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​I'd had some bar ideas on my Garden Inspiration Pinterest board for ages now, but it just seemed like one of those never-going-to-happen projects. We've had this empty, unused corner of the garden which I decided would be the perfect spot for one so it was time to convince David. I showed him lots of examples and he said if I did a sketch of how I wanted it to look, mainly using the scrap materials we already had, we could do it. Yesss!!

I can't believe how it's turned out! It's just so real. I initially thought I'd just be getting a fold down pallet shelf or something tiny. In the end we used a bunch of stuff from our garage junk collection - 3 pallets from materials deliveries, trellis for the roof (from a bin store David made), osb countertop (leftover from a garage repair), and the roof posts and monoblocks were salvaged from a skip trip.

Of course, with David being a landscape gardener he was able to magic up a lovely patio base, then he constructed the bar using my drawing as a guide. I was in charge of the stools and all of the painting (so much painting). The stools were £12 because of a lucky voucher situation, and I already had foam to use for the tops leftover from another project. I covered the tops with  this tropical leaf tablecloth (£6.99) which inspired the colour scheme. The paint cost £24 with lots leftover. The colours are Paradise Petals by Johnstone's and Seagrass by Cuprinol.

We did most of the work in a weekend, then I was just waiting for my solar lights to arrive to have fun with the styling. They look so pretty but sadly aren't working, so I've got to return them or I'd have taken a twinkly night-time photo. The other accessories were mostly just things we already had - the chalkboard frames are repurposed from my old tradeshow display. I did buy the floral garland on eBay though. Amazingly, in total we spent around £60! 

I hope you like our DIY bar! We can't wait to have some friends and family round for cocktail nights! I'll share the rest of our garden makeover soon.

JillyJilly turned 6 in May. I didn't have any business Birthday celebrations as, truth be told, I'd fallen out of love with my business some time ago. I had been wanting to make some big changes but wasn't sure where to start or what I was actually aiming for, so it all seemed incredibly overwhelming and much easier to just ignore it. Despite business mentoring in the past, I'm rubbish when it comes to listening to my own advice! 

I closed my shop at the start of lockdown. I was worried about sending parcels which were non-essential when the postal service was struggling. I was becoming very aware of making 'stuff' and the whole process - from supplies arriving in unnecessary plastic packaging, wasteful seconds etc. I was making more sustainable choices in other aspects of my life so I wanted my business to match up to this too.

After taking some time to reflect I decided to start over - rebuild, refresh, rebrand. So let me introduce you to the new JillyJilly! My new branding was actually inspired by my new workspace, we created this using existing bits and pieces with the help of some leftover paint. My old branding was pink, mint and lilac so it felt like a nice transition to a softer, nature inspired palette. The hand drawn typography feels a bit vintage, and I liked the playfulness of a reversible logo.

Since you're here, you've probably already noticed this is a whole new website. There's no longer a shop, though there will be a shop for the digital download products I'm working on. One of the main focuses now is design and photography services for indie businesses. I've spent time putting together examples of some of my favourite past projects, along with pre-priced packages for these services. 

I'll be using the blog a little more as I've already got a few DIY projects to share - these were always the most popular in the past! I want to be able to share more personal content featuring the things I'm most passionate about. A mix of thrifty finds, upcycling, home interiors, adventures and my favourite small businesses. 

I'm feeling so excited about my wee business for the first time in ages! It's so nice to be back.