My background isn’t all that arty. I would say that I am quite creative and have a love and appreciation of art, but I actually trained in science and IT. When I moved into my new seaside home in 2003, I wanted to put my own stamp on it, but I had no real experience of decorating and DIY. I started as most new home owners do with mood boards and paint charts and the house slowly evolved into our home.
Starting a family probably kick-started my upcycling passion. My sister kindly gifted me several small items of furniture which I re-covered and upcycled for my new family. After a while, I tried my hand at larger furniture upcycles. Like many, I fell in love with chalk paint as a quick way to dramatically change the appearance of dull brown furniture. There was lots of it about too! Thanet has a large number of second hand, charity, salvage and bric a brac shops. R G Scotts in nearby Margate is a favourite of mine, along with the Petticoat Lane Emporium in Ramsgate.
I got braver with my paint colours and styles and started to create completely new items from salvaged/reclaimed ones, rather than simply re-finishing pre-loved ones. I began to look at objects differently. If I loved the shape of a piece of furniture but don’t like the colour – I’d paint it!, If I found a large piece of wood with interesting grain – I’d make it into shelves, boxes or pot trivets. With some lessons from my other half, I started to use power tools confidently and happily threw sawdust and paint all over the kitchen while creating tealight holders from old bed slats and shabby chic candleholders from cannabalised vintage chairs and tables. The downside of living in a lovely but small Victorian terrace is that the dining room is now my craft store. I have to have regular Marie Kondo-esque tidy-ups and clear outs or it spills over into the kitchen as well.
Following on from my decorating mood boards, I started trawling Pinterest for inspiration, and have now built my own collection of “makes”. Reclaimed wood projects are probably my favourite, as it’s so versatile. I once took a beautifully turned chaise longue chair leg (that was all I had of it) and turned it into a stunning one-of-a-kind lamp base.
I have recently started to experiment with new crafts, as well as returning to some old ones. I really wanted to try resin casting for coasters and have just used it to complete some with glitter and second hand buttons. I have just realised that’s how glitter ended up in my shortcrust pastry last week (sorry). Using resin to create a “river” table was a bit more exciting as my Google search history demonstrates:
1. Scaffold boards for sale in Thanet 2. Scaffold board art 3. How to create a resin and wood table 4. Where to buy casting resin and tape 5. How to get epoxy resin out of your hair. In short – Tape leaked. Resin on floor. Bent down to clean up floor. Blue resin in hair.
So if you are looking for something handmade, upcycled and just a bit different, why not drop in (online and socially distanced of course) and have a look at MadebyMrsJoM ?
Made by Mrs JoM 