Monday Makeover - Wooden Fireguard Part 2

So last week I showed you this:

Stage 1 in the amazing fireguard makeover!

From here I added: 

one and a bit tester pots in 'Buttermilk'

a splash of 'Powder Blue' 

a smidgen of 'Deep Violet' acrylic and

about 3 layers of decoupage varnish... 

and I am pleased to report that although I only did a bodgers job at sanding, the paint appears to have adhered to the surface of the wood splendidly! (So far...!)

And this is what it looks like now:

A massive improvement in my humble opinion!

But don't think that is where the makeover finishes - Oh No... Not only do I need to paint the feet, but this painted wooden fireguard also has to earn its keep - as a funky marketing and display board! 

Just wait till you see what I'm going to do to the other side!

Tune in this time next week for the third and final installment!

Folksy Friday - Feeling Fruity...

Here's a sure fire way to make sure you get your 5-a-day!

6 fabulously fruity folksy friday finds!

Mmmmm!

As always, click on the picture to be taken to the sellers shop.

Monday Makeover - Wooden Fireguard Part 1

Ok, so regular readers of the blog will know that I have recently confessed to turning into a junk junkie - buying all sorts of treasure from local charity shops and markets. Unfortunately, some of my treasure is in a less than shiny state and to the untrained eye might look a little more like trash...

Luckily, (most of the time) I am an enthusiastic, creative, optimist who likes to see the potential in bits of junk - however I often have lots of different projects on the go, and never quite seem to get round to finishing anything...

So, to encourage me to finish some of my projects and to share the amazing transformation from trash to treasure, I have decided to start a little Monday Makeover mini series. Every Monday I will share with you one of my items that is an up-cycling work-in-progress, adding a  new picture every Monday until it is finished!

And here to start us off is 'Wooden Fireguard' - Part 1

In this picture I have already lightly sanded the surface of the 'delightfully' painted wooden screen thinking it may help the new coats of paint stick to the surface of the wood. I could of course, have sanded the whole thing properly... but surely that's too much work for a bodger?

(Hoping I won't live to regret only doing half the job...)

Next Monday - 'Wooden Fireguard' - Part 2!

Folksy Friday - Simple Pleasures...

Last weekend I attended a two day Craft Fair at Elsecar Heritage Centre in South Yorkshire. Although sales were a little slow, and customers not as plentiful as could have been hoped for, there were some fantastic stallholders to while away the day with! A photo diary of the lovely people I met can be seen on the Yorkshire Made blog

One of the new stallholders that I hadn't met before was Helen of Riddles Craft who amongst lots of other lovely items was selling a range of cards designed by her daughter Rebecca. The range was called 'Simple Pleasures' and I saw six different designs - all of which seemed absolutely spot on.

Luckily I didn't have to choose my favourite as there was also a card that featured all six designs in one!

As the list of simple pleasures seemed so appropriate and personal to me, I thought it might be a nice idea to link the ideas from the card with some of this weeks Folksy Friday finds...

simple pleasure #1

unplugging technology

simple pleasure #2

licking out the bowl

simple pleasure #3

spotty wellies on rainy days

(Ok, I couldn't find any pictures of spotty wellies! Who'd of thought!?)

simple pleasure #4

buttons and beads

simple pleasure #5

watching a candle flame

simple pleasure #6

purposefully odd socks

 (Yes, I know, these socks aren't odd, but they are very beautiful!)

I think I may well indulge in quite a few of these simple pleasures over this weekend!

The Freewheelin Bob Dylan...

After a couple of weeks break I thought it was time to return to the tradition of posting a Folksy Friday blog post. And today I have chosen a slightly more unusual theme... Bob Dylan!

Apparently, very soon the singer songwriter will reach 

the grand old age of 70. 

To celebrate, some friends of mine (who are much bigger fans of Bob than me!) have organised an open mic night this Saturday, where the only songs allowed will be anything by Dylan! I am be intrigued to see what songs everyone will choose and I wonder whether it'll be old favourites or obscure album tracks that get the most air time? But with 34 studio albums and 100's of songs to choose from I'm sure there won't be any doubles!

I'm really hoping to be able to get down to visit them to be able to experience this event - even if I shan't be taking part! (I won't unleash my singing voice in public - even at an event celebrating an artist with a very 'interesting' voice himself!) But even if I don't get a chance to visit I think I'll be channelling Mr Zimmerman for a while to come - some of his album titles would make fabulous themes for future Folksy Fridays! (Bob Dylan Discography)

So, Happy Birthday Bob - here's a selection of Folksy Friday items inspired by you!

 

 

As always, click on the pictures to be taken to the item!

Drumroll please....

...and the winner is...

Comment number 14, posted at exactly 6pm! 

Congratulations and a big welcome to Alexis Law whose number was drawn at random using the random number generator at http://www.random.org/

Do you always leave everything to the last minute?!

You are now the lucky winner of the summer scarf, the matching brooch, the wristlet keyring and the gift card! If you get in contact with me at madebylolly@hotmail.com to let me know your address I'll be able to post out your prize!

Thank you so much to everyone who entered - I'm sorry you can't all be winners! But don't worry there will be another giveaway soon... it's just over a month until made by lolly x is 1 year old, and I'm sure there will be some special birthday celebrations then!

Thank you as well for the excellent suggestions for places to go shopping and satisfy my craving for junk/treasure. I shall add them to my list and see if I can mange to get round them all before too long!

Freebies, giveaways and goody bags!

I'm a sucker for a good competition! Or a giveaway, freebie or special offer!

Ever the optimist, I always think that this time I'm gonna win, this time that too-good-to-be-true offer will be as good as it initially sounds! But...despite my optimism, I rarely win anything and quite often end up putting the 'Special Offer' deals back on the shelf because they really aren't that special after all!

However, I am ever hopeful and will never give up trying - you never know when your luck will change! I try to promote good karma by regularly running my own goody bag giveaways - and would you believe it there's one running now!

Goody Bag Giveaway...
All the details can be found by clicking here. You get the chance to win a purple themed goody bag which will contain one of my new Summer Scarves, a matching Felt Brooch, a Wristlet Keyring and a Gift Card, and all you have to do is give me a suggestion of somewhere to visit that has absolutely fabulous boot fairs/charity shops/flea markets! Hurry though, the competition closes at 6pm on Sunday 8th May!

And as I'm feeling particularly full of karma today, I thought I would also share with you some other freebies, giveaways and competitions that I have spotted (and entered!)

Competition...
To celebrate the move to her brand new official FB page, Nanny May has started a blog and is running a competition! There are not one, not two, but three prizes and all you have to do is 'like' the official FB page and leave a comment on this blog post to let her know you've done so!

1st name drawn.... necklace
2nd name drawn...brooch
3rd name drawn...ring

The competition closes at 12pm on 10th May 2011 where names will be drawn and winners notified via email.

Freebie...

Ever heard of graze? I hadn't until very recently, but now thanks to their very enticing 'Free Box' offer, I'm hooked! We get our box of healthy, tasty and nutritious nibbles delivered direct through the letter box, once a week. Now there's even more reason to look forward to a Friday! You can choose the types of snack you want, the days you want it delivered, how often you want it delivered and it's really easy to cancel/skip a week if you're going on a holiday. I certainly have no complaints! The service is excellent and the food delicious!

If you want a free box of your own to try go to graze and quote this code Q8PC8TB

Free Gifts...
Imogen's Imagination is running a May Madness event where you can get a free gift with every purchase over £10! All the details can be found here on the FB events page. The offer runs until Midnight on 11th May, and you can choose your items from four of her Folksy shops, the Frooly shop or the Facebook shop! So you've still got time to purchase one of her lovely items to receive a free gift! (Your only problem could be choosing what to buy!)


Giveaway...
For a free Diddybear! Made from the finest natural and hand dyed wools, Diddybears are beautifully crafted and collectible miniature teddy bears. To enter go to the competition page on the Diddybear website at www.diddybears.com

Well that's all for now folks, I hope you are able to use some of these special offers! 

Feel free to share this post and add any competition links in the comments below.

You can also tweet me @madebylolly and I'll retweet your links to my followers!