Table Decal: Paint by numbers deer

I am very excited to introduce the latest addition to our family...

 

...my fabulous new dining table. Now it is new to us but is certainly isn't 'new' if you know what I mean. It started out life like this...

Excuse the shocking photo!!!

It is hard to tell but beneath many layers of navy blue paint there is a lovely solid wood table. After much stripping and sanding (thank you hubby!) the table started to look a lot better and after a coat of glossy white paint (again hubby you are a star!) it was looking fabulous and I couldn't wait to add its' crowning glory....THE decal...

I had been coveting this decal for awhile having first pinned this photo onto my Paint by Numbers board (on Pinterest of course!)

 

It is from the fabulous luvloo who make wall and table decals with lots of gorgeous designs to choose from. They make the decal to suit the size of your table with is great so make sure you measure your table 10 times to get the correct measurement.

I had measuring issues and had to trim half a cm off the entire decal....not fun and quite stressful because I soooooooo didn't want to ruin it!

Anyway I was very patient (for once) and measured .5cm increments all around the edge and very carefully cut holding my breath the whole time.

The decal is backed with sticky paper that you peel back to adhere it to the table, you can imagine on a round table this is slightly tricky, definitely not one for the faint hearted but so worth it.

 

Now that the table is complete I am eying up cole and sons tree wallpaper.....

 ...for the back wall and/or Marimekko 'Kaiku' curtains...

....or failing that I could get the tea towel version....

and make them into cushions. Maybe that might be a tree too far!

But I definitely do have to dust off the sewing machine and get started on some cushions...I can't wait!

Stitching on Hama beads

If you have been reading my blog for a while you will know that I am obsessed with hama beads and cross stitch...I just love designing patterns pixel by pixel and bringing them to life with either bead or thread.

So I have been playing around combining my two favourite things....

I had this brilliant idea to make a square of hama beads and try and stitch on it.
I decided to use my Mr Fox hama bead brooch pattern to start with. I just love the contrast of the threads on the bright background beads. Stick a bit of felt to the back and you have a coaster!
photo

Next I thought about making smaller shapes to stitch on to make into brooches/pins and pendants or just decorations.  Now the trick is not to melt the beads too much otherwise your needle won't fit through the holes!

 

So four beads will make one cross stitch...you just go up and down through the centre of the beads like you do with the holes in aida cloth.

If you want to try this yourself here is a BIG TIP.........if you create your shape with your square board placed on an angle you can then use the spaces between the fused beads as extra stitch holes and therefore get bigger designs onto a smaller area....did I explain that very well?!

So I got very excited and started making lots of shapes and stitching lots of woodland creatures....

 

 

 

You can see that both the deer and owl have been stitched on 'angled' shapes while if you go back to the top and look at the fox he is stitched on a 'straight' board.

 

OK so I am never going to be asked to write technical manuals with this kind of explanation but I hope you get the idea. Please feel free to ask questions!

 

Have a go...it is so much fun!

 

I am working on a cute Easter one which will be revealed soon.

I want it, I want it, I want it!

Is this not the cutest thing you have ever seen?

This adoarable creature is from The Red Thread and is about 35cm high.

I just love laser cut wood and anything resembling a woodland creature.

Equally cute....

Adorable brooches - write your own message on or have Lisa do it for you.

Find out all about on their blog.

Check out The Red Thread website to take a peek at all the other wonderful creations including softie kits, story book tiles and more.

Like I said I WANT IT ALL!