Sunday 13 January 2013

Operation Transformation

Firstly, sorry its a bit late but Happy New Year! Hope 2013 is getting off to a great start for eveyone. 

After a busy but fabulous festive break including lots of fizz, food and family time it's time to get back to all things Ditsy and we thought we'd start with a little update on some of our pre-Christmas transformations . . .

A lovely lady we met at our Christmas fair contacted us to purchase a coffee table and ended up asking us to transform six kitchen chairs as well for her.  Following a guided tour around her gorgeous and unique home we had a great idea about her interior style - cosy, colourful and dare we say very Ditsy!  We absolutely loved it and couldn't wait to get started on the chairs, which we together decided to paint in six different pastel colours that wouldn't look out of place in a packet of love heart sweeties!

Here's a little before and after shot - we LOVE!


Note a heavily pregnant Amy sanding away in the top pic!


Back to school . . .

Another project we had on the go was to ditsyfy this gorgeous old school desk, which belonged to a friend when she was little.  The idea was to give it a makeover before it was given to her little girl as a Christmas prezzie!  We made it extra special by cutting out some floral paper and putting Emily's name on the lid of the desk - cute!



We've definitely become fans of an operation transformation here at Ditsy HQ - you save money, get creative and do your bit for the environment at the same time - what's not to love?

More transformations coming soon

DHD xx

Thursday 6 December 2012

Ta daaaaaaaa!

Wow its freeeeeezing out there - we're just glad that spending Saturday selling our wares at the Christmas fair gave us that warm, fuzzy festive feeling!  It's safe to say that our very first fair was a resounding success and we're so thankful to all our friends who came along to support us.

On Friday night we had great fun setting up out stall and getting everything just so for the big day ahead.  Thanks to my hubby George for bringing the manpower for all the heavy lifting!

Ta daaaaaaaa!





Our top sellers on the day were our oh so cute painted wooden spoons and Christmas decorations and we also parted ways with a a few gorgeous pieces of furniture.  These included Amy's fabulous pearly purple chair with a silver trim, a beautiful black glossy chair, which was going to take pride of place in a newly decorated black and white bathroom and our shabby chic stools which were given a new lease of life with some duck egg paint.

Along with their purchase each customer got a yummy candy cane and one of our Ditsy House postcards and since the fair we have received a number of follow-up requests to buy our furniture pieces and also to up-cycle people's own furniture - exciting!

So the fun doesn't stop here, it looks like we have a busy time ahead with all things Ditsy and we have definitely got the craft fair bug!

This weekend is going to be spent ditsyfying our own homes for Christmas, along with a well earned festive tipple and Elf the movie indulgence - it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

DHD xx

Wednesday 28 November 2012

These are a few of our favourite things . . .

Having used lots of different materials during our recent crafting frenzy we now have some favourite, 'go to' items which can really turn a simple idea into something lovely. 

First up is of course glitter - if you can't go a little glitter crazy at Christmas when can you eh?  We've used it simply glued onto glasses and tea light holders and also to glitz up wooden spoons and wooden shapes which we've made into festive decorations.

Next is the humble paper doily, the gift that keeps on giving - you think you've picked up one and it ends up being about 10!  We've used these to create a very pretty look on our painted wooden coasters and picture frames, used them to make art and also to give a couple of up-cycled stools a pretty, shabby chic vibe.

Last but definitely not least is hessian or burlap as they say in the U S of A - this wonder product is oh so versatile, not to mention economical, and can be used as a background for art in frames with or without glass or on canvases.  Our next project is going to be some rustic looking Christmas bunting - pass the scissors!

Below is some really simple art we created using hessian and a black marker stuck onto a painted black canvas.


DHD xx


Monday 26 November 2012

A little birdy told us . . .

That there's only five more sleeps until our first ever Christmas fair - eeeeek!  We spent the weekend feeling very 'Christmassy' and covering the kitchen in glitter - all for a good cause of course and we now have a quite a collection of goods for the fair.  We've gone for a nice range of pieces to suit different price ranges - from up-cycled chairs and coffee tables to framed art, canvases and our fabulously festive glitter glasses right down to little bits and bobs like coasters, painted wooden spoons and Christmas decorations.  Here's a little glimpse of what is now proudly on display in the kitchen waiting for big day . . .



We're off to clear up that glitter . . .

DHD xx

Wednesday 21 November 2012

Going dotty . . .

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We're going dotty over our Christmas decoration creations here at Ditsy House HQ!  We are excited about the selection of freshly varnised goodies currently drying on the kitchen table and feeling very festive indeed - mmm can almost smell the mulled wine . . .

We've chosen some cutesy Christmas shapes and adorned them with our trademark polkadots along with some festive phrases to inspire us during the season of goodwill . . .


Now we just need to add some natural string ties and the job is, as they say in these parts, a good 'un!

DHD xx 

Thursday 15 November 2012

Ditsy gets Glitzy

Evening all

We're getting our glitz on in preparation for the up-coming festivities and we've decided that while we're going gaga over all things glittery our homes should be no different!  We've managed to breathe a new lease of life into a stash of old wine glasses - now who wouldn't want to have these little beauties adorn their Christmas table?



We will have plenty of these glasses for sale at our Christmas fair at Emannuel Church, Lurgan on Sat 1st December (2 weeks eeeeek!), along with lots of goodies we've been working on this week including cute little coasters, customised wooden spoons, Christmas decoration creations, lots of pictures, canvases and much, much more.

 
 


Before we get back to our glittering, just wanted to say a quick thank you to our good chum Nicci, who has put her design expertise and extreme patience to good use helping us set up our blog.  The lovely Nicci is a fashion and beauty aficionado and has just set up her own beauty blog so if you want the low down on what's hot and what's not in the beauty world check out Nicci's words of wisdon at www.polkadoteye.blogspot.co.uk

DHD xx

Tuesday 30 October 2012

The Fun of the Fair

It seems we have been so busy ditsyfying lately that our new blog has been somewhat neglected - whoopsie!  Right we're back in action and on a cold, dark Tuesday night our attention has turned to the up-coming festive season, "deck the halls with boughs of holly, fa la la la la la la la la!"

Well ok perhaps its a bit early for all that but having just agreed our first ever Christmas Fair (woo hoo!) we are most certainly getting in the Christmas spirit and are working away like Santa's elves on obscene amounts of caffeine (or candy canes, not sure which!).

The Monica-esque tendencies have come to the fore with lists upon lists of things we'll need for our stall at the fair, materials we need, ideas for Christmassy creations - you name it, it's on a list somewhere. 

On a more productive note, we have been transforming all sorts of unloved and slightly lacklustre items into what we hope will adorn the walls and living rooms of the good people of Lurgan when they turn out in their masses to attend the Emmanuel Church Christmas Fair on Saturday 1st December.

Here's a little sneak peek at what we will have on offer . . .



Until next time . . .

DHD xx