Yesterdays finds at the Treacle Market

Yesterday we wrapped the children up in lots of layers and headed off to the Treacle Market in Macclesfield. Its on on the last Sunday of every month and we haven't missed one yet. Its a great family day out for us, there is lots of fresh food to taste, live music playing, LOTS of gorgeous stalls including vintage items, handmade items, art & crafts and a great plant stall...everything you could want from a market really!!

Sometimes we go, have a walk round and something to eat and not buy alot but then other times, like yesterday we buy quite a lot! And don't think about how we are going to get it all in the car with the two children and the buggy too!!

Here is what we bought:

Before and After ~ Kitchen Tiles

Our kitchen doesn't get a lot of natural light, and the black kitchen tiles don't help matters, it just looks dark and gloomy. Ideally we would have like to have new tiles, but seen as we are trying to keep costs down I thought I would try painting them.

We bought Ronseal one coat paint in natural stone. Following instructions, I completely scrubbed down the tiles with bleach and thoroughly dried them - my arms were aching before I had even started painting!

The Shabby Chic Home by Rachel Ashwell ~ Book Review

Before and After pictures are my guilty pleasure, I can't get enough of them and I'm always on the lookout for new blogs containing lots of them! So, when this book arrived I was in my absolute element, it has lots of them from inside and outside Rachel Ashwell's home. I put the children in bed that evening and read the whole book from cover to cover, reading every word and soaking in every picture - its been a long time since I have done this, I usually just flick through looking at the pictures.

Turning the garden shed into a playhouse ~ Part 1

I was looking into buying a playhouse for the kids to have in the garden for summer, there are some really gorgeous ones around but they are also really pricey!! We have quite a large shed at the end of the garden with not a lot in, so I have decided to try and turn this into a playhouse. I started reading up on it and forums were talking about insulating the inside and boarding, new doors and window etc etc. but I don't think it needs to be that complicated. I just want somewhere fun they can play in the summer whilst I'm gardening, and then in the winter it can be turned back into toy storage.  

I want to paint it in fun colours, inside and out, and put some bunting up (which I'm planning on making with oilcloth). Then put their toy kitchen inside with a little table and chairs so they can have picnics in there!! Its a lot of work to do and not a lot of time to do it as I want them to be able to use it this spring/summer so I better crack on. 

Here are a few of the before and during pictures: