A new year – time to restart

Julia

Janv 23.

Dear me or you or us,

I’ve been doing a lot and a lot of thinking recently. It’s been 2 years now that life put me on pause. On pause and it was so hard to think clearly. The motivation left.

When life gives you lemons, sometimes even the easiest lemonade is impossible to make. So I’ve been on pause trying my best to keep going with all those lemons around and time has passed as it is. On pause.

Last summer I started playing with watercolor and I enjoyed painting things. This winter I painted some wooden figures for Xmas and I enjoyed it so much. I also sewed again and created few things and I simply loved it. It was like nothing in me disappeared, I still have it that thing inside and it feels great.

January 2023 is here now and the pain is still there. But it is a fresh new year and everything seems to make me start again and I want to believe it, I think.

So, I write it in here and I will write more. Of my new year resolutions, I will create those things that have been on hold for years. It’s time and Dad and Ana would smile from their stars looking at me.

So, cheers to this new year 2023 that I hope will be full of sweetness, creativity and joy.

Ps: those pics are souvenirs from places I loved in 2022 and some paintings and crafts and me.

The secretary writing desk

The secretary writing desk

Julia

New style and second life for this cutie that was supposed to be thrown away and totally transformed by me. It is painted using different paint colours from Liberon (« bleu petrole » and « celadon »). The top portion of the desk flips out to create a work surface and reveal little storage units that I decided to leave in their original states.


The door has been covered using wooden stick and painted for a new style and has a brand new brass handle.


The drawer has two brand new brass knobs and the inside is covered with this great nature wallpaper that is also appearing in the lower part of the furniture.
The lower part of the secretary has one shelf and this part can be closed using the glass windows.
The legs are brand new irons legs.

Dimensions: Length: 76 cm Width: 33 cm Height: 101 cm

It is a unique great little cabinet that I enjoyed upcycling. It can easily be placed in an entryway, bedroom, living room, conservatory… Please see below a before and an after. What do you think?

You can find it in my Etsy shop.

The secretary desk
Colorful Birth Gifts

Colorful Birth Gifts

Julia

For many years I have created very personal birth gifts for my new born baby’s loved ones. I like the idea of those babies having something very unique in their bedroom made by me. Each one was unique, from hand decorated boxes, paper suitcases, scrap booking crafts… Two years ago, when my last nephew was born, I stopped with one style: a colorful unique artwork painted on a little canvas using acrylic paint.

Fancy ordering one, please place your order through the Etsy shop:

Very good service, Julia understood very well what I wanted for my nephews. I’m so happy with my order, I will definitely recommend Julia’s shop!

From Camille ON etsy
The mosaic bedside table

The mosaic bedside table

Julia

This one I do not remember how did it look like when I took into my studio. I is now a very unique bedside table: the top is covered with these gorgeous broken white/light recycled tiles.

The main colour of this cutie is the beautiful Lauren colour from Colours. I like hidden designs and I decided to add this colorful palm tree sheet of paper on the inside. It has of course layers of varnish for extra protection.

Also the drawer has a new colorful knob ( from my collection of knobs).

Height: 53 cm Width: 36.5 cm Length: 48 cm

Remember that this its second life and so it is not brand new. It may contained imperfections. It gives it charm and history and it is what I like. But now it is completely unique. I like it this way. What do you think?

This cutie can be find in my Etsy shop.

Studio and well-being

Julia

29.08.2021. After months and months of not doing much at the studio (for difficult personal, family reasons), I think it is time to focus again on my work and what makes me who I am. This is what my dad would tell me. Being busy painting, creating, making things has always been part of my life. It started as a hobby, over the years, it became a business. 2020 has been complicated for all of us. Life has stopped for months, and changed in a different ways. I stopped my art classes that I was running for so long. I had a new job opportunity and had to focus an all things new, not related with my crafts. 2021 has become the hardest. Being in my art studio and continuing my craft and my work here, is becoming a huge help for my mental health. I spent some days reorganizing the studio and I think it is time to be back. Here is a picture of my own sideboard, that I upcycled again last year. To be continued.

The cane webbing cabinet

The cane webbing cabinet

Julia

New style for this ex brown old piece of furniture that was given to me. I managed to transport it for like 1h on top of the luggage rack of my ex stolen bike few months ago, and as each time I do something like that, I think to myself never again, but…. So here it it, this little cabinet:

After
Before

When I got this cabinet, it was all painted in white and was dark brown on the inside. It used to have long legs that I immediately cut. I replaced them with these perfect little wooden ones. It gives it more lightness. I also cut out the door to have that huge space in the middle and chose cane webbing to cover. I loved this natural material.

About its colour: it is painted and distressed using different layers of paint colours for the door and drawer (there’s some light blue, light pink, some white…). The top and side are painted using white paint.
I work mostly with Farrow & Ball paint colours and wax from Liberon.
The all furniture has been sanded for a distressed finish and waxed for extra protection.

The inside is painted in light blue and it has one shelf painted in white. The door has been transformed using cane webbing. The knobs are brand new (lovely find from charity shops).

Dimensions: Depth: 40 cm Width: 45 cm Height: 69 cm

It is a unique cute little cane webbing – distressed cabinet. It can easily be placed in an entryway, leaving space, kitchen, living room, bedroom.

I am very happy about its new style. You can find it here in my Etsy shop.

The tiled footstool

The tiled footstool

Julia

This one has a story. One day I was walking on the street with a friend and a man stopped us. He looked like he wanted to have a conversation with people. So we stopped for a chat. He was very nice. He was emptying his beloved father’s flat and was giving away furniture and objects instead of putting them to trash. The place was full of old memories. I choose this cute little footstool thinking that I’ll do something nice with it. It was very dusty at that time (and not grey, grey colour was a test). It was covered with an old very dusty fabric and was originally simply in wood.

I took it to my art studio and forgot about it for years until very recently when I finished to cover my own pallet table with cute little metro tiles. I thought it would be great to use the left over to this stool and make it unique. So I removed the fabric and cleaned the stool. And I glued those tiles. I repainted the stool with another colour and waxed it. So voila its story. A tiled footstool made from an old second hand wooden stool and recycled mini metro tiles.

A bit of details: the wooden footstool is painted using Aquamarine- Deep 198 from Little Green, and waxed using Libéron wax for a distressed finish. The top is covered with little white metro tiles. Please note that tile is a shiny material, and can easily be cleaned using white vinegar. Size: 47.5cm Length x 37.5cm Width x 34.5 cm height Size of the seat: 35cm x 45cm

It can be find here in my Etsy shop.

The bedside cabinet

The bedside cabinet

Julia

This cutie was originally destined to be thrown away. When I found it, I immediately had a vision of its new style. I love nature, I love wood colour, I love making something unique… Here is its new look:

Before
After

The top has been sanded and wood stained. The whole table is painted with the beautiful Aquamarine colour from Little Green. The two drawers (and inside drawers) are covered with this colourful tropical leaves wallpaper. The inside paper has few layers of varnish for extra protection. Each drawer has a new colorful knob (probably found in a charity shop).

Height: 63.5 cm Width: 44 cm Length: 38.5 cm Drawers: 27.5 cm x 29.5 cm

The customer wanted two, unfortunately I had only one. She still bought it and I am super glad.

**No longer available. This cutie has found a new home**

Cabinet has been delivered. Thank you, We love it!

From customer on Etsy
The three shelves unit

The three shelves unit

Julia

Sometimes you find little treasures, and you see straight away their gorgeous side. Here is how I found this unit, made of wood with no legs. It deserved better.

I painted it with different layers of colours, sanded it for some distressed finish, and waxed it for an entire protection. I also added some modern hairpin legs!

Details: Length: 59cm Width: 47cm Height: 69cm

My material: Paints and wax from Liberon, hairpin legs from WickedHairpins

Et voilà, a new three shelves unit with a brand new life!

**No longer available. This cutie has found a new home**

The distressed cabinet

The distressed cabinet

Julia

Second life for this wooden little cabinet.
It is painted and distressed using different paint colours from Farrow & Ball (main one is VARDO n288) and coloured wax from Liberon (I have been a huge fan for many years)
The top has been sanded and oak varnished (loving to discover the wood colour).
The all unit is waxed for extra protection.

It has two shelves on the inside. The knobs are brand new (probably found at Anthropologie. I have a massive collection of knobs). The hinges are are brand new too now.

Dimensions: Length: 65 cm Width: 44 cm Height: 76 cm

It is a great unique little distressed cabinet. It can easily be placed in an entryway, kitchen, living room…

**No longer available. This cutie has found a new home**

Fantastic cabinet! Paintwork is gorgeous and Julia was really helpful organizing quick delivery. Thank you!! 

From customer on Etsy