A touch of Glass

I've always found glass cutting intimidating. Could it be the sound of glass breaking or the idea of being cut? But glass is so lovely so I was really excited when Nathalie who is running the upcycling class informed me that we could do glass mosaic projects. All I had to do was to bring a jar or bottle.

I brought more than one.

I bought these triangular bottles from a charity shop in Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh. I find that there is a great variety of things in charity shops in Northern Ireland and I have not been disappointed.

So Nathalie taught me how to cut coloured 3mm glass into strips and then to clip them into little pieces. These pieces are then glued on to the bottles with PVA.

                                                                    The Rising Sun

                                                                          Flowers

For the one below, I used grout to fill in the gaps so it has a stained glass effect.

Love

The sea gull and the wave

        I bought the following tealight glass holders from the Christmas market in Nenagh last year.
                                                  So I just decorated the sides with broken glass.

           I've made twelve of these little glass jar candles for a special occasion for 12 deserving people.

Mosaic Madness

What do you do with a lovely pot that has been blown down by the wind and is broken beyond repair? Turn it into a piece of art, of course! When Kathleen's prized aquamarine pot suffered great damage, she immediately thought of moi. As usual it was raining, lashes and lashes of it even and she called me to tell me that she had two bags of broken bits in her car and she had parked by the lane, so could I please go down to her car to collect them?

Putting on my mac in a jiffy, I went down to retrieve my loot. We both carried the bags into my house. Suddenly, we had enormous masculine strength. So I gave the bird house and stand a new look.

The bird house was in shambles and the birds decided not to call anymore. So I re-thatched the roof and gave it a coat of Ronseal paint. Daddy bird suffered a mishap during a storm and broke his leg. I decided to give him a new prosthetic leg a.k.a. a popsicle stick.

This is the base of the bird house stand made up of Kathleen's broken pot pieces, grout and glass beads.

Now, I do believe if the birds have taste, they will certainly come a-visiting.

 This was the former bird house stand before the makeover.

Still obsessed with the passion for mosaic creations, I bought these two terracotta pots.

And stuck glass mosaic tiles on the bigger pot.

For the smaller pot I used left over ceramic pieces that I made about 10 years ago!

Now that I'm quite satisfied with my mosaic pieces, I'm moving on to more challenging stuff.......cutting glass and making glass mosaic designs!

Of tables and planters

My friend Doris told me about this group that gets together fortnightly for....ya, you've guessed it....serious upcycling activities! I say it is serious because all of us put our hearts into our projects and if that is not serious, then what is?

Two other friends were supposed to go with me and I could do with some company on that long drive, but last minute plans prevented them from doing so. Michael had lovingly vacuumed my car and cleaned my little table with sugar soap.  I found a table at a shop in Kilkenny when I was there last month.

So I had a wonderful time at the club where I sanded and painted the table with Rustoleum Clotted Cream chalk paint. Since the surface was pretty large, I used a roller for the paint. Once it was done, I found that the roller worked far better then the brush. The paint certainly looked more even. The downside was, more paint was used.

After that I decided to stencil the top. I love the 'Champagne feel' because it reminded me of halcyon days in France.

I later distressed the sides and legs of the table by using a piece of sandpaper to reveal the original wood.

Having completed the table, I went on to decoupage a metal planter which I bought from Garden world in Limerick. Usually I'd use a primer and a compatible paint before doing the decoupage. In this case the planter is in a bright chirpy yellow and so I decided to leave it as it is. Now I think I'd go back and buy the green and pink planters too. The colours are gorgeous!

I've put the planter in my 'summer corner' next to the bear that I made sometime ago and another chair that I upcycled recently. 

Now all I have to do is to wait for the sun to shine brightly again....

Granny Square Quilt

My daughter Sonya will be here in July to work at the Midwestern Hospital in Limerick. So looking forward as she has been living away from me. pursuing her studies and working for the past 10 years!

Last December I bought some fabric cut out of a jelly roll from a stall at the Knitting and Stitching show in RDS, Dublin. I love quilts especially if they are handmade. You can buy ready made ones quite cheaply but then again they are never the same as the ones that are handmade with lots of love, effort and time.

In view of Sonya's coming over, I decided to turn it into a Granny Square Quilt with natural cotton wadding.

Now that the granny square quilt  is done, it will serve as a summer quilt for her as she blends into Irish life and Irish weather. Most of all she'll know that she's covered every night with mumsie's love.

Creative Upcycling

I was bitten by the Upcycling bug for the last few weeks and so Michael and I went hunting for furniture. We were in Kilkenny and we chanced upon a number of lovely pieces. There was a rocking chair that was simply fabulous but alas, it was too big to fit into the boot. So we went away with smaller pieces.

                                                    Before: A step stool from IKEA

                                                 After: A total makeover

Before: a dinner chair that has seen better days

After: A brand new look, with handpainted roses and a seat covered with Cath Kidston's Provence Rose Large Cotton fabric

A plain dinner chair given a total change with calligraphy ink

Still restless, I decided to turn some cans into colourful planters to remind me that summer is approaching soon!

Easter treats

Christ the King at Glen of Aherlow, Co. Tipperary

The month of Lent is a wonderful month of fasting and remembering what our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us. Fasting is a beautiful act where we want to spend time with God to know His plans and purposes for us. If I were dieting, yes, I would feel very hungry. But fasting is a spiritual act and somehow there is added strength.

Life goes on as normal, cooking meals for the family. Am I tempted to eat? No. Do I get upset if others eat or drink in front of me? No. I can sit together with others who are feasting and no, I don't feel hungry at all, peckish maybe.

The power of prayer and fasting can never be denied. I see strongholds broken and captives set free. There are many things that we cannot wrestle with our physical strength but victories are made in the spiritual realm. God is no man's debtor and if we honour Him, He listens and acts.

So with the seconds and hours that I save when I'm fasting, I go into crafting instead. These are just little fun treats although bunnies, chicks and chocolate eggs have nothing to do with Christ's crucifixion or resurrection.

Felt bunnies all dressed and no where to go sitting in a decoupage tin filled with real chocolate eggs

Chick fridge magnets

Felt pouch for one single chocolate or hard boiled egg

A bunny card

Audrey's 21st Birthday

It's a lovely thing to eat out and having a good reason to do so makes the food all the more delicious. So we headed for Molly's to have a scrumptious evening meal as technically following Malaysian time (8 hours ahead of Ireland) Audrey would have turned 21 at 4 pm today!

Though unplanned, we all ended up having fish. Fish cakes and the salmon florentine en croute were really mouth watering.

For that someone special, it is always very satisfying to make something special. This is what I came up with.

The little key (on the card) has bloomed into a big key. (hanging on the tub). 

The card came with an ang-pow. (monetary gift) Undeniably a bit of extra on the side is always very much appreciated anytime.

I filled the tub with Reese's chocolates and all the adjectives that describe Audrey because she is one very good daughter. The only restriction to the number of adjectives used was the size of the tub. 

Every mother thinks the world of her child. But to have other people actually affirm how wonderful your child is, is another matter altogether. In this area, there is no lack. 

In fact I got a card recently that read

 ' Audrey is mature beyond her years. You are due a congrats for raising her this way. She relates to people very well and goes on well with our children. She's always a pleasure to have around....'

They say there is no manual for parenting. But I choose to defer. All I can say is that the Lord has blessed me with three great children and He has guided me and taught me how to be a parent.

So on your birthday Audrey, I wish that you will continually....

1. love and be faithful to God and live a life that is worthy of Him 

2. respect and love your parents and siblings 

3. attain great achievements and be courteous at all times

4. be in the state of contentment (this is beyond happiness which is ephemeral)

5. be in great health

6. live the dreams that you have

7. look beautiful: inside and outside

8. find favour with the people you are with 

9. enjoy and use your talents and giftings

10. know that you are made of more (Psalms 139)

................ with love from mumsie and dad.............xoxo............2015