Winter Wonderland Magic - Altered House

Hi, it's me again!
As most of us now I'm getting ready for Christmas - and as it is really hard to name Ireland a real "Winter Wonderland" (hehe) I'm doing my best to compensate the lack of snow outside by decorating the house, adding nice, winter touches here and there, nice lights, sparkle and all the things that make us happy during long, dark evenings. I took my chance and decided to create some projects just for my own pleasure - last week I was sharing small, but multi-dimensional, rich Winter Tag - this time I've got something, that was waiting for its turn for a very long time - Winter House.

I'm not 100% sure if it is a house at all - it looks more like a chapel or small church, but after giving it my signature look it turned into Winter Fairy-Tale Workshop... well, maybe a bit abandoned and forgotten, but still standing tall!

As my friend pointed out - it looks as if it was taken out of  "The Chronicles of Narnia" - and I'm quite happy to agree as it is one of the book series I love so much. If you will take a closer look you will see I was trying to create the impression this house - once beautiful - is now left empty, with all the mechanisms falling apart and turning into rust... but you can still clearly see its previous charm!

I don't remember when I bought this chipboard house by Melissa Frances - but as I love to alter, it caught my eye. Assembling wasn't easy - but it may be because of my lack of patience and precision... in the end I gave up trying to keep it clean and I simply took out my ultimate glue solution for stubborn materials - Art Basics Heavy Body Gel. When everything was in place - I used the same solution for glueing down the embellishments: chipboards, Mechanicals, pieces of wood and elements taken out of moulds (IOD Moulds by Prima), some pearls and bigger stones.

When everything was dry I painted it all with Art Basics Heavy White Gesso - and then added some more of the rusty Mechanicals, Art Stones and Mini Art Stones - one of my favourite products released this year. I used my heating gun, so it didn't take long to dry and I was ready to add colour!

The final colour palette was done using my Art Extravagance Rust Paste Set - painted and watered down and a generous amount of sprays. I used Lindy's Moon Shadow Mists with delicate undertones in greys and browns.

To add final, snow touches I used Art Extravagance Snowflake Paste - I love the texture that looks just like frozen, granulated snow with a bit of sparkle in it! I didn't want to cover too much, but I have to warn you - this stuff is highly addictive!

I've made a list of the products I used for you - I hope that helps! 

Are you ready for Christmas yet? I have to admit, I'm far, far from it, but I decided to take my time and create something for myself, my home - for my own pleasure. I'm pleased I decided to do so - not only I've got a Winter Workshop to display, but I had a chance to relax, clear my head a bit and take a deeper breath during this crazy time!
Sending you lots of love!

New Life of an Old Chair - Simple Furniture Makeover

Hi there my Friends!

First of all, thank you so much for all the beautiful comments you left under my Broken Wing collage. It's such a wonderful feeling to know that this piece that is so special for me, moved your hearts as well... Thank you...

Today I have something on a totally different note. :)

You know my love for old houses and all things vintage. There's always something so very special in the objects that carry their own personal history and it gives me a lot of joy to either uncover their stories or... give them completely new ones. That's why upcycling furniture gives me such a thrill! ;)

Do you remember my Old Trunk Makeover? Today I'd like to present another piece that will prefectly match a bedroom in my Irish home.

The best thing about this project is how simple it really is to make this "makeover" happen!

I'd say the hardest part was choosing the color and the shape of the little decor I wanted to add...

Choices... choices... and thanks to SO MANY lovely designs you can find in new Prima IOD Moulds it took me a while to make my decision!

Long story short - here is the whole process in a couple of simple steps!

1. I've taken one of the IOD Moulds (Baroque 4 Set) and filled the design of my choice with paper clay. I let it dry and  soon I had a perfect little embellishment for my chair.

I took my ultimate glueing solution which is (drumroll) Art Basics Heavy Body Gel and glued it to the unpainted chair. I didn't even take the time to sand it  - it stuck to the varnished wood perfectly and after a moment of drying it was ready to paint.

Tip: You can use Plaster of Paris or any other similar solution to create your embellishment. Moulds even work with chocolate... ;)

2. When my decor was secured and dry, I took one of Prima Chalkboard Paints - beautiful and rich Jewel Blue colour and started painting right away. Again - I didn't do any sanding, I only "dry brushed" a couple of layers of the Chalkboard Paint and intentionally left many imperfections visible. I was going for a rustical, worn look!

3. I took my chair inside and made sure the paint dried. I took a sanding block and removed even more of the Jewel Blue paint to reveal more of the natural colour of the wood - it was a beautiful rusty tone I loved from the beginning. Now I was ready for adding some touch-ups!

I needed to add a bit of the corresponding colour to the paper clay decor too - and here I got the best idea - my Art Extravagance Rust Effect Set had just the perfect tone of Red Rust in it! I took a brush and applied a tiny bit of the paste into the details of the decor, then simply used my fingers to rub it off when the paste was still wet... READY!

4. My last step was putting a protective coat of clear wax on the whole chair. I used Annie Sloan brand, which I used many times before and I absolutely love it. It's simple to work with and works wonders! This way my "new-old" chair was ready to be put in its place. :)

And so here it is - a new 'child' of my love for recycling and upcycling. :)
It was so quick and easy to make and I must say, a wonderful method to unwind and relax.
Here are the links to the products I used:


I'm sending you lots of love and admitting my furniture makeover adventure is not over yet! ;)

Old Trunk Makeover - Big Scale Altering ;)

Hi again, my dear ones.
I'm back and I've got something not usual for you today.
As some of you know - we've moved into old, (I mean REALLY) old house last December and in the last months we were unpacking, getting settled, converting the garage into a studio and moving my boxes, carts, shelves into the final destination. We were also trying to take care of the garden, dogs, cat and live normal lives - which I had to accept is not possible for us at all. Nothing is normal or usual in my life and that is the way it has to be. Well, let's adjust the sails and go through the storm!
If you'd like to see some snapshots from our private, everyday life - here they are on our Instagram account - @innisfail_house. We won't flood you with foodporn, photos of feet or tons of selfies, I promise ;)

One of the things about the old houses is they need love and attention. We are ready for this challenge - and I hope our enthusiasm won't cool off too early ;) We've already fought with a leak, peeling paint, snail and wild pigeon invasion on our garden... and let's not forget the constant battle with tons of elements which are waiting to finally get in the right place!

One of them is this old, very damaged trunk, which we bought about 2 years ago and used in our previous home as DVD player and mini home-theatre storage. Andrew added some basic shelves to it and all our speakers fit inside perfectly! I love second hand furniture and home decor shopping, so no wonder this tattered beauty was on my list!
This is not strictly mixed-media project... but I hope it will give you some inspiration and ideas too :)

Of course - it was not possible to keep it as it was - it was too dark for our living room and far too damaged to suit our needs - it was high time to give it a proper makeover!
I started with a good coat of Chalk Paint - inside and outside - to give me a base and also follow the colour palette I had on my mind. (I used Annie Sloan Old White Chalk Paint).  The change was dramatic.

Next, when it was all dry, I started to work with sanding paper and blocks to reveal and accent all the beautiful, metal details - there was a lot eye-catching rust and patina on it - and I wanted to see it again!

After that I decorated the front of the trunk with elements I've made using Prima IOD Designs Vintage Art Decor Moulds and some plaster - I wanted to cover not the prettiest round hole someone made just on the front and add a bit of sophisticated charm to the project.
Guess what? My Art Basics Modeling Paste was a perfect gluing choice - white, strong and flexible. Score!

When everything was dry I could start working on the finishing touches... which cost me a bit of sweat, I have to say! I used a combination of Clear and Dark finishing Wax (Annie Sloan again) making sure all the beautiful details will be visible. I loved the effect - and so did Andrew :)

Some details for you - I love how dark wax helps to show all the beautiful textures...

And here is the reason for the whole makeover - it is going to stand next to my quite decorated fireplace, which got it's makeover in December. I didn't want to over decorate it - as it is going to be in a company of a very detailed statement piece and a bookcase cluttered with my projects, findings and collection of old cameras, books, photos and... and... more...

Here are the items I used for this makeover - I hope it helps!

Sending love - and asking - would you like to see more of the home-decor posts in the future?
Please let me know :) I still have couple of things to alter ;)

Dreams do come true!

Hi again my dear friends!
Dreams do come true, it is a fact. You need to believe, wait, and work hard to make them happen, but in the end the reward is sweet.
I was a dreamer all my life - following our dream about quiet life in the beautiful place we've moved to Ireland, following a dream to see the big world I started teaching international classes and finally, following the dream to inspire people and have a chance to make a difference - I decided to be full time artist, teacher and product designer... it all happened because I decided to let go, be brave and work as much as I could to pursue my goal.

I was lucky to be surrounded by supportive, loving people - which helped a lot. I wouldn't make it without my Andrew, my friends, my family. They were having my back when I was unsure, tired or simple exhausted. They were ready to give me a hand or push me, if I really needed that.
... but if someone will tell you that living your dream is easy - don't trust in these words.There's always a price to pay. The question is - if you are ready to pay it?

Some of you already know that some of my big dreams came true already: I've got my own  product line which makes it easier for me to help people create, and inspire them to play. In December we could tick off one more thing off the list: we've moved to an old country house with a garden and enough space for me, my passion and my friends too :)

Here is a small peek at it - in a way I'm thrilled to have a house with a name (Innisfail - which may be translated as "Island of Destiny" - if this is wrong then I hope someone will correct me) and live in a very quiet neighbourhood, away from crowds and big cities.
If you'd like to see a bit more - we've decided to set up an Instagram account which will be much more private, home, family and countryside focused - you can find it here @innisfail_house. Enjoy!

One of my biggest dreams was to have a space I could call a Studio - real one, made to my taste, filled with my projects and inspiring supplies. With plenty of space to sit together with friends, chat, relax and create. This dream is also getting real now - some of you know that we've moved to the new house in mid-December and now, the moment I'm writing these words 3 guys are working on the conversion of our garage into Finn Studio - and I hope the final result will be exactly as I pictured it!

So far, we've got THAT far - keep your fingers crossed!

And talking about dreams... there is one more big dream I can tick off the list - a few months ago one of my projects was published on the cover of beautiful magazine - Somerset Studio. I was so happy and shocked in one that I couldn't believe my eyes... and now the story happened again, but this time it is not only the cover - check it out!

I have my Artist Profile coming in the March-April issue of Somerset Studio. I'm in heaven, this is all I can say... Thank you again guys for making that possible. It is all thanks to you. Always.

Sending warmest hugs to you all and see you soon!