Bookshelf Porn?!?

Ok – I love to read to the point where I won’t leave the house without a book in my bag and I love bookshelves (I have always wanted a wall to ceiling shelf with a ladder) – so imagine my delight when I discovered BOOKSHELF PORN (care of little happy things blog - check out her blog and etsy store also - really cute papers and tapes!)

Some seriously cool ideas for any and all homes. Enjoy the but small selection of porn below!

(via apartment therapy)

(via prettybooks)

(via lovegeneration)

(via Let’s Go Live In The Climbing Library via Nathan Bush)

(via lovegeneration)

Spring Garden Party - Decorating Ideas

I was lucky enough to attend one of my best friends sons Naming Day on the weekend at her beautiful home in northern Sydney. We were blessed with perfect weather and the setting was likewise perfect for sipping champagne! Couple of decorating ideas I have stolen and filed for future use:

Paint a canvas with blackboard paint – instant notice board!

Deciduous trees not working for you – decorate them with your own blossoms and streamers

Nothing like nature to put on a spectacular blossom show. Add in some paper lanterns and you have an instant scene

It was a beautiful day and I was honoured to be asked to take photos for them as a permanent record and to allow them to relax and enjoy the party and their guests



"Do or do not... there is no try" Yoda, Star Wars – Inaluxe philosophy

Given the ongoing strength of the aussie dollar, I am continuing to trawl etsy, much to the detriment of my wallet. Today’s purchase – a set of eight postcards from inaluxe which I intend to admire, frame, send to loved ones, place strategically around the house so they catch my eye and make me smile….. seriously the list of options are endless.

Kristina Sostarko initially created inaluxe in 2006 and was joined this year by Jason Odd who’s work we are yet to see (but I will be checking back frequently). If you have been following my blog for a while you would probably have noticed the similarity between Kristina’s gorgeous designs and a certain Jenn Ski’s work (read that blog here) which is probably what drew me to her work.  

Inaluxe sell their work online or on etsy and they blog regularly

I can’t wait to get my postcards in the post and start admiring, framing, posting, placing….

Everyone needs a pretty outfit - even if you are a piece of technology

It was my intention to do a feature on a whole myriad of laptop and ipad cases today, however I got distracted by two sellers in particular. I know not everyone has an ipad, iphone, or even a laptop – but that shouldn’t stop you from appreciating the beauty in these two seller’s products.

Byrd & Belle:

Handmade by Angie Davis from her studio in Minneapolis, the ipad, iphone and laptop cases are simply beautifully simple (if you catch my drift). Made largely of thick felted wool in shades of greys (you would never know it was her favourite colour!) and a touch of leather they ooze sophistication and make you just want to reach out and touch them.

 

1. laptop sleeve, 2. ipad sleeve, 3. iphone sleeve

Angie’s products are available to purchase on line either at her store or on etsy and you can follow her on facebook, twitter and her blog. For those starting out or even old pro’s at being a small business, make sure you check out the “business of being small” section of her website. Her writing is refreshingly honest and straight forward and I was immediately hooked.

Ambette:

Handmade by Liz in Melbourne Australia, the bright colours of these bags immediately caught my attention. Ambette describes her work as “Clean modern lines with a retro twist…. bold blocks of colour contrasted with natural fibres”. Constructed with german wool felt (apparently “the reason German wool felt is so much better is because it is much more dense (the fibers are packed closer together). This means the felt will stand up better to wear and tear, and be more durable”), tough hessin and durable cotton canvas.

 

1. laptop sleeve, 2. iphone sleeve, 3. ipad sleeve

There is something inherently cheerful about Ambette’s design that makes me smile every time I look at them – and that is not a bad way to start a day at your laptop!

Ambette’s products are available to purchase on etsy and you can follow her on facebook, twitter and her blog.

Feeling a little blue

I was feeling a little blue yesterday and came up with the following etsy treasury:

1 The Skipper Peacoat - Small RoverDog

2 Natural Blue Striped Linen Cotton Napkins Set of 4 -   LinenbyInga 

3 Three Balloons 8x8 Fine Art Archival Photograph - lucysnowephotography

 4 My favourite spot - art print - shirae

5  The Littlest Surveyor - 5x7 Fine Art Photograph Print - ara133photography

6 Royal Blue Tutu - PerryStyle

7 Baby Ballet Booties - JennOzkan

8 Dandies- 10PK Letterpress Notecards - sweetharvey

9  Polite Little Fly 8x10 TheHandsomeFellow

With beautiful items like this made with such love - I couldn't help but cheer up

Welcome Rue

Given I have apparently been living under a rock for the last few years - i have just discovered E-Mag's thanks to the recent blog shout out by the lovely Amanda at Calico & Co. And what better place to start than Rue.

Created by Crystal Centilello and Anne Sage they were "fuelled by our mission to bring the illusive nature of blogging to a magazine". The pages are filled with beautiful images, styling and interesting articles and one of the best parts of an E-mag is that in many instances you can click on a product and be taken to their website!

12

3

4

(Images: 1: Maemae Paperie p. 54; 2 & 4. Victoria Smith's San Fran home p. 88 & 97; 3: Kate's Greats p. 28)

Now if only apple would jump on the flash wagon and then I could read it on my ipad! (and of course you can also follow them on facebook)

A Goat with Character and a Dog with Style

Is it just me or does this goat have serious character...

Little Nanny Goat with Pink Collar -  photograph by Lucy Snowe Photography on etsy

And this dog have serious style......

Pinky Novak - photograph by Lucy Snowe Photography on Etsy

Check out all of Lucy Snowe's work on etsy - her photography has a beautiful dream like quality to it.

The Ol' Bronzed Baby Shoes Gets a Revamp

I am getting a bit creative with my wall art of late and steering away from my usual “photographs on walls only” in my son’s room. My latest creation – “Oliver’s first shoes” - a revamp of the ol “bronzed baby shoes”.

I love the fact that they aren’t in pristine condition as it shows he actually wore them. I can imagine this frame one day hanging in my son’s children’s room (now that’s a scary thought!)

What do you think?

Photo's that never see the light of day - Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain

Today's "Photos that never see the light of day" are from a bit of a random town in Spain where we stopped very briefly for one night between Bilbao and Barcelona. We chose to stop in Vitoria-Gasteiz for no other reason than they apparently have the largest deck of playing cards in the world (!). Unfortunately having arrived, found a hotel, parked our car and checked in - we then discovered the museum where the cards were displayed was closed for renovations. We were devastated. OK not really. But given there was not much else to do we resorted to wandering the (slight scary because it is a heavily political town in Basque country) back streets.

Out of this came one of my favourite photos of our holiday.....

What is it I hear you ask? It was actually a mural on the side of a building which I "slightly" altered in photoshop.

And despite the age old rule that a magician never reveals their secrets -i will let you see mine - before photoshop photo below....

(small confession - the altered photo does actually see the light of day on my kitchen wall, my parents kitchen wall, a friends house..... but thought i would share it with you anyway!)

Photo's that never see the light of day - Granada, Spain

Today I went looking for one photo in particular, then got side tracked by some others, and then couldn't decide which one to post, so this week i am going to be posting a photo or two a day from our honeymoon back in 2008 when we were lucky enough to drive from France, through Spain to Portugal for 6 weeks. It was an amazing holiday that could never be repeated (if anyone ever needs tips for Spain or Portugal just ask).

So today's photos:

Some graffiti we passed in a back street

A "quiet" courtyard in the Alhambra

(admission: I didn't notice the fish until I saw the photo later!)

Final etsy profile - what the??

So for the final “yeah the aussie dollar is strong so I should buy something from etsy” profile for the week I was going to do something really edgey, design orientated that you would all love and immediately want to buy for your house, but then something caught my eye… Wait for it… “Butt Freckles”.

OK – so it was word “butt” that caught my attention, but then the cute descriptions pulled me in, “All freckles are snatched off quickly and with excessive force. They are then taken to a secret lab where they are exposed to radioactive caju dust which causes the freckle to greatly increase in size. After exposure to the dust, the freckle's unique characteristics become easily visible including their very own butt freckle (a special glass bead sewn on the rear)”

KoolAid butt freckle: This screaming red freckle is not dangerous - just snuggly

Night shift butt freckle

Nori seewead butt freckle: "When I collect mermaid scales I have to dig in seaweed that has washed up on the beach. Here is a freckle I found in the salty bunch of leaves."

The actual “butt freckle”

So who would buy these – apparently 3300+ on etsy! These cuddly and cute “butt freckles” measure 2.5” x 2.5” and apparently are loved the world over. So why not take a chance and bring a “butt freckle” into your life. At a minimum at least you will be able to say “butt freckle” when someone asks you what the fluffy thing on your desk is! Don't forget to check out the flickr group for "butt freckles"!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Etsy recommendations - Dreaming of Travel

I am in a bit of an adventurous mood today – so for today’s etsy’s recommendations I have gone with a map theme. Maps can be so simple yet inspiring.

1. EcoBangle: Vintage New York City and Long Island ... a Map Lover's EcoBangle(TM)

2. briefmoment: Grandpa's Vintage Globe Collection, Set of 3, 4x6 Fine Art Photographs

3. Bombu: Bespoke map dish

4. studiokmo's: paris mapcut on white

5. VintageJamie: London Map Illustrated Blue Tone Linen Pillow Case(Cover, Slip)

6. walldecor: New Design Wall Art Home Decors Murals Vinyl Decals Stickers---WORLD MAP

7. ismay: Vintage map 'e' brooch

8. boardstiff: SMALL - I am Here (your neighborhood custom map play mat)

9. PachysandraPaper: Map Cards Hand Stamped- Elephant

or alternatively click on the Etsy treasuring link here to see them all at once.

Now if i could only afford a holiday and the time off!

Etsy Shopping Week - Printspace

The aussie dollar is still going strong… today’s favourite etsy store is Printspace. Some quick facts from their profile (PS if you have a moment – check out their entire profile – it is really lovely):

·         Art created by married couple Mara Girling and Nicholas Girling

·         Mara:

o   I am married to Nick, he is my light.

o   We have two little boys. They are my inspiration.

o   Olive green is my favourite colour.

o   I am addicted to homeware magazines.

o   I like stationery shops.

o   Anything Danish makes me happy - furniture, graphics, textiles

·         Nick:

o   I'm happiest when painting something that I think looks great.

o   I have a family of people who make me laugh and my mum still goes for the bait my dad has been dishing out forever.

o   I was self taught before I sought to be taught.

o   Im inspired by paint smudges on the road, old textured concrete, strange markings on lamp posts, songs that I've made up with friends, swiss design from the 50's and 60's.

Some of my favourites:

1.      Fishing with dad art print (which I am eyeing off for my little boys room because his dad likes to fish)

2.      Little ones umbrella art print

3.      Three Birds

4.      UFO

Printspace also have a website and blog

Strong dollar = Etsy Shopping Week

With the Australian dollar being what it is, now is the perfect time to buy something from Etsy. So for the rest of this week I will be featuring one of my favourite stores per day.

First on the list Up Up Creative. Some quick facts:

• "I only create and sell things that I would actually buy myself – things for the person who loves design and admires beauty but who lives within a budget".
• The name: came about from her then 15 month old son: "I asked him one day what I should call my little store and he said, “Up up?” Sure, what he really wanted was to be picked up, but as moms will do I pretended he was answering my question. The more I thought about it, though, the more I really liked it. So positive. So personal (because it’s what Evan is always saying). So easy to remember. It just fit."



Some of my favourites

1. Feel good cards

2. Desk Calendar

3. Valentine - Love Illustrated Folded Card

4. Stationery set doodles in orange and pink

Up Up Creative also have a blog which I have justed started following and a website where you can also purchase items.

Calico & Co Craft Swap & The Clip Café

A couple of weeks ago I signed up to take part in my first handmade craft swap organised by the lovely Amanda at Calico & Co. (see my post about GemmaJoy who i sent my gift to). This was my first craft swap, but I thought it sounded like a great idea. You get to send a gift to a total stranger, and one day, something lovely will turn up in your post box (and along the way you discover some great stores and blogs).


Well today was the lucky day that my gift turned up – and the sender is the lovely Clip Café. Some piccies of my lovely gift below.

Take a minute from your day and check out The Clip Café’s Made It store where you can purchase some of these goodies, or why not grab a cupper and have a read of her blog

Housewarming Present – inexpensive and practical – yet pretty

Are you looking for a quick and easy housewarming present that has a little more personality than a bunch of flowers or a bottle of wine? Well this one can be whipped up for less than $10.

What you need:

1. One small potted herb plant or flower pot from your local nursery or bunnings
2. One small plant pot from ikea
3. Clear gift wrap and ribbon from your local $2 shop
4. One small gift tag – another donkey design ones available on "made it" are perfect (!)

And voila – a cute, personable housewarming present. Also perfect as a thank you present for your lunch host.

My New Favourite Stationery - Smock

The latest in my favourite stationery – Smock. Smock are based in New York in a print shop that has 20 antique presses, 50 tons of equipment and 17 employees, and according to their website they are the first and only print shop in the US to offer printing on a luxury bamboo paper.


They offer beautiful stationery including letterpress cards, sticky notes, bags, paper, boxes, invitations to name just a few and also do custom invitations and stationery. Their eco gift bags are made in the Himalayan forests of Nepal using papermaking techniques that have been around since the 12th century A.D.

Some of my favourites:

1 custom letterpress stationery
2 persimmon jotter

3 blossom double sided gift wrap

4 koi sticky notes

5 eco gift bags

6 koi letterpress note card

Spend some time drooling over their work, or why not “like” their facebook page for regular indulgences on beautiful stationery.
(And yes they deliver to australia)

Anthropologie - my wish list just got longer

The “Anthropologie” Store markets itself as a “one-of-a-kind and compelling shopping experience that makes women feel beautiful, hopeful and connected.”
Not sure if I feel beautiful after looking at it – but I definitely feel hopeful that I will one day be able to buy lots of things from it!
They offer a huge range of products for the entire house / lifestyle including: bedding, bath, jewellery, kitchen, hardware, table, books & journals, office, hobbies and kids.

Some of my favourites:

1 Cover story postcards

2 Colour swatch door knob

3 Measured time clock

4 Charley Harper Flash Cards & Floor puzzle

5 Tea & Crumpet Apron

6 Birds on a wire dinnerware

Bad news – no stores in Australia. Good news – they deliver to Australia in 7-10 working days!

Now I eat my ABC's

Now that my little one is well advanced in his reading (OK he actually still just likes to eat the books) I feel I should help advance his reading skills by providing easy access alphabet letters to play with (or eat). Now you could go old school like these ones-

But I love the look of these ones by "beyond the seam" on etsy (as seen on Young House Love blog). They are perfect for little ones and even have the magnets sown inside the letters away from hungry mouths.

And even better - why not paint a magnetic wall and that way you can keep the fridge clear for things like your water bill (which reminds me.....)

Photo's that never see the light of day - Lake Como, Italy

Today's two "Photos that never see the light of day" and brought to you from Lake Como in Italy. My husband and I were lucky enough to do a day trip on the Lake in June 2009. Not so lucky though was the fact that we did not run into George Clooney!

Even the ducks on Lake Como are stylish- I love the blue!

Happy Monday everyone!

Beautiful Cards, Notecards & Fun Magnets

As a self-confessed stationery-aholic and a bit of a greeting card fanatic, I love checking out other people’s cards, and whilst I openly admit I love my own cards (which you can buy on line at Made It – sorry bit of a self plug there) I can always appreciate other beautiful cards.


Often I find simple is best and that is the case with fin+roe’s line of cards and products. fin+roe is the custom stationary division of marzipan inc. (According to their website) It all started 7 years ago when lori made her own wedding invitations, moved onto greeting cards for friends and family and then decided to take her dream a bit more seriously (sounds awfully like where I am now!).

fin+roe range includes letter press greeting cards, custom birth announcements, wedding invitations, birthday invitations, alphabet magnets and many products, but my favourite are the notecards. A Set of 25 high quality, professionally printed notecards, measuring 4" x 5.5" and including envelopes is only $1.49 and you can customise the colour, pattern and text!

letter press greeting cards

alphabet magnets

Notecards 

Check them out – even if you don’t order any – they are beautifully simple to look at and dream. And PS – they do deliver to Australia!

Photo's that never see the light of day - three random things that make me smile

Today's "Photos that never see the light of day" are three random things that bring a smile to my face:

A jar full of buttons: I have an old jar of buttons that were my nana’s that i remember playing with as a child. I don’t know what to do with them, but I just like looking at them now and then

The smell of freshly cut grass - whilst it doesn't happen often in my own backyard - when it does, I smile whenever I look out the window (and wonder why I don't mow the lawn more often!)

Sharing a cold glass of wine on a hot summers day with friends.

What three random things bring a smile to your face?