Grey metalware and a splash of colour....

Vintage tins en masse in an ironstone tureen....

Pewter and Britannia metal....

A simple heart....

The skeleton of an old lampshade without its fabric...

A tiny iron shoe last....

Fine wirework....

And old, wire plate hangers masquerading as "fat sheep".

French keys on a hook.....

Wonky, wire potato baskets....

And a tiny one cup teapot perched on a metal document box.

All grey metal.....until the box is opened to reveal...a fabulous red interior.

I often wonder if it was deliberately painted this colour...as a "red" reminder to the owner of important documents, that the box was open

 or

was it really just  for secret love letters and trinkets?

Let you decide...

Have a lovely weekend,

Julie x

Persevering...

I am pleased to say that I seem to have mastered my Annie Sloan painting technique....I think Essie from Pingere Antiques hit the nail on the head....it is best used for really shabby pieces, as it distresses so well.
Some of you might remember the white urn, which has now been given a quick coat of French linen....sanded back....then  finished with clear wax.

I'm impressed.

The same for this Georgian mahogany chair, which sometime in its long life had received the most unflattering, shiny treacle varnish.

The thought of stripping it was a complete "no no"....

So, inspired by the idea of no sanding or prepping as it says on the tin, I applied two coats of chalk paint, sanded it and waxed it.

The drop in seat I re-upholstered with a grey Kate Forman check....slightly wonky...but it does look a lot better.
So doubly impressed...Thank you Annie!

The "Georgian" pine cabinet I showed you a while ago....was actually a TV cabinet with fold back doors and holes in the back board for the cables.

I had the back board repaired, a new shelf fitted, the fold back doors removed and re-hung with new hinges....

Painted inside with Farrow and Ball French Gray and the exterior in Old White.

Distressed and waxed....

And transformed into a useful cupboard for the bedroom... or the bathroom... or the kitchen...or even the sitting room.
 

Now where can I put it?

Julie x

Opening the tin......

A green ( I know... it looks blue in the photo ) painted pine shelf has been the first piece of furniture to get the Annie Sloan "French linen"paint treatment at Chez Cloth Shed...

Sanded back to reveal the underneath green colour....then polished with clear wax.

A small, gold convex mirror and little tray also received the A.S. treatment too...

Now.... it could be that I was painting in sub zero temperatures in the garage yesterday....not good.... but I did find it too thick and gloopy straight from the tin and also it started to drag and clump as I brushed  over previously painted areas. Consequently I diluted it with a little water.... which obviously helped the application.
I will persevere with it of course, but I think for small pieces it is fine and for larger pieces of furniture... I will be sticking to my eggshell or emulsion and wax Farrow and Ball.

A pretty single eiderdown and two quite different biscuit barrels from Tuesday complete the new stock pictures.

And finally, I just had to buy this battered tin sign for the stall....my secret is now out!

Have a good weekend, and stay warm,
Julie x

Antique birthday....

The Antiques, Vintage and Retro Fair yesterday at Hexham, Northunberland was the 250th consecutive event, with not one missed since 1991...quite a feat considering, snow, floods and extensive building work at Wentworth Leisure Centre  have caused a few headaches over the years.

For a midweek Fair it is always extremely busy with both trade buyers and members of the public...

And as a way of thanks....complimentary cake and sherry were provided for everyone and three lovely, long standing lady exhibitors were invited to cut the cake....

.
Julie x

Cotswolds break....

A few days away in one of our favourite places....The Cotswolds,  took us to the pretty town of  Northleach
Gloucestershire.

And a visit to a lovely shop called The Perfect Whimsy  run by the equally lovely Joasia, who has recently started a blog..here.  She is so gorgeous and great fun too!

The shop is a treasure trove of decorative loveliness and of course I was tempted with everything.
But finally I came away with this French La Poste mail sack.

With great repairs,

Hand stitched, rolled edge,

And a label telling me the history of these vintage mail sacks....

I love it!

Other finds the day before included this vintage coat hanger and handbag,

A Laura Ashley chintz cushion, Tole planter, decorative picture frame, salmon mousse tin and a hand painted Susie Watson strawberry bowl completed my purchases.

A visit to the newly refurbished  Station Mill Antique Centre  in Chipping Norton yielded a pot of Annie Sloan paint which I have been wanting to buy for a long time now and keen to see how it compares to my beloved Farrow and Ball.

Chalk paint..."French linen" and surprise, surprise.... I have a piece of furniture ready and waiting in the wings especially for it....a "Georgian" reproduction pine cabinet.

Keep you posted.....
Julie x