Wednesday 24 April 2019

WOYWW #516: Grungy Village Dwelling and Garden Furniture Makeover

Oh my, didn't we have a glorious double bank holiday weekend? I was back at work yesterday and will be again tomorrow but I'm off today to join in the weekly desk hop on Julia's Stamping Ground. So, here's a photo of my desk as it was over the Easter weekend.


I'd been wanting that Tim Holtz Village Dwelling die for so long - it had been on my price alerts for ages, so when the price dropped, I snapped it up. Still, way too expensive to justify buying it, but hey, some things you just gotta have! And when I'm tired of it, I'm sure I can sell it for a good price. 

I decided to decorate the dwelling with crackle paste and simply paint it with acrylics. I also bought the fixer-upper thinlits set for the window frames, which I heat embossed with Seth Apter's Chunky Rust Baked Textures. Here's the end result - my little grungy village dwelling:







Another crafty project accomplished over the weekend was the make-over of our old garden furniture, four wooden chairs and a table. We almost threw them away when we moved but I'm glad we didn't. It was a tricky job painting them with a small brush to get into all the nooks and crannies, but it was manageable and quite enjoyable sitting outside in the lovely weather. Some of the chairs still need a top coat - I'll unveil the whole set when it's finished. For now, here's a photo for comparison: 


We've also had our newly acquired rhododendron come into bloom just in time for Easter... 



... and of course the Easter bunny visited as well.


We had a lovely Easter, apart from Oreo requiring a visit to the vets. He's been scratching himself on the back of his neck and lost quite a lot of fur. He's now sporting a very unsightly bald patch (I'll spare you the visuals). I was hoping to pick up something over the counter from Vets4Pets, but they wanted to  see him. I only took him because I was concerned that he might have ringworm, but apparently he doesn't, which is a relief as it would be very difficult to get rid of. Guess how much they charged for a 5-minute consultation and a small tube of ointment that's available over the internet for under ten pounds? £63.59! I didn't have a choice but grit my teeth and pay up. Daylight robbery, bordering on unethical. Well, what can I say, they now have yet another 1-star review on Trustpilot, ha! I'm just hoping the treatment will work and Oreo's fur will grow back soon. 

One more thing to shout about: Marit (of Marit's Paperworld) has kindly asked me to take part in her Quirky Dutch Summer initiative as a guest blogger, which I'm very excited about. Thank you for thinking of me, Marit! I'm looking forward to being part of this creative event this Summer! 


Happy #516 everyone! If I can't get to everyone today, I'll do so over the course of the week! 

16 comments:

  1. Hi Zsuzsa, what an absolute rip-off! Disgraceful, then they wonder why people rarely take their animals to the vets! Love the Rhododendron, what a beautiful colour it is. Great job with the furniture. The little house is fab, love the crackle effect. Have a lovely week, Hugs, Shaz #4 X

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  2. I'm sure you will get your money's worth out of that die Zsuzsa at least you have used it already. I have a few dies that are classed as rare now which i've never used one of which I can not even find (shame on me!!) Your garden furniture is coming on a treat, you'll feel so proud when you've finished it all, i'm all for make do and mend with this sort of stuff.
    You do not have to tell me about expensive vets bill's we've paid thousands over the past three years and sadly it could not save her. Just look at it as it may have prevented a much more costly affair by getting Oreo treated asap. Fingers crossed it cures his itchy bits bless him.
    WoywW Hugs Tracey #5
    P.S The tile stickers work well with our crafty stash ;)
    P.P.S Nice to see you @ Marits QDS x

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  3. I hope Oreo has a full coat of fur again soon. Daylight robbery! I think that TH die will make a lovely Christmas village when the time comes. You could make some to sell to get your money back for the die. The furniture is looking good. Happy WOYWW and congratulations on being a guest blogger for Marit. Sarah #6

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  4. You should move down here, Zsuzsa. Our vets are superb and much cheaper than where we used to live. It's not a very prosperous area and I think they know they can't charge over the odds. Poor little Oreo - hope the ointment helps. Our old cat Beatrice lost tons of fur off her back legs when I was having my chemo - the vet said she could probably smell it and it caused her stress. She wouldn't come near me during that time, either. If they won't leave something alone, our vets now have little body suits for them to wear instead of the awful lampshades (cone of doom) and they work very well. Our 2 kitties had to go in them after being spayed because they kept pulling their stitches out!

    Thank you for your 2 lovely comments. I'm glad you like the cat cartoons - I keep finding new ones on Pinterest which is my source for them - I can't resist them!

    If I've made too many flowers, I shall use them for something else. I'm out for lunch with friends soon and thought I might make a couple of simple felt hanging ornaments and they can go on those.

    I haven't had any trouble with that wisdom tooth until recently, when it cracked and had to be filled, and since then it hadn't settled down, so that's why I had it out. I'm amazed but I forgot to take my lunch time pain relief and by mid-afternoon I don't seem to need it, so hopefully things are settling down really quickly now. I'm doing the salt water mouth washes and eating soft food (carefully!) and I'm sure things will be fine by the weekend. What a relief.

    You will be pleased to hear that the "Comment" button on my new blog is now a different colour and fully visible! Thank you for the constructive criticism - I hadn't appreciated how difficult it was to spot. There are bound to be a few tweaks to be done till it's just right. You weren't the only one to remark on it.

    Happy WOYWW and a hug for Oreo,
    Shoshi x #19

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  5. Blimey, that's outrageous! But I guess you had to do it for Oreo to be happy. I love that little house, so sweet. And your newly painted garden furniture is fab - guess what? We painted ours that colour too!!
    Hugs LLJ 11 xxx

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  6. Yay, you can see my button! Good. I meant to say on my last comment how lovely your little house is!!

    Shoshi x

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  7. That is completely outrageous! I hope it works after all that and that Oreo is much better. The little house is adorable. Thanks for sharing. Happy WOYWW and have a great week, with love and God Bless, Caro x (#20)

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  8. Loving your TH houses they are so cute! Good work on the chairs, too - a fiddly but rewarding job and much better than throwing them out. Ouch to the "vet" bill... disgusting. Helen #1

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  9. Your little house is totally adorable - I have that die too and have not got round to using it yet, I had little Christmas houses in mind when I bought it so perhaps next winter I might get it out. I do sympathise with the vets bills, we have run up many hundreds of pounds with our Guinea Pigs over the last few years - and they always seem to need emergency treatment out of hours when it's most expensive! I am glad Oreo is ok now.
    Have a great week,
    Diana x #21

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  10. Your wee house is so gorgeous and looks like you are having a lovely time at the moment apart from the obvious - grrrr money could have been spent on art supplies! Great to see your preparations for warmer weather :-) I am so thrilled you have been invited for Quirky Dutch Summer. I was already looking forward to the offerings there and now extra excited!

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  11. Hi Zsusza. Loving your house.......the little one and the big one. I know how you feel about the vet's bill but just wait till he needs something really serious done like teeth jobs, now they really know how to charge for stuff like that. Late today as I've been out most of the day with friends so just doing a few late visits. Thanks for the visit to mine and happy belated WOYWW, Angela x21x

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  12. Congrats on being chosen by Marit - cannot think of a more worthy artist. Good luck with it when the time comes.
    Great make over of the garden chairs - love the colour you have chosen to use. It is going to look rather "posh" in your garden come summer.
    Oh dear, poor Oreo - poor you. That is disgusting to charge like that. Trouble is they know they have us animal lovers and they use it. Am out of touch now with vet bills but have had my share of them in the past.
    Had to smile at your grungy house die. I once saw one in a sale and just had to buy it, something I had wanted for ages - then when I came to use it it was only the tower and not the building at all. I still only have the tower LOL.
    Hugs, Neet xx 18

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  13. Well, haven't you had a crazy busy week. I love the dwelling - it looks eminently liveable, and I'm quite ready to move in. And your chair makeover looks awesome; you've done a great job and I'm looking forward to seeing them all. Poor Oreo, and poor bank account for that vet visit! Hope it works!! Happy week to you, Zsuzsa, without any more vet requirements.

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  14. I love that little house and again you remind me of the fact that I have crackle paste in my stash and SHOULD USE IT!!! I put it on my desk right now, so I won't forget! I love those chairs you have, good for you to not throw them away! And I am looking forward to the 'Quirky Summer', it's good to have you as my guest blogger!!! Thanks for your blogvisit earlier this week, have a lovely Sunday! Love from Holland, Marit #3

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  15. And wow! What a complete post!!
    Your new die is so cool!! I do love the crackle on your house- awesome job on this Susan!

    Happy belated Easter- looks like you got quite the goodie score! We had RIley's kids and grands over so it was chaos- but nice-although I needed a week and a half to recuperate! LOL

    Congrats on being on Marit's this summer, I will have to remember to check it out. Not having my blog, pretty much sucks...still haven't been able to figure out where it went- I still have it on my dashboard, so it must be around- right? Argh!

    Oh, have I told you, I love that 3 seasons room on your home?? Gorgeous! We hope to build one off our bedroom overlooking our pond- maybe this summer- we'll see- so many projects, so little time!

    Have a beautiful day Susan! love you! xoxo

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