Sweet Auburn Life: Spring

Showing posts with label Spring. Show all posts

Sunday, 5 April 2015

Wishing you a Happy Easter!!

Hope you're all having a happy Easter.

We're having a lovely long weekend here in Ireland. We had Good Friday and have Easter Monday off from work. It has been a hectic couple of weeks of ups and downs so Mr. Auburn and I are catching up with family and on some well deserved rest! Today we went to mass, visited relatives, ate lots of Easter eggs and relaxed at home.

We are having some glorious Spring weather which allowed us into the garden yesterday for the post winter overhaul. It has to get worse to get better, right?

I am a little behind on my Blog reading, please bear with me while I catch up!

Sunday, 22 February 2015

Hall-Stairs-Landing Makeover - The First Step

Hello again...

I haven't forgotten you all but we have been a little busy at the Auburns. With January gone I have moved into Spring mode and have many projects on the horizon. You know how it is when you finally get rid of the decorations. Yes, we finally got the loft boards down in the attic; the storage is great up there and I no longer have to worry about getting a foot wrong and ending up coming through the ceiling!

So I mentioned in this post that our first project for 2015 was the Hall-Stairs-Landing Makeover. Well the painting in now complete! It wasn't quite as bad as we expected. It did take two guys four days to complete but I did think that was good going. Thankfully no scaffold was required but there was some scary use of ladders. We used Colortrend paints. I neglected to tell you in that post that Colortrend is an Irish owned company who make their paints in Co. Kildare. I think it's on a par with Farrow and Ball. I believe it's available in the UK. It's a really nice quality paint with good coverage and it's scrubbable!

They have a great range of colours but I finally settled on Patience (one of my original choices) on the walls and Almost White on the woodwork. The ceilings are Brilliant White by Dulux and Mahogany by Bondex on the handrail and newel posts.
Here's how it looks...

Upstairs Landing

Top of Stairs

Upstairs - 2nd Bed & Office

Landing & Owl Window

View of vaulted ceiling from Hall

Bottom of Stairs

Hallway - Sitting Rm & Kitchen/Dining

Downstairs - Loo & Hotroom

I'm really pleased with the colour, it looks different on each wall and at different times of the day. It's almost a pale 'greige'; not quite beige, not quite grey. I think it looks really smart against the Almost White Woodwork. The dark stain was an adjustment from the original bare wood. I had toyed with the idea of dark oak but then had to buy an extra 5litres of paint as the painters ran out so we used the mahogany I already had from this project. I'm loving it now, it's really rich looking and ties in really well with the mahogany furniture throughout the house.

I told you I was thinking of some new doors curtains and we have chosen something that we think will add a real injection of Spring. Just a sneak peak for now though, mostly because it's the worst photo ever taken on my phone but also there is some work to be done first. It was a bargain so of course it's a work in progress!

The one downside to our amazing new colour scheme is that all the really yellowy creamy pieces in this area now looked a bit dirty against the crispness of the new paint. So a lot more painting was involved, from me this time. I got my trusty can of ASCP Original out and repainted this giant mirror, a shelf of sorts, four picture frames, a rad cover and a chest of drawers! I will reveal more at a later date. As I said now the painting is done, we're onto the fun bits, stay tuned!

Wednesday, 30 April 2014

Horse Chestnut Series - April

Today is the last day of April and the last day of Spring (or at least it was when I was in school!). While we have had some lovely Spring weather of late, today quite appropriately, we had some April showers.

This month has seen a huge change in the Horse Chestnut. It is the first deciduous tree in Ireland to open its leaves in Spring; the bud laden branches of March are scarcely visible anyone.

It is now covered in bright green palmate leaves; each leaf having five or seven serrated finger-like leaflets.

While in March we eagerly awaited bud burst, now we await its blossoms as their candle-like form begins to emerge.

Monday, 31 March 2014

Horse Chestnut Series - March

"Spring time allows the buds for our pleasure

To push out their bright green burgeoning treasure

They stretch and darken and point up so highly

Their flower spikes ready to show all their glory"

It's almost the end of March and the lovely horse chestnut tree is laden with buds adorning it's once bare branches.

The shiny brown buds which have been subtly swelling as each day passed are fat now almost ready to burst with new growth. The covering of each bud is tough and sticky with sap to protect the treasure inside.

As we 'sprang forward' this weekend and in spite of all the rain we have had, we saw the first bud burst.
Each bud contains leaves, stems and flowers, albeit in their embryonic form. In fact, it contains the whole year's growth.
I can hardly wait so see those new bright green leaves unfurl.

Sunday, 31 March 2013

Easter Eggcessories!

Well, I made it, just in time! The Easter decorating ran a little late this year. I just finished last night!

This was because I have been a little under the weather but also as some of my new decorations were handmade. Most of my new tree decorations were made using my craft du jour...Decoupage!

It sure is time consuming. I'm a newbie and self-thought so please be kind!

First off, I decoupaged some eggs...

These were made from Polystyrene. The one on the left was decoupaged using old stamps, the other two with paper napkins. To finish, I added a ribbon from my stash using a pearl topped straight pin.

Then, I decoupaged some cute little paper mache bird houses...

These were made using a combination of coloured paper and little flowers cut from paper napkins.

These decorations went on my Easter tree...

As Mr. Auburn was away, I had to call on my father-in-law for assistance. I had more a branch in mind but this is what I got and now it's in I really like it!

Of course I had to do an egg and a birdhouse to match the downstairs loo...

It took all I had to cut up this vintage sheet music! It was 'The Seasons' by Haydn too!!

I think they look nice though with the cream and black decor, as does this birdhouse; quite fitting with my wallpaper...

Then I made some nests; this one with the help of a tutorial from Perpetual Plum.

It was made using a wire coat hanger and the offcuts from my Easter tree. The moss and feathers I gathered on a walk, the quail eggs; I blew out a couple of years back. This was a little fiddly but the most natural looking nest I think.