Old-Style Interior Design

Queenie

For the streaming cold, you need a jar of menthol crystals from the chemist - teeny little thing it is but lasts YEARS, not sure how much it costs these days, but mine cost me 58p 6 yrs ago. You put just the teeniest pinch in some hot water and breathe in the steam! Corker for cleaning the sinus'. Friars Balsam is a liquid which would do the same (but I prefer menthol). Alternatively, get some supermarket brand equivalent of Vick Vapour Rub (the mentol vaseline stuff) and, as well as rubbing a bit on your chest before bed, you could put a small blob of that in water and breathe the steam.
Drinks lots of fluid (orange juice is good, even watered down, it's the Vit C).
Couple of paracetamol (cheap supermarket equivalents are just as good) every so often should help too.

foreverskint - those tealight holders are a great idea. Even better is to keep the lid but punch a few holes into it, then any unexpected whips of wind or rain won't automatically put them out. Did you know you can make cushion covers from .... tea towels too

needmoney

Ta Queenie. I usually let it have it's fun then go away but am getting older so will maybe have to have a little help

Foreverskint I have seen those candles in jars lining a path at Christmastime - lovely:j I always feel Christmassy at the wrong time of year. doh

Anya

Queenie wrote:

Did you know you can make cushion covers from .... tea towels too

My mum used to make us pinny's for cookery out of tea towels!!! I've plasticoted wardrobes and changed the handles, painted and then sanded (yes that is the right way round!!) a chest of drawers to make it look "shabby"! Bought a cheap wooden storage box and covered it in sticky backed plastic, for a toybox for the kids - great wipeable surface!!! Used a cheap pair of curtains to make a duvet cover, and covered a headboard with a dustsheet and spray foam adhesive!!! Oh and wine bottles make great candle holders too (just stain the label with a bit of tea to make it look a bit used and old)!

Chris25

Queenie wrote:

. Did you know you can make cushion covers from .... tea towels too

......................and cafe-curtains too!
for the kitchen, not the cafe :rolleyes:

moggins

If you're having a party and want some temporary lights for the garden then fill some balloons with water and put in the freezer overnight, then when you remove them from the freezer you should find that the balloon has burst and the middle of the ball of ice ill not be as frozen as the rest.

Place the hole under the hot water tap and run it with water until the hole is big enough to place a tea light in, then you can place them on the ground, light the tealights and leave them, they will last for about 5 hours and then melt away into the ground, you can make them even prettier by putting some food colouring into the water too.

Anya

Wow - that sounds lovely!! Will they float?

squeaky

Icebergs do though it would be a good idea to float each one first to find out where IT thinks Up is

moggins

I don't know about floating, they're normally quite large really as the balloon expands when the water goes in so unless you have a really big pond you might find them a bit much to float.

Lucie_2

Anya wrote:

Used a cheap pair of curtains to make a duvet cover

And I've used a cheap duvet cover to make a pair of curtains!

Love the frozen balloon idea, will defo give that a try

Penny-Wise_4

When I moved in to my house I didn’t have anything to hang on the walls and it all looked a bit bare. I bought a few frames from pound shops in matching sets. One set of two I used to frame pictures cut from an old calendar.

For some other frames I fished out the most interesting looking flat bits of potpourri that matched the colour of my living room (skeleton leaves, small sprigs of flowers, etc) and arranged them on plain white paper and put them in 3 wooden frames I got from Asda.


I also revamped some old furniture i was given by family & friends including re-stuffing & recovering a sofa bed; recovering a chair; changing a nasty 1960's sideboard into a retro TV table (just by changing the handles and unscrewing the legs - the legs were then recycled legs for a footstool I made )