I absolutely love the old worn and faded ‘floral-pattern-on-wood' look, and I've been meaning to have a go at achieving it for some time. I finally got around to it this week and I'm so happy with the outcome. It's incredibly effective and so easy to do. You can achieve this lovely faded worn look on any wood surface, and it looks especially good on tables, drawers, chairs, welsh dressers and wooden trays. I'm going to try this on my welsh dresser next but first I wanted to give my copper fire pit a makeover. Since I have a small garden I decided to make use of space by giving the fire pit a dual purpose - so I had a piece of wood cut for the top of it, so when it's not being a fire pit it can be used as a table! this provided the ideal surface for my experiment!

My cosy little seating area looks so pretty now, and if you're admiring my new Peru wooden deckchair loungers you'll find these at Homebase, and they cost £99 for a pair. I absolutely love them, they look so natural and blend into the garden perfectly, they're also incredibly comfy and come with a head rests! I also headed to Homebase for my varnish and hand-held sander (links are below.) You could use simple sandpaper sheets for this, wrapped around a wooden block but I love the smooth finish of a sander, and I’ve used it on a range of projects time and time again.  

It’s May - the bluebells are in full bloom and buds are bursting all over. We had a lovely walk at the weekend. It was a new walk and we got lost twice and had to find our way through woodlands, over babbling brooks and fields. Getting lost is truly one of my favourite things … I just love it. It’s one of the few times I find I’m able to stay fully mindful and in the present. When I find myself on a walk I’ve done a hundred times before, I find it so easy to let my mind wander back to work, back to chores that need doing, back to the mundane ‘to-do’ list. I try so hard to stay in the moment, and it frustrates me that I can’t always leave such things behind. So escaping for the day, and getting lost is sometimes exactly what I need because there’s nowhere to be but right here, in the moment. How strange that it takes getting lost, in order to feel found? Oh that’s quite profound for a Tuesday afternoon eh? Anyhoos. I’m sharing my new craft room later this week. It’s still finding its feet, but it’ll be nice to show you where I’ve been crafting of late. In the meantime, here’s our month in pictures!

As you know I've got a new craft room! I'm going to show you the room in detail very soon, but first I wanted to show you my new craft table. I wanted a strong, rustic trestle table for my craft room so I went looking for one online. I was flabbergasted to learn just how expensive there are … with cheaper ones starting around £170 and nice rustic vintage ones between £600 - £1000! They are beautiful of course but goodness, that’s a family holiday! So in true AHC stylie I decided to make my own. I'm so happy I did, as the table below only cost me £45. This would make a lovely farmhouse-style or scandi-chic dining table … and it would also be ideal for al fresco family dining as it can be easily dismantled. You could also paint and distress the legs for a lovely shabby-chic look. I might paint these legs, but the character of the bare, aged wood has really grown on me so I'm keeping it 'au natural' for now.