a little teaser....

I often forget to take 'before' photos, so here's my next project in its raw state. It doesn't look much at the moment but I think it'll look spectacular when it's finished and given a little of the 'I Love My Home' magic! 'After' pics coming soon....

If you like what you see.....

If you would like to discuss or buy anything you've seen on the blog please email me at  kerry.ellins@btinternet.com

At the moment I do not offer a delivery service but I Love My Home is easily accessible from Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire and Hertfordshire and collection can be arranged to suit your needs. And, after all, you will have something unique to take home with you!

Just go to the 'What's in Stock' button on the right of this page ->

Christmas is coming...

...I picked up this really nasty, dirty, gloss painted doll's bed and wardrobe not sure I could really do anything with them, but - thanks to the Graphics Fairy - 

...here they are!  So cute and ready for some lucky little child's Christmas stocking

...then I got in the Christmas mood and made these decorations from bits and pieces I had...

...then I got REALLY in the mood and went back to my childhood with glitter and glue...

..at least it's a good way to use up old pot pourri cones that have lost their scent! See you soon

The 'Suzanne' cupboard....

...named in honour of Suzanne Hearts'n'Kisses (check her out on Facebook) who found this lovely cupboard and knew it had my name on it!

I used crackle glaze and lots of clear, dark and then clear again wax to bring out the crackles and grain 

and added a French gilt handle that I salvaged off something else and knew would come in handy!

here it is halfway through and here's a detail of the top complete with crackles

(I'm in love with crackle glaze!)

and here it is before I started, looking a bit sad ...

Hope you like it! Let me know

Ready for the next project...

.... well, here we go, my contract has finished in London, MLH starts a new job in January and I have cleared the decks for my next big project. I have chosen to give up my therapy business of twenty-something years and to concentrate on making more of I Love My Home. I don't make plans, partly because they never seem to turn out the way I expected and partly because I like the spontaneity that life brings, so I don't know how it will develop yet - but that's the exciting part!

Last week I looked at a 16th Century farmhouse for sale. This is it, I thought, perfect timing for a new start. Holes in the thatched roof and rotting timbers were a slight concern (!) but when I saw the two inglenook fireplaces and vaulted, beamed ceilings I could see the bares bones of a beautiful home. It was very dirty and neglected and I know it would have been a money pit but I was still disappointed when the estate agent told me an offer had been accepted and it was off the market - booooo! I'll just have to keep the faith and hope my house is out there somewhere waiting for me to love it and make it beautiful...

Just between us - and don't tell anyone I showed you - here are a couple of sneaky pics of the farmhouse...

given some love and care, these could be gorgeous!

Hey ho - I'll keep looking...

Counting the days....

....my contract in London will finish soon and I will miss working in the heart of things, walking through the parks, past Buckingham Palace and into Westminster. I WON'T miss the tube trains, the bewildered tourists and being tired all the time! However, I've met some lovely people and feel really grateful for the opportunity - something I didn't think I get again at my age! It's also been a great insight into what MLH does in his work and proved to us that we can work really well together and have fun doing it.

Soon I will be able to concentrate fully on I Love My Home and producing more lovely, unique accents and furnishings for the home and I can hardly wait. I've got lots of projects lined up so keep watching and I'll keep blogging!

All the info...

...I got this really cool banner made to use at the vintage fairs. It's got loads of info and a QR code on it!

MK Handmade and Vintage Fair....

... wow what a great couple of days, loads of fun with the girls, huge thanks to MLH (My Lovely Husband) who provided muscle, sales technique, driving, a sense of humour and a great line in lattes.
We virtually sold out of all the furniture we took and people were almost mugging me for the vintage printers' trays I took as an afterthought - only one left! As ever, hard work but tons of fun, and a great boost to my confidence that people like my ideas enough to part with hard cash for them!

My latest find.....

...I walked into one of my favourite antique shops this weekend and the first thing I saw was...ta dah!... this fabulous antique corset. It's handmade in the most beautiful peachy cream silk with tulle and tiny pearl beads. This first shot is me being arty by antiqueing it and fading the colours out...

...this is a more realistic idea of the colour. I knew I wanted it just to hang on the wall and look at every day! It's absolutely exquisite and makes a lovely focal point at the end of my antique French bed...

pi

This time next week it'll all be over - don't miss it!!!

It's THAT time again!! the Biggest ever MK Handmade and Vintage Fair hits town again next weekend - 8th/9th September - this time there are 120 stalls, can you believe it? Masses of one-off handmade, vintage and, above all, affordable gifts, homewares, shabby chic and rustic furniture. Some of the things you've seen here and others that I haven't had time to post but which are simply fabulous including vintage toys and fabrics.

Don't miss out - see you there!

Sewing Box, 123 Cabinet and Bears in Chairs...

...another long post so make yourself a cup of tea...today I finished this little sewing box, so pretty and useful even if you don't sew you could use it for storage or as an end table....anyway, while it was still in pieces I lost Symi...and where do you think he was?

...you got it!...

...anyway, moving on, I also finished this cabinet today. I'm loving this and it may not make it to the MKHandmade and Vintage Fair in 10 days time!  I can think of many uses around here for it...

...you won't be surprised to hear I used numbers from the Graphics fairy once again (Hi Karen!)...

...I traced them on and then painted them freehand before distressing and waxing  - you like?...

...and finally, bears in chairs...I bought these millenium collectable bears recently but hated the tacky nylon clothes they had so gave them a little ditsy headband and kerchief instead and painted and distressed their little rocking chairs...

...hope someone will think they're cute at the fair and will take both of them...

Duck egg shelf and 'antique' shutter....

I picked up this pretty shelf unit and immediately I could see it painted in a very pale duck egg blue...

...so, I mixed some up to get exactly the colour I wanted and here she is...

...a little bit of distressing and some wax and she's ready to go! However, whenever I see this colour I always want to add pale pink, hand painted roses - I don't know why, they just seem to go together - but try as I might, I can't get the hang of painting them. Now bearing in mind I have sold my paintings at exhibitions etc, I should find this easy but they just don't turn out how I see them in my mind's eye. Maybe I'll decoupage or transfer some roses - we'll see...

By the way, in the background is my 'antique French' shutter made from an old louvre door picked up for a pound - that's the kind of recycling I like!