All posts by Gem Camille : BLACKBIRD

Before & After | Chair Makeover

10.11.14

Before After

One of the major motivators for moving from Auckland to the Hawkes Bay was the want for more time, a slower life and to do all the things that we never had the room, time or head space to do in ‘ The Big Smoke ‘.

Restoring a beautiful old chair was on that list.

She was a bit rough around the edges when we found her, but for $20, how could I say no. Like a puppy at the pound I scooped her up and took her home. Weekends of sanding, and she began to look good again. Next, I called up my trusty girls at The Fabric Store. They supplied me with a heavy weight dark charcoal wool coating, perfect for recovering the old girl. Then there was the task of actually re-upholstering. Enter my ever apt Mama. ( Can I just say, Hooray for Mums and their bountiful knowledge. ) Sewing, Oiling and some self covered buttons later and she was as good as new. Or maybe even better, charcoal is far more her colour.

Until next time, BlackbirdBLOG signature

Kitchen Sneak Peek | Giveaway CLOSED

03.11.14

Renovating on a budget is hard at the best of times, let alone when you are living in it too. But the perks are seeing the finishing touches. Once again we painted every surface white with Resene, this time opting for Double Alabaster. We also chose to make our own handles again and sourced leather from Lapco. The raw industrial lights came from Kiwi Living, the linen tea towels from beautiful Mavis and Osborn, and I finally got my mits on a a Presso from Espresso Unplugged ( delish and silent, perfect )

So finally it’s done, and with a bit of elbow grease (and the help of our friends at Ecostore) the grime, dust, tile adhesive and paint that gets EVERYWHERE in renovations was gone and we were able to cook our first meal in our new kitchen.

Also, we have a giveaway! A set of napkins from the delightful Mavis & Osbourn and a few goodies from our pals at Ecostore!

To Enter comment below what you would like most from Mavis & Osbourn and what your favourite Ecostore product is!

Giveaway CLOSED

Full reveal in Homestyle magazine in the new year!

Good Luck!

Until next time, BlackbirdBLOG signature

MAKE IT | Rope basket diy

27.10.14

DIY rope basket BLACKBIRD BLOG

I am a storage enthusiast. A true advocate for ” A place for everything and everything in its place”. Maybe it comes from years on tour in cramped spaces, or living in open plan homes, or maybe I am just a little bit of a neat freak. Either way, storage and I are pals, and I am always on the look out for another kid to join the club.

Inspired by the talented and matching first name babe that is Gemma Patford I set out to make the perfect knitting basket!

You will need :

10m of rope ( my basket had a 190mm diameter )

2 tablespoons of acrylic paint ( I chose Mackenzie from Resene )

2 cups of water

A bucket

A masher, or some sort utensil to push the rope down with

Sewing machine and thread ( I chose to keep mine the same colour as the rope, but you can choose whatever you like! )

step one

First, in your bucket mix the paint, two tablespoons of paint to 2 cups of water was the ratio I used, this way it absorbed but still had a dense colour. Next, loop your rope and dip into the bucket. Using your masher or other utensil,push down the rope so it is coated well. If you want crisp lines between the rope and paint you can always tape it.

Squeeze out the excess water and paint mixture and hang it up on the line to dry, Make sure they are spaced out and don’t sit against each other. Once dry, your rope is ready to sew!

step three

Set your machine to zig zag stitch. Starting with a small coil begin to sew, I found at this stage it is easiest to use the hand control on the sewing machine as it difficult to push it through a turn. continue sewing until you have the desired diameter of your vessles base, I made mine 150mm.

steps four

Next, Turn the base on a right angle ( the more angle you use, the more abrupt the sides will be ) continue to sew. Once you are a few centimeters from the end, loop the rope back under itself and sew to finish. Voile! You’re finished! Now fill with any of those bits and bobs then sit back and admire.

Until next time, BlackbirdBLOG signature

MAKE IT/ fridge makeover

20.10.14

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If you follow my instagram you would know that we are up to our eyeballs in renovations, and if you have renovated before you would know that before you know it the kitty is empty and you still have a lot to do ( even when you have watched every bloody penny ) so there is always room for fast, effective and cheap makeovers.

Here is mine on our old beast of a fridge.

First of all I need to diguse the not-so-cool retro exterior ( which, in my haste I failed to photograph ) think grey, cream and pink. ugh. Before I painted I gave it a thorough clean and then a light sand with wet and dry sandpaper. Then using Resene Blackboard paint I lathered on one coat, letting it dry, then applying another. ( Note: Don’t try to be a speed demon like me and not tape the edges, or it will result in messy little brush marks where you don’t want them )

With it finally dry, I had to decide on a little decorating of sort. After countless ideas and drawings I decided for our kitchen, it need simple and classic, enter the laurel. This time I slowed down a little and actually measured out where I wanted the laurel to sit and the writing to go. Still wanting to keep it hand finished I drew and wrote with CKS Window marker from Warehouse stationary.

For the finishing touches I needed somewhere to put my chalk, so I repurposed an old wood scrabble rack and blue tacked it to the side. Then super glued a small magnet to a bulldog clip to use as a handy docket, postcard or voucher holder!

All up this makeover was super fast, and pretty cost-effective too.

Until next time, BlackbirdBLOG signature