[ Project: The Old Bed, step 2 ]

Better later than never?

Few posts ago I introduced The Project: Bed. 

I left the surface without processing for the first couple of years after reassembling. 

Then, after redecorating on of the bedrooms, I finally knew, what to do. 

I fell in love with the pearl grey hue, which was used for painting the walls of the room (above).  

So, I brushed the same paint onto the bed. Simple as that! 

Do you like it?

[ Flowers of Summer 2013 ]

I promised to share some pictures of

the flowers we have in the flower bed this year.

 

Here you go:

 

 

Every once in a while

I cut a few

and bring them in

to be put into a vase.

There they spread the beauty and lovely smell...

 

 

Which one of these flowers

is Your favourite?

[ A Flower Bed ]

There used to be some bushes

in this corner of our garden before...

They didn't seem to survive

so I moved them to another place.

 

I planned a new flower bed,

which my husband - thanks to him -

made for me in May.

 

 

I adore it!

The edges are made from old telegraph posts.

Aren't they sympathetic?

 

I shaveled the hole,

put a filtering fabric on the bottom

and filled the bed with dirt.

My 8-year-old son was a great help in this job.

Then we added the seeds and bulbs,
watered a little

and let the nature do the rest.

 

 

I'll soon show you more detailed pictures

of the flowers that grow here.

Now I've got to go eat.
There comes a delicious smell of smoked salmon into my nose,

YUMMY - YUMMY!

See you.

[ For Sea With Love ]

I want to share this happy news with you,

my dear readers,

WE HAVE A NEW MEMBER OF FAMILY!

He arrived just a month ago - and literally brought the sunshine with him.

He is about 1,7 meters tall and weighs something between 50 and 100 kilograms.
Too big to be a baby?
Yes, that's right!

He's our au pair.

 Let's call him "Leonel" just in case he doesn't want to get recognised in my blog.

 

Some people think that au pair is a servant, a baby-sitter or a slave.
Actually, the word au pair comes from French and means a member of family.

I hope Leonel will find another home here with us.

No doubt he is serving us - often without even asking -

he takes care of our kids

and because of both things mentioned before

he might sometimes feel himself a slave.

But, I hope we can offer him experiences,

which he will remember for years and years to come

and be glad and grateful for.

To me, at least, Leonel has taught a lot.

I've become more aware of the good things of my country.

"Advances" as Leonel would say.

Recycling the waste, for example.

And now I don't mean the things I've been showing you here in my blog.

In his home country all the rubbish goes to the same container

and that's it. We have ten different tanks.

Another example: the free taxi/bus drives for school kids.
Not mentioned the free lunch served at schools...

I could keep writing for hours, but that wasn't my aim.

Leonel has fell in love with many dishes we've made.
Just normal, everyday food for us, but something different and new for him.
Like the salads we love to make and eat.

Talking about that,

here's one of my favourite:

 

SALAD WITH BRIE AND STRAWBERRIES

(click the name above and you will get the recipe in Finnish)

 

½ dl    stone pine seeds

½    cucumber
~ ½ l      fresh strawberries
200g    brie cheese
salad    (crisphead, crispa)

For the dressing:

 

½ dl    extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp.      balsamic vinegar

½ tsp.    thyme
  salt
crushed black pepper

sugar

 

I translated the recipe into English
especially for "Sea", Leonel's mother.

Thank you for raising up such a gentleman!
Say "hi" to the rest of your family,
take care, with love

XOX

 

[ Flower Pot from a Baking Tin - tutorial ]

If you did'n know it already, now you will: I love old stuff.

Like these ancient cake tins, which I found from a flea market.

I've seen many fancy ideas of how to re-use them. Here is one:

a hanging pot for flowers!

I did'n want to make holes to the aluminium pot

[even though it's easier than necessary,

as I've learnt when I tried to make ice lanterns].

So what did I do?

Come and follow the steps and you will see.

Here's a baking tin.
[The poor one which got hurt in the winter.]

What else did I need?

Nice rope and a pair of scissors...

...and a rusty ring [or two, if you want to make a pair]

thrown away with an old wood stove.

You can also use other metal circles if you don't find similar.

But make sure the diameter of the ring is small enough

compared to the edge of the cake tin.

And then, of course we'd need some dirt and flowers.

Don't fill the tin too up -

leave some space for watering the plants.

Cut two long pieces of rope - same lenght of course.
Tie the ends tightly around the edges of the ring.

Make sure the knots are promptly and equally far from each other.

Lift up the handles you just made.

Tie them together and make another big knot

for hanging the pot.

There!
Isn't it pretty?

By the way... You may share my ideas with your friends, of course,

but remember to tell the origin.

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY PICTURES

WITHOUT PERMISSION.

[ Living Room Makeover ]

 

Look at this picture!

It was taken less than two years ago.

No wonder the living room wall was the very first thing

I wanted to change in our brand new house.

 

I think I had had "a great idea" of cheating my eyes with the moss green paint...

It made the sofas look whiter than they actually were.

And that was about THE ONLY GOOD THING about the wall colour.

I remember having my feelings hurt when my husband came clean and told me his opinion.

 "I feel like vomitting every time I look at the wall."

Oh well... At least he was honest.

I tried to forget the whole matter until...
I just had enough!

 

 

It took me only 2-3 working days
to change the look into this.
Way better, isn't it?!

Would you like to get more detailed pictures

and the step-by-step instruction?

 

 

PS. The living room has changed a little from the "after picture", too.
I'll soon let you know, how.



[ Project: The Old Bed, step 1 ]

The youngest of my beloved men has been sleeping between me and my husband quite long.

Too long, if you ask the oldest.

I kept my eyes open until I found this nice old narrow wooden bed.

I guess it was hand-made some time between the World Wars,

but it was still in good condition. Almost.

This seafoam green paint surface looked awesome.

Just perfect banal and pretty at the same time.

BUT... The joints had begun to loose.

I'd need to take everything apart and put some fresh glue into the notches.

 

 I was also a little worried about the tiny holes I found at the bottom of the bed.

Some insects have been living in the bed decades ago,

when the wood was still fresh and moist?

As the wood seemed to be still hard and dry, I wouldn't give up. Not yet.
I decided to remove the old paint to see what is underneath it.

I used the hot air gun (any brand will do, there are cheaper ones with good quality, too) and a filling knife.

 

I blew for a while with the lower temperature
and when I saw pubbles coming up, I firmly pushed with the metal tool.
Simple and easy.
But be careful with the heat gun!
 You can easily get burnt with 300 (or even 500) degrees Celcius.

 

 

See the difference?

Now I think I'll just softly wipe the surface with a piece of sand paper.

After reassembling I'll decide whether to leave the bed like this

or paint it again.

What would you prefer?

 





[ HandMade GreenHouse ]

 

This is not A HOUSE, to be honest. What would you call this?

Plant Closet? Germinating Cabinet? ;)

Well, anyhow...

 

 

I had a dream.

It wouldn't leave me alone. So...

 

...I began my project by gathering suitable supplies

[ second hand stuff, naturally, as far as possible].

What did I need?
 

 

Seven old windows, more or less the same size.
Some wood for the frame.
Four wheels, six pairs of hinges, few screws.

A saw, a screw-driver and a vacuum cleaner.

 

[ YES, the windows were dusty! ]

 

 

 

Sand paper, masking tape, paper to protect the surfaces,

a brush and some paint.

 

 

[ I found this grey-blue paint by the recycling tanks.

Yes; un-opened, ready-mixed, suitable for doors and windows outside.

One liter was just enough!

Thank you, my unknown neighbour! :) ]

You'll definitely have a good idea of what to put inside it, won't you?

Flowers, herbs, salad, pepper, tomatoes... You name it!

But how?

My husband [ yes, he is so much better with tools like a lock saw ]

carefully cut and fastened laths for the selves.

 

These selves are actually metal gratings from old kitchens,

found from a rubbish container again.

They are adjustable, which helps the plants to grow.

 

This was a demanding task, but not impossible.
And 100% worth it, don't you think?

***

 

Did you find this post any handy? Want to give feedback?
I'd love to hear your opinion. PLEASE leave me a message below!