• wooden drawers, or any other piece you want to decorate
• pictures on paper
• water-based primer
• water-based matte varnish
• polyurethane varnish
• PVA glue
• wooden knobs with screws
• satin finish paint (for the insides)
• paper towel
• fine sandpaper (wet and dry is best)
• soft cloth
• paint brush
• glue brush

1. Wash off any grease from the drawers.
2. Lightly sand down all surfaces.
3. Apply two coats of primer, lightly sanding after each coat.
4. Use the satin finish paint to coat any surfaces you are not decoupaging.
5. Plan each face by laying out the pictures. Cut each one out and glue it onto the wood, taking care that there are no air bubbles by pressing lightly with a damp lint free cloth. The pictures can, and should overlap to some extent. Let it dry.
6. Brush on at least four coats (I used six) of water-based matte varnish, sanding lightly after each to remove bumps.
7. After wiping to remove dust, finish with two coats of polyurethane varnish for extra toughness.
8. Finish by giving the knobs a coat of primer, a couple of coats of paint and a couple of coats of oil-based varnish. Screw them onto the drawers from the back.

This was my perfect solution for the extra storage I needed for my crockery. I fell in love with this shabby chic dresser as soon as I saw it. For those of you who know me, you will already know how much I adore all things shabby chic!

The beauty of it is, the dresser is shallow and doesn't intrude too far into the room. Everything is easy to see and reach when you need it. With the shelving being open, it does give me an excuse to buy colourful, pretty pots. I buy many of my pots from the flea market and Jules china shop in Hebden Bridge. Check her goodies out here.

I like to dress it up at different times of the year; see here how it looked at Easter. It won't be long until I'm dressing it up for Christmas!

Have a lovely Monday.

Here are my thrifted purchases over the past few weeks. In our house we have a love of eclectic things, very similar to the style of the Mad Hatter's mix and mismatch tea party in Alice In Wonderland!! I don't tend to buy sets, it's usually anything I see which I like, often at flea markets (as you can see here!)

I do have a real love for pastels though; I have a Pinterest board just dedicated to pastels. Mint green, pale blue and pink do tend to catch my eye. The jugs will make great vases for flowers which I always have around the house.

Have you got any other ideas what I could use the jugs for?

Have a lovely day,

I'm so lucky that I have got a partner that can build practically anything he turns his hand to around my home. It's not what he does for a living but he believes anyone can make things if they put their mind to it. One of the reasons we bought this house was to put our own stamp on it. It's just a modest 1930's house but it still has a lot of its original features.

It has two chimney breasts into which we have put log burners. However, the chimney breasts did present us with a problem. What would we do with the alcoves? We came up with the idea of a DIY bookcase that S promptly designed, then made an MDF box to fit a very awkward space (1930's houses are not the straightest!) S made the shelves different sizes to fit different sized books, vases of flowers and a lamp.

I had quite a few books that I wanted to hand (book hoarder!), and the bookcase is perfect. I love shabby chic and French styles as you can probably see. It houses my fashion and lifestyle books and I do tend to collect pretty notebooks so they stand on there too.

It's amazing how much it actually holds, it definitely adds interest to the room without it feeling cluttered. Everyone who visits my home, including my daughters friends, all make a beeline for the books.

For lunch we decided to have roast chicken with pearl barley, instead of lamb, for a change. I used a recipe from the River Cottage Everyday cookbook. It was delicious and I will definitely make it again as it went down a treat with the family. Empty plates all round!

For dessert we had a chocolate nest cake and chocolate mini egg buns. I did cheat here as I went to Marks and Spencers and saw this heavenly cake and thought to myself that it would so much better (and easier) to buy this.

I decorated the sideboard with chocolate eggs and daffodils, it is really versatile as I can dress it up for any occasion. My girls think I am obsessed with bunting but I love it and it always makes the room look inviting and pretty.

What have you done for Easter this year?

A lovely, cosy corner of my dining room. I was very pleased with myself when I came across this side table. The colour is very Farrow & Ball french grey and just what I was after to fill this corner of the room. It could also be used as a bed side table too.

I keep candles in the drawer for my nights by the wood burner and my favourite music discs in the basket. The photo frame was a present from S. I put a card S gave me for my birthday inside it. A friend asked me once if the picture was of my girls which I thought was quite sweet as I think it is really pretty. I keep myself surrounded by flowers as they have a real feelgood factor for me.

What is a feelgood factor for you?

Just looking at this picture is making me drool! My friends and family know me soooo well. These are a few pressies I was lucky enough to get for Christmas. I have been looking for a coffee grinder but haven't seen one I like. S managed to find me one in a little antique shop and it's perfect. Below it are the most gorgeous tasting chocolate coated coffee beans!

There's nothing better than a small glass of Bailey's coffee liqueur, so comforting to have at the end of a cold day. I have to say that I had not tasted this flavour before, but it presses all the right buttons for me and it has served me well over Christmas! The chocolate spoons will definitely be used as part of a dessert; watch this space!

Green & Blacks has to be the winner in my top ten of favourite chocolate. I love all the flavours, so rich and creamy. I need to stop talking about it or I will be looking in the cupboard for some and I'm being a good girl today! I love the little pink & white tin of choccie nibbles from S. They were part of my stocking presents; great for a naughty snack! The handmade card was sent to me by my mum. She enjoys making them and sending them to all her family and friends.

What is your naughty chocolate treat?

This is a corner of my dining room. I don't have a lot of storage space so everything I use has to be pleasing to look at as it is all on display. These shelves were an Ebay find which I just gave a coat of Farrow and Ball Pointing. Most of the things on the shelves were flea market finds. The Cath Kidston plates were a bargain in the sale.
I just collect pretty things to use and don't mind about them matching - I love ecclectic.

S got the recipes here:
Eggs benedict - here for food and here for egg poaching trick
Strawberry smoothie