Good morning everyone – it’s nearly the weekend! Here in England it is looking like it will be nice and sunny – how lovely.
Some lovely aquilegia bobbing in the spring breeze
My blog tells me that I’ve had quite a few visits from Canadian friends across the pond this week – hello to all of you! *wave* A place I would love to spend more time in.
I’ve had a busy week of painting, photographing and writing. As well as my part-time job in a university, I also do some freelance writing. It’s really interesting and I enjoy writing a lot, but it can be quite unpredictable. The project that I had pencilled in to start today has been cancelled at the last minute (the client has decided that they want it written in German instead!). It can be a bit frustrating, but my first thought was actually ‘Yay! More time to paint!’ I’m sure that’s not the actions of a hard-nosed career woman but what can I say, I do love upcycling 🙂
So, this week’s Inspiration for the Weekend is here already. Doesn’t time fly when you’re perusing upcycling projects and the many wonderful things that can be achieved with a lick of chalk paint and some creative thinking!
First up is this oh-so-simple but absolutely gorgeous row of painted jars by Martha Heritage.
Beautiful painted jars – makes your mouth water!
The way that Martha has arranged these painted jars perfectly shows off the beautiful range of colours in the Annie Sloan range – I think it’s amazing how almost all the colours to look fabulous next to each other – even if they’re not typical colour combinations.
I can just imagine these lovely jars filled with sweetly-scented sweet peas or delicate stocks – or even lots of pastel-coloured pencils (I love stationery!) You can find Martha’s lovely website here.
I couldn’t wait to share this absolutely exquisite desk painted by Hakan from this beautiful blog. Hakan posted this picture in the Facebook group ‘Annie Sloan Projects Before/After’ (if you haven’t joined yet and would like to share your pics, please do join!) and I was just blown away by the composition of the photograph and the gorgeous colour combination.
Emile and lilacs – a wonderful pair!
Have a look at Hakan’s lovely website – he has some really wonderful ideas for different uses of chalk paint – including a painted violin! My brother was blessed with all the musical talent in our family, so alas I don’t have any musical instruments lying around which I could paint – but if I did, this is what I’d be doing with them! Beautiful and so unusual!
A creative use for a musical instrument
Lastly, I want to share another project which was shared by Gwen in the Annie Sloan Before/After group on Facebook. Gwen has transformed an empty paint can using some decoupage with a napkin, some Coco paint and clear wax. I think this is so effective, and I don’t think it would take too long to complete, either!
A new use for an old paint jar
If anyone is struggling to start decoupaging, you are very welcome to have a look at my step-by-step guide. It’s really not as scary or difficult as I once feared!
Finished!
I’ve got a few outdoor projects lined up for the next few days. Everything is looking so lovely at this time of year. I’ll be back to chat about them next week!
Have a fabulous weekend!
Helen
xx