Would you like to see my new space?

Just outside of the Living Room sits this fabulous decking area. The house is quite high off the ground so this serves as a wonderful area to sit and look out over the garden. Especially at nighttime and early in the morning. I love those times of the day on the terrace.

This was the terrace in June.

I gave it a quick wash with the jet hose and brought the wood back to a bare state.

Doing this raised the grain of the wood so before painting it I rubbed it down smooth with sandpaper.

And then it was painted. I used Cuprinol, Garden Shades in ‘Country Cream‘. This shade matches the house perfectly and throws light in to the Living Room. With it being lighter in colour it also offers me the chance to decorate it with various tablecloths that I own and use my wee bistro set to sit and have tea.

I love its airiness. An airiness that I hope it will take right through all of the seasons. I can adorn the steps with Pumpkins when October arrives and light it when Christmas is upon us.

But for now I have pale blue and pink in pots and flowers I grew myself in vases.

I also grew the mint for the tea myself and have it sitting in a fabulous trough that I made with my Dad. I’ll have to upload the instructions here soon.

This space is an extension of the garden and of the house and calls out to be sat in.

Robert put a stair gate up to catch any wayward children and this means they get to enjoy it also. I throw blankets and cushions out on to it so that it becomes more of a soft play area for them and in the evening before their bed they scramble up on to my knee as I chill in the deckchair.

My favourite time on the terrace?

The evening.

In the soft light.

And the quiet.

As the sun descends behind the houses in the hamlet in which we live.

A little slice of heaven turning in for the night.

And throwing down the last rays of the setting sun before the door is locked and the curtains are closed.

Have a WONDERFUL week, folks. I love you and thank you so much for reading.

Cherry x
************************************************************

Pre-Order my book from Amazon

Join my Facebook page!

Cherry Menlove

Promote your Page too

Feel free to add me to your links list. Here it is ! - http://www.cherrymenlove.com/

Facebook – Please feel free to join my page

Twitter – please feel free to follow me

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Good morning! It’s sunny here in West Sussex, sunny but very chilly. When I look out of the window I can imagine that it’s balmy and warm and then I see that the trees are bare and I know that the breeze is in no way cooling but freezing. But, BUT, the sun is out and that is good enough for me.

I’ve been going through a bit of a painting frenzy to be honest. Never one to pass up a bargain I saw some fantastic wooden frames in a charity shop near me and bought the lot for mere pence. Of course that means that I have to find the time to make them over but I’m getting there. Painting picture frames another colour is the most basic and classic up-cycling project there is and I never tire of it. And with my current penchant for white gloss it gives me a whole new world to conquer.

The first frame I’ve completed is my paint and print job that I mentioned the other day. I’ve hung it on the wall by the old gilt mirror that is also white gloss and the table that, you’ve guessed it, is wearing a jacket of white gloss too, you can see my Makeover Corner – Part One here.

This frame was ugly before and had dried pressed flowers in each one of the three windows. Not a great look let’s be honest.

But now it’s making a statement.

In tiny coloured print and wrapped in dots. Made by me on the computer.

I made it so that you have to go right up to it and stare hard to see what it says.

It sits on the wall and I face it when I walk out of my bedroom.

Robert the Husband will also see it and be reminded of its sentiments when he is kicked out of the bed for having a cold and keeping me awake with his snot induced snoring.

Nice!

I’m slowly working my way around the house. Changing corners here and there. I have a vision and bit by bit it’s coming alive around me.

I’ve always loved Spring. The emergence of yellow and green and the plans being made for Easter. I tune the radio in to Radio Four around this time of year and listen to The Archers and the afternoon play. Then in another couple of months as the weather heats up I’ll feel like I’m getting old before my time and make a brand new play list on Spotify that will remind myself I still have life in my bones and those bones love to dance and sing along loudly in the car.

This week has already seen the arrival of such fantastic news that I can hardly believe it and such devastatingly tragic news that I find myself very close to tears and wondering what it is all about.

All this and it’s only Wednesday.

The sad news made me question, as these events do, the fairness of it all and why some people get away with so much rottenness while others have things taken away from them. But I think that is the grief thinking those things.

It made me think about the moments that my friend will never have again and how her dreams won’t have the chance to come true in this life. It made me think about the ways in which I waste my time thinking about things I shouldn’t be thinking about and caring about things that are not worth the time of day.

I’m just lucky to still be here. To not have been taken at a moments notice with no warning. I have children and someone who loves me in my life and I have the nerve to ask for more.

Wow, I’m sorry, it’s just hard to get my head around all of this. How can I honour my friend and the simple things that she wanted from her own life such as a husband and children? How can I make my life count for something given that I still have a life?

I can raise my kids to know kindness and to be kind. To know love and be loving. To build them a safe home so that they will feel safe enough to leave it one day and be people in their own right.

That is how I can honour my friend.

I love you and I wish you a lovely day wherever you may be.

Cherry x
******************************************
Don’t forget you can join my Facebook page!

Cherry Menlove

There is a corner at the end of the hall that doesn’t have an awful lot going on in it. It’s a lovely space with a window right there so the light that is thrown in is delicious. It needed something doing with it and I had two pieces that I’d had in mind for a makeover that I knew would be great for this nook that leads to my bedroom.

I’ve had this mirror for ages. It was in the hall way at my old house and has been hanging around this place waiting for me to do something with it.

I LOVE the size and shape of the mirror but I am just not a fan of gilt. I do however currently have an obsession with white gloss which is why the paintbrush headed straight for this baby and wouldn’t let it go.

It was the same story with this table. I’ve always loved the shape of it. It came from Robert’s granddad’s house when he passed away. It’s a lovely height, I’m a fan of its circular top but it was lost in my house in its current guise.

See? You’d never notice it there. Not good for such a nice piece of furniture.

Ahhhh, that’s better.

This corner is not complete but it’s getting there.

A few under/primer coats and then two more coats of All White full gloss by Farrow & Ball and this twosome had arrived looking clean, bright and white.

I am currently having lots of photos of the twins printed so I may put some of those up on the walls but I’m not sure. Part of me thinks that the colour added by two bunches of Tulips that my nieces brought me at the weekend are enough. So I’ll leave it until I’m sure.

I’m happy with the mirror though.

And I’m happy with the table.

I only had to buy the paint to complete this corner and by the looks of how much is left in the tin I could paint lots, lots more. Like I said I’m rather addicted to white gloss at the moment so dark, dismal furniture beware, I’m coming to getcha!

I love you and thank you so much for reading. My twins are currently ooozing snot and are very under the weather. We’re getting our first real glimpse of what it is like as a family when one person catches something….YOU ALL catch something. I skulked off to bed last night doped up on ibuprofen and had a really good nights sleep. I woke up this morning and it looks like it may have passed me by. THANK YOU GOD! All those years of eating two kiwi fruit a day seems to have paid off.

Go kiwis!

Cherry x
******************************************

Don’t forget you can join my Facebook page!

Cherry Menlove

Twitter – please feel free to follow me

I’ve had this knitting box since 2006! It has followed me from my flat in London, to my first house with Robert and now resides here with us in West Sussex. I love the shape and I love how light it is. But I didn’t EVER like the finish. It was also no use to me as only a knitting box. I love to knit in front of the telly but I also love to sew and craft and as I knew that this box would undoubtedly live in the Living Room I needed it to be a little more functional. Which is why I added a very easy to make pin cushion on the inside of the lid. We all have to multitask from time to time and my knitting box is no different.

When painting the box I used two coats of white undercoat/primer and finished with two further coats of New White (Farrow & Ball) in full gloss.

To make the pin cushion I used a piece of wadding that was approximately 8 inches wide and 4.5 inches high. I folded it over and roughly sewed it all up making a type of ‘wadding cushion’. I then placed my little cushion in to a piece of fabric that was 11 inches wide and 9 inches high. I folded the edges inwards and sewed them in place to hold them together.

I added a wee flourish of ric-rack across the diagonal and a button in the middle. It was stuck, using a hot glue gun, on to the inside of the sewing box lid and will now reside there forever more as a very handy pin cushion.

I like projects like this. One’s that are useful and pretty at the same time. One’s that involve pieces of furniture that I wasn’t too fond of to start with but now I love. I also like projects that don’t cost an arm and a leg or take weeks to complete.

Projects, that when finished, give me the feeling that I have just gone out and spent a whole heap of cash on something incredibly exciting for my house. When in actual fact it was there all along just waiting to be made a fuss of. And we all need to be made a fuss of once in a while. It’s how we flourish!

In other news…..

The weaning onto solids seems to be going well…..clearly!

Note to self – Cover the place in plastic before allowing Anaïs to hold her own spoon!

I love you and wish you all a fantastic day.

Cherry x

******************************************

Don’t forget you can join my Facebook page!

Cherry Menlove

Twitter – please feel free to follow me

I like to feel like I’m living in a womb.

Hmmmm, let me explain that.

I like each room to have the same level of comfort. This means that if I’m rolling out of bed disheveled I don’t get a shock walking down the hall to the nursery as the hall is just as comfortable and warm as my bedroom. And then, when I land at the nursery it is also just as inviting, just as cosy, and of course it contains the two most important things in mine and Robert’s life so it’s bound to feel good.

You get where I’m going. I like it warm and cosy. I could have said that in one sentence but I’ve never been accused of being sparse when it comes to conversation.

An area that I felt needed a wee comfy pick-me-up was the entrance hall to the house. The last time I did any shifting about in this space was back in April when I showed you how to cover this footstool. You can see what it looked like then right here!

For this latest transformation I shamelessly copied my Mother In Law. When you walk in to her house the first thing you see are books. A bookcase with books on it that stare back at you daring you to find the time to read them. I must have looked at those books a million times but I never get tired of the view. So I now have a bookcase in my entrance hall.

It looked like this a few days ago. I bought it from a market in Arundel well over a year ago and have never gotten around to sprucing it up. I hated the colour but loved the shape and could not resist its twenty quid price tag.

It has had the simplest of makeovers – two undercoats and a coat of Farrow & Ball – and now it is sitting in my entrance hall. Which is where the cosy, comfy bit comes in.

You see, once the bookcase was there I couldn’t resist making an entire reading corner out of the space. Adding a chair, shifting the footstool and using the bookcase for all of my favourite reads.

Not that I’ll be spending huge amounts of time here but I like to feel that if I wanted to I could.

Ya know?

I’ve also, due to the time of year, added a little festivity to it.

Berries and candles galore.

With some old friends like this painting which has traveled with me from London to the country.

And new friends like my Thomas Keller book. I consider it so vital, so important, to continue to learn about the things I love to do. I will read about food, gardening, fabric and making stuff until the day I die because the minute I think I know it all the creativity stops!

It’s a good corner. I’m sure it will be fiddled with and transformed again in months to come but for now it is finished.

Mmmmmmm, now where am I going to put the tree this year??????

I love you & thank you for reading. I think about you all ever such a lot and hope that whoever you are or wherever you are, that you have a good day.

Cherry x

**********************************************
Don’t forget you can join my Facebook page!

Cherry Menlove

It’s finished. The makeover on what used to be a dull brown trunk has been completed. Here’s what it looked like before.

Now it’s pale blue with a linen quilted lining and a pale green trim.

All of the clothes are back in their place and not on the spare bed. This trunk is specifically for vests, baby-grows and clothes they can bum about in. As the trunk stays open for most of the time it makes it easy to just reach in and grab an item when the projectile vomit has just been deposited on to a brand new outfit.

Yes, Ned, I’m talking to you. I know you didn’t like those corduroy trousers but you didn’t have to vomit on them.

Instead of a big brown blob in the middle of the nursery now we have a light blue blob. Much nicer.

It’s not perfect as time is of the essence usually and more often than not there is a baby kicking you in the leg when you’re trying to do something that requires a steady hand.

But we got there.

This little paint job has made the nursery a nicer place to be.

Because we sometimes hang out in here quite a bit. Sitting on a knee or laying on a rug. Or, in Ned’s case, throwing up Exorcist style. Who would have thought that such a small amount of milk could go such a long way.

He’s OK though, I should say that right now, there is nothing more sinister than the fact that he got a little bouncy after his breakfast. The smile I got from him when I was cleaning myself, him and the walls down afterward assured me of that.

Oh yes, much better.

Of course now that this project is finished the fingers start drumming and my eyes begin to dart about the rooms looking for some more mischief to make.

And then I remember Christmas is a mere 6 weeks away and I realise that all the mischief I need is sitting in boxes marked ‘Baubles’.

Ahhhhhhh, the timing couldn’t be better.

I love you. Thank you for reading.

Cherry x

**********************************************
Don’t forget you can join my Facebook page!

Cherry Menlove

Currently it sits in the nursery and serves as a mini wardrobe for the babies. I keep their sleeping suits in there and use the back of it to hang jackets, dresses and coats from. But I have a problem with it being brown and in my attempt to turn the whole of my home in to a heavenly cloud type of structure I shall be performing a makeover on it that I will most definitely be showing you here.

But it was as I was working on the trunk and sitting in the autumn sun that streams, STREAMS I tell you, through the nursery windows in the afternoon that I felt something way down deep in the bottom of my soul.

It was absolute contentment. And I believe it was brought on by the fact that I was doing this for my children and it would be an item that would probably stay in their nursery, or at least in one of their bedrooms, for many years to come. Robert and I are are building memories, a lifetime of memories, with these delicious children and it allows me to feel deep contentment. Which I have to say, now that I have experienced it, is my absolute favourite state of being and may lead to an outpouring of makeover projects for my kids so please be warned if you’re a regular visitor to this site.

The inside of the trunk is currently at its vintage best but I want it a little cleaner looking. A little brighter, forsaking brown paper lining for fabric that I am excited about choosing.

Of course the colours I choose for this makeover may very well determine who ends up keeping the trunk for the longest and using it. Ned may grow up with a penchant for all things green and if I go for blue then he’ll discard it. Never really knowing how I felt when I was working on it.

Of course I may get all girlie on it in the thought that Anaïs will enjoy all things pink and red as she grows. But that’s a risk in itself as I she may come alive when she sees yellow and snort at the idea of a pink trunk in her room.

I am coming to the conclusion that it really doesn’t matter in the long run what colour scheme I opt for.

You see I think that this project is for me and not necessarily for the twins at this time. It is there to bring me peace and contentment as I work on it in the evenings when the babies are warm and toasty and fast asleep upstairs. It is for a season and if the trunk ends up being bashed about as a toy box then so be it. That is family life. Years of memories, lots of things that trigger those memories and seeking contentment in simple things.

Simple things like cuddles outside as we go for walks in the garden.

And honoring the past as it has brought me to where I am today.

Content, paintbrush in hand crossed legged on the carpet, but content.

Phew, I made it. It was touch and go there for a while as we all know that life can throw rotten eegs straight at your head occasionally. But those tunnels end and thank God they do.

On another note entirely I was on my Facebook fan page last night and I see that it now has about 700 members. I am bowled over by that. I went through the list and gave thanks for every single one of you. And my heart asked that I may get to meet some of you in the next couple of years. Which in turn led on to an idea that I am seeing in my mind’s eye and looking forward to realizing. Can you imagine that? Actually getting to say hello to some of you in person. Dreams are my favourite things.

I love you and because my greatest wish is for you to be content also I would love to know what makes you feel this way. It’s important to verbalise our wishes I think, it makes them come true faster!!!

*******************************************
Don’t forget you can join my Facebook page!

Cherry Menlove

This was the song for this morning. I have no idea why it came into my head to sing for the babies but I think it had something to do with starting the day off well and knowing that if that happened then a wonderful day would follow in its footsteps. Of course then I tuned the radio on and I heard ……

My baby he don’t talk sweet
He ain’t got much to say
But he loves me, loves me, loves me
I know that he loves me anyway

And maybe he don’t dress fine
But i dont really mind
Because every time he pulls me near
I just want to cheer

Lets hear it for the boy
Lets give the boy a hand
Lets hear it for my baby
You know you go to understand

Whoa, maybe he’s no romeo
But he’s my lovin one-man show
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa
Let’s hear it for the boy

And the day got even better!

Anyway, on with today’s post……….

There’s a saying that says that food always looks best on white china. I agree. Of course some of my tableware is not pure white, some of it is patterned, but I do agree that food looks even more delicious on white.

However, I’d also like to take this opinion one step further today and say that I think that all dining should be done on a white table also.

Controversial!

{multicoloured  polka dot candles by cath kidston & green & white polka dot candles by susie watson}

But this photo shows me why and I’ve fallen back in love with a dining table and chair set that I had grown increasingly less fond of over the years as I began to think of them a rather dowdy.

A before and after shot of the chairs.

And the table top in the process of being sprayed.

And here’s the finished product in all of its light deliciousness.

It has transformed the dining room. The whole room is lighter and brighter. More of my linens now match the set and ALL of my china and tableware come to life on this chalky white background.

*Sigh*

I love it.

I sent Robert the Husband a text at work asking if he was cool with me doing this as this was one of the first pieces of furniture that we bought for our first house together. He was totally cool with it as he trusts me now and understands my need to live in a house that resembles a cloud. Something to do with all being more heavenly, at least that’s what I tell him when I buy yet another pot of white paint.  It was great seeing his face when he saw the end result.

“It makes the room so light and big” said he as he stepped in from work one evening.

As you can see I’ve got four vases on my new white table and they are stuffed with Dahlias and a few roses. If you plan on planting anything for your garden next year you must go for Dahlias. They are the best cut flower in the world and I have had a constant stream of them from June until now and they are still going strong.

Believe me when I say that purchasing a few Dahlia tubers will save you far more money than if you were to visit the florist on a weekly basis and you get to beam with pride and say “I grew them” when people compliment you on such perfectly formed flowers.

Pink, white and green. My favourite colour combination.

I have been making a list lately of all the people that I want to have round for supper. Friends that have been terribly neglected since the babies came in to our lives. But now that we are getting so much more settled as a family it is time to throw open the doors once again and send the invites out.

Long evenings spent chewing the cud over candlelight and a good Barolo. With friends, hearty autumnal food and good conversation. In a few weeks time when the weather has turned the log burner will be blazing and our cheeks will be red from the heat it throws out in to the room. And we’ll leave the table with cries of “Oh no, leave that, we’ll clear it up later. Come on let us go into the living room and snuggle with dessert”

And so the table will be left until it serves us again next time. Which is the fun part. Why? Because now it is white and a completely blank canvas I can dress it a million and one different ways. So I apologise a million and one times for the dining table post that will be coming your way.

Have a wonderful day my friends and do tell me in the comments section if there are any table set-ups that you’d like to see here on cherrymenlove.com. We’ve got so many wonderful things to celebrate in the coming months culminating with Christmas that I’d LOVE to have a go at some of your suggestions.

I look forward to working with you!

Lots of love for the day,
Cherry

***********************************

Leave a comment by scrolling down a wee bit………

View my channel on YouTube – Cherry Telly!

Don’t forget you can join my Facebook page!

Cherry Menlove

Dreams are what we are made of and as we get older we learn, if we’re smart, to choose dreams that are good for us. Dreams that have longevity and substance. Dreams that affect many people in good ways and dreams that add to life not take from it.

Dreams are powerful and can leave you bereft. But dreams are always there and dreams can change. Dreams leave you when they are meant to leave you and if a particular dream is not over yet then hang on to it with all you have.

You’ll know when a dream is over as you’ll have peace.

You’ll also know when you are meant to hang on to a dream as you’ll have strength. It may not be a lot of strength but you’ll have it and sometimes that’s all you need.

Funny as it may sound a table like this one has been a dream of mine for years. A big wooden table of dreams where everyone is welcome. A table to seat many people and a place that they can all gather and share their hopes and dreams as the sun goes down and the food is wiped from our plates with big hunks of crusty bread.

In the hot sun my Dad – with a little help from Robert the Husband when the table got too heavy – put the table together with his own hands. Made from reclaimed wooden floorboards bought from a reclamation yard in the area. It was made to be strong. To last in all types of weather as long as it received a little care and attention. To seat at least twelve and a few more if they didn’t mind being squashed.

When it was completed it was jet washed to give it a good clean, sanded to get rid of the splinters and given a coat of oil to protect it

I’m realising that the table is a place, not only for eating, but for coming together and for community. For celebration and for healing. The table builds families and friends around it and memories are made.

Welcome to my table. I have been given the table of my dreams and now I can get creative on its ass. I can dream up all different sorts of table settings and colour schemes. I can make tablecloths and serve new recipes to the unsuspecting guests.

We can drink wine or elderflower cordial depending on how quickly it goes to your head.

We can use antique linen napkins or scraps of fabric grabbed from the stash box.

As the sun descends in to the trees we’ll light the lanterns and switch on the fairy lights. The babies will have been fed and be sleeping in the cot until late in the evening when thy are due another feed. We’ll still be outside at that time, chewing the fat, and debating whether or not we need to open another bottle of wine or get the coffee pot on.

We’ll be there together, around the table of dreams, and share our deepest wants and thoughts in confidence and safety. If we’re hurting we’ll find solace and if we’re joyful we’ll find others to share that joy.

I’ve wanted a table like this because I want a table to see my family grow and to hear the stories that unfold as we live our lives. Lives that hold adventure and experiences. Lives that will come together amongst great food and even better company.

Lives and dreams that will unfold around the table. The family table, where even if you’re not family you feel like it and be treated as such.

Everyone is welcome….just don’t forget to bring your dreams.

Lots of love,
Cherry

The winner of the beautiful spotty picnic basket for our July Giveaway is Katy Chat from Windsor. Thank you for all your entries, we enjoyed reading them so much.

***********************************

Don’t forget you can join my Facebook page!

Cherry Menlove

Today I’ve got a before & after for you and a wee makeover that has given this corner of the entrance hall a fresh new look.

This is how this footstool looked last Summer. It was one of those purchases that was far too cheap to pass up even though I had no idea when we’d get around to doing anything with it.

It needed a foam cushion to be added as the seat was a little flat and we decided that painting the legs was the best way forward.

The old fabric was carefully removed and all of the upholstery nails taken out.

The legs were then rubbed down and painted. Three coats of undercoat first as the wood was fairly dark and then a beautiful chalky white was added as the final colour.

A piece of foam was purchased and placed on top of the seat.

Then, the new fabric was pulled tightly across the top of the foam and secured underneath using brand new upholstery nails.

The edges of the fabric were tucked underneath before securing to create a neater finish.

And there you have it!

Brightening up this corner in a rather subtle but classic way.

Any readers of my previous blog will remember this mirror from about three summers ago. I bought it in a thrift store and promptly set about getting rid of the faux gilt appearance it was sporting.

I used the colour Bone by Farrow and Ball to paint it and hung it in my old bedroom. It stayed there until we moved in to this house last May when it was placed in the entrance hall above the Singer sewing machine phone table.

I liked the mirror hanging in this spot as I really like its shape but I was bored of its colour. It was a little dull and boring. All that was needed was a coat of Pale Duck Egg to brighten it and bring it in line with the way the rest of the Entrance Hall is shaping up.

The pelmets we made last Summer feature pale blue, the new footstool features it too so it was only fair that the mirror shouldn’t be left out.

The new blue is so soft and lovely and inspires me to create a home in this country that wouldn’t look out of place in Southern California. An idea perhaps…….

Soft whites and creams with a mere hint of blush, blues and dashes of vibrant pinks.

That’s my direction.

Lots of love,

Cherry

****************************************************

Join my Facebook page!

Cherry Menlove

Welcome to Friday and welcome to St. George’s Day here in the UK. It’s a beautiful day already in West Sussex and the weekend is set to be warmer than it has been so far this year. My condolences to all the runners taking part in the London Marathon, I know you like a bit of a chill to run in. Just make sure you have plenty of fluids.

The only place that Robert and I will be running to, will be the garden centre for charcoal as we are test driving our brand new grill this weekend. If I could describe the depth of my excitement with regards to this event appropriately I would but I don’t think this is possible online. It would simply involve lots of shaking and then me exhausting myself so I had to go to bed wheezing. Attractive picture.

So, on to today’s makeover………

Last summer I bought this artists table from an antiques dealer in a really lovely town near to me. I got it for a fiver and considered that a great deal as it is so handy to have side tables of all shapes and sizes. And especially handy to have them suitable and pretty enough to use outside. In its original state it wouldn’t have looked too great so I bought it with a makeover in mind.

We gave it three coats of a good quality white undercoat.

We then taped over the slats that made up the top of the table allowing us to fill in the colour. We painted the red slats first.

If you are ever working on a table such as this then don’t get too hung up on the paint job. It can be hard to get very neat lines as you will be working in a small space and you’re not a professional decorator (at least I don’t think you are!!)

Do what you can to keep it neat and forgive yourself the rest.

We allowed the red stripes to dry before moving on to doing the blue ones and then finished off with the white stripes.

The base of the table was also painted with a good quality white top coat. To finish it all off and make it look ‘Summertime Super’

It’s also rather patriotic looking with its red, white and blue stripes. Not strictly correct for St. George’s day but my country has given me sunshine this week so I’m dedicating this table to its generosity.

Have a wonderful, wonderful weekend.

Thank you all for reading and contributing in the way that you do.

If you are not sure how you can contribute then please follow me on Twitter and join my Facebook fan page (all the links are below). We’re STILL working on a brand new ‘Community’ section for this site and I’ll keep you posted on that.

WELCOME to the weekend!

Lots of love,

Cherry xoxox

****************************************************

Join my Facebook page!

Cherry Menlove

Good morning to you all from a very sunny West Sussex. We have been doing a lot of de-cluttering here at the house since the sun has come out. There is still a lot to do but I think this sudden rash of tidiness has something to do with the imminent arrival of two more human beings and the fact that I never like to feel hemmed in in any way, shape or form by my home. That means that by this time of year, and after a long Winter, I am scratching at the door to get out like Boo scratches at the sofa (NAUGHTY!!)

The first casualty of what is essentially my ‘Spring Clean’ has been the kitchen dresser. I’ve given it a brighter, lighter, less cluttered makeover and am loving it. Loving it I tell you!

You may remember that this is how it looked at Christmastime. It was fuller and much, much more colourful. But that’s what Christmas is all about. I don’t think that Spring decorating lends itself as well to that type of look. I want to clear out the dust bunnies, the last of the pine needles and put a lot of things away until next year. Which is what is what I’ve done here. I know that all of my ‘stuff’ is still there, in the cupboards, but I don’t need it out on display.

I need the shelves to be clean looking, bright and ready to welcome the sun. Not more dust.

You’ll notice that we have changed the dressers background too. This is a great way to give a piece of furniture a great new look. Using a roll of wallpaper we cut pieces so that they fitted the back of the dresser perfectly and snugly. Attaching them with only a few small pieces of white-tak as they were cut to fit so well.

If the mood takes me I can change the background on a whim in the Summer months but I like this print.

Ahhhhhh, soft white, a wee bit of pink and green, clean clear shelves and sunshine. There’s still a lot to do but here’s to a very happy start!

****************************************************************

I’m loving the questions and the chat that is starting to occur over on my brand new Facebook fan page. We’re always there to answer any questions you may have.

Join my brand new Facebook page!

Cherry Menlove

If you’ve been reading my site for any length of time you’ll know that my Autumn project was to give my pantry a little makeover. Well, Christmas kind of took us over a little bit so it’s now been transferred to a Spring project. And we’re making great progress.

Yesterday I finished the design for the labels and after printing them off the girls and I set about attaching them to the jars.

I’m really pleased that this part of the pantry’s makeover is complete. I love to decant and having grains, flour and other dried goods in air tight jars adorned with a pretty label appeals to a certain side of my nature.

Even the large jars haven’t escaped a good labeling.

I designed the labels to fit on large luggage labels. Leaving the hole at the top open to be threaded. We used paper ribbon to thread and this was picked up at an art shop. I’ll take any excuse to go into an art shop as I love the smell. I also love the smell of the P.E. cupboad at school but that’s a different story.

I hope you love these labels as much as I do because I’ve also designed a sheet of labels for you to print off and use in your own kitchens.

If you click on the image above it will take you to a free PDF of the labels. You can print off as many sheets as you need to, four labels to a sheet, and then cut out and stick on to large luggage tags as I have done or print straight out on to card. You’re then free to write the name of the contents on to the jar as you see fit.

Have a wonderful weekend and if you’re thinking about having a HUGE Spring Clean or purge after Christmas then this is a rather lovely way to start. You’ll know exactly what you have in your cupboards and this can save you money as you don’t have to enter in to ‘duplicate buying’ territory again!

Click here to see our pantry before the make over

Click here to see our pantry make over inspiration

Click here to see how we made our pantry cupboard curtains

*************************************************

Join my Facebook page!

Cherry Menlove

Promote your Page too

Feel free to add me to your links list. Here it is ! - http://www.cherrymenlove.com/

Facebook – Please feel free to join my page

Twitter – please feel free to follow me

May I take this opportunity to show off my Christmas Chair for this year. Inadvertently I always seem to end up with a Christmas Chair in my home at this time of year. It’s a chair that is used to hold sweets, chocolate, gifts, cards that need to be sent and all manner of things that I need to remember throughout the busy days of December. It is usually placed by the door and more often than not next to my Singer Sewing Machine table. It’s a handy wee thing that is too small to be used for dumping and yet just large enough to be thoroughly useful.

Here it is before. Bought for a fiver at a local charity shop and needing some wood glue in places but only because it was a bit bendy. Nothing too serious.

I painted it a chalky pink in a slightly different shade to my recent lamp makeover. Don’t be alarmed, these two items are the only ones painted in this super bright pink and I’m not turning my house into Willy Wonka’s. But it’s important to have fun with decorating and pink, blue and green are awesome colours to do this with as they are suitable for each and every season of the year, depending on the shade.

And the seat was given an ‘at home’ reupholster. Pulling the fabric taut across the seat pad, folding the corners over underneath and stapling in place. Easy peasy!

It’s a sweet chair and we’ll need extra for around the table at lunch on Christmas Day.

It’s gonna be a big one!

Have a lovely day and THANK YOU for reading.

Love, Cherry

*************************************************

Join my Facebook page!

Cherry Menlove

Promote your Page too

Feel free to add me to your links list. Here it is ! - http://www.cherrymenlove.com/

Facebook – Please feel free to join my page

Twitter – please feel free to follow me

As my theme for the pantry is the 1950′s, I decided on some pink and green polka dot fabric and some fun Sundae patterned fabric. All of the fabric designs being just right for the kind of look and feel I want to create.

• Measuring up. As a rule when I make curtains I usually double the size of the fabric for the area I am covering. However, because the fabric I was using for this project was quite thick and the curtains would be quite short I used one and half times the fabric size instead.
• I hemmed and pinned the top and the sides of the fabric piece and then held it up to the cupboard I was covering so I could get a more accurate measurment of the length of curtain I wanted.
• When I was happy with the length, I placed a few pins in a horizontal row which I used as my guide so I knew where I had to hem to.
• I then hemmed and pinned the length of the curtain and set about sewing all my hems in place

• I decided to sew on a pencil pleat curtain tape along the top hem which allowed me to create the gathered look I wanted
• As my cupboards are too small to attach a proper curtain rail I decided that I would attach the curtains using some sticky backed velcro
• I have used this method before on some pelmets I made for my hallway and it really is a great way of attaching any light fabric curtains that do not need to be opened/drawn.

Tip: I used velcro pencil pleat tape which is specially created so that it can be stuck directly onto velcro; most fabric stores will stock this type

(Ooops! I left a bit of curtain tape  string hanging out!)

• After all of the curtains had been made and all the velcro was stuck onto the cupboards in the desired position I then stuck the curtains on.,
• Making sure that they were all evenly gathered to create the ruche effect I wanted.

And here they are, a step closer to achieving the 1950′s inspired pantry I wanted. We’re in the process of moving everything back in to the pantry and arranging it all nicely. I’ll be back with a full reveal and a freebie for you guys within the next couple of weeks.

This was meant to be my Autumn project and we’re scariy close to Winter so I had better get a move on. BESIDES, I can tell we’ll be filling it with Christmas foods in the not so distant future and I want to start from a clean, organised and tidy place.

That’s the plan anyway.

Ho hum!

See you tomorrow.

Cx

Click here to see our pantry before the make over

Click here to see our pantry make over inspiration

Click here for a free pantry label download

*************************************************

Join my Facebook page!

Cherry Menlove

Promote your Page too

Feel free to add me to your links list. Here it is ! - http://www.cherrymenlove.com/

Facebook – Please feel free to join my page

Twitter – please feel free to follow me

I’m all about creating corners at the moment. Little spaces filled with magic and a lack of cynicism that inhabitants and guests alike can pop into when the urge takes them. I believe this is because Christmas is fast approaching and I always want the house to have  the feel of a cosy nook around Christmas time.

I picked this chair up at the dirtiest thrifty/antique-y  joint you can imagine. There was a hole in the roof and everything was filthy but it held TREASURES!!

CHEAP TREASURES at that!

I liked the idea of this chair but not the chair in its current state. I wanted….needed to have a fiddle.

So I did.

I ripped off the fringe trim and replaced it with bright red rick-rack. I gave the legs measles by painting them white and giving them red dots all over.

This isn’t a serious chair. It’s a chair that will be sat on to read by the window and wallow in thoughts, not hold deep discussions on.

I’m sure you can guess what will be read.

I love stacks of colour created by books such as these old Enid Blyton’s. Primary colour that sits on a stool and waves at you to take a load off as you pass busily by the door on your way to the linen cupboard laden down with bedding and towels.

I put a blanket on the floor in front of the chair in case the babies want to come up here to play.

And as a side table for my tea and biscuits I’m using these old suitcases. I’ve got loads of these. Picked up here and there and nearly always needing a good scrub clean before they enter the house.

Ah, now there lays just about the best excuse to drop the bedding and towels that I ever did see.

You can find me reading Pooh Corner in my New Corner.

……………………….

See what I did there?

………………………..

Oh dear!

Cx

*************************************************

Join my Facebook page!

Cherry Menlove

Promote your Page too

Feel free to add me to your links list. Here it is ! - http://www.cherrymenlove.com/

Facebook – Please feel free to join my page

Twitter – please feel free to follow me

My mum occasionally comes out with statements that you can tell have just that second entered her head and promptly left her mouth. Actually, I say that my mum does that, WE ALL do that in this family.

It saves time.

My Mum’s last statement was, fortunately, a statement that I agreed with and had actually thought about before.

It was simply this -

“You need more pink in this room”

I agreed and having just purchased two magnificent pink cushions (called Nigella. Oh, how I love Ms. Lawson. Do you think she’d adopt me?) I was thinking about another couple of splashes, not too much mind you, that would set off a rather large and rather white room.

So I set about transforming a standard lamp that was given to me by Robert the Husband’s mum. I thought the shade itself was fine and merely wanted to change the trim.

The base was a little dark and this was to be the entrance point for the pink!

Voila!

I removed the fringe and in its place added a giant cream pom-pom trim. Using fabric glue (Copydex actually) I sat there one evening and stuck it on. Very pleasant an experience to be honest. I like sticking things on.

The base was given an undercoat and then painted a bright, chalky pink. It’s a very slender piece of lighting so the fact that it’s bright pink doesn’t make a huge impact on the room. It’s just a splash as they say!

It has made a corner of the room worth sitting in. And I can see it becoming my knitting  corner. I have a wonderful knitting box that I’m thinking about giving similar treatment to and it would fit snugly in to this space.

As the previous fringe trim was thicker than the pom-pom trim that I added there are still some glue stains on show. I’m going to hide them by adding another trim above the pom-pom’s.

This is good news as it means I can get my glue out again.

NO, not to sniff it but to be reminded of those brilliant days at junior school in the weeks leading up to Christmas. We’d always craft in the afternoons using the same glue as I’m using now. Paper-chains, Christmas cards loaded up with glitter and even a Nativity scene once.

Bless!

*************************************************

Join my Facebook page!

Cherry Menlove

Promote your Page too

Feel free to add me to your links list. Here it is ! - http://www.cherrymenlove.com/

Facebook – Please feel free to join my page

Twitter – please feel free to follow me

When Making Over a Room, Where Does One Start? With the Blanket Cupboard Of Course!!

The weekend that just past started off so rainy. It came down steadily for several hours at the start of Saturday so as Robert was busy tiling something wonderful for behind the Aga I set about making mischief in one of the guest rooms. When you are forced to stay indoors there is nothing like getting busy on a project that has been waiting for you.

I love this room. It’s big and square and has a certain symmetry. You all know how I feel about THAT! But I wanted to change it a little and was at pains to discover just where the best place to start should be.

In the summer I bought about eight vintage Witney blankets from a local thrift store and I got my answer……. I will start by creating a blanket cupboard in this room and create the rest around that space.

Here’s where I’ve got to. I have finished half of the room. Can you see the blanket cupboard to the right of the bed?

Blankets hold actual real emotions for me, I’m not kidding. The act of having a blanket to hand and being able to reach around and pull it over a chilly body is one of my favourite things.

To make this blanket cupboard work for me I had to have them visible. So I unscrewed the doors to the cupboard and began folding my blanket collection with a certain gusto.

The pastel coloured heavy duty blankets are all thrifted and all cost…….ONE POUND EACH! You have to know what you’re looking for. When I got them to the till the lady looked at me and said in a very haughty tone “You do know that these are dog blankets, don’t you?”

Well I didn’t know that, thank you, and even if they were dog blankets in a former life after a boil wash they would be my blankets so stick that in your pipe and smoke it  lady!

Of course I didn’t say that to haughty lady I simply smiled benignly and said “Oh, really?” and grumbled all the way out the door.

Neat piles.

Love ‘em!

So much of my life is not neat or in piles so I do like a neat pile to pop up occasionally.

Beatrix Potter, Vintage Paisley Eiderdowns and dog my blankets.

My new favourite corner and the room is only half finished.

The bed was brought from our old house and was too woody so the ends were covered with a blanket at the top and a huge vintage tablecloth at the end. Not ironed and all the more cosy looking looking for it.

And now to the future project news….Can you see the blanket stitch? We are working on various Christmas bits and pieces around here and several of them are covered in blanket stitch. As one of my all time favourite and most useful stitches I’ll show you exactly how easy it is in a post coming very soon.

And as soon as the other half of the room is finished I’ll show you that too!  I can’t get enough of before and afters!

Cherry xo

*************************************************

Join my Facebook page!

Cherry Menlove

Promote your Page too

Feel free to add me to your links list. Here it is ! - http://www.cherrymenlove.com/

Facebook – Please feel free to join my page

Twitter – please feel free to follow me

I had been keeping my eyes peeled for a suitable table for the living room for some time. So when I saw this table sitting in a charity shop window, smooth and gentle in its shape, I knew it was the right one. It was hurried in to my car for the grand total of twenty pounds and placed on the driveway at home where we got to work on it.

We began by sanding the top and in so doing releasing it from the dark varnish that had held it captive for so very long.

It was given one coat of undercoat and two coats of paint. A soft grey colour that I knew I wouldn’t mind having in the middle of my room for a good long while.

And here she is……

I think I love her.

Think?

I KNOW!

I KNOW I love her.

Welcome to the family, oh soft grey one.

I promise you’ll never have to go back to being a piece of dark furniture again.

EVER.

Questions? – Send them to info@cherrymenlove.com and we will be sure to answer them to the best of our ability

Feel free to add me to your links list. Here it is ! – http://www.cherrymenlove.com/

Facebook – Please feel free to join my page

Twitter – please feel free to follow me

Hello & Happy Friday!!

I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to this weekend. I’m looking forward to it for the simplest of reasons – Robert the Husband and I are heading in to a town nearby to ‘check it out’. One of the joys of moving house, all the discoveries to be made! We’re also staking out the paddock in preparation for building eight raised beds next Saturday. It’s nice hanging with Robert although I noticed that he wasn’t as enraptured as I by Twilight the movie. So he may only be able to hang out for a little while longer…….like the next sixty years or so.

Anyway, on with today. Do you like my most recent makeover?

Here it is before I got hold of it.

A pigeon hole letter unit that goes on the wall. I got it for about ten pounds back in ’07 and it hung on the wall of my guest room in our old house.

It was given four coats of undercoat as the wood was fairly dark and then a coat of ordinary paint. This time I used Wimborne White by the fabulous Farrow & Ball.

Having finished the paint job we cut out pieces of fabric that fitted to the back of the unit. Individual pieces that slotted in nicely and were stuck in to place with a bog standard fabric/craft glue.

Robert the Husband then affixed it, safely and neatly, to the wall while I got on with the job of filling it with ‘stuff’…….because that’s what I seem to be good at!

Vintage cups and thrifted brooches were added.

Tins of Italian pastilles (I have a thing about tins) and even more thrifted brooches.

I wanted a sparkly gem of a feature to sit on the wall and welcome folk with all things pretty.

I placed a set of cards from Tiffany, miniature books, more tins and brooches alongside a Love Box by another Tiffany.

Small, sweet, light and entirely changeable should the obsession with tins pass only to be replaced by….er….model airplanes or something like that!

**************************************************

In actual fact the pigeon hole makeover was only a small part of my entrance hall project. I have no idea why I started in this place but I’m glad I did. It’s the first room that people see when they come in the door and I’m glad it’s all done. I made the pelmets myself. The simplest idea IN THE WORLD and one that came about by using the same pattern that was used on the pelmets that were hanging there before. So easy and you’ll LOVE the idea as you can follow it in your own home should the urge take you.

I’ll be back later on today with the complete run down.

See you then

Cherry xo

*************************************************

Join my Facebook page!

Cherry Menlove

Promote your Page too

Feel free to add me to your links list. Here it is ! - http://www.cherrymenlove.com/

Facebook – Please feel free to join my page

Twitter – please feel free to follow me