Three of my favourite hedges

Yes, you read that right. I have favourite hedges. They're pretty special too. I love how they're shaped and recognisably so. At home I shape some of my plants but so far haven't really ventured too far from the box spheres or the cone shaped yew.  Maybe one day I will, but in the meantime I'll be admiring these hedges instead.

1. The "wave" hedges at the Thames Barrier Park

We discovered this one on a bike ride and it was an unexpected find especially so close to home too. The hedges are in one an old lock which was an entrance to London's docks. We've cycled past these many times since and one day I'll stop again for another photo shoot!

See more at: Hedges at the Thames Barrier Park

2. The bubble hedges at Houghton Hall

This was on another cycling adventure and quite a day too.  As I made my way to Houghton Hall to meet MOH my chain came off and without any tools to start to fix it I was stranded until MOH found me.  That prompted a purchase of my own bike tool as you'd imagine I didn't want to be stuck like that again.

We got soaked, dried out in the cafe and had a great afternoon wandering around the house, its grounds and the walled garden - it's a huge place too, so plenty of room for hedges.  These bubble hedges were my favourite but there's also the Sybil hedge here and much, much more to see.

See more at: Hedges and huts at Houghton Hall

3. The elephant hedge at Stiffkey

Another Norfolk hedge, this one is in someone's garden so to see this one there was some strategic walking up and down and getting up on tiptoes. But it was worth it, just look.

See more at: Stiffkey hedges and stores

So there you have my favourite hedges, do you know of more I'd like?

Turning a negative into a positive

Today I'm handing my blog over to my blogging friend Louisa who's sharing what she's been up to lately and her plans for the future. 

Hi there! Have you ever had something happen, that at first glance seems like a total disaster but upon reflection you can actually turn into something really positive? This happened to me recently and Stephanie has kindly asked me to write a guest post talking about what occurred and sharing my plans for the future.

Until recently I had a blog called Life As We Know It. For 2 years I updated and shared my family life with all it’s ups and downs. Then, I suffered every bloggers worst nightmare when I lost my blog despite my host’s best efforts to repair it. It really hit me hard.

After a little wallow I had a light bulb moment and decided to use this to my advantage. With a clean slate I could start again with a clearer idea of what direction I wanted to go in. Following some brain storming I purchased a new url and my upcoming new blog Inside Out was born. It has the tag line mind, body and home. I’m aiming at the slightly older reader and plan to cover topics such as interiors, renovations, home and garden, body image, mental and physical health, style and beauty (for those of us who are the wrong side of 39) and lots of crafting ideas and tutorials.

In other news despite being on crutches, I managed a weekend away to learn how to use my camera in manual. I learnt so much and hope to persuade my other half that I need a macro lens. Here are a few shots to show what I learnt...

On the home front the kids and dogs are delightful at the moment which is slightly worrying. I wonder if they are lulling me into a false sense of security while they plan world domination in secret? They are being very patient with our ongoing renovation programme. This week we had a new log burner fitted which was a cause of great excitement! Junior loves making YouTube videos at the moment and has just declared he is going to do a house tour video. It’s disconcerting when your kids are more tech savvy than you isn’t it?

The date of my new publication depends on whether I have to have spinal surgery, I don’t want to start and then have to take a few months off to recover. I feel like I am 900 years old at the moment. I just want to get fixed and start writing again! I have really enjoyed writing this post, I miss blogging very much.

I do hope that when I do start up again you will come over for a read. I’d love for you to comment with any suggestions of things that you’d like to see or topics that you would like to read about? Thank you Stephanie for letting me give a little update explaining the sudden disappearance of my old blog and how I am turning a negative into a positive. I hope you have a great holiday!

Thanks Louisa. I'm looking forward to seeing back blogging, the plans for your new blog sound fab - and fingers crossed for no surgery.  Until Louisa's blog, Inside Out, is live keep in touch with her on Twitter and Instagram.

A tray transformed!

As soon as I'd finished my first Pinty Plus project I was on the look out for what to spray next. I racked my brains, looked around the house and in fact anything that stood still for long enough was a contender, then bing! my next project emerged. 

Yes, the time was up for this perfectly functional but slightly dated metal tray. It's something I'd had from new and it used to get a lot of use, but rarely does these days. The cat on the right looks very much like my Dylan did and while I didn't think he'd appreciate being covered up, I knew it was time for something new.  He's been gone over ten years, so I think I'm allowed.

So I set to work. The tray was given a thorough clean before I started. I decided against straightening the bashed up corner (bottom left) as while I've no idea how it happened now, it seemed part of the tray's history.

I also knew that I wanted to try something different for this project and planned to add a flower shape to the design.  My silicone lids proved to be the perfect template.

With my plan established I started to spray. 

I wanted a blue flower on a yellow tray and started spraying the front of the tray in the same light turquoise that I used on the inside of my sewing box.  I did feel a bit guilty spraying the cats and I'm sure they were giving me a stern look as I did.

With the blue base layer completed and drying I started to make my template. I'd considered using a stencil approach but decided against it as I wanted the centre of the flower yellow too, without any connecting lines. 

Taking the silicone lid I placed it on a thick piece of card - an insert I'd saved from some bedding I'd bought, which I knew would come in handy one day. Today was its day!

I drew around the shape and discovered that a roll of washi tape was a similar size as the centre so used that to make my middle.

Using a craft knife I carefully cut it out, without cutting myself at all (phew) - and as it was a nice day the garden table became my workspace.

Before I could use my template though I wanted to spray the back of the tray. It was a bit scratched and well tatty, and it gave me the chance to see the colour of the new spray Mostaza.

I'd been hoping for a mustard yellow - and while I like the colour it is - it's paler than I thought it would be.  I've been on a quest since we bought our mustard dining chairs (just two - I will show them to you soon) to add more yellow to our house, and this yellow works equally as well.

So having tried the yellow, I was keen to spray my design.  Another reason for choosing to block out the blue in this way was that I thought it would leave a cleaner line.

And it turned out well.  But I thought it needed more.  Don't you agree?

So out came my fine line black pen and I drew freehand around the petals, and added some texture to the middle.  The lines aren't perfect - and that's ok - but don't they make a difference?

Now pleased with the depth and detail added with a simple black pen I wanted to seal the tray. For this I used the Pinty Plus Matt Varnish, which was equally easy to use. And I think it has deepened the colours a little.  

As my tray is likely to be in use much more often now I think it was important to varnish it. I didn't use this on the sewing stool because when I'd completed it I didn't think it needed it.  

So there you have it, a tray transformed! 

What do you think?

The Pinty Plus Chalk Spray Paint is available from the Novasol Spray website, each 400ml can of Chalk Paint Spray and Matt Varnish costs £11.50.

This is a collaborative post with Novasol Spray who provided me with the materials for this project, but all words and opinions are my own.