a touch of blue.. in the hallway..

 As much as I love pink, I do like a touch of blue..so I decided to use this color in one of my hallways. Actually it's sort of a dead end hallway about the size of 1 square yard and where there are rooms either side. It's a very tiny spot to decorate and was a bit hard to photograph.

 I purchased this cabinet a while ago now and it was already blue with chippy paint.. it was perfect.

I also had the birdcage.

I had also purchased this lovely painting from Gail McCormack a while ago too and funnily enough these three things were scattered around the house 'till one day it hit me to bring them together.

I did have other things on the cabinet but I think the birdcage is enough. A candle and a pale blue budgie sit inside. 

So this is my little bit of blue amongst my pink!

take care,

Maryann xx

what's in the shop.. August '14

Hi girls, so since reopening my ebay store... Shabby French & Vintage  ( used to have one called The Shabby Boudoir many moons ago) I've been very busy trying to fill it up with lots of pretty and varied things... mostly things which i love and would be very happy to have in my own home. Even though sometimes i think this is my down fall as i find it very hard to purchase something that is not me .. then when I do buy something I totally love .. it's very hard to let it go.. and so it goes..
Anyhow here's a few things in store right now...

I just adore these french poodles!

and will also be listing a new (not new in design) cushion soon as well. I will have 2 of these identical.

Had a bit of a shopping spree last week and have plenty more new things to list.. and ofcourse there were a couple of things that were keepers for sure (especially one) but I'll show you what they were next time.. soon.

take care, Maryann

Something I thought I would never do... facebook!

Well, as usual I'm always the last to hop on board when something new (or pretty much old now) comes out. I've decided to join facebook, something I thought I would never do since I was already blogging.

So I've set up my page purely for my shop Shabby French & Vintage, while I will keep the blog for personal and decorating posts. I've managed to do my first post on FB, nothing special but it's a start 'till I get the hang of it. Waiting for my daughter to come home from the shops to help me navigate my way around! So if anyone would like to say hi...that would be great.

So not to leave without any pics here are a couple I took of my china cabinet the other day... this sits in the hallway directly opposite the front door....

Ok girls... be seeing ya..

takecare, Maryann

pretty Tilda quilt and new ebay store...

Hi girls, hope you've all been well. So I've been a little busy lately. Just finished off a quilt for a lovely customer of mine. I made a few things for her when she had her baby late last year but requested a single bed raggy quilt  in the same theme.

The majority of the fabric is by Tilda and a few others thrown in that compliment.

And...I've opened an ebay store. "Shabby French & Vintage"

I had one a few years ago and feel that now is the time to get into it again.

In my new store you will find exactly that, shabby pretty romantic things.. and things for little girls as well,

all things french provincial and french country and also one of a kind vintage finds that I come across. Ofcourse you will find my hand made soft furnishings and small pieces of  furniture. 

So just click on my shop on my sidebar if you would like to have a peek...

and here are a few things I've just listed..

It's basically a bit of everything I love! 

take care, Maryann

desk make over for Lisa in my favorite colour ...

Gee, can't believe it's been 2 months since my last post!  So today I'll show you what I just finished making over for Lisa. This first picture is AFTER I sanded it back to get all the grime off.

She told me that she needs a desk in her room now as she will be going for her diploma in childcare. She's doing it online (I'm so proud) so she'll need a dedicated space to do it.

 Luckily I remembered that I already had an old one that  I picked up a while ago from a garage sale.

So after a bit of filling, a coat of white paint and a bit of aqua this is what she looked like.

The colour is called shampoo by dulux and it is a bit darker than what we wanted.

I then dry brushed it again with the white, distressed it and gave it a coat of clear wax.

I also recovered an old chair that I had done up a while ago too and the pink paint had all chipped... perfect!

So that's it. I've also been getting back into ebay if anyone is interested in looking. Hopefully I will have lots more old and also new items in stock.

take care girls.. Maryann

A good laugh...

Hi girls.. just read the funniest article on Houzz and thought I'd share it with you and if that wasn't enough the comments are even funnier.
It's all about how in many English speaking countries we can all call the same thing a different name, and I am sure we all have come across this at some time from reading different blogs from around the world!
I can vouch for this myself (I am in Australia but raised in Malta) when I once blogged about my pink serviettes and another lovely lady blogger from the US asked if I was referring to 'napkins'.... it never occurred to me to call them that even though I'm sure many Aussies do.
So go on have a gander or a sticky or even just a look....and click here if you want to have a good laugh!

                                                                     take care, Maryann
ps...    if you live in Australia I thought the comments about the dunny are hilarious!!!!!