Author: Marianne

No-Sew Curtains

I added a small dedicated sewing nook to my exiting sewing area. I needed good daylight to sew and a permanent cutting table. It became too much of a hassle to cut everything on the lounge floor. This small [3.6 square meters] area freed space to install the cutting table.

I spent so much time on planning the building and the outside painting that I completely forgot about curtaining. For security reasons I needed curtains when moving into the new sewing room.

Quickly made a plan and within an hour had a curtain up and hanging. And I did it all “with what I had”!

What you will need:

  1. Fabric [I used very cheap polyester ShweShwe]
  2. Measuring tape
  3. Scissors
  4. Pins
  5. Clips
  6. Rings
  7. Pole

Measure the width and length of window. Add about 20 cm to width and length .

I made the curtain double. The back will act as a lining. If you do not have enough fabric or the fabric is thick enough only cut one length . Using pinching shears also helps prevent the fabric from fraying.

Fold the fabric double and pin.
Iron top fold flat.

Attached rings to clips as shown

Divide the clips to the top fold of the curtain. I folded the curtain in half and attached the clips across from each other to make it easier to have an even distribution.

Thread the pole through rings. Keep the rings on the same side to prevent curtain hanging skew.

Hang the curtain and:

There you have a no-sew curtain made in an hour with “what you’ve got”.

View from outside. I chose a Shweshwe fabric with a plainer pattern and colour scheme to compliment the Ndebele design painted on the outside of the new sewing room.

Tip:

Instead of throwing out old curtains, use them as lining for a temporary solution or permanently should the colours and design fit your outside look. When using a patterned fabric as a lining make sure the design and colours match the outside look of the house.

Fabric Face Mask

Uniquely designed masks. Adjustable, reversible, only one knot to make, two fabric layers with replaceable filter pocket, keep around your neck for all day access. R50 I work with what I’ve got [passionate recycler]. I use scrap pieces of fabric to sew the masks. Therefore, most masks are unique and can’t be duplicated. However, I…

by Marianne

Left over Fabrics: Few Examples of What I Made With Them

Collecting Fabrics is a Passion of Mine.  Making Things from Left Over Pieces can be very Creative. I Made Lots of Scatter Cushions   I Had Chairs Upholstered See Before and Afters   I Had a Lot of Fun Making my first Quilt I Have Now Started Using Schwe Schwe Fabrics        …

by Marianne

Coat hanger

Found this road-side kill and transformed it to a practical coat hanger. Ideal for a small entrance hall. Materials Chalk paint Re-cycled pieces of wood Pages torn from an old book Wood glue and water  Old hooks and keys Metal paint Furniture wax Terps Sandpaper 200 grit Tools Paint brushes Wood saw Screws Old socks…

by Marianne

Bed stands revamped with chalk paint

Hallo there The year is in full swing already.  I have moved from my house of 360m2 to a flat below the house of  62m2.  As you can imagine it is a big squeezzzzze. Can’t invite friends, can hardly move around the place and of course can’t find a bloody thing.         …

by Marianne

Garage sale

Yebo all I am having a BIG Spring cleanup!  25 years of stuff! Shop is open every Wednesday from 16:00 – 18:00 Items can also be purchased online. Click here to contact me. Can’t believe how much stuff I have not used or needed for years.  All this stuff is clogging every inch of my…

by Marianne

Dark Ceilings: will it work?

I grew up with the idea that ceilings can only be painted white, right? Wrong!!!!!!!!!!! Here are three reasons why you should consider painting your ceilings with darker colours. Dark ceilings adds drama to a space. The dark hues give a totally different mood and atmosphere to a room. It is a myth that darker hues…

by Marianne

Fabric Face Mask

Uniquely designed masks. Adjustable, reversible, only one knot to make, two fabric layers with replaceable filter pocket, keep around your neck for all day access.

R50

I work with what I’ve got [passionate recycler]. I use scrap pieces of fabric to sew the masks. Therefore, most masks are unique and can’t be duplicated. However, I can send photo’s via Whatsapp of stock in hand.

Fabrics are 100% cotton, cotton/linen blend or poly cotton. All effort is made to check that the fabrics are in accordance with Government’s recommended guidelines, but I can’t be held responsible for any unforeseen mistakes.

For orders please email me @    janee.yebo@gmail.com

Orders can be collected in Dalsig, Stellenbosch or a courier service can be arranged.

Review by Cathy Dreyer: I love my mask. It is beautifully made from original, cotton fabric.  The design is unique and very user friendly. Only one knot to tie and when one is not using the mask, it hangs conveniently around one’s neck. Durable, comfortable and long lasting.  Highly recommended.

Model: Anna Dreyer

Left over Fabrics: Few Examples of What I Made With Them

Collecting Fabrics is a Passion of Mine.  Making Things from Left Over Pieces can be very Creative.

I Made Lots of Scatter Cushions

 

I Had Chairs Upholstered

See Before and Afters

 

I Had a Lot of Fun Making my first Quilt

Kwilt groen

Quilt

I Have Now Started Using Schwe Schwe Fabrics

Fabric basket 2

Schwe Schwe Fabric Baskets

Schweschwe apron2

Schwe Schwe apron

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coat hanger

Found this road-side kill and transformed it to a practical coat hanger. Ideal for a small entrance hall.

Materials

  • Chalk paint
  • Re-cycled pieces of wood
  • Pages torn from an old book
  • Wood glue and water
  •  Old hooks and keys
  • Metal paint
  • Furniture wax
  • Terps
  • Sandpaper 200 grit

Tools

  • Paint brushes
  • Wood saw
  • Screws
  • Old socks or rags
Coat hanger before
The original piece I found next to the road
Coat hanger 2
Started with cutting two lenghts of wood for extra hooks
Coat hanger 3
Decoupaged the drawer inside with pages from an old book. I used clear varnish to seal the paper.
Coat hanger 4
Gave a light sanding and then painted with my home made chalk paint. Three layers to cover properly.
Coat hanger 1
Finally a good wax. I use old socks.
Coat hanger 5
The hooks on the right are old recycled hooks.  The new hooks were too bright so I painted them with bronze metal paint.
IMG_4991
Gave the drawer handle also a bronze finish with metal paint. 
Coat hanger d
Bent old keys to serve as key holders
Coat hanger g
And here is the finished lady
Coat hanger a

Bed stands revamped with chalk paint

Hallo there

The year is in full swing already.  I have moved from my house of 360m2 to a flat below the house of  62m2.  As you can imagine it is a big squeezzzzze. Can’t invite friends, can hardly move around the place and of course can’t find a bloody thing.            Boohooooooo:(:(:(

What I have been doing since the 1st of January is selling my not needed stuff on every online marketplace that I can find.

With this post I would like to share one of my revamps that I sold recently.

These two bed stands [is that the correct description?; they look more like small chest of drawers] were given to me by a lady who moved to an old age home.  Though practical, they are NOT beautiful. 

I am a strong believer when decorating ones house [or designing ones house] to aim for the best balance between practicality and aesthetics.  Although old; these bed stands were sturdy and in a good condition.

They were made of melamine and horrific plastic beige handles.

 

JN180 Before

Practical but very boring [apologies for the bad pic]

I have lots of left-over paint. I mixed some left over paints to get a duck egg [with blue undertone] colour. I make my own chalk paint; this was ideal to cover the smooth melamine finish.

I did not take photo’s of my process of revamping the bed stands.  To give them more texture I layered the paint.  First the duck egg blue and then a very light grey paint.

The new wood handles were also painted with the duck egg blue and then I gave them a tickling of gold/copper paint.

The bed stands were finished with a fan stencil. Painted in a darker duck egg blue tone and with a sprinkling of gold/copper paint.

Here is the final product.

JN180

Upcycled, revamped BED STAND [no is item #]

Sold the pair for R1 300.00. Hooray!!!

 

Below is another piece that I gave a new jacket.  I have had this chest of drawers since before I had my children.  It was painted a bright yellow in enamel paint. I keep forgetting to take BEFORE photo’s.

Again, chalk paint came to the rescue. This time I used baking soda to make my own chalk paint.  Using baking soda gives the paint a rougher texture.  I first painted the piece in left over brown paint but hated it. Having mixed a large amount of duck egg paint [and loving the colour] I decided to use it again.

Here is the final piece.

JN182

JN182.1

The inside of the drawers were decoupaged with dress patterns

I lined the inside of the drawers with old dress pattern pieces. Next time I will first paint the wood white before decoupaging the pattern pieces.  The new handles gave the piece it’s final UMPH!

Sold for R800. Another Hooray!

Keep well until next time.

Marianne

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Garage sale

Yebo all

I am having a BIG Spring cleanup!  25 years of stuff!

Shop is open every Wednesday from 16:00 – 18:00

Items can also be purchased online. Click here to contact me.

Can’t believe how much stuff I have not used or needed for years.  All this stuff is clogging every inch of my home. I have been hard at work the past few months but there is still lots and lots of stuff.

IMG_1425This was my garage a while ago – it looks much better now

Trash or Treasure PicMonkey

All this stuff is what I call “Kaggelkakkertjies”

Thank goodness I have sold many of these items to people who thought:

 My Trash are Their Treasures

But I still have a looooong way to go.

Shop is open every Wednesday from 16:00 – 18:00

Items can also be purchased online. Click here to contact me.

This week I have some wonderful power tools for sale.  But that’s not all so scroll down to find that beautiful treasure 🙂

mh 153c

Ryobi Sliding Mitre saw. New R3439. My price R1719

 

mh 155b

Ryobi Router table and Router. Table new R1439. My price R595. Router new R1249. My price R629. Total = R1224

mh 154a

Rybobi Circular saw and table. New R1399. My price R1849

Shop is open every Wednesday from 16:00 – 18:00

Items can also be purchased online. Click here to contact me.

mh 150

Mid century side board [Accessories not included]. R1199

mh 149

Mid century display cabinet [Accessories not included]. R1199

mh 80

Handmade Oak coffee tables – 60’s style. Pair R679

retro-kussings

Christmas is around the corner. Come and view my lovely cushions. Priced from R100

mh 159a

Very rare newly upholstered corner chair. R1999

Dark Ceilings: will it work?

I grew up with the idea that ceilings can only be painted white, right?

Wrong!!!!!!!!!!!

Here are three reasons why you should consider painting your ceilings with darker colours.
  • Dark ceilings adds drama to a space.
  • The dark hues give a totally different mood and atmosphere to a room.
  • It is a myth that darker hues will make a room look and feel smaller.  It all depends on the shade of the colour and the proportions of the room.

Have a look below!

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On the Left the dark grey extends from the ceiling to the upper section of the wall and this adds interest to the room.  It also draws attention to the beautiful contrasting oval white pendant lamp.

 

 

 

 

Master-Closet-Dressing-Room-Alabaster-Walls-Vanity-Bue-Gray-Door-Chandelier-1-of-33
On the right the dark grey colour provides a sophisticated mood  in this large open space. The grey is repeated on the window trims and the pillar.  The dark wood beams give an interesting subtle colour contrast and adds texture to the ceiling instead of being a flat surface.
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A dark colour means anything darker than white.  Left is an example of a safe grey hue. The effect is less dramatic and the mood is cooler.

 

 

Below are two examples of passage ceilings painted in dark colours.  See how it draws the eye upwards which make the passages feel more spacious.

 

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What a gorgeous entrance and isn’t that floor to die for!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And guys please, the colour is not restricted to grey.  You can go bananas!!

See what I mean. This is drama and so simple to achieve.

Neither be restricted to one colour or paint.

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Awesome wall (sorry ceiling) paper

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This is REAL drama.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lastly don’t forget the kids room!

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Now any child can only have sweet dreams in a room with such a starry ceiling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All pictures from Pinterest, except the two from Addison’s Wonderland

50(0) Shades of Grey

Grey has been a trendy colour for many years. I love grey as it is such a wonderful neutral background colour.  But it is not that easy to select the right shade of grey. The colours  you see in magazines or on paint swatches are often very different to what you envisaged when painted on your walls.

Blog 2017.03.23-1

Jack’s Paint – Fan deck

A week ago a friend painted her bedroom walls a light grey, but it turned out light purple and she hates it! A couple of years ago I also selected a grey for student accommodation and it was more purple than grey!  It was a huge shock!  After this booboo I researched on how to avoid such a mistake again which could potentially be very costly.  I also compiled a checklist on how to select your favourite colour.  Every time I need to purchase paint I take this checklist with me. Click here for my free checklist.

MOOD

To find the undertone of your grey, it can assist you with planning the mood of your room. Use a brown undertone for a warmer mood. The undertone of  blues and greens  are cooler and has a calming effect.

MATCHING INTERIOR ITEMS

This method of selecting a colour is ideal to match a grey with your furniture, carpet or curtains.  For example, yellow is a warm colour.

Having yellow curtains or upholstery you could contrast them with grey walls in a cooler hue (blue or green).  A favourite colour in a Persian carpet can be discreetly emphasised by repeating it in neutral grey walls.

HOW TO SELECT A SHADE OF GREY

Grey is not a pure colour; it is a combination of black and white and small amounts of other hues.  In the colour fan shown above there are shades of grey in each of the different colour hues! So you can see that there are many more than only 50 shades of grey!!

UNDERTONE

You need to determine and compare the base colour of your favourite grey.  The presence

IMG_4592 (640x426)

From Left to Right the undertones range from green to brown

of the undertones are best noticeable in the darker colours in a fan deck strip and also by comparing different grey swatches.  The undertones can be red, yellow or brown for warmer colours or blue and green for cooler colours.

ADJACENT STRIPS

It can be difficult to determine the undertone hue of a grey colour.  If the darker colour

in the strip isn’t helping you, go the the adjacent strips in the fan deck.  Fan decks are compiled according to family hues with different intensities, mostly from lighter to darker colours. The same with the swatch racks in paint stores.

LIGHT

Light has a huge influence on how a colour is perceived by the human eye.  A swatch can appear very different in daylight from a store’s fluorescent lights.  Try to chose your colour swatch in daylight.  Colours also appear different on the walls in a room. Walls painted in the same colour will look different.  Walls with lots of sunlight (facing north or west) will look different to a wall in a passage or south facing room with little sunlight.

SAMPLE BOARDS or STRIPS

Painting sample boards or strips on walls are expensive. One liter is the minimum quantity that most suppliers offer.  Painting samples depends on your budget or the size of

the area that you need to paint.  For a huge area or an entire house it will be cost effective to paint a few boards or strips to make absolutely sure you have the right colour.  Repainting the whole area could burn your pocket or you will have to live with an unwanted colour for many years.  By painting  boards of 1m² in your colour(s) and holding them in different areas at different times of the day and night could save you a lot of pain and money. When painting strips remember to paint them on all the walls as I explained about light in the paragraph above.

WHAT IS IN A NAME?

My advise is never to choose a colour by it’s name alone. Remember the names given to paint colours are subjective and sometimes playful (tongue in cheek). All the colour strips in the fandeck shown below have one swatch with GREY in the name, for example Carbon grey, Submarine grey,  Faux grey, Denim grey and Moor grey.  Many of my favourite greys aren’t even called grey, but Cement, Old socks, Headache, Stormy Cloud and Boredom!!!!!!

CODES or STANDARD COLOUR SYSTEMS

Blog 2017.03.23-2

Jack’s Paint uses the NCS colour system

There are different standard colour systems that paint manufacturers use. Jack’s Paint uses the NCS system (Natural Colour System). Therefore the codes of the colours from different manufacturers are not the same .  Ask your supplier to explain the codes of their products.

Lastly, to make absolutely sure you have the correct shade of grey ask for the break down of the pigments used in your chosen colour to avoid unwanted surprises. Click here for my  free checklist.

Happy painting and I would love to hear your comments!

Marianne

Chairs in bright colours

A collection of sturdy chairs newly painted and upholstered in beautiful bright colours. I had so much fun to upcycle these chairs. The guest house, Bonne Esperance, gave them to me when they changed ownership. The chairs were originally made by the pre-1994 Public Works Department. Pre-1994 the department provided furniture (amongst other things) for all civil service personnel.  Most furniture was stamped with a PWD mark. The PWD chairs were also made from a variety of solid woods, but no pine, and stained in a similar clour.

A real bargain @ R650 each

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