Dawns Ditsy Decor

2014-09-22T09:18:00.000-07:00

Blog posts on hold till I find more time somewhere, In the meantime please check out my currents projects at

www.facebook.com/ditsydecor :)

Happy "Holly" Days

2012-12-29T19:22:00.003-08:00

In December I started hunting for a new storage solution for my 12 year old daughter as she was taking over the bathroom she shares with her brother.

Hairslides, hairbands, flowers, nailpolish, need I go on.....

I came across this old desk, it was sitting in a corner of a thrift store getting a little more attention than Id have liked. I had to make a quick decision and decided it would do the job perfectly.

The gentleman who was sitting at it at the time was not amused when he was told it was sold, but you have gotta be quick.

It was really heavy and just fit and no more into the back of my car.

As I was going to do it as a surprise I had to try and hide my project ( which wasnt easy)

I started with the handles they took a good few coats before i could give them a coat of poly.

Next I started on the drawers.

I sprayed the insides and the top Glossy pink.

I wasnt sure whether to sand them so I did one drawer front as an experiment....not good, the paint wasnt adhering so I decided to prime them all and not sand them.

I masked off the top so we had a nice edge around the top edge

It took a few coats even after the primer to get a nice crisp white finish. I used a semi gloss and thought it would be bump proof.....it was obvious after a few days in use this wasnt going to be the case, so I have decided to give it a few coats of clear poly for durability.

I also picked up this dented old mirror, afterall this is for a young ladies room. I primed and painted it white aswell.

Holly added a few little momentos under the glass top to personalize it

As you can see all of Hollys ~~junk~~ treasured possessions are now in place and she loves it.

Spotty and Girly

2012-10-23T19:44:00.001-07:00

Hollys room is coming along...slowly but surely,

weve tried the bed in many different locations, and the furniture always seems to on the move aswell.

Weve decided to tackle the closet, big enough for a twelve year old im sure you will agree. It just needs a little organisation...and a little color injection.

The sides werent being used as they were hard to access and became a dumping ground, so we

added some new rails to organise Hollys clothes better.

We have moved her drawers on top of each other so better access is given to the sides of the closet.

As the rest of the decor has a spotty theme the drawers were mod podged and given a spotty makeover. The top drawer handles were sprayed with a few coats of gloss white and now they match together nicely.

and they can be hidden too

Very girly indeed.

Holly loves them....

We are still sorting through storage on the top shelves.

We made a white roman blind with a blackout lining to block out our sunny skies and bright lightening storms.

We also added some brightly colored buttons to add a little interest.

The old brown and brass fan was updated too.
A little hand painting, a little spray painting and a new mirrored shade.

The headboard is another project.

We used a 2inch sponge and covered it with heavy duty white canvas and attached it to a board. We used the same buttons as we did on the blind, and egded it with a spotty ribbon.

The spotty theme goes on.......

The bedding is from Target.com and looks great with all Hollys homemade cushions and extras.

The canopy has been in Hollys room for years and it came from a french company called Vertbaudet, it has a great selection of kiddi decor.

This definitely is a room in progress, im on the lookout for a nice vintage dressing table for her, Ill let you know if I find one.

Little Frenchys first taste of my own Chalk paint.

2012-10-01T11:53:00.001-07:00

I couldnt wait to start on my newest find

It was an old end table or nightstand, not sure which, all battered and looking for a new home....mine !!

I removed the hardware and left it over night to soak in white vinegar, it was badly tarnished but turned out to be a lovely copper color in the morning.

I had been reading how everyone was making their own version of chalk paint and decided to give it a go.

I used the recipe of 1 cup of paint with 1/4 cup of baking soda.

The results were fab, I carefully sanded down the table and set to paint.

The paint wasnt unlike another chalk paint I have used in the past.

After painting and patiently waiting for it to dry....this is what always takes the longest...

I used a fine grade sandpaper to buff and distress the table. The tabletop was a little too damaged to leave as it was so after deliberation of what to do I decided to get a custom piece of mirror to fit.

Here is the result.

Hope you like it....

My Burlap/Hessian project

2012-09-25T18:36:00.001-07:00

I love all the natural projects which are making the rounds at the moment.

I fancied trying one myself and decided on a window pelmet for my little kitchen diner.

A visit to my local fabric store was in order but they didnt have the color I wanted :(

Not phased by this I wandered into the fabric dye ailse.

In the past Ive dyed everything and anything you could think of using Dylon Dyes for the washing machine, but as im in a new country with new appliances I was a little scared.

After deciding against the washing machine ones I went with the Rit Teal color to do in a bucket. :)

This is how it went

I followed all the directions Step by step

I added the salt and water....the color looked great and I left it to steep for a little while

After taking it out and drying it off, I noticed it was a little patchy (note to self....dont leave it in the bucket when you go to collect the kids from school)

The pelmet project was now a non starter...what could I use it for now ?????

This is what I decided on

I have enough fabric for maybe a couple more...Ill see how it goes.

The Big Old Brown Dresser/Console

2012-09-23T10:58:00.001-07:00

Well ...theres a Habitat for Humanity moved in next to my local post office, it would be rude not to pop in for a look so thats what I did.

I was looking for an old mirror or frame but this one piece caught my eye. I even queried the price as I thought it may have had the wrong sticker on, but no... it was right, so it had to be mine.

I borrowed a tape measure and measured the space in the car.

It fit with inches to spare.

Not thinking how I would get it out of the car once I got home, it was loaded into the trunk by two big burly men.

My thought was that this would be my first piece I would redo and resell.

My lovely neighbors helped me unload it from the car...

its heavy !!!

It had definitely seen better days and looked like a cat had maybe used it as a scratcher. It was also missing a handle from a drawer

( I was hoping it would be hiding in a drawer, but no such luck )

After a little light sanding, I gave it a good priming, I wasnt sure whether it needed it but did it just to be on the safe side.

The hardware all came off and I swithered whether to paint them or clean them up.

After giving the feet a good sanding I used some wood filler to reshape them back to how they were (before the cat got them)

A couple of coats of paint later and its starting to look good.

I decided to spray the handles black, thats when it started looking like it belonged in our house.

Im always a little cautious about distressing but I just went for it, and I love it.

The question now is can I bear to part with it ???

This was my first project ever and the start of my new addiction.

www.facebook.com/ditsydecor

The kids bathroom

2012-09-18T08:45:00.001-07:00

We moved in our new home in Florida nearly 4 years ago...but it was very different to what we had before in lots of different ways.

This is where all my new projects are evolving.

This is what the kids bathroom looked like when we moved in


before

before

Our house is full of varnished wood and although its nice Ive been desperate to paint some somewhere.

The kids bathroom was an ideal tester area to practice on.

I also did my first dumpster dive and collected some trim from my friends skip (which im sure she was mortified about haha). The mirror had no frame so after filling holes, sanding and painting it my hubby helped construct a frame for the mirror.

We installed it together.... you can see the technical stuff we used like my daughters purple duck tape to hold it in place while it was drying.

I think it looks great, much better than before. I gave it a satin coat of poly just for a bit protection and that was it....

All stuff I already had so it never cost a penny....even better

There also was a small matching laminate splashback which I tiled, a messy project but not hard and didnt cost much either.

So here we go, I removed the handles and started to sand the cabinets, I did really like the look of them when the varnish was removed and wondered if painting them was the right decision.

Unfortunately, it was too hot and humid outside to paint so I had to keep them in the bathroom.

Next came the primer, then the paint.

Choosing the color of the paint took 3 attempts, the first was too light and didnt contrast enough with the counter....the second was too dark...yuk

but third time lucky, I was looking for something neutral and decided on a color called Tea Stained from glidden.com

I also gave them a few coats of poly to protect them.

Inside here will be a completely different project altogether haha

Well this is how they turned out, its so bright in their bathroom sometimes its hard to get a good photo.

So this is the before and after....the new tiled splashback, mirror and painted cabinets (and now tidy countertops)

after

before

Hope you like it, we have since redone the countertops and Ive refinished the cabinets again in Annie Sloan Old Ochre and Dark wax, I will post pics soon.

Look what someone left at the beach last night....

2012-09-12T19:11:00.001-07:00

Well the Olympics are over but someone has been very busy from before they even started. Look what was hanging at the beach when my mam went to visit.

Victorian cable cars till in working order

Nice ride down to the beach

The pictures were taken at Old Saltburn, an East coast seaside town and a british National Trust area. No-one knows where the athletes came from they were hanging around attached to the pier for all to see at the weekend.

Cool eh ???

Gold Medalist Mo Farah doing his famous MOBOT dance

So who was it??? nobodys knows

The secret knitting graffitti groups work was definitely the main attraction !!!

Easy peasy Halloween ghost

2012-09-11T12:48:00.000-07:00

Last year we decided to have a few ghostly visitors around the house. This had to be the easiest project so far.

All you need is an old white sheet some garden canes, tape and a black sharpie or fabric pen.

We had them hiding in all our trees the kids loved them and they looked great.

We dug the canes into the ground and then hung the sheet over them. We attached the arms with tape and drew our faces on...and voila, your scary ghost is done.

Mams little English garden

2012-09-06T09:42:00.001-07:00

Id like to take you on a little trip around my mammys little piece of paradise...her garden.

The garden is in the north east of England, UK which is where Im from.

I posted a little pic on my facebook page Ditsy Decor last week and it says it all...here it is again.

I remember moving into this house when it was brand new.....a long time ago I might add, and the garden being nothing but a muddy mess.

This is how it looks now

WOW look at all these colors....the british weather is obviously good for something

I know shes often out in her wellies, and It must be where my love of the garden comes from...and maybe from my nana aswell who is always in the garden planting something.

The secret garden entrance ??

Lovely, little bits and bobs hidden around the garden

This used to hang on a bedroom wall

The birds love to come and visit, and you can see why.

and lastly a little sneak peak at what this little corner looks like through the british seasons

The Patio revamp Part 2

2012-09-03T17:17:00.000-07:00

Well the patio is coming along nicely, we've had sand everywhere for the last few weeks. Its nearly done so Id thought Id show you the pictures.

There might be a sneaky guest appearance by Ryan in a few of my photos :)

I wish I had a "before" picture of the ceiling fan, it was old, white and very rusty. I love the way it turned out. I took it to pieces and sprayed all the metal parts with oil rubbed bronze spray paint. Then I sprayed the white fan blades, for a nice background color then I wrapped them with natural jute twine. (my glue gun was my best friend once again). I also used the twine on the shade to make it look a bit more modern.

I gave the old dark cushions a new brighter envelope cover

( I still have some buttons to add) and they lift the whole area.

and you gotta have a little bit o fun t00

All my old bits and bobs fit in nicely with the neutral colored pavers we decided on.

We definitely needed some pool storage, we found ours at www.suncast.com but all the local diy stores have them.

Before

After

The best part was putting everything back together, do you remember I said I gave my friends a task ??? They collected bottletops for me and its now my art at the Tiki Bar, What do ya think ?

I painted the backgrounds then arranged the bottletops, I had found some little circular mirrors which I added aswell.

Well nearly all done and dusted and ready for fun, fun, fun times...

The Guest Room

2012-08-21T19:40:00.000-07:00

The guest room needed a total revamp, these are pics from the house schedule when we bought the house eek

Plenty of space just not to our taste, so out with the old............

I wallpapered the feature wall. I had stashed a couple of rolls in my container before if came across the pond. Its from the Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen collection, back in the UK he is on all the DIY shows. He is noted for his flamboyant personality and dandyish appearance haha and his designs of course. We chose two shades of teal and painted the rest of the walls.
Our furniture for this room was old so we decided to paint it and see how it turned out. The bedside cabinets were laminate so I was a little doubtful it would work.
I purchased some of Annie Sloans chalk paint from my local stockist http://www.robynstorydesign s.com and set to work.

I didnt use a primer so I was thrilled with the results.

I took off the rest of the hardware and painted away, they covered great I did a light sanding in between two coats.
I also painted part of the bed and an old dressing table. I found some new hardware I liked for the three sets and they look like new. I finished with a couple of coats of polyurethane to protect them.

The bedposts were painted and I picked up some new finials that were lost in the move. Things were starting to come together and I was liking the new look.

Unfortunately the ceiling fan is a must and it was brass until I re sprayed it oil rubbed bronze to match my new hardware. I also added a little natural jute twine to the shade to give it a little modern twist.

I also added some new lamps, new bedding and finished with some painted letters which I picked up from Joanns for above the bed.

Hope you like it as much as we do.

Mini Corner bathroom cabinet makeover

2012-08-17T20:08:00.002-07:00

I had an old bathroom cabinet collecting dust that needed an update, it was going to go into my master bath behind the door where no-one would see it, but it needed a coat of paint at least.

Ugly I know but great for storage.

I gave it a quick clean and sanded down the rough edges. My bathroom is greens and browns so decided to go with a shade of green. My quick fix for this was a www.krylon.com spray paint. How easy is that ? After a few light coats I left it to dry overnight. Meanwhile I measured the windows and got 2 custom cut mirror pieces to fit. The next day I gave the unit a few coats of satin polyurethane and it looked great.

The mirrors were stuck into place and I changed the hardware to change its look.

I placed it in its new home and it looks great.

The patio area re-vamp Part One

2012-08-17T19:22:00.000-07:00

The patio area is our familys favorite place to hang out.

grubby areas

This is it before we started, not too bad I admit, The problem was we spent most of the the relaxing time trying to make the place look spick and span so we decided to try something new.
Sometimes after hours of cleaning and brushing it still didnt look clean. We also had broken and falling off tiling inside the pool which we knew either had to be repaired or replaced.....
What to do ?, the cost of re-tiling was above our budget but we decided if we were going to do it, we might as well do it properly (even if it meant not eating for weeks)

The old tiles were removed and the old coping was all cut away. It was a dirty dusty mess. The choosing of the tile and the pavers was the hardest part. Too many colors and shapes to choose from...what would it look like ? too light, too dark, I wanted it neutral but warm (not that we need it any warmer as we live in Florida) but you know what I mean. The salesperson at www.flagstonepavers.com was exellent, she showed us displays and gave us ideas.
The tiles were a different matter. In the end I swapped the tiles 3 times !!! My husband was totally demented by this time but we decided the third choice was the one.

In blew Tropical storm Debbie which meant all work stopped and we needed to wait for a break in the weather. Thankfully no damage was caused by the storm and the work continued soon after. The drains were widened to deal with the Florida rains and we were on our way.

Stumbling into writing my own blog

2012-08-07T20:26:00.003-07:00

Well after much deliberation Im going to start my own decorating blog.
Decorating is what I love to do, and I read other housey blogs all the time. I hope you will follow me on my journey as I redo revamp and revitalise any old treasures I may find.