Memories Made at the River – Last a Lifetime
Chalk paint artist inspired by the lifestyle in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand.
Nature has been the inspiration of artists for centuries. Rivers emphasise movement, power, tranquility, life…so comes the inspiration for my blog.
My name is Andi Hartley and I am living the life here in Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand. It is an amazing place to live, surrounded by beauty with its beaches, rivers, mountains, orchards and my favourite, over 70 vineyards.
Come and join me on my river of life and road I travel…
Last Minute Gifts…Bird Seed Cakes
These bird seed cakes are a wonderful quick and easy last minute gifts… I made these for a craft stall recently and quickly realised people loved them. They are great for little Christmas gifts, especially for teachers, friends and for those people you don’t...
Best Ever Chalk Paint Recipe
I think this is the best ever Chalk Paint recipe, that’s what I desperately needed due to my Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Shop closing down in my village… a very sad day. Fortunately a friend gave me her recipe for chalk paint and it is very similar. This week my...
Breast Cancer Awareness…Inspirational Wooden Block Sign…
This month is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and I wanted to do something to support it. We all know someone who has breast cancer and I thought an inspirational sign is something small I could do to bring encouragement. Keeping it simple I used 2×4 blocks,...
DIY chalk paint at home…New Zealand
I decided it was time to make my own DIY chalk paint at home. I love Annie Sloan Chalk paints, but the shop in the village which stock them sadly closed down, so it was time to attempt to make my own. For some reason I thought it was going to be hard, maybe because I...
DIY painted chalkboard from old picture frames…
Another great project: DIY painted chalkboard from old picture frames are a wonderful gift or a great way to make a lovely chalkboard. It’s so easy to pick some old picture frames from Op shops these days, at really reasonable prices. It it fun as well!...
DIY chalkboard gifts – Mother’s Day…
Some really easy DIY chalkboard gifts for Mother’s Day can be so much fun to do. Here are some of the ideas I had and best of all they are really inexpensive. First item is a chopping board , this can be purchased at any housewares shop. My one came from Kmart...
GIN & TONIC CUPCAKES RECIPE…
I was asked to make some Gin & Tonic cupcakes for an event and came up with this recipe. They didn’t want cupcakes with icing on top which is what I would have wanted to do… yummy buttercream icing with gin and tonic. Instead they wanted a syrup which...
A quick update to home with cushions…
Feeling bored with your cushions? That’s where I was at this week and I decided what was needed was a quick update to the home with cushions. I don’t know about you, but I like to change my cushions probably once a year. I just look at them and know I have...
Dining chairs makeover – paint and recover…
Do you ever look at your dining chairs and want to change them? That’s what I was doing and finally took the plunge do something about them. To save the cost of buying new chairs; I actually like the chairs we have in that they are nice and wide, very...
My first quilt made with love….
My first quilt made with love was the result of discovering a chest filled with quilting material collected over many years. Last year we moved my mum into a retirement home and had sorted out her house and the many many years of crafting undertakings. My mum had a...
