Northern man and I are back home complete with sun tans, jet lag and presents for the deserted offspring who had to survive on ready meals and do their own washing. This is where we went ...
and then here ...
and then here ...
What do you mean 'Where's that?'. This is the Governer's Palace in Colonial Williamsburg, a place I've been wanting to visit for the last 30-odd years. It's part original, part re-construction, of the capital of colonial Virginia dated about 1775 and it is a wonderful place to spend a few days. Many of the buildings can only be seen on a guided tour but as these go in every 10 to 15 minutes that's not a hardship. The guides are knowledgeable and very willing to answer questions. Many other buildings are set up as shops or workshops of the period - silversmith, apothecery, milliners, blacksmiths, and so on. My particular favourite was, of course, the milliners.
This lovely piece of embroidery, based on an original design in the Williamsburg collection, is an underskirt and was stitched by the lady doing the talks in the milliner's shop.
But, as we all know, other people's holiday photos can be very boring and I'm sure all of you, regular readers or visitors who have wandered into this blog by mistake, want to see what I've been doing craft-wise. This is something I painted before we went away ..
It's a modern butler's tray and started off painted in white gloss with a plasticky base. A little sandpaper and some paint have, I hope, improved it considerably. The base coat is a mixture of the ends of several pots of emulsion which made a rather nice green colour and I gave it a crackle effect ...
For anybody who doesn't know how to do this cheaply and effectively you simply base coat your article with a water-based paint, slap on a thick layer of PVA children's glue (the thicker the glue, the bigger the crackles) which you leave to dry and then top off with another coat of water-based paint in the same or another colour. You can then paint it, decoupage it, or leave it plain. You will need to seal the paint with a varnish before you polish it as the PVA is not waterproof. Simples.
But, as we all know, other people's holiday photos can be very boring and I'm sure all of you, regular readers or visitors who have wandered into this blog by mistake, want to see what I've been doing craft-wise. This is something I painted before we went away ..
It's a modern butler's tray and started off painted in white gloss with a plasticky base. A little sandpaper and some paint have, I hope, improved it considerably. The base coat is a mixture of the ends of several pots of emulsion which made a rather nice green colour and I gave it a crackle effect ...
For anybody who doesn't know how to do this cheaply and effectively you simply base coat your article with a water-based paint, slap on a thick layer of PVA children's glue (the thicker the glue, the bigger the crackles) which you leave to dry and then top off with another coat of water-based paint in the same or another colour. You can then paint it, decoupage it, or leave it plain. You will need to seal the paint with a varnish before you polish it as the PVA is not waterproof. Simples.
I love this tray! And I just showed the mother and she loves it too. It's lovely x
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