&...so begin the projects.

My brain functions better when I have projects...the writing has begun &...so begin the projects. 

I am a tad bit obsessive when it comes to feeling like a house is mine. With lots of blank walls and not a lot of cash to spend on things I'll basically have to get rid of when I leave, I needed ideas. Pinterest has been quite helpful. Britain has no proper craft stores, so I have to be somewhat creative. 


I will really consider myself a blogger if at some point I actually take multiple photos of the process.

I have scoured my local Price Buster (just down the block near the shops on Queens Road) for anything that might be useful. Price Buster has the most random and illogical group of things EVER--jock straps to pots and swedish chocolate (Maribou and Daim...mmm) and naan. They happened to have cheap canvas (£5 each) that were the perfect size to perfectly line up dozens of 4x6 white border photos--most from my Kauai, Peru, and Yellowstone trips this year. Canvas + basic white glue painted on with a brush + photos. Bonus: add a ruler to smooth out any air bubbles.

The next is likewise a Price Buster special. Fabric covered bulletin board with thumb tacks. £2.50 for the cheapest bulletin board ever (I'm not entirely sure that I'll be able to stick a pin in the same place twice) and £1 for the brass thumb tacks.

Free Bates.

&...I'm not entirely sure that this qualifies as a project, but a couple cheap Poundland frames (£1 each), a sheet of royal wrapping paper (£1), and a dry erase marker and I have a couple new to do lists. Poundland is another winner, but not much different than any dollar store at home (though I did get some useful ramekins there 3/£1).

A few more cheap canvases (£1 each) and 8x10 photos. I brought all the photos from home, I have yet to be impressed by the photo developing here.

&...this is where I actually used a canvas for what it was made for. 

I am no Rothko. 

I added "be still and know" to the bottom of the canvas just to clarify for you all that this isn't a Rothko. The absence of craft stores makes chip letters difficult, but an overabundance of cardboard after all the moving in enabled me to make my own and use a much better font. 

"Be still and know" may yet become my mantra. 

Without enough room for a coffee table, I was hoping to make an ottoman. I went to HomeBase for supplies, no such luck. I then went to B&Q (which is supposed to be just like Home Depot) alas, no luck. So my friend Suzy took me to her favorite second hand warehouse and I found this lovely little footstool (£5). (I took off the fringe before I thought to take a photo.) After taking out a ridiculous number of staples times five, it was ready to begin. The footstool coupled with my dumpster salvaged high density foam and Suzy's staple gun and I created a cute little tuft of a footstool. 

And the last pseudo project: an Ikea Grundtal bar (£6) for hanging necklaces.