"Just sand and refinish it," they say...

They make it sound so easy in magazines. My beloved/behated Real Living recently had a whole feature on ways to spruce up tables, with the first step for each project being a simple "Sand the table to remove any old varnish." What they didn't mention is that even with a special varnish removing disc attachment for a power drill this can take SIX HOURS.

Anyway. Before:

Nearly done:

I won't have proper "After" pics for a few more days, after a couple more coats of stain & varnish. But I think it's going to look good.

What I've been doing...

Going from this...

...to this.

Sewing curtains...

...but not quite finding time to buy the right rings and hooks.

And winning this giveaway in my spare time!

Thanks Cathy!

First Australian Exhibition of Women's Work

My mum bought me this poster/print at the heritage homestead out near Maldon a few months ago. I unrolled it once to exclaim over its loveliness, then rolled it back and up stashed it in a safe place, saving it for my future craft space.

Yesterday I picked up some cheap poster frames at Ikea and figured the poster might survive the move better in a frame (even a $7 plastic one with cardboard backing). I was delighted when I unrolled the poster and discovered both that it fit almost perfectly, and that it's even more lovely than I remembered.



Perfect for a craft room! I lurve it.

P.S. It's big, too: about 50cm x 70cm. I should have included something for scale.