moving things around...winter 14

Its been a relaxed weekend of pottering around the house making things pretty.  Fresh flowers, a new succulent from the market, and moving the cat painting behind the dining room table.  It was meant to be here, much better than where it was before in the lounge.  
I love the greens on the table and in the painting, they freshen up the whole space.

Its the last bit of school holidays and financial year end, so we will be on break for two weeks.  I need to concentrate on finishing up a job I have just resigned from, and find a new one.  The job I just resigned from really sapped my creative energy, it will be good to have a break and recharge the batteries a bit.  Lots of exciting things planned for the rest of the year and I look forward to having the energy to make them happen.

pretty things in soft colours

Just because...
They are so pretty and I love the colours and I really want that marble mosaic somewhere.
From top: table vignette, copper light, winter ensemble, plywood detail kitchen, marble mosaic, flowers and antlers.
Have a lovely week

Miss J's room gets a polka dot update

Miss J has moved from the "tiny wee wee" bed to a big girl bed and her room needed a bit of an update. The biggest change is a wall of gold polka dot decals, see my inspiration here, and she loves it!!  See her discovering them for the first time below.

Decals are fab to use!  This was my first decal project and it was easy and cheap to do.  
The wall, which is 2.7 x 3.5m took me about 4 hours to do and by far the longest time was spending measuring where the dots were going to go.  I used a spirit level with a measure on it and marked each point with a bit of blue tape, then fixed any glaring errors by eye.  I am pretty sure there is an easier way to do this, please feel free to let me know the answer.  The great thing is they peel off again seamlessly if you get it totally wrong, or when you want a new look.

I bought both pink and gold (to copy my inspiration from Urbanwalls) but it has ended up all gold except for one pink dot, see if you can spot it.  I love the one pink dot.  I have a lot of pink dots left over for somewhere else in the house!!  

I would love to add a few more pillows, how cute are the ones below, especially the koala!
Overall the room is largely white, peaceful and easy to update with colourful and age appropriate accessories.  A few colourful blankets, the lovely gold dots, some cute new polar bear sheets, and my animal pillow covers, not to perfect, a little eclectic, a little bit fun, and a lot good for being a little girl in.



Koala cushion,  horse pillow,  Ferm Living Totem pillow,  Mr Cat pillow,  Mr Bear pillow,  Ferm Living Inka pillow,  Ferm Living Maya pillow,  gold dot decals,  bunting from Ferm Living

new mirror...made from scratch

How clever is my hubby!!  He made me this gorgeous mirror frame, my absolute favourite piece in our bedroom.  I had bought the mirror thinking I could paint the frame it had, but it was pretty irredeemable despite several coats of paint in varying effects and colours.

Mr B came to the rescue making his own frame, and creating the wooden tiles which he laid into a specially designed recessed gap.  The frame was painted in white enamel and the tiles finished with liming wax so they are all slightly different.  Mirror bought at auction, pine for frame around $30, wood tiles made from off cuts of a previous project.  

So impressed with the finish, especially the way the joins are cut in the corners, wish my photo's were better!!  Its been hung that height because we are planning a credenza to go underneath, that's the next woodwork project on the list.  Watch this space...

diy outdoor lantern for you next picnic or garden party

Make these gorgeous and easy lanterns for your next beach picnic or garden party.   I used them for a beach picnic here.  Light enough to carry several to the beach and back, windproof, inexpensive and easy to make, and so pretty!  You are going to love this diy!  Picnic into the evening and make the good times last even longer!

Make your own Beach Lanterns in 4 easy steps:
You will need: empty 2 litre soda bottles, scissors, bamboo pole, duct tape, tassels to decorate
  • Cut the bottom of the bottle off neatly
  • Place bamboo pole inside the neck of the bottle
  • Tape bottle to bamboo pole neatly.  You will need a few layers to get a firm finish.  Do the final layer as neatly as possible and trim with scissors.
  • Tie two tassels to the base of the bottle neck to finish.
Use your beach lanterns safely:
  • Stand lanterns by pushing the poles into the sand and patting down the base securely so they don't fall over.
  • Fill the base of the bottle with a cup full of sand, and press candle into the sand so that it stands upright firmly and the flame won't touch the sides.
  • The sand will catch melted wax and support the candle, we don't want lanterns melting or catching alight mid party!  
  • If you are in a no fire area replace candles with battery tea light candles for a similar and fire safe effect.



Enjoy!!!  I would love to see how yours turned out, take a pic and share them with me on Instagram at #beachlantern