Muchas gracias (part 2)!

I was bound to miss someone (forgive me) but thank you also to the above lovely people for the studio mentions.

Alissa who sells beautiful children's clothes, decor and accessories and vintage items in her stores here and here sent me this photo of ish & chi art she purchased for her daughter's room. They looks so cute together! Thanks for sending me the pic.

Big hugs all around and hope you are enjoying the start of your weekend. The sun is out so I might venture outdoors today.

Tapestries and paintings

Top left and middle: Tapestries made by my mum.
Top right: Oil painting picked up at a garage sale over the weekend.
Bottom: Canvas bought on my trip to Paris. I thought I had misplaced it but after digging around at home I found it and had it stretched.

I have been rummaging lately and uncovered these pretties. I'm tempted to hang them in a cluster on a wall along with a few other prints I own but, although I love the look, I'm not sure I can arrange them very well together let alone hang them straight.

The back of the oil painting says "Giralt Lerin - Zambra gitana - Oil on canvas - Col. particular - Espana".

It seems a shame to hide these away though.

Muchas gracias!

Thank you friends for mentioning Ish & Chi on your sites and in particular my studio makeover. I'm very grateful for your lovely comments.

If I've missed anyone let me know and I'll add you to the list. Thanks!

The perfect chandelier

I've searched high and low for a chandelier for the second bathroom. See the plans for a recap of the shape I am after. Here I am to bore you with details of my hunt.

Problem #1 - I didn't know what to call the shape so it made searching for it difficult. I had to draw it for a few sales assistants because I couldn't describe it well.

Problem #2 - My budget is under $200. There was next to no chance of me finding an old fancy one for that money.

As luck would have it though I found the perfect chandelier in an old Freedom catalogue. I called my local store and it was reduced from $299 to $89. Bargain.

BUT...

Problem #3 - It was sold out in Sydney. There were two left... in Melbourne.

Problem #4 - Could I convince my husband of $89 + el-cheapo return flight to Melbourne without him divorcing me?

Turns out we have a friend who travels to Melbourne fortnightly and he's kindly offered to pick it up for me. Bless.

All this fuss for that chandelier. I'm so embarrassed.

(Image via Apartment Therapy. Is this the most unnatural pose?)

Matchmaking

Hi there! Did you have a good weekend? Did you get up to any mischief? I haven't gotten up to mischief in years and even when I did my attempts were pathetic - like filling the coffee, tea and sugar jars with things other that coffee, tea or sugar. Oooh yes, beware of that one!


I was playing the part of the matchmaker this weekend. Not the fun matchmaking type i.e. setting up friends on a date, but moving bits and pieces around my home trying to work out what looks best together.


Now don't get me wrong, I don't usually like to match things as such but when I laid out these items I purchased recently for the master bedroom I was surprised to see how well they matched together. Maybe I'm just on a yellow and blue kick at the moment.

Does anyone else find they go through periods of buying things in similar colours?

LOVE Candy Print by MadeByGirl - Love love love this!!
Butterfly art from Bed Bath N' Table - Bought on sale!
Sanderson wallpaper from decorsupplies - I can't get enough of this design. A framed piece of this paper might look good in the bedroom.

Free art. No joke!

I came across Feed Your Soul: the free art project via Apartment Therapy Unplugged. Each month they invite artists to contribute a print to be made available for download for free. All you need is a good printer and some nice paper.

It's a great way for artists to promote their work and a way for you to have something special of theirs in your home at no cost.

So go on - download here, print, frame and be happy.

And on that note, have a happy weekend!

Spoonflower

Have you heard of Spoonflower? It is a website that allows you to upload your own designs to print onto fabric. I had a play and uploaded the horse I drew for the Circus Carousel print.

A sample I ordered arrived today and it's fun to see my design on fabric. I still need to work on the background colour though.

Crystal knobs

I popped into That Vintage Shop today and picked up these crystal knobs for the laundry room. Maybe I'm silly for having something so fancy in there but why shouldn't we use our 'good china' every day?

Painting stripes

I have been a busy bee lately working on the changes I planned to the laundry and bathroom and wanted to give you a little peek at how it's progressing.


One of the changes planned was to paint thick horizontal stripes in the bathroom. I mocked it up in Photoshop first and decided that 6 thick stripes was the way to go so I grabbed myself some painter's tape and marked off the lines. Each stripe is 23cm thick.

And here's a little teaser of how it looks after a couple of coats of paint:

The colour chosen is Dulux Sea Breeze (1/4 strength).

I'll show you more when it's finished. I took the photo at night so it isn't a true reflection of the colour.

PS: I found this 'how-to' helpful over at Young House Love in case you are interested in a similar project.

Little surprises

My computer hates me so I'm posting on the iPhone. I had a couple of little surprises today. The first is noticing my toe polish matches my jacket and the second is finding a 50 cent coin hiding under these leaves. Maybe I should buy a lottery ticket today.

(sorry, this is as exciting as my life gets)

Technical difficulties

I'm thinking about plans for the master bedroom and I'm inspired by this room today. The bold wallpaper and bright table lamp and chair are lovely.

It seems my laptop has the sniffles as well. I'll be back with a proper post when I can work out what is happening.

In the meantime I wanted to thank you for the lovely comments left for me on my studio makeover. I spent yesterday a little embarrassed and nervous about what you might think of it. I can be shy like that sometimes but THANK YOU.

The studio is the one area in our home where I could be let loose to do with as I pleased (within budget), decorate to my own taste and probably break every design 'rule' in the process. But hey, it was fun.


(Image Canadian House & Home)

The studio

I am finally done playing around with the studio. Before I show you the final photos here is a before shot to compare to:

Mmmm, pretty...

The aim was to create a playful, colourful space I can call my own and one that will inspire me to design. The budget was to spend no more than $900.

Here's how it looks now:

Walls painted, dryer moved, shelves installed and furniture moved in. When I removed the nails in the far wall the concrete crumbled away and left behind huge holes. To hide the mess, my husband and I pasted wallpaper onto a large piece of plywood and mounted it.

The white trestle tables are cheap and functional. I've dressed up the sideboard with a few of my favourite things.

This is where I store everything I need to package and wrap orders. I've lined the drawers with pretty wrapping paper picked up from IKEA for $2.95 a roll.

The start of my kimmidoll and kokeshi doll collection.

I painted an old pine cupboard we owned white and blue and kept the old handles.

The inside of the cupboard has been painted blue too.

Some of the fabrics I use for the designs in my store.

The Alice in Wonderland print set from The Black Apple arrived and I have hung them up along with some of my own work.

So that's it! I love pottering around in here while my son sleeps. What I'm most excited about though is that we've created a space out of a previously unused section of our home.

I already owned most of the items in the studio however I have put together a cost breakdown of the things I did buy (and some that I splurged on):

Paint for cupboard (Dulux Whisper White, Dulux Tapioca 1/2 strength and undercoat) - $80
Graham & Brown wallpaper - $50 delivered
Plywood and moulding for wallpaper frame - $50
IKEA Egeby rug - $149
Clipboards (which I then covered with fabric) - $12
Matt Blatt Eames style chair - $99
Antique sideboard from Ebay (my big splurge) - $405
Adairs paper butterfly mobile - $50
IKEA wrapping paper - $2.95

TOTAL: $897.95 (just made it in under budget)

I have also listed the price of some of the other items I already owned for reference:

Paint for walls (Dulux Self Destruct) - $80
Paint for floor (White Knight Grey) - $70
Bunnings trestle tables - $59 each
IKEA Lack floating shelves - $49 each
Kikki-k step file and folders - approx. $30 (I can't remember exact original price)
Kikki-k pink cloth boxes - $34.95 each
Herd cushion cover by Skinny laMinx - $25 (USD)

(Click photos above for more information about the room)

What I've learnt lately

In the past few days I've learnt a few things:

1. Wallpaper and vapourisers don't mix

Vapourisers produce steam. Steam is used to remove wallpaper. I'm sure you can you see where I'm going with this. Lucky for us we used the vapouriser in my son's room for one night before realising the two don't mix. A corner of the wallpaper has peeled away but it's easily fixable.

2. MasterChef makes me want to be a creative cook

I was thinking about Greek food after watching MasterChef last night and in particular a meal my mum makes with capsicums, tomatoes and potatoes stuffed with a mince mixture. I thought, if you can stuff capsicums, tomatoes and potatoes what else can you stuff? I looked in the fridge and saw a parsnip. I was very close to giving it a go but I had to remind myself that I'm no Poh and I have no idea what I'm doing so I put the parsnip down.

3. I'm sometimes too honest

I ate out for lunch today. As I waited for my meal to be prepared a man nearby struck up a conversation with me. After a bit of chit-chat he asked if I would like to join him for lunch. My response? I told him I wanted to read the newspaper. That's right - I told this nice man that I would prefer to read the paper than talk with him. How rude!

Admittedly, I was never going to have lunch with him but surely I could have responded with something a little more polite? My response however was the absolute truth. As a mum, it's so hard to find the time to read the paper and I cherish the few minutes I do have to myself.

So on that note, I'm going to hang my head in shame and get back to collecting all the snotty tissues scattered around the house. It seems my son has passed on his cold to me and we've successfully passed it on to my husband. Lots of fun to be had in our household!

(Image of a corner of my home. It's not related to the post but it sure beats posting a photo of a vapouriser, a parsnip or the newspaper. I haven't yet read the magazine but I bet you already guessed that.)

Birds

Sanderson Options 10 Finches in Yellow

I was meaning to post last night but my little boy has come down with a cold so this will be a quick post while he sleeps.

I am back to considering wallpaper for the bedroom. To be honest, I think I will tire of the stripes over time. Unfortunately the Broadhurst samples I brought home yesterday aren't quite what I'm after although they are pretty. Above is the latest design I'm obsessing over.

Have a nice weekend. I think I'm coming down with a cold too so I'll be spending it looking after my son and drinking lots of tea.

(Image top decorsupplies.co.uk and bottom wandrlust.com/Signature Prints)

Florence Broadhurst tour

Someone pinch me. I was just given a tour of the area where the Broadhurst fabrics and wallpapers are printed. It was amazing to see all the design screens stacked alongside each other on the archive shelves. There are so many! Here are some samples I was given. I'll tell you more about these tonight.

More wallpaper

When does a collection become a collection? After you purchase three, four, more? Seems I'm on my way regardless with wallpaper purchases.

I bought a roll of this Crown paper late last night. As in, very late last night. But at $50 (AUD) for 10 metres it's not a bad price. I was toying with the idea of using it in the spare bathroom but I still like the striped wall idea. It might be good to use inside cupboards perhaps?

PS: The wallpaper is actually Crown not Graham & Brown as previously mentioned. Told you it was a late night!

Talented friends

Model Liz Westworth

Model Sherie Lee Godfrey

Do you have super talented friends that somehow manage to turn anything they do into magic?

That's how I would describe my friend Gemma. She's recently started her own makeup artistry business and is building a portfolio full of her lovely work including the above photos taken by photographer Geoff Francis. I can't stop staring at them.

Gem has kindly shared all the products she used to achieve the two looks. I think I need to get my paws on her makeup kit. I don't have nearly as many products in my collection:

Look #1 (top)

FACE
MAC Studio Sculpt Foundation
MAC Select Moisturecover Concealer
MAC Prep + Prime Transparent Finishing Powder
MAC True Romantic Beauty Powder Blush
MAC Lily White Pigment to highlight cheeks

EYES
MAC Painterly Paint Pot
MAC Naked Pigment on eyelids
Makeup Forever #75 Neon Pink Eyeshadow on inner crease and lower lashline
MAC Passionate Eyeshadow on lower lashline
MAC Lily White Pigment on brow bone
MAC Smolder Eye Kohl
MAC Mascara X
MAC Stud Brow Pencil
MAC Mink Brow set

LIPS
MAC Dervish Lipliner
MAC Faux Lipstick
MAC Nice Kitty Lipglass

Look #2 (bottom)

FACEMAC Studio Fix Fluid FoundationMAC Select Moisturecover Concealer
MAC Prep + Prime Transparent Finishing Powder
MAC Golden Bronzer
MAC Fleur Power and Gingerly Blushes

EYES
MAC Groundwork Paint Pot
MAC Brule Eyeshadow on brow bone
MAC Era Eyeshadow through crease
MAC Mulch Eyeshadow on eyelid
MAC Magnetic Fields Eyeshadow on outer eyelid and outer crease
MAC Stubborn Brown Powerpoint Pencil
MAC Zoomblack Mascara
Ardell Duralash Short Flare lashes
MAC Fling Brow pencil
MAC Beguile Brow Set

LIPS
MAC Redd Lipliner
MAC Chili lipstick + MAC Lady Danger Lipstick
I can't wait to see more of your work Gem and thank you for letting me share these photos!

The laundry

The laundry and spare bathroom is an extension to the house by the previous owners. They left behind an apricot coloured sink and toilet and rather unattractive floor tiles. We do have plenty of storage though.

I've got a tiny budget to pretty up and organise this space so the sink, toilet and floor tiles will have to stay. Here's what I do plan to do:

I'm hoping to get a start on it this weekend!

(Click images to view larger)

Fashion Friday... err, Monday

Just testing the Blogpress app on my new iPhone. Today I wore my French Connection coat which I bought one size too small. Oops. It's red as a little belated 4th of July celebration for our USA friends. Hope you had a fun day!

I heart weekends

Maybe not as spider-y?

These days every day seems to blend into the next but there's still something refreshing about the weekend. We have an event to go to so I'll be getting my hair done and wearing makeup (gasp), maybe even a buff and polish and a nip and tuck. Okay, I lie about that last part.

Makeup will be a-la twiggy style. I look nothing like her and it may end up a mascara smudged mess but I have the falsies* and I'm going to give it a go. Wish me luck and have a great weekend!

*By falsies I mean false eyelashes not this.

(Images via Beauty and the Street, Whatever Happened To)

Silly fears

I know I'm 30 years old and probably shouldn't be so afraid of bugs and creepy crawlies but every time I go to sleep at night I throw open the sheets to see if there are any bugs lurking.

Which is why, although I absolutely love the photo above (the stripes, white floorboards, high ceiling!), I don't think I could rest easy at night without climbing up there first to check nothing has made its home on the canopy. Pity because it is a lovely idea.

And let's not talk about the weird noises I hear at night. This old house plays havoc with my imaginative mind. What will happen when my son is older and wants me to check under his bed for the boogeyman?


(Image Paul Costello, Domino, June 2006 via Flickr)

Black & Spiro

Dear Anna,

Your store Black & Spiro looks so deliciously beautiful. I would love to spend a day in your showroom looking at the displays and touching the lovely fabrics.

Pretty please open a store in Sydney.

Kindest regards,

(All images Absolutely Beautiful Things)