I've been having a bit of a play with some bits and pieces that we've bought through out the year and come up with this Nadolig Llawen wreath .....................

What do you think?
Does it need something else? My daughter and Sonja both said one thing..... Glitter................. Typical.......... They both think they're Princesses!
Hate to admit it but they could be right. Will give it a try. Your feedback would be appreciated!
We're having Christmas deliveries almost every day now and we are expecting the really big ones on Monday. Soooooo exciting and as Marks have already started Christmas and got all their lovely bits and pieces out we think it only fair that Shabby Chicks should get all our lovely Christmas stock out too. The plan is to start Christmas in HSBC on Tuesday so look out  we'll have all our new Shabby Chic goodies on display. Let Christmas begin.................................

I've resisted until now because the rules have changed! I've been told it's best to write my blog on this Google thingy. Well like anything new at my age you put it off don't you? And anyway is there anybody out there? Is there anybody who actually reads my blog? Hello..................................
Well if you are there I might as well pen a few words... so to speak.....
Him and me have been quite busy and we have 'Sloaned' our first piece of furniture, as seen below.

 

Unfortunately he'd started painting before I could take a 'before' photo........................

We used Annie Sloan Country Grey and I have to say he has done a great job of it, ok that's all the praise he's having today. We are now inspired to do even more pieces so watch this space and of course Facebook and Twitter for new items we have 'Sloaned'

We visited the NEC on Sunday and have as usual ordered far too much but it's so difficult to resist all the wonderful displays of Shabby Chic. We're hoping our first delivery will be next week to coincide with the Neath Fair, which is one of our favourite events of the year. Starts Wednesday and finishes Saturday and we trade from 9 in the morning until 9 at night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'll try to write a little bit sooner next time because I already know what I want to tell you about. The most amazing Shabby Chic wallpaper. Watch this space...............





Well I know I’ve been somewhat remiss about writing our blog, ok lazy, but there have been extenuating circumstances. We’ve been getting all our Shabby Chic Welsh hearts and plaques ready for the Urdd Eisteddfod. You might be wondering how I’ve got the time to blog if I am at said Eisteddfod. Well the truth of the matter is we are not there! Someone , somewhere in a certain Welsh organisation has had a bit of a slip up and a marquee to house all us Welsh Crafters was not booked so all our hard work has been for nought! Yes I know it won’t go to waste but that’s not the point Sonja and I were really looking forward to catching up with all the lovely friends we made when the Urdd was in Swansea as well as show casing the lovely new Welsh Shabby Chic items we have made since the last Eisteddfod. I’ve had my moan now so I’ll continue, on a more positive note.

I was hoping to have several photographs of my picture frame montage, where I’ve used some of the lovely Shabby Chic frames that we sell and mixing them with some that I’ve distressed myself but he whose motto is  ‘don’t do today what you can put off until tomorrow’ hasn’t finished painting the wall, let alone put up any frames! You’ll just have to be patient and wait – like I have to…………

In the meantime if you want to have a go at distressing some of your old pine frames here’s a few tips:

1. Lightly sand the frame to remove any wax/varnish
2. Wipe with a damp cloth to remove any dust
3. When dry apply a thick coat of your base colour and allow to dry thoroughly (I use a flat matt emulsion for both coats)
4. Now paint a thin top coat of your next colour, allow to dry thoroughly
5. Wipe again with a damp cloth
6. You can now apply a thin coat of clear wax to protect the paint finish

Happy distressing!

Well I’ve just returned from a lovely holiday, part of which was spent in San Fransisco. I was hoping to bring you lots of fabulous Shabby Chic ideas from the city where the doyenne of all things Shabby Chic – Rachel Ashwell- has her flag ship store. Unfortunately apart from her wonderful store on Sacramento Street the closest thing to Shabby Chic I could find were the four hearts at each corner of Union Square, one of which is in the photo below.

 

There were so many beautiful houses that looked as if Shabby Chic décor was made for them. Unfortunately I couldn’t see inside them!

On a visit to Sausolito I was hoping desperately for just one or two Shabby Chic shops but yet again I was disappointed. The photo below shows a fabulous shop which looked as if it had been built to house all things Shabby Chic, it turned out to be a clothes shop!

What a waste, I could just see all our lovely Shabby Chic homeware,  gifts and accessories, as well as  of course , some large pieces of furniture , filling this shop to the brim. I asked some locals if there were any vintage style shops around and although they all loved everything Shabby Chic, they said there were no such shops that they knew of! Time to take on America – I wish!

Yes I know I haven’t written for a while! We have been very busy stock taking and having a big sale, which went very well. We have now cleared plenty of room in the Coop for lots of lovely new Shabby Chic accessories!

As well as this I have been doing some research and apart from the divine Rachel Ashwell‘s ‘bible’ I have come across another lovely book called ‘How to create a Shabby Chic lifestyle’. It’s a little gem! It’s written by Amelie Rose - a perfect name for a Shabby Chic goddess and it’s full of fabulous tips to help you create the perfect Shabby Chic home.  The book is an easy read and comes with helpful advice on how to achieve the look you are after. Whether you are using recycled, up-cycled, antique, retro or new, to get the Shabby Chic look, it doesn’t matter, it all works! No matter what your budget is, you will always be able to find something to add to your collection, by browsing through antiques, local flea markets, scouring the internet or bidding on e-bay. The affordability of Shabby Chic is what makes it such a popular concept.

In her book Amelie includes a list of Shabby Chic items that are a useful starting point, I have listed them below:

Decorative mirrors

Chandeliers

Tallboys

Bureaus

Collections of photo frames

Sideboards

Lampstands

Table lamps

Pieces of crystal or china

Soft vintage throws and cushions

There’s enough here to get you started I think!

04.04.13

Look at the photo below of a pine shelf unit I am going to 'shabbify'. I'm going to use a light under coat and dark top coat - grey - and then rub through to the undercoat to reveal a perfect Shabby Chic furniture item! I'll take photos as I go along to show you how it'll turn out!

The first paint applied is a matt/flat cream emulsion.  I applied two coats, quite thinly.

I then rubbed an old candle over the shelf, in areas I felt would naturally show wear.  Over the top of this I applied a darker matt emulsion.  I used Dulux Potter's Wheel, which is grey.  I let this dry and using fine sandpaper, rubbed off the top layer, roughly where I had rubbed the wax.  I love the effect and it's so easy to do.  I was going to sell this but I like it too much.  Maybe I'll sell the next one!

24.03.13

Yes I know I didn't blog my Shabby Chic ideas last weekend. Well it was a momentous weekend for our small Principality and it would have been bad form not to celebrate! Unfortunately I enjoyed the celebrations so much that I wasn't up to scratch on the Sunday! But Sunday has come around again so quickly and here I am ready to impart some Shabby Chic ideas to help you decorate your home. Look at this small Shabby Chic bathroom unit I painted about oooh .... 12 years ago. Yes, Shabby Chic has been around quite a while and it's still a much sought after style. I think the secret is that it keeps adapting and evolving, and hopefully that's what Shabby Chicks will help you to do.

With this cute little unit, after a lot of elbow grease removing old varnish I applied a dark colour as an undercoat then the cream on top. I then brushed it with a special paint called 'crakle glaze' and watched it change, magically before my eyes, as the paint distressed as it dried. I think you can still get this product but it's in an aerosol now. It works a treat and really gives that distinct Shabby Chic look.  That's one way of getting the Shabby Chic look.

10.03.13

Well we're finally both in the same country and can now get down to some serious work!  We had a great time in the NEC Spring Fair and spent far too much money on beautiful Shabby Chic accessories.  We hope that they will inspire you and give you many vintage style ideas for your home.  We expect to take delivery of many of these new items in April.  Watch this space! 

Well 'The Boss' Sonja (ha ha! I let her think she is) has asked me to write some more.  I've been doing a little research into Rachel Ashwell - the doyenne of all things Shabby Chic - from Shabby Chic furniture, Shabby Chic accessories, Shabby Chic decor etc, etc!   A lady whose name has been synonymous with Shabby Chic for over 20 years.  She has retail outlets or should I say 'couture stores' in Los Angeles, New York and London, which she says are her creative playground.  A bit like Sonja and I setting up in Carmarthen Market - we take so long it looks as though we're playing!  All done in the interests of appealing to you, our customers and not to the fact that we have OCD!

We have something else in common with the lovely Rachel Ashwell, she also began selling her wares in outdoor markets but was lucky enough to open her first store in 1989.  Here's hoping. Rachel says that 'Comfort, the beauty of imperfection, the allure of time-worn objects' are what Shabby Chic style is all about.  We agree and in this blog we're going to give you practical advice on how to obtain these simple but effective results.

We will start with a simple shelf unit which we're going to 'shabbify'.  Keep an eye on our Pinterest boards for more Shabby Chic ideas.