Showing posts with label Beach Hut. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Beach Hut. Show all posts

Sunday, 15 December 2013

The Shabby Chic Beach Hut.....Nearly Finished as Christmas Approaches.

The weather is awful here today so I have put the Summer behind me at last. Actually my youngest is coming home tomorrow so I have had to clear away all my stuff out of his bedroom.
On the plus side this project is well on the way to being totally finished.
I still have a few bits and pieces to add to the scene around the hut and a little bit of dirtying to the sand but the general work is done.
 I seem to have painted everything in my stash for days and days but the look has come together as I had hoped. Lily, my cute pug by Sarah Hendry, looks her usual un-fazed self on the board walk.
I have also added a Cheshire Cat balloon by Jain Squires, maybe he is why Lily looks so sad!!
 The interior is now finished with linen at the bottom of the dresser and Elizabeth Causeret's pottery on the shelves. The walls are fully covered with prints and boards creating the over-full look I wanted.
 Interesting stock has spilled outside the shop ready to attract any passing beach combers. I especially like the traditional radiator which was a Pheonix kit.
 This dress form was a gift and I have finally attempted images transfers as this vintage shoe wall print from the Graphics Fairy shows. I intend to do a post on my attempts with image transfers in the next couple of days. I have been so happy with the results.
 An ariel view of the interior showing my hanging baskets and an angel 'bunting' that I have hung on both sides of the hut. Great little wooden shapes I picked up in Hobbycraft.
 The chicken is by Pheonix, the planters by Euromins and all the other bits and pieces are charms, frames and findings that I have picked up along the way.
More cheap frames and findings along with my trio beach sign that came out better than I expected using mini stamps.
 I have put in a battery operated LED cupboard light, stuck to the removable side of the roof as I want some illumination as this piece will be going in my living room.
The light is a bit clumsy but it will never be seen and this project was more about dressing my living room as a match to my shabby chic house than a purely 1/12th piece so unless I come across a much tidier solution it can stay for a while.
You will notice I have only shown two sides......well i have to come clean, the left hand outside wall only has a bench and trellis at the moment. I want to make a few plants and flowers for this side. A place for the owner or shoppers to sit and enjoy the view. I have had trouble finding kits for white flowers so these will have to wait......until next summer!
Sorry, no links today, for some reason Blogger is playing up.


Friday, 15 November 2013

Spending Time in my Beach Hut Despite the Weather!!

"It maybe winter outside......" but I am fast finishing my beach hut by Julie Bennett. The interior of my Boudoir on the Beach is very nearly complete so I have lots of photographs to share. 
 On this unit are lots of pieces by one of my favourite artisans, Elizabeth Causeret, a French potter who does not have a website but exhibits at many shows. Eventually this unit will be full of her pieces as I collect more but for the moment I have filled it with bitsa and bobs. 
 As you can see the right hand wall still needs lots of prints. I thought I had made loads but I will be back to painting boards tomorrow as I have run out of prints. So annoying. I have not decided what to do with this front corner yet, I am thinking maybe a tall but slim mannekin, I will have a look at KDF at the end of the month. I might even buy a dressed one if I can find one gorgeously draped in a shabby chic manner.
 The back cabinet is by MollySue Miniatures who makes a whole range of pieces which she updates all the time. Her website is well worth a visit. 
I have filled it with all sorts of jewellery findings, beads, tins and Harry Potter left overs that I have painted or sprayed. The little lidded basket was a gift and I have filled it with the tiny pegs you can buy at hobby shops.
 I wanted the shop sign to look pretty distressed as this is a sea front hut so it would get attacked by salt and spray. Not sure I wanted it quite so distressed though. I used sticky lettering as stencils but when I peeled them off quite a but of paint came too!!
 An ariel view. I intend to cover the roof eaves with prints and frames too as I want the hut to have that really over-crowded look. The cut out words are from Hobbycraft they are just about the right size and came in mixed packets. 
 I also used up some old quoins, charms, buttons, tiny shells and candles that I had stashed away to fill shelves and make into art work for the walls.
 As you can see quite an eclectic mix including a quite set of hooks from an Italian seller I saw in Apeldoorn. At the back is a stack of three 'spools', these are wooden beads that I have painted and then wound with lace and ribbon off cuts. 
 I also made some pin boards covered with fabric off cuts I bought on Ebay which were all the perfect colours for this project. 
 This table is topped by pieces from Cinen Miniatures and the beautiful art deco lady was purchased at KDF. I made the lemon place mats using an image I found via google.
 Crate and wine box are by Cinen and I have filled them with rolls of material and 'wrapping paper'.
 These bottom shelves are a bit of a hodge podge with storage boxes I have made and some plain bisque bowls painted and filled with mini printies. You can just about see the spiral notebooks by Lolittle Miniatures, they are perfect little notebooks that I thought would go nicely on this very narrow shelf.
This piece will eventually house more of Elizabeth's wonderful pottery but it will have to do in the short term.
Lastly I have filled a little paper 'wicker' tub with bolts of material. I usually just fold, steam iron and glue bolts of fabric but with these I cut pieces of card and wrapped the material around. Much better method as the fabric sat more realistically. The little Beach Boudoir bands add a nice finishing touch too, strangely I think these bolts of fabric are my favourite things in the whole hut!!
I hope you have enjoyed a little walk through, now I must get back to painting and printing........again!!

Tuesday, 1 October 2013

I Don't Know What I Did Last Summer...........

I can't believe how long it has been since I last posted! The summer has been a very busy one with my children, the dog, family and lots of tennis matches. I play a lot of tennis during the summer months which at my increasingly advanced age is proving very exhausting. I have also been gardening and dealing with poorly parents. I have heard my age group being described as 'The Sandwich Generation' squeezed between not yet independent older children and increasingly needy parents. I sometimes do feel like a very wilted ham and lettuce sandwich I must admit!!
Anyway, I have been finding time for a 'small' summer project courtesy of a beach hut built for me by Julie Bennett who makes the most wonderful houses in all sizes. I love her range of smaller buildings which are perfect for presents and smaller projects. Do take a look at her range on her blog page there is a huge variety. I asked Julie for an unfinished hut as I wanted to match the colours to the room it will eventually be housed.
I have now more or less finished the outside with a plinth covered in sandpaper to look like sand. I changed the balustrade to a slightly more rustic look as this is a shabby chic beach shop. 
 I have also cladded the outside - oh how I love my table saw - simply because I wanted a stronger weather boarded look. Then I painted and sanded, painted and sanded, painted and sanded!!
 I seem to do a lot of painting in my projects and have decided to start looking at the paint sprayers that are produced for hobbyists as I have a birthday fast approaching. They seem to come in all shapes and sizes so I would be really grateful if anyone has one that they would recommend.
The weathered look was created using a plain wax dinner candle and a fine sandpaper. The overall look seems to have taken forever but I am pleased with the final look.
I always try and use up products from my stash now I have a number of full craft drawers and this floor is made up of oak veneer tiles that were purchased a few years ago. They were so easy to use and I wish I had bought more as the supplier does not seem to exist any longer. The skirting is also pieces left over from another project. 
 This is what my dining room table has looked like for a number of weeks now. Bits of furniture, material, plant pots and anything I thought might find a place in the shop.
 Many have had to be painted. I have printed off pictures for frames and made canvases for the walls.
I have begun to realise that I really need another of my children to leave home or an extension!! I seem to spread out all over the house and then whenever we have people over it all has to be cleared away.....again. Yes I know I have a craft room but that seems to be full and it really is too small for a craft pack rat like me. Maybe I could convert the garage? Maybe I could if that wasn't full of all the stuff we no longer have room for in the house!! 
I am such a magpie and like to be surrounded by all my ideas and plans when working. This is a really bad habit, I have at last realised, as I find it so difficult to finish!! So my new plan is to work on one portion at a time, perhaps on individual work mats/boards that can be moved for drying or setting. Then if I go off on a tangent the space is more manageable. 

I hope everyone has enjoyed their summer and I am looking forward to catching up on everyone's projects.