Monday, September 18, 2017

Weekend, painted mirrors and more gardening

Good morning my friends. I am in such a great mood (almost always but particularly today). I have secured a garage in the units opposite our house (and my home studio) for storage. It is going to make my life so much easier. I will often lie awake at night wondering how i'm going to fit pieces in and where i will put things. Such a load off my mind. And Phil is thrilled because our carport won't be full of random furniture :) What it will also mean is I can buy good pieces when I see them at a good price rather than waiting till I have space.


We spent hours and hours yesterday in the garden, cutting back everything, pulling out an old mandarin tree that I planted years ago and it never fruited and looked terrible. We moved a few roses and planted some flowers. 



Even the wisteria out the kitchen window is going well.


Recently Bob wrote to me about my orchids "I have they same type of Orchid as the one you have on your email. I hate picking them, however when they are just past there best on the plant I pick them and submerse the whole stem in a glass cylinder about the same length as the stem, they will then last up to 6 weeks as beautiful as when you picked them." So Bob thanks for that - look at this beautiful bunch I have in my lounge room. I am just so happy every time I look at them, not only because they are gorgeous in their own right but because they are the work of my grandad and my mum.  Thanks so much Bob for the advice, I really appreciate it. Let me know if I've used enough water?? (probably not)


and they are perfect for styling this little side table I sold last night.


I painted and sold a load of mirrors on the weekend. Mirrors are great to practice paint techniques and finishes on. They are small, generally ornate so there is lots of crevices to create patina on and quick to finish so you get satisfaction immediately. I also find mirrors are great sellers if you are in business of selling vintage pieces.  Below are the ones I painted on the weekend. All sold already. Also I painted a huge French leaning mirror that's been in my dining room for months and it sold and was picked up on Friday. Phil says we now need another one as that corner is too empty. I'm up for that challenge :)






Anyway hope you have a lovely Monday! I'm off to pick up a load of furniture to fill my new storage space! I'm beside myself, that empty garage is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen ha ha 

love Fiona




6 comments:

  1. Such a lovely home! The wisteria is lovely. There is a huge one on the campus where I work!

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  2. Wisteria is so pretty isn’t it. Thank you xx

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  3. Hi,
    I have followed your blog for many years enjoying all your chalk paint items. I have my garden in the Berry Garden festival this year and all my wire outdoor planters, pots etc have been painted with Annie Sloan they look great. A photo of your son going to school reminded me of when I sent my son to that school 37 years ago, best school ever.
    Cheers,
    Gaye

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    1. Hi Gaye
      Thanks so much for your lovely email. I would love to see some photos of your garden if you have time to send me some.
      We are so thrilled with SACs. Jonty is so happy. It’s only been a few weeks but we already know it’s definitely the right place for him
      Thanks so much, loved hearing that you were happy with it also
      Fiona xx

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  4. Dear Fiona,
    I hope you don't mind me emailing you again.
    Your wisteria is looking beautiful and what a glorious view from your kitchen sink.

    I'm just curious about your outside table, I see it's on trestles, can you please tell me if you made it and how and what colour did you paint it?

    I hope you don't mind me asking this.

    Thank you again for your posts each day.

    Kindest regards

    Robyn

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    Replies
    1. Hi Robyn
      Thanks so much, love getting emails from readers 
      Yes I built the outdoor table. I did have beautiful old table legs under it and it looked fantastic. But then about a year later Phil stood on the table to look at something and one of the legs just collapsed and completely broke so I just popped the table on some old trestle legs I had and I’ve never got around to doing anything different. I will do a blog post soon of the table and how I built it. The colour is Dulux White on White half strength and it’s Weathershield paint.
      Regards Fiona

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