Post christmas blues beater

On New years day John and I like so many other people we know had a low grade virus. For various reasons were feeling low in spirit and energy - sad news and missing faces over the holiday period had eaten away at our normal optimism.

Almost without discussion we knew what we had to do  - DECORATE - and not just a room - the whole house!

So here we are eight days later having completed the ground floor and about to start on the stairs and landing.

No, it hasn't made everything in life wonderful but it has lifted our spirits, built our energy levels back up and made the house sparkle at the same time. It helps that decorating is an enjoyable process for us both and that the whole house is painted in the same shade - Calico White walls and eggshell woodwork in the same shade. We find it allows us to display a lot of art work without looking too busy.

An indulgence was to replace our two Ikea table lamps in the sitting room. My style is 60's/70s retro scandinavian ( Think G-plan, Nathan, Mackintosh teak furniture) so I wanted lamps that hinted at this era. The ones I really wanted were utterly out of my budget (as usual) and I settled for a pair I found in B&Q  that had black lampshades however they cast an unpleasant light because they were lined with white paper. I really wanted black shades that were lined with copper gilding  which cost £80.00 each and upwards. I thought I would settle for a white retro shade instead but when I tried the shade at home it was out of proportion with the base, really dumpy and squat. 

To cut a long story short (wake up at the back there) I've ended up joining the two shades together and gilding the inside of the black one with copper leaf (as in the first image). Not completely there yet that ribbon is a bit wobbly but you get the picture.

I'm just about to make some gelatin plates for printing fabric and paper with my two crafting buddies at our monthly meeting tomorrow. Will post on the success or otherwise.