Thursday 20 March 2014

Macmillan Cancer Support... can you help?

In August my partner & I are going to be taking on the massive challenge of trekking up Ben Nevis at night to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support.  If you'd like to donate to this worthy cause, then you can do so on the justgiving website using the following link:

http://www.justgiving.com/Lisa-Budd1

Thanks so much for your support xxx

Tuesday 18 February 2014

Shabby Chic Paint Effects on Wooden Furniture

Have you ever wanted to give an old piece of furniture an uplift, but thought it was too much work & effort, or just didn't know where to start.  Well, it's really so easy now with fab new products on the market.  So honestly don't through that dated bit of furniture away... give it a new lease of life!  Read on for simple instructions on how to....

My Mum, sister & I attended a shabby chic furniture painting workshop in the ever so quirky Brighton last year.  Whilst I relished the opportunity to spend some quality time with my Mum & sister & am always keen to do something crafty, I was a little bit sceptical about paying for a class to paint furniture (which I have done many times before), but I did learn a few useful things which I am about to share with you :)
We had to take out own pieces of furniture to the class.  Here's photos of what the three of us brought with us.

An rather plain good quality solid wood chair


A dated but cute solid wood milking stool


A dated but rather ornate detailed solid wooden chair


Now for those of you who hate sanding, here's the good bit..... well the better bit anyway.  There is minimal sanding required!!!  All you need is a fine sandpaper and it would be helpful for you if you have a sandpaper block, though this is not essential.

Now please don't think you need to remove the entire top surface of the wood, because you don't.  Your aim of sanding here is to remove any old lumps and bumps and any old dirt & grime.  All you want is a nice smooth surface to apply your paint.  At this point it's worth noting that when using this method it is absolutely fine to paint over old paint or polish and there is no need for it all to be stripped back!

So get your sandpaper and block if you have one and give the surface of your piece of furniture a nice smooth over.  This shouldn't take too long (unless your piece of furniture is huge of course).

Now wipe over your piece of furniture and make sure you clean off any bits of dust... now it's ready to paint!
Now for your paint.  You need a chalk based paint.  This type of paint is water based, is easy to use, creates minimal mess and is what allows you to get away without priming your wood or metal.  The brand we used is Autentico, though there are a number of others on the market.  The paint comes in a huge variety of colours, so the world is your oyster here.

At our workshop the colours available were limited, I tend to like bright colourful tones so was slightly disappointed, but whether it's a muted or bright colour you go for the technique is the same.

You need a dry paintbrush and your tin of paint.  Dab your brush in your pot, but only add a tiny tiny bit of paint.  When it comes to the painting less is more.  Start painting your piece of furniture using very thin layers and only apply more paint to your brush when nothing else is coming off.  The painting is as simple as this.  paint your entire piece of furniture using one very thin coat.  With this type of water based paint you will probably find that by the time you have painted the whole piece, that it is dry enough for a second coat (you're probably aware that this is not possible with oil based paints such as gloss).

Painting in very thin coats has a number of benefits, you don't get unsightly drips, the item is ready very quickly for it's second coat, but it also gives you the opportunity to decide as you go what type of pain effect you are looking for.  Some people may prefer a solid colour and if this is you, you will want to apply a number of thin coats to your piece until it looks as you want it to.  Others of you may prefer the more shabby chic look with previous paint effects or the grain of the wood showing through.  This is totally your choice and you can decide as you go.

When you have finished painting, it's now your choice whether you decide you would like to give your piece of furniture even more of a shabby chic look.  If you do you and the paint is dry, grab your sand paper again and select random areas to remove a little paint.  To get an authentic wear and tear look, try to sand places on the furniture which would naturally wear, such as places on the arms of a chair.  Also try not to make the sections you sand to uniform, for example it would probably be better to sand an odd number of patches, rather than an even number on any section of the furniture.  The pictures of our finished items may help you understand what I mean.

Now if you're finished sanding there's just one final task for you... waxing.
This is probably the easiest part.  Autentico sell wax for you to use and comes in a few different shades to achieve your desired finish.  All you need to do is grab a cloth and gently wax you piece of furniture.  Cover the entire painted area with the wax and the job is done.

No you can stand back and admire your results!

See the pics below for our finished pieces, completed in just a couple of hours.




But wait, look at the chair once Mum upholstered it at home using Cath Kidston Cut Roses fabric..... fabulous!!!


If you have any doubt whether you can do this too, then please don't!!!  Feel free to post any messages or comments and i'll get back to you and help in any way I can.
Happy painting :)

Check out www.roseyrose.co.uk for further info :)

My Mum's Birthday

My fabulous mother is turning 60 on August 7th & we had an amazing party for her, Saturday just gone.

The garden was filled with bunting & there was a room full of cakes!  Over 100 friends new & old were there to celebrate.  We enjoyed a hog roast, some amazing singing from Gemma Lambert, lots of dancing & a special video for my Mum which i'd like to share with you.  There were lots of laughs & tears when this video was played to all of the guests on a massive screen!

Thank you very much to everyone who was part of the special day!!!

I hope you enjoy the video!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPXP3IIWGMo&feature=youtu.be

Tuesday 30 July 2013

Get ill & try a new skill! How to knit a flowers & squares baby blanket


Well it's been just over a year I decided I would start a blog & guess what?  I haven't posted since my first blog in July 2012.... naughty me!!

Due to family illness & then illness myself it has been a tough year and as such just working to get orders out for my business has been tough.  Bills need to be paid though, so work must go on!!!

Anyway i'd like to share with you a knitted blanket I made whilst I was recuperating from my operation.  Being the type of person who gets bored sitting still for two mins, knitting was the perfect hobby to take up.

I must admit I hadn't tried knitting since I was a little girl & even back then I couldn't cast on or do anything but a simple stitch, so the task I had of me felt like a great challenge!!!

Fortunately for me, I had my very talented mother at hand to show me how & explain what the knitting pattern was trying to tell me!

I found knitting really relaxing, it enabled me to do something & use my mind when I knew I needed to rest.  However, I got so into knitting when I got a little bit better it came everywhere with me (I know i've already heard all of the old lady jokes!!!)

Below you can see a photo of my knitting visiting Brighton beach with me.





So if you fancy taking up knitting, I think the blanket is a great starter project.  I was so pleased to get it finished & hand over the gift to my boyfriend's brother & sister in law.  I might even make a larger one for my own bed!

Here's the finished blanket below (it measures around 60x75cm)


If you would like to make a blanket like this, here's how to do it........

What you need:

Wool:  Baby Aran
Knitting needles:  Size 5 (UK 6/ US 8)

How to make a strip:

The blanket is made up of four strips with each having fives squares of alternative & relief pattern.

Basic Strip

Cast on 25 stitches

Square one

Work 44 rows in garter stitch, change colour to start second square.

Square two

Work eight rows in garter stitch.  Work relief pattern:

Row one: Knit
Row two: Knit five, purl fifteen, knit five
Repeat last two rows thirteen times more
Work eight rows garter stitch over all stitches

Square three:  Chanage colour & work as square one
Square four:  Change olour & work as square two
Square five:  Change colour & work as square one

Flowers

Cast on 57 stitches
Row one:  Purl
Row two:  Knit two *knit one, slip this back onto left hand needle, lift the next eight stitches on left hand needle over this stitch & off the needle, yarn over needle twice, knit the first stitch again, knit two*  Repeat from *to* to end.
Row three: Knit one, *Purl two together, drop loop from two stitches made in row two & (knit one, knit one to back of loop) into lip, purl one* Repeat from *to* to last stitch & knit one.
Do not cast off, break wool & run through all stitches, draw up into a flower pattern & secure.

Assembling the blanket

Work in all ends of the blanket neatly.
Lay your strips out as you desire & join the strips together using a matching wool & sew together.
Work in the ends of the flowers & stitch to alternate squares on the blanket.

So there you have it a lovely flowers & squares blanket.  I hope you enjoyed this little tutorial & sharing my first ever knitting project with you.



Brought to you by www.roseyrose.co.uk



Friday 27 July 2012

Hi all......... I am new to blogging..... If I'm honest I'm not really sure what I am doing.... but here's a little about myself.

My name is Lisa & very proudly I am from Greater London.  I recently turned 30, which was a time of mixed emotion!!!

I have a background in Youth & Community Work & more recently Banking (I know what you're thinking). Anyway, through out my whole life I have been a rather creative person and a few years ago I decided to set up my own business... to make the things I love!!!

My business Rosey Rose... website www.roseyrose.co.uk emerged, and I chose the name after my late Nan, Rose, who was very dear to me.

I like to make things with beautiful fabrics.  I make all kinds of things for both myself and my business.  My post popular items tend to be my fabric covered notice boards which offer an attractive storage solution for all those notes / photos etc you accumulate and would like to display or have easy access to.  I often make bespoke items to match in with my customer's decor... and the opportunity to work with a new fabric is something I absolutely love!

If you'd like to take a look at my website, I always welcome feedback.

I hope I haven't bored you all too much.

Lisa xxx

www.roseyrose.co.uk