prints and prints

I still have a few blank walls left in my house that are just begging for some art love – mainly my two large walls in my living room. Right now they are both facing each other in equal blankness.

I think what has left these two walls blank for so long is their size – they are at least 4m wide and I just didn’t have anything to fill the space.

I have pondered it a while and I think I may have my solutions. On one of the walls I’d like to purchase two or three of Sharon Montrose’s animal prints – I am thinking this combination:

   

or this:

  

or:

  

The deciding is going to be tricky.

On the other – on which the couch backs onto – I am going to attempt to create a grouped wall of art. Now I say attempt – as I haven’t had much success in the past at grasping the eclectic look of things – but it seems a great, and inexpensive, way to showcase a lot of art, and it can grow and change with you. I am going to be using these as inspiration:

For what will be included in my print gathering – I am currently loving the below prints/artwork:

clockwise from top left; melbourne print by studiokmo, Jamais trop tard by evajuliet, Flaming Lips. Do You Realize. by 2142stuart, Watercolour Blobs by MadeByEmilyGreen, The Cool Tiger in Sunglasses by Lucius Art, Rabbit Watercolor PRINT by WaterInMyPaint, Cat Watercolor PRINT by WaterInMyPaint, Rain by Aneesh Vini, Wander Art Print by Wesley Bird, Ocean Blue by Leah Flores, Mac Cat by Florever, Deluge by Marc Allante.

So some thinking will have to be done – and some saving of money to afford these all.

Also – just apologies for the sporadic posting – I just started a new job and it has hindered my time to focus. Hopefully once I am in the swing it will get back more to normal.

cute christmas stamps

As a part of my #16 in my 25 before 25, I wanted to make  edible gifts for my workmates and friends. To do so I envisaged ribbons with hand written tags, and a cute little stamp in the corner. To find said stamp I headed to etsy, the home of crafty cuteness – there were soo many stamps to choose from, but I ended up purchasing these two from MemiTheRainbow‘s shop.

Can’t wait to receive them in the mail and get stamping all my gifts – the cuteness is almost too much for me!

bow-tie fancy

Red Honeycomb Bow Tie Dog Collar by SillyBuddy on etsy

I have a great urge to buy this collar for my cat Bailey (you can get it in small sizes, and considering Bailey is a large cat it could work). However Bailey may not appreciate…

etsy love

After purchasing the Stormtropper body suit yesterday on Etsy, I was once again drawn in to all the wonders it contains. Here are a few of the things I have saved in my wishlist:

 

Sophie’s White Cloud Paper Garland – by 3GIRLSandagoat 

I can see having this somewhere in the bedroom – makes me feel calm and serene just looking at it.

 

Decorator Fabric – Ikat print in Orange – Dalesford by Duralee - 20″x20″ – by MarthaAndAsh

Love the look of this cushion, I feel like throwing it in amongst all the red cushions I seem to possess.

 

Ori Ori Stripe Necklace Red x White- Limited edition – by Homako

Isn’t it just the cutest – it would brighten up any outfit.

 

Cities, set of three prints – by blancucha

I love the retro vibe of these posters, they’d look great grouped together on one of my walls.

 

iPhone/iPod docking station – by woodtec

What a cute way to keep your phone charged – it would spruce up my bedside table for sure.  

all images are from their respective etsy store websites

stormtropper bodysuit? why not!

I love etsy for when I need to buy gifts for expecting parents. Being far, far away from being a parent myself I am never quite sure of what parents want for gifts – so I prefer to go the cute route, even though they might not be the most practical gifts, and Etsy is the perfect place to find something cute.

At my previous job my manager’s wife was pregnant with their first child, and I wanted to get them something for the bub even though I have now left the company. My old manager loves Star Wars so I felt this was the perfect baby gift:

Baby Stormtrooper-ish Infant Bodysuit by micielomicielo

It is possibly one of the cutest bodysuits ever. The shop owner was lovely to deal with, I wanted to add gift wrapping and a card as I was going to send it straight to my old manager and she was really helpful with adding this to the listing. I highly recommend her shop if you want a cute and quirky gift for an expectant parent. It will take a few weeks to get to my manager (the bodysuit is made to order) but fingers crossed he’ll love it as much as I did.

the possibilities are endless…with shoe clips!

I think I am a bit late to the game, but I have just discovered shoe clips! If you’re like me and hadn’t heard of shoe clips before they are small little clips (think brooch size) which you can clip to your shoe to add a bit of colour or interest to your shoes for some temporary fun. I love this idea – especially since I am low on shoes at the moment, I could always change them up with an in-expensive shoe clip.  While cruising through etsy I found these lovelies which would be perfect candidates:

Fabric Flower Shoe Clips – Ivory Gardenia by No144

Shoe Clip - reneekae

Black satin bow shoe clip – ElizaJaneClips

You could even use them as brooches or hair clips when they’re not gracing your shoes. Most of the clips on etsy are priced between $10 and $25 so it definitely is an in-expensive way to update your shoes. Any one had any experience with shoe clips? Where did you buy yours?

 

an industrial feel

I love the look of home-wares and furniture that have an industrial feel to them – especially when they are actually had a former life in some sort of industry. That rawness and metal look feels so out of place in an every day home, so much so it almost looks like it belongs. Below are a few finds of mine which epitomises this look for me:

ebay antique hospital cabinet

ebay industrial console table

this one needs a bit of imagination – but with a restoration it would make amazing storage

ebay industrial drawers

vintage index file drawer by industrialrelic on etsy

Replica Xavier Pauchard Tolix Chair by Matt Blatt

Now just to get the massive New York-esque loft to fit all this furniture in, sigh….

 

etsy treasure hunting

So it seems the more I am not spending money, the more I am looking shops.  Occasionally I pop onto Etsy, but more often than not I leave feeling too disheartened at the mammoth task of searching through all that is available. Sometimes – like today – I stay a bit longer and peruse deeper, and you certainly can find some cute and interesting things…

mcqueen print by sandrasuy

Absolutely beautiful print! Would buy it in a heartbeat, if only it wasn’t $65

(totally worth that btw, the artist is amazing, just funds aren’t allowing such purchases )

action mole with mint mittens by corduroy

No idea what I’d do with this – but it’s just so cute – a miniature mole with mittens? why not?

ne sois pas triste mug by corduroy

By the same seller as the above miniature mole comes this cute mug. It says ‘Do not be sad’ – what a perfect sentiment for morning coffees or teas (and sounds so much better in French)

vintage pedestal apothecary jar by primitivepincushion

I would love a jar like this on my hallway entrance table, and possibly fill it with colourful lollies!

vintage handmade blue stripes canvas satchel by hazelnutzhen

What a cute day bag, and it’s handmade in Melbourne!

Casablanca poster by claudiavarosio

This seller has a whole range of prints of based off her original illustrations of all sorts of cult movies.

Once again I have a full list of etsy favourites saved, will I end up purchasing anything – probably not – but when I have a bit extra to spend I will definitely be checking into etsy again and seeing what things I can cross of my list.

All images from the respective etsy stores.

 

christmas wishlist

I can’t believe it’s nearly December, Christmas has come around so quickly this year. I was going to do a post on the presents I am going to buy for others, but a few of my family members read this blog, so I’d hate to ruin the surprise. So instead what do I want for christmas?

kikki k photo journal (in black)- to document my Japan trip from earlier this year

Moleskine 2011 Weekly Notebook Diary – Large - Need to try and use a diary next year – and this one includes a page each week for notes, perfect for my incessant list taking.

Some general sports attire - since starting boot camp a few weeks ago, and enjoying it, I realise I need some proper exercise clothes, no longer can I pass my $10 Kmart leggings as proper exercise gear!

A cute brooch – The above brooches are all from etsy seller tigerandhare, but I’m sure similar ones could be found elsewhere.

Bunnings giftcard – I’d love a toolbox to hold my expanding array of handygirl things, however having to bring it back on the plane with me isn’t feasible so the gift card would be great!

Nothing else springs to mind at the moment – but whatever the presents are, I am going to enjoy a fabulous day of family and food! 3 weeks and counting until I am back in Perth!

the bedroom cure continues…

Some of the next steps on the room cure involved researching your shopping list, identifying whether the room is warm or cool and begin entering all your shopping list prices into a spreadsheet. I have definitely identified that my room will be cool, with greens, greys and whites being the colour scheme, with odd pops of colour in small doses. The rest of the shopping list is coming along too. Unfortunately since I am hoping to some of my materials second-hand from ebay etc I don’t have images of what they will look like yet, but I have confirmed a few buys on my list.

For the bedside tables I am going to go for the Ikea Bekvam stool, and I think I will paint them white, however I am still deciding whether I want to go with something more bold.

With the bedside lamps I am still undecided. The idea of a wall lamp either side of the bed is appealing as it doesn’t take up space on the table – but I am always adverse to drilling any holes in my walls. If i went for a table lamp I’d like some industrious, however I am beginning to realise just how expensive lamps can get, so it may just have to be something simple.

The dresser is most likely going to be two Ikea Rast dressers painted. There are a few on ebay so I may be able to get two for under $100.  However I am keeping an eye on ebay just in case a lowboy dresser turns up.  The same goes for the chair – I am hoping to get a solid wood chair from ebay for the bedroom chair, and giving it a bit of a paint to liven it up.

The feature pillows, pillowcases and pom-poms will be left for last, as finishing touches for the room, so I won’t start looking until I see more of the bigger picture of the room come together. I am still searching for pieces to go above the bed and on the dresser, and finding the perfect piece might take me a while. 

The shopping list currently is sitting above my budget of $500, but until some things like the art and lamps are decided on I can’t hone it any further.