Thrifty Finds

I am so excited to share some thrifty finds with you today!

I haven't been out thrifting in ages and when I finally hit the fleamarket this morning, look what I brought back! I've only been wanting one of these like FOREVER!

 

And to think I almost stayed home because a fierce wind is howling again today!

 

 

 

This little cabinet is the perfect fit for my niche next to the livingroom window. Its badly banged up with blemishes from a life long lived. But at $44 and with good bones, I could not pass it up! The mirror on the inside is cracked, but I will replace the broken mirror with old book pages or sheet music. I can't wait to get cracking with my CeCe Caldwell paint that I got from Shelly of Shizzle Design.

 

 

 

 

 

Some time ago I bought 2 of these numbered bath house caddies on a local online auction! I love the history of this piece. It belonged to the 1908 Long Street Bathhouse.  These were handed to patrons to store their personal items while they enjoyed a bath.

 

You can find a similar one at Old Friends Antiques on Etsy. Mine only cost me $15 each. This one on Etsy is a whopping $165. Here is another one for only $75 from Thevrose.

 

I am waiting for inspiration...any ideas?

 

 

 

 

And then this lovely gate with such awesome patina and of course a little rust...(smile!). I love the heart scrolls. I would like to incorporate it in my kitchen re-model somehow....not gonna happen very soon though!

This gate cost me $40.

 

 

I hope you found some cool junque this weekend!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

Its a beautiful morning here in Walmer Estate, Cape Town. The howling wind of the past couple of days has died down, just a soft breeze is blowing. The sky is clear and the normal hustle and bustle of a Saturday morning is in full swing. Even the birds are singing a happy song!

I feel in good spirits today and decided a leisurely stroll to the post office to collect some parcels would be a great way to start my day. I grabbed my camera and thought I would take some pictures while I'm out and about.

So here we go, I am sharing some sights and scenes from my neck of the woods!

Walmer Estate is nestled between the magnificent Table Mountain and Table Bay!

Table Mountain 

Table Bay

Typical architecture from around here. These folks are not shy to paint the exterior of their houses with a bright pop of colour!

Typical architecture

Which was once a tailor's outlet is now converted into living space. This building dates back to 1903 and this old lady shows her age!

Park Terrace 1903

The corner view of Park Terrace. This used to be the entrance to the tailor's shop.

 

Some beautiful decay against the backdrop of Table Mountain!

Many of the houses around here shows the ravages of time, but they sit quite happily amongst their 'cousins' who has been restored to their former glory. Beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder!

I hope you enjoyed this little tour of the place I call home!

e-voke...to create a -new!

Blender pen transfer method

I knew that I had some much needed 'me' time coming up with the hubz spending 2 days in hospital for treatment and little Miss Muffet (my granddaughter, Ghanaan) due to go with my sister for a holiday at the coast. So I hauled out an old wooden chair from the garage and started prepping it for a re-do.

Here is little Miss Muffet helping to get the first coat of paint on the chair! Luckily my sister picked her up shortly after, so she did'nt get a chance to do too much damage get too creative!

So when the house was quiet on Tuesday evening, I really pushed to finish this project. I used normal latex paint, but did not fancy the glossy finish. I whipped out my milk paint that I bought from The original milkpaint co. I used the colour Lichi to tone down the bright yellow and to get the chalky effect. I am too cheap skate to use only the milk paint. I am saving it for bigger projects like my hutch dumped sitting in a corner of my living room badly in need of a face lift!

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Next I distressed the heck out of this little chair, all along the edges to give it that worn appearance!

 Then I typed an inspirational quote in Microsoft Word. I found the font over at The Graphics Fairy. All I had to do was click on one of the links to be taken to a download site where I found the Lavanderia font. I then pulled the quote into Paint and used the horizontal image rotation to reverse the image.

Here is the image applied to the back of the chair using painter's tape.

I used a clear blender pen to transfer the image!

I just went over the words with the blender pen until I could see the words showing through the paper!

I carefully removed the paper and went over the words with my paint pens!

I distressed through the letters and then applied some antique glaze all over and..... Wala!

My milk paint, mellow, yellow farmhouse chair with inspirational quote!

What is your inspirational quote for the day?

e-voke...to create a -new!

Partying @ Redoux 

Featured @ Link Party #88 - Redoux Interiors

Vintage vignettes

Getting my groove back....slowly

First up, I want to thank my bloggie friends for the prayers and well wishes sent our way. We send deep gratitude and blessings back to you!

Now that life is somewhat returning to normal, I wanted to lift my spirits by surrounding myself with some of the things I love. I was also inspired when our nest finally got a fresh coat of paint.We used a calming neutral shade as a backdrop for all the wonderful re-do's yet to come....notice the bare walls anyone? For now....

I want to share with you some vignettes I created and I hope you enjoy!



Entrance hall



This vignette is atop an old treadle sewing machine, just inside the front door. These are mostly pieces I had packed away in boxes. The advertising cards are bought recently at Woodstock Vintage, a true treasure trove of vintage pieces. The number 5 gas station number is an Etsy find.

 

Dining room

My trusted old typewriter and kitchen scale paired with some upcycled spindles, vintage baby shoes and a pic of my granddaughter. This cabinet is getting a make over....I will share the before and after with you soon!

 

Vintage suitcase

Storage for extra scatter cushions in my bedroom. The suitcase is standing atop a little stool and it kinda looks like a repurposed suitcase table. The suitcase and shams are Etsy finds!

 

 



Vintage step ladder

This vintage step ladder is from a local online auction. I use it to display my shoe form collection and some old books I picked up on the fleamarket. Maybe this ladder will get a paint job too!

 

Numbers

These numbers will be framed for wall art. At the moment they are propped atop an old screen that I intend to paint and add some graphics. The numbers are painted on a wooden board and there is a hole in the middle of each board. Maybe someone can tell me what these numbers were used for? These were the last of the lot at Woodstock Vintage and that's why I came away with numbers 4,5 and 7....absolutely no significance, but I just love numbers!

 

Storage jars

 

 

You did'nt see the horrible tiles in the background! My kitchen/laundry is badly in need of a re-do!

I decanted some detergents into 2 glass jars (much prettier than the store packaging) and gave them each an enamel number 'neck tie'. The jar to the left is filled with vintage pegs. The jars are local finds and the enamel numbers and pegs are Etsy finds. You guess right I love Etsy!

 

 

Hope you enjoyed this little read and I wish you peace, love and joy for the new year!

 

 



 

e-voke...to create a -new!

 

 





When life takes an unexpected turn

Life as you know it can change in the blink of an eye!

 Creative Block 

My last blog post was way back in June of this year! In fact I have not gone anywhere near a can of paint or a paint brush in what seems like forever. My garage is stuffed full of furniture, but I just cannot find the time or energy to tackle the re-do's.  

 

Moving House

 We were looking at downsizing in 5 years so that I could spend less hours working for a corporate and do more of what I am passionate about...reviving furniture pieces. Anyway our plans were fast forwarded when we received an offer on our house that we could not refuse. And that's without even putting the house on the market!

 

We started house hunting and found a 4 bed, three story house with potential. Our offer was accepted for below the market value. We started packing up our house and planning the big move. My family thought I was crazy buying a house that needs work, but heck I love a challenge. Although this house is on three floors it is more compact than our previous house and its definitely crying out for some serious TLC. 

 

Our New Neighbourhood

We now live in the peaceful area of Walmer Estate, Woodstock, situated a mere 5 min drive to the V&A Waterfront, City Bowl, the famous Long Street mile and the Vibey De Waterkant Village. We are blessed with unsurpassable views of both Table Mountain and the ocean.

 

The architecture in Walmer Estate has been heavily influenced by the Muslim heritage of many of its longstanding community members and families. What makes Walmer Estate so desirable is the sense of community amongst its residents. An unobtrusive, quiet community that goes about its business and leads a relatively modest existence which belies its splendour. Some houses date back to 1900.

 

Walmer Estate could be described as a quietly 'high-end' suburb where beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

 

Anyhow we took quite a while to get settled in and soon began making plans for giving our new little nest a face lift and injecting our personality. But sometimes life throws you a curve ball and forces you to re-evaluate the road ahead!

 

The Curve Ball 

My sweet, loving husband started feeling ill. Headaches, dizzyness, losing his balance and forgetfulness. He suddenly started losing his way on routes that he had travelled many times before. Alarm bells started going off in my head. When he complained that the headaches were getting more severe, we rushed him to the ER. That was Thursday 18 October....the day our lives changed! 

 

The doctors put him through a barrage of tests...scans, MRI's and blood tests. After all this, hubby whispered in my ear "They found something".The bottom of my world dropped out from under me! The next couple of days felt like an out of body experience, like all this was happening to some other people. But the harsh reality soon crept back. I went through a miriad of emotions and so did hubby.

 

The Diagnosis

The tests showed a large tumour and smaller metastasis in the brain. The cancer originated in the lung and spread to the brain. On  Friday 19 October hubby underwent a 5 hour operation to drain the large tumour and he spent the next couple of days in ICU. I thank God everyday that he recovered so well from the operation. He just finished a course of radiation and this will be followed by chemo starting on 10 December.

 

The Mindset

There is a long road ahead, but we are both positive and committed to the journey. We firmly believe in the power of prayer and we are putting our faith and trust in the Almighty!

 

I love his attitude, his positive mind and his determination to fight this disease. He is a real trooper and I am proud of him!

 

 

I will keep you posted on his progress.

 

Please say a prayer for us!

 

Blessings

Sumaya

Frenchy chair

Berry blush and antique gold!



Chelsea Village Framers & Curiosity Shoppe opened their doors on 1 June and Zeki the store owner asked me to re-do a chair that was previously painted with an acrylic enamel paint. The chair had no seat and he did'nt want it upholstered. So I asked hubby to cut a seat from wood!

Instead of spending hours trying to remove the enamel paint, I used some home made chalk paint in Berry Blush. When the chair was painted, I decided to give it a lux feel and used an antique gold paste, Goldfinger, to highlight parts of the chair. Distressing would have shown up the white paint underneath and i did not feel that...lol.

Then what to do with the seat?!

The Graphics Fairy came to the rescue with this French Crown Image. Using the graphite method again, I transfered the image and used a gold paint pen to outline and fill in. I also rubbed some goldfinger in the open spaces of the crown!

To finish her off I gave her a coat of my spray on artist varnish!

She looks quite at home now amongst her cousins!

I am linking up to the graphics fairy's brag Monday!

e-voke...to create a -new! 

Rustic signs

Loving rusric, weathered signs!

I made 2 quick signs for a customer who already had the pieces of wood with their authentic chippy paint. You can't quite create the same weathered look that only time can achieve!

The Green Grocer sign I made by typing the words in Word (can't remember the font). I used the graphite method to transfer the words; I used a paint pen to outline and fill in the words. I distressed the letters to give it a time worn look!

Then I went over to  Knick of Time for some antique graphics and I found some lovely advertisements. I was spoilt for choice, but decided to use the 'Breakfast Cocoa' and the 'Fresh Butter' images. The typography is amazing as well as the pictures. I used several layers of podge to fix them to the wood; then I distressed the images. I then used some artist spray on varnish to seal it.

The Live LOVE Laugh image I transfered using the podge method. This is a digital download that I purchased from Grasphiquesepia on Etsy. I bought several images, planning to use them on pillows, totes, etc. I think the combination of chippy paint, wood peeking through, the lovely grain in the aged wood and the imperfect transfer of the typography looks just great!

I am linking to Knick Of Time Tuesday Link Party!

 Thanks Angie for all your amazing graphics that you share with us!!!!

e-voke...to create a -new!