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Inspiration

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.From Rob Ryan.

I was shopping with the kids a few weeks ago during school holidays when I spotted an enchanting ceramic vase in our travels.  I have been on the look out for unique items to decorate our home with…there are a few bare spots that I still need to fill but I want it to happen naturally, as I see bits and pieces that call out to me and slowly build a collection of beautiful things.

The vase…I fell in love.  It is big, a little quirky and features the artwork of Rob Ryan – an extremely talented paper cutter and print maker.  As much as I wanted to buy the vase then and there, it was a little pricey and I REALLY wanted it to come in red or green as I didn’t think that blue really went with anything in our house.  So I ummed and aahed and decided to leave it for now.

After we got home I searched online for the vase and found it on sale at Lark (sale has finished now).  I couldn’t help myself and popped it into my virtual shopping cart and made the purchase 🙂  

It has been sitting in our lounge room for a few days and makes me smile every time I look at it.  Sometimes a girl’s just gotta have a little splurge!

 If you are not familiar with Rob Ryan, check out his website and some of his paper cuts below…most of these can be purchased on his Etsy store.

 

July 20, 2011
Home & Family

.Somthing Old.

{So good to hear lots of feedback on my last post.  It is so true that technology is slowly taking over our lives and nice to touch base and get back to basics every now and then.  I really do admire all of you Mum’s who are employed outside of the home – whether it be full-time or part-time.  It must be tough only having limited time at home to fulfill the same “to-do” lists as work-at-home or stay-at-home Mums.  What ever you need to say sane and rejuvenate – do what you can to make it happen.  Happy Mum’s and wives need time out too.}

A while ago, I started obsessing over old vintage wooden spools of thread.  They inspire me.  I love the wonder behind them…who did they belong to?  What have they sewn?  Where did they come from?  Like anything old, I’m sure they would have a great story to tell.

 

I envisioned a big vase full of them in my sewing room.  No, I wouldn’t dare actually sew with them – what a waste!  Just to look at and inspire me… perhaps to get out every now and then and play with colour.
 

 I bought a few sets off ebay – they came from the UK, which was a treat in itself.  And I had a few lovely friends answer my plea via my Facebook page and send me more to add to the collection.  

 
 

And here you have it, my treasured wooden spool collection.  I started building towers to photograph this morning, then the kids got interested and I let them do the building while I did the snapping.  Love  it!  What are you obsessing over this weekend?  Besides chocolate, of course 😉

 
 
April 22, 2011
Other

.Things I’m Crushing…GREY.

 

We’ve been talking about a new house.  Part dreaming and part serious.  Since we designed/built our house, Jaron has started working from home and we don’t really have a workspace for him so have had to convert part of the garage into a mini-office.  Its working okay, but isn’t ideal.  We really love our home but need to start thinking about the future and grown up stuff.

I really wasn’t into the designing process of our house.  Lucky for me, Jaron has good taste and I generally like what he does.  I was so busy with newborn Tommy and writing my book and didn’t put a lot of effort into it.  This time around I am feeling really excited though and brimming with ideas.  And you know what I can’t get out of my head?  GREY!  I am crazy about it…combined with white and a pop of GREEN of course 😉 

So over the weekend I typed “grey” and “gray” into the Pinterest and uh-oh!  Overload of inspirational images…LOOOOOVE it!  I’m seeing grey everywhere now – want to sew, quilt, knit, crochet, paint everything grey…take a look at what’s inspiring me…

We laughed when we read that first image…everything we do tends to be bright and a bit crazy – definitley need to inject a bit of grey into our lives!  And TOMS – in stonewash grey…should I??
Love that green door on the white surround and a grey piano hiding on the wall – the pop of the white keys and sheet music is great!
 
I was all for a white bed but now I’m leaning towards grey with a pop of colour – probably green but that pink looks amazing too.  Love all of the ruffles and details on the textiles.
Gorgeous wallpaper in the middle and the kitchen is stunning, although I think I’d need to break up those top cupboards with white.
What about some grey to wear?  Beautiful dress (if my waist ever looks like that again!) and super cute swimmers…I need some grey boots for winter and on the look out for some grey nailpolish.
Sewing with grey fabric – need I say more?
Gorgeous pile of grey blankets…I’m obsesed with wooden cotton reels at the moment and superb grey crochet blanket!
Calm grey and green living room and modern bathroom – not sure that those green tones are right for me, but the look great in these pics.
Meet me for afternoon tea here?  Sipping iced chocolates through grey and white straws?  

 

The best bunk beds ever!  Fantastic stripes….  

What do you reckon?  Should we go with grey?  Find all of these pics and their sources on my Grey Pinterest board – loooots more pics to check out too!

April 11, 2011
Other

.I Pin!.

I’ve recently become hooked on Pinterest.  A fantastic new website that is like a virtual pinboard.  I love it for visually displaying the hundreds of pages and images I had bookmarked in my bookmarks folder.  Bookmarks aren’t handy.  I had so many things bookmarked and knew that in reality I would very rarely visit them again because of the effort it takes to open each one and remember why they were bookmarked.
 
Solution = Pinterest!
This place is great and has been taking up a bit of my time lately.  I’m happy to say that my bookmarks folder is cleared out and I’m loving the beautiful visual display of prettiness I can see everytime I visit my pinboards.  Also lots of fun is checking out other people’s pinboards and adding some of their favourites to mine!
All of your images are easily organised into groupings…check out some of my pinboards for some inspiration!
Things to cook:

 

Inspirational Pics:

 

Cool things for kids:

 

Tutorials:

 

 
Home Decorating:
February 22, 2011
Other

.Re-vamped Inspiration Board.

I love a quick craft project and enjoyed a bit of “trash to treasure” therapy over the weekend.
It started with a couple of frames that I scored for $2 each…

 
I removed the picture and glass from one, gave it a quick sand and wipe clean then painted away.  Paint colour is the same as our front door (Dulux Scarlet Ribbons) – I love it!  After a few coats, we cut a sheet of noticeboard material to the right size, covered it with some fabric and popped it inside.

It was so simple, and looks great.  This one is destined to become my “Inspiration Board” for the wall behind my sewing desk.  I’ve got fun plans for the second frame too…

SUPPLIES:
Michael Miller, Ta Dot in Stone

February 20, 2011