Pre-Raphaelite Sisterhood

Isn't it just nice hanging out with family. I have been to visit my sister Claire for a few days. We went to the beach and then for a walk in the woods at the National Trust's Nymans estate, then we were a bit tired and the promised rain arrived so we stayed indoors and got creative. We had paused in the Laura Ashley shop in Haywards Heath (opposite the 99p shop, Haywards Heath is a town of stark contrasts) and Claire admired a bedside table in the sale for £120, complaining that the thing she had was old and tatty. She is now a poor student and should not be encouraged to spend £120 on bedside tables, so instead I encouraged her to do something more creative.

We went in the 99p shop and bought glue, sandpaper and a small tin of varnish, cost £2.97. Here is the table, it is actually a unit for a stacking stereo, nothing special but quite a good height for next to the bed:

So we followed this lovely straightforward set of instructions. First rubbed it down with sandpaper to remove the shiny surface. Then painted the outside (paint free, leftover from redecorating the living room).

I had suggested we maybe use pictures from an art book and a quick browse around the charity shops gave us exactly what we needed, 'Essential Pre-Raphaelites', cost £4:

After agonising very briefly over whether it is wrong to cut up books much tearing and chopping then followed. And then came the glueing:

Here is what the top looked like when it was done:

And then here is the whole thing complete. We added a couple of striking large pictures in the centre of the shelves.

Then added a coat of varnish. It is going to take the rest of the week to finish as the instructions suggest several coats and it was taking quite a while to dry. I came home last night but it's good that Claire had something to distract her from the important studying she has to do before her second year starts next week.