That's a Wrap..

Well, yesterday was a very productive day! I finally got my new sewing machine (after my previous one of only 4 months started playing up!) along with my new sander and upholstery gun, which meant I could finally finished Project Number 2 - 'The Toy Box'!

This piece was one of those things I brought home where dear hubby raises one eyebrow and gives me 'that look'. You know the one I mean - the 'That Should Be In Somebody's Dumpster Right Now, Not In Our Living Room' look. And I don't blame him to be honest. It was damaged, a bad colour and just plain hideous.. BUT I saw past all of that and saw the potential in it to be the last piece of furniture I needed to complete Miss 4's new room :o)

I took the lid off the hinges and ripped up that old peachy cover thing, which then turned out to be like 'Pass The Parcel' because after I pulled the first layer off , there was another random layer underneath! Lol
So 4 layers later it was back to the original lid which needed a good clean and sand, and I also repaired the slight damage to the body..

Few coats of paint later and we were getting somewhere! I found this gorgeous chic floral material in my stash that I thought would look wonderful. I then set the lid with padding (to make it more like a settee on top) and attempted my first try of upholstering with my new gun. It went better than I expected, though I look forward to learning some more about it all!

Screwed the lid back on and I was done...  not bad for a couple of dollars & it holds all of Miss 4's goodies with room for more!

I love that is practical now not only for her toys, but as extra seating in her room too - Let me know what y'all think!

Oh, and here is a Project Number 3 sneaky peek :o)

Smiles and Happiness, Haylie xx

Baby Steps...

Well here I am on my new blog mission - 2 posts in 24hrs, not bad hey?! Lol

I thought I would start sharing my new found creative passion with you all as I run with what is inspiring me currently, and post how it actually all started.

Quick Note - After becoming addicted to Restore Interiors by the lovely Kelli Wright only recently, I have since learnt to photograph your pieces in great light before AND after your restoration...  So sorry in advance to the poor pictures I had already taken, and I have put a new camera on my birthday list (hint, hint hubby!).

I wanted a few pieces of wooden doll furniture for my Miss 4's new shabby chic room (which you can see come together here in From Tink to Chic) and knew that I either had find a budget I didn't have to buy them brand new, or try my hand at restoring some pre-loved items.

I found this great little hand made wooden cradle for a steal online just before Christmas. Once again, excuse the picture. I had more on my iPhone but have recently updated to the iPhone 4S and lost my last few shots - so this is all I have of the cradle  before :o(

I then found a cute little high chair on a garage sale site that was only $4!! Bargain...

After sanding & prepping I decided to paint the cradle in a White Gloss (oh my smurf - gloss paint is hideous to work with & I am trying ever so hard to source an Australian supplier of Annie Sloan chalk paints & waxes!!!) - If you find one or know of one PLEASE let me know!!!

I finished off with a light distressing of the cradle and the same on the high chair. I wanted to make the two pieces a little more vintage feeling, so I added these two moldings to both - which I think worked perfectly!

I still have the bedding to finish off, but had the cutest material ready for it - and Dolly was happy to help too for photo purposes! :o)

So all in all, I am happy with project number 1 - Baby Steps - and am actually almost finished project number 2!! A sneak peek of what's coming up perhaps?!?!

HIDEOUS AT THE MOMENT - but watch this space!

Hope all is going well in your creative space!

Smiles & Happiness, Haylie xx

7 Months Later...

Forgive me Blogger Gods, for I have sinned.
It has been 7 months since my last Blog....

Yes, 7 MONTHS!! And yet, when I started this blog, I thought I would be on here a few times a week! Well, at least ONCE a week at a minimum. But life just takes over at times, and until one has been fully bitten by the 'blogger bug' I think it is just another business tool that some of us think of as "I'd better get onto this blogging business that everyone else is doing, to keep up with the rest of the social media world!"

But I have discovered recently it can be much, much more than that. I'd watch others on Facebook or Pinterest talk about how they LOVE such-n-such's blog, or that they are excited that (insert business/person)'s new blog post has just been published. And honestly to me, it seemed like a LOT of random reading trying to keep up with all these writings!

 

You see, I was feeling a little lack of inspiration for Little Miss Fascinated since the Christmas break. Well before then even to be honest, and those of you that are avid followers of my facebook page would have noticed the lack of posting and goings on with it all.

I think the hardest thing to do was to actually admit it.

Being a WAHM comes with a lot of guilt that you're not pulling your weight work/financially at times for your family when you lose your creative mojo. And as much as I tried, I just couldn't find ANY inspiration to feel creative again. Suddenly, just opening the doors to my office came with this overwhelming feeling of sadness, frustration and guilt for not wanting to even enter the room. And the LAST thing I ever wanted to feel was pressured & burdened into being creative..

Then something interesting happened... I discovered another passion that has simply engulfed me!

I am in love with restoring furniture....   Yes, TOTALLY random I know. And not really a money maker (as of yet) but I am slowly becoming ok with the fact that more than anything, it has finally restored (no pun intended! Lol) my creative mojo. And I have one person to thank for helping get to this place recently..  And that is the GORGEOUS Kelli Wright from Restore Interiors.

This fabulous mother of 3 has one of the most amazingly creative talents I have ever seen - she literally breathes life into old pieces of furniture and items, giving them a whole new lease of life.

I have always been a garage sale/op shop queen and on many occasion have brought something home with a vision of what I could creatively do with it to re-vamp some new life into it. Though I never thought I had the craftiness or talent to actually do something totally new & transforming with something from start to finish. The mental picture was always there, I just didn't know where to start. Until I found Kelli's blog!

So now I can confidently say, I have been bitten by that earlier mentioned 'blogger bug', because the day I discovered Kelli's blog I literally read the ENTIRE blog from start to finish in one go and am now waiting on baited breath for her next post! Lol...  NOW I UNDERSTAND, FELLOW BLOG ADDICTS!!!!

So I look forward to getting this blog & my creative mojo back up & running, and although it may not be about hair clips & fascinators like I originally intended - it will be about me, and the new life I am breathing into myself and my creative side once again. For those of you still trying to find your own mojo, all I can say is don't be afraid to look in directions you never possibly thought of before - it may not be in what you want or even expect, but it is there waiting for you and you will find it again...

Thanks to you all for popping over here & I hope you all stick around - I think it's going to be one heck of a ride!

Smiles and Happiness, Haylie xx