile here's some more stuff I cobbled together to make the house pretty.

Okay- I had an empty desk- a zero budget- and some eggs left over( and some free greenery). I reckon it will do, as it cost me nothing anyhow.
Next! :-)

Again , a zero budget, a leftover Christmas wreath painted white and some fabric hearts I have left over.
Although I have to admit it's in the cupboard again as I have to duck everytime I have to go into the kitchen.
So annoying.
But I will find another place for it, I am sure.

I am going to leave you with a lingering shot of my curtains and the design stages I went through to get there.

Have a great rest of the week, people!
I am off to paint those blue walls.

XOXO


Bea

Easter & new stock at my stockist..and the 8 week challenge..

A bit belated- the Easter display at my stockist  ( I did not have internet for a while so could not show it to you earlier.)
I thought it rather sweet, with my " Spring" and " Happy Easter" cushion both on the bench.
Here's a close-up..

 

Of course this was just before Easter, and last night the display changed to the new stock I brought in.. the labrador cushions..

The 8 -week challenge to get the house in decent shape ( tidy, clean with matching curtains ) is going ahead fine, although slowly.
I am working at tidying the house, designing fabric for new bedroom curtains and framing drawings I made  to fill boring empty walls right now so I am pretty busy.
Here's a picture of the fabric design in the first stage- I have tinkered around with it a little bit later on.

The design becoming really pretty at the moment but it's a lot of work so I won't keep you long as I need to get going again!

Here's some shots of the progress of the 8-week challenge and framed drawings and prints!
I usually hunt for old prints that look awful in antique and charity shops, which have nice frames, and then re-frame my own drawings or copies of prints I like with them.
Here's a collage of the loo, in which I hung some prints by Cecil Alden which I framed myself next to the window.

On the wall opposite the basin, a copy of Toad from Toad Hall from " The wind in the willows" which I made a long time ago.

This is next to the window, a copy I did of a small Rex Whistler drawing, of two cats in a tree , as I always have either three or two cats :-).

Some original drawings of chairs from musical instruments which I made about a hundred years ago..which I framed and hung in the corridor..

There's a great vintage lamp I found for the bedroom which I wanted to do up but I actually quite like it so I think I will leave it as it is .. what do you reckon ?

 Here's some more- a copy of an antique botanical print of a melon I quite liked which I did some time ago.
The frame is an old and battered frame I once found and re-used.

It's now hanging above a chair in the hall . I am still thinking of giving the hall and doors a new coat of paint bit it depends a bit how much time I will have left!

 I have got to crack on and get more fabric made/painted so I must go.
Hope you have a great rest of the week!

XOX

Bea

 

8 week house AND garden challenge

I don't know about you but I have really enjoyed Naomi's 6 weeks make-over challenge of her master bedroom on on her blog Design Manifest.
So there I was reading away and enjoying seeing the progress .Poor Naomi was looking more and more exhausted and the room was getting better and better.
Poor fool me, little did I know worse was on the cards for me!
Naomi only had one room to do!
 I will be facing a 8 weeks house AND garden challenge  as a lovely lady journalist wants to do a feature on the house and my business, My Aunt Agatha, at the end of May ---.Eeek!!

Aww..my house..looks lovely -right? Hahaha- nooo!
On these cleverly photographed pictures you can't see the pile of newspapers starting from ermm probably 1995 to the present day on the floor next to the bookcase....plus the pile of ..emm *old maps, some cables to start the car and an old dog blanket and some more accoutrements from God knows where* next to the front door- amongst other things..and the garden- ouch! Don't even go there  as they say ..

 A major tidy-up of the whole kaboodle here plus some frantic decent curtain making is required.
Plus some mighty inventive ideas for some of the rooms that have had a Cinderella treatment. As Naomi
says : " With a limited budget and unlimited ideas and desires, it truly was a challenge to come up with a distinctive, vibrant yet relaxing bedroom for myself" .
You can say that again !
I am cutting fabric and re-doing curtains as we speak as practically all my curtains are- too short-and - as they are mainly from charityshops , the fabric is either vintage or discontinued so I need to put my thinking cap on..
Then there is the nightmare wingchair in the living room which has a side ripped to fabric spaghetti by the cats
in spite of stern warnings.

O, well..onwards and upwards.
Wish me luck!! The clock is ticking.. gotta go people.

I will keep you on the loop!!
Have a great week!

XO

Bea

Sunny splendidness

It's a good to have a sunny day sometimes - it makes you feel energised and positive..and today was one of those days.Even if it was still pretty chilly, it was great to be able to walk in the sun again.


It was probably the sun that brought out big masses of snowdrops.

 I never really looked very closely at snowdrops before , did you ?

Love the green detail on the bells! These are the wild ones that sow themselves (I suppose ) and spread in big clumps, right in the countryside, outside my house.I see them when hop in the field next to me to take my dogs for a walk.

 

What a treat and a feast for the eye !!

Wish I could send you all some of these cute and sweet pick-me-ups.

They certainly  made my day today.

Have a great rest of the week, people !!

XO Bea

Cat rascals

I don't know about you, but for my cats it's crazy time right now. It must surely have something to do with being cooped up too much indoors beacause of the cold weather.

They just make it more exciting by catapulting themselves out of new hiding places or running around like loonies... This is definitely a face just before a crazy run-around !

          O, yes, there's certainly trouble brewing there...I would say 3 seconds before take-off!

 

         But however much silliness..and chasing each other through the house with big bushy tails..

 

my cats certainly have their

"hanging all out together " moments too.

 

 Have a great rest of the week people and stay warm!! It was -4 yesterday evening here !!

XOXO

Bea

 

Easter and Mother's day display at our stockist

Well, what do you know! Nestled today between an Emma Bridgewater Hearts apron  and an Sophie Allport rose mug, you can see the My Aunt Agatha Mother's Day cushion  at my stockist's shop..- cute as a button.. and slightly creepy too, hehehe.
At least that's what my stockist said : " I like it.. but it's also a bit.. creepy ".
I guess it's the Victorian hand that creeps her out... but I have a real liking for it..

Anyway we're back on track and in a better place than after Christmas when they gave me a whole bag of stock back...in fact we're even in the shop window with the Easter cushion - Yay!

                                                             Such a lovely display..

                    

                                                    Here's a detail of the Easter cushion..

                                                
 It may be coming up to Easter but it's pretty chilly down here with snowflakes drifting by the window this afternoon.
So whatever you are doing , keep warm and cosy , people!

Have a great week!

XOXO

Bea