May at Nostalgia at No.1

I've been busy at home and at my shop this week...

I've made some new cushions...

Lovely vintage pictorial linen...

Backed in a quality modern embroidered fabric. 

This one is made from natural linen and a pretty vintage appliquéd tray cloth.

And two gorgeous Sanderson floral cushions.

I've been giving some terracotta pots a paint effect to resemble a weathered/verdigris look...

You start by sponging on a layer of turquoise emulsion paint...(It dries quickly in the sunshine)

Then you add areas of a paler turquoise paint, again with the sponge...

I used a stencil brush to stipple on small areas of green paint, to resemble moss...

This gets toned down with a final layer of white emulsion.

Left outside, they will tone down nicely to look more natural...

This is one I did back in the 1980's! When stencilling and paint effects were all  rage!

Last Sunday I bought this stunning antique wooden wheelbarrow to stand outside my shop...
I've filled it with some wonderful auricular plants. 

Another little project was to make-over this modern miniature mannequin ...
The velvet covering was torn and damaged...

So I ripped the whole lot off to leave me with the plain resin torso. 

I re-covered it in an antique appliquéd net fabric. 

It makes a pretty jewellery stand on my shop counter.

At the shop tomorrow, I shall be sorting out some of the old stock. If the weather continues to be fine, I shall be taking some clearance items with me to offer for sale at the Giant Shepton Mallet Flea Market on Sunday.

Have a great Bank Holiday weekend,

Niki x