HAND LETTERING FOR A WEDDING

at the moment i am spending quite a lot of time helping some friends style their wedding. here is a bit of a sneak preview of the hand lettering i have been working on for different details of the wedding...

i am hoping to have quite a few photos to upload of their big day in a few weeks. stay tuned...

ALASKA

alaska is a beautiful place! it probably wasn't super high on my bucket list, but it was a family holiday so off i went with my parents and sister. we did a two week cruise through the south of alaska and again, while cruising isn't normally my chosen vehicle for seeing the world, it was a family holiday, so i went with the flow. the holiday was designed with my grandma in mind, but she was unable to come at the last moment. in hindsight, i am really glad i went. it has some of the most amazing scenery. i have decided that i really like north america. alaska is a place where not all the towns are connected by roads, and there are lots of islands. this means that your options are either boat or flying. i am actually really glad it is like this. it means the towns are small, the number of people is less, and it seems more untouched than other places.

here are some of my favourite snaps, with a little commentary as to why i like each of them.

this picture was taken on a ocean wildlife boat trip out of sitka. i loved the wildlife (we'll get to that later), but i also loved the scenery. forests as far as the eye can see. the weather in this picture is fairly typical of our trip, but is very typical of alaska. it rains something like 200 days a year which is a lot! we were fortunate as it hardly rained on us, and we had some sunny days. most, however, were like this picture.

as i said above, the towns in alaska are small. there was a mixture of american culture, russian orthodox and tglinket cultures all mixed in. these pictures (clockwise) were taken in ketchikan, juneau, kodiak and icy strait point and kind of show a mix of these. it was really good to see some of the culture and learn the history of the area. the main industries for each town were fishing and tourism, as quite a lot of ships make their way there in the summer.

the glaciers. oh my goodness, they were so amazing. this is at the end of the tracy arm fjord, and the colours in this picture are no lie. stunning! the colour comes from the ice being compressed for thousands of years. where the blue is strongest is where there has been a recent break and ice has fallen off. when we were near the glacier, we could hear the ice breaking. it sounded like thunder (it is known as white thunder) - amazing.

these next two are from the tracy arm fjord as well - aqua water from the glacier melting, moss covered rocks, forest and mountains as far as the eye can see. we did see some mountain goats on the hills as well, and some seals.

the most amazing forests! i love the tall trees, the moss and the rivers. so much sitka spruce and western hemlock - they are so beautiful and so different to sydney, australia! i could live somewhere with these forests and i think i would never tire of them.

such good wildlife!!!! seals and eagles and whales and sea otters and bears (and even some puffins!!!!!) all surrounded by amazing scenery!

and last but not least, the highlight of the trip. forgive the photos, they were taken at 2am on a moving boat, but this is nothing less than the northern lights. we weren't expecting to see them on this trip, but when we were onshore in anchorage, the ladies at the visitor centre mentioned that we might be able to see them that night. so, in eager anticipation, we went to the deck at the back of the ship and looked north while we sailed south. the thing with the northern lights is you never know what time they will be able to be seen. so we waited. at midnight there was a green glow in the sky, but we thought we might have been imagining it. turns out we weren't. it got better as time went on, and it was best between 2 and 3am. When they faded around 3, we went to bed and they may have come back after that but we will never know! the green glow came and went from the sky, and slowly danced across the sky in different formations. it was an amazing light show by nature and i am sure a once in a lifetime experience!

VIGNETTE STYLING WITH KARA ROSENLUND

a couple of weeks i go i signed up last minute to a vignette styling class at the school with the vignette styling queen herself, kara rosenlund.

i first fell in love with kara when i saw the pictures of her place. it is beautiful! you can check it out on the design files. she is a super talented photographer and stylist, and she is so friendly and so willing to share her thoughts. it is so nice to meet such amazing people who are friendly and who are happy to help you out!

the afternoon started with kara taking us through her five steps to create a successful vignette that catches your eye and makes you stop to look deeper, instead of just skimming over it. she then styled a vignette in front of us. it was so refreshing to hear her think out loud, chop and change things as she went - it made it feel achievable. the outcome was the below vignette, did you notice that you stopped on that image instead of just scrolling straight past? she is so good!!

we then had a sneaky afternoon tea (megan morton is always one for putting on a good snack!) and gave it a go ourselves (no pressure, right?). The below ones are some created by others who were there, and i think they all did a really good job.

and then this one is what i came up with. while i could have gone for all things vintage in neutral and muted tones, i know that all of the stuff i have in my house is not that. i am drawn to strong yellows and oranges and pinks and blues so i thought that, to make the best use of the afternoon, i should get some handy hints on using things that are more similar to what is in my house. i think it came up ok, and i definitely learnt some things. kara and megan assure us we will be able to apply these tricks anywhere. so here goes for all my future photos! what do you think?

TRANSFORMATION: BEDROOM DRESSER

this set of drawers was found by the side of the road. at the time i was a student with no money and i just needed furniture. i'm pretty sure my dad helped me carry this set of drawers to my room in the garage, and there it stayed until i moved, and it has travelled with me to my different houses since. it was not exciting, but it was free, and it held my clothes.

i had been thinking it was time to upgrade or to redo this piece, as i had worked out most other things in our bedroom. when we moved we bought our yellow bed (which i love), i had stained and painted some wine crates for bedside tables, i had put in a shelf (above this dresser) to hold pictures and trinkets, and this was one of the last big pieces in the room that i wasn't happy with. when i was looking at furniture redo projects, i started seeing the two-tone timber and white which i really liked. but i love colour, so had to work out how to get that in as well.

so i took off the old knobs, took the drawers out and started sanding (that is always the least fun part but you can't do the fun bits until the sanding is done!). i borrowed my dad's belt sander which was really helpful for the drawers. as i was staining these (as opposed to painting) i had to get much more of the existing stain and gloss off than on the body. for the body, the main priority was getting the gloss off so the new paint would stick. after sanding the main body, i got out the spakfilla to fix up some dents, but i did this only on the body as you would see it after staining on the drawers. once ready for paint, the painters tape came out. the top was painted first (i think i did four coats), then the remainder of the base was painted. after this came my critical error :( i used spray gloss over antique white house paint. it went yellow :( i was not very happy at all. so i undid my hard work and sanded it back. this time i used a primer coat of white, then used a vivid white with the gloss in the paint instead of having to coat it. worked much much better (it still looks white!!). the final touch was the knobs. after much umming and ahhing (they are real words right?) i decided on these ceramic ones. there were some glass ones i really liked that i could only order online, and without seeing how sturdy they were i was worried they might break. i think the ones i ended up with work well, as they tie back into the white body.

here is what i ended up with.

it is not an overly well made piece of furniture, with some bits being a chipboard type product, and others being regular pine, but with a bit of a makeover, you wouldn't know it unless you got out a fine tooth comb and magnifying glass.

do you like it? what transformations have you undertaken and were they a success?

all materials i purchased from bunnings except the knobs

paint:
- vivid white in semi-gloss by dulux
- safflower in low sheen by taubmans
- quickdry gloss by dulux (do not use on white!!)

knobs:
- white etching ceramic knob from zakkia

ELIN'S KITCHEN

i know i have blogged about elin of draumesidene's place before, but every time i see one of her blog posts, i love it, so here are some more pictures of her lovely kitchen. she has recently painted so its a little different, with the range cover and splash back now in black.

image: draumesidene

image: draumesidene

image: draumesidene

the black and white works really well, particularly because she gets soooo much light in the kitchen. the black adds interest and keeps it from being overwhelmingly white, and all the timber kitchen and homeward items bring warmth and texture to the space. i am also a fan of the monochrome accessories!

what do you think? is this your style of kitchen?

A COMFY BEDROOM IN BROOKLYN

i have recently been thinking about bedlinen. i know, it doesn't sound like the most amazing thing to think about but i have a conundrum. a while back i bought a couple of sheet sets, thinking they would only ever be on our bed with the rest of that sheet set. but what happens when half of the sheet set dies for whatever reason? my sheet sets didn't go with each other, so i had mismatching bedlinen that i am struggling to use in a way that i like. so to address this problem, i decided all bedlinen would be white. this works really well practically and you never end up with sheets that don't go together, but it does not look exciting. it does look crisp, but not interesting.

so this dilemma has got me thinking - what bedlinen combination should i have in my cupboard so that i can get a mismatched look that works, can i have pattern and different colours that look good together always. the answer is most definitely yes because i see it on design blogs all the time. anyway, i was looking through design sponge this week (a great source of home inspiration) and came across this bedroom - simple, cosy, and not boring!

image: design sponge

image: design sponge

 
what do you think? i like the playfulness of the dot sheets - they create interest and break up the white, without being crazy busy.

here are some other images that are inspiring me at the moment as i think through my bedlinen choices...trying not to break the bank at the same time.

image: 79 ideas via unembellished thought

image: alvhem makleri via trendenser

image: hannah blackmore via cush & nooks

image: kara rosenlund

i think my conclusion is to have a few neutrals that aren't just white - these can always be mixed and matched to look effective, and stick to a colour scheme, so any embellishments will be co-ordinated. and the neutrals will always go with the colours to make up the bed. also, texture is a must - you can see it in every picture above and gives depth to a look. lets hope my colour taste doesn't revolutionarily change over the next few years!!!

DIY CHRISTMAS IN MAY??

so this is not really the time of year to be posting about christmas...i'm about 7 months to early (or 5 months late which is closer to the truth). i had intentions of making these for christmas last year, but with our trip to north america and arriving home two weeks before christmas i didn't get to making them. and then i just wanted them off my list of pending/unfinished projects so i made them in april. anyway, here they are. they are all super easy to make yourself at home and are inexpensive, and will definitely glam up your tree.

project 1: gold and white ornaments

the base for these was bought from hobby lobby in the states while we were there, as was the gold leaf. they were made for decoupage and just had a brown kraft paper finish.

you will need the following materials:

- ornament shape from your craft store

- white paint (i used some left over sample house paint from buntings, but normal white acrylic should also work)

- bamboo rod or stick

- two chairs

- paintbrushes (x2)

- PVA glue

steps:

1. hang the ornaments along the bamboo rod or stick and suspend between the chairs. this allows you to get to the bottom of the ornaments when painting

2. paint the ornaments in the white paint (i just did the bits that weren't going to have gold on them plus a little extra to allow unevenness in the gold, but you could just paint the whole thing). The ornaments will need two coats of paint so the colour of the kraft doesn't come through.

3. Once dry, its time for gilding! this is a fiddly process and took much longer than anticipated! Cover the part of the ornament that you would like to gild. wait until tacky and, using the other paintbrush(s), place the gold leaf on the part where the glue is and then use the paintbrush to dab the gold down to stick. repeat until the parts you want are covered in gold.

a couple of tips with the gold leaf. firstly, do not put the gold leaf on as soon as you put the glue down. this will end up slightly discolouring the gold leaf finish. you need to wait until it is tacky. secondly, when using the paintbrush to stick the gold leaf down, use the side of the brush bristles instead of the end. i found this tore the gold leaf much less. thirdly, as you are waiting until the glue is tacky, you may need to go over an area more than once to get full coverage. i went for a rustic type look in the finish and edges so it didn't matter so much if there were a few gaps, but if you want to do this i would suggest painting the whole ornament white before gilding. lastly, try to use your fingers as little as possible and don't any glue on the paintbrushes you are using to apply the gold leaf! it just sticks to your fingers and the brush and gets messy!!

project 2: natural baubles

these are great to complement a busy and already glammed up tree and are super easy!!

you will need:

-polystyrene balls from your local craft store (i got mine from riot). they come in a variety of sizes so just pick the ones you like!

- calico or cream homespun fabric (or any fabric you like really) OR pages from an old book. i used homespun and then pages from an old book from a second hand bookshop on streets. this meant i had some line drawings and maps thrown in for a bit more visual interest. you could use an old map, sheet music...whatever takes your fancy!!

- pins with just a small silver head

- twine (from bunnings or your local craft store)

steps:

1. cut the book pages or fabric (whichever you are using) into lengths that are long enough to do a full circle around the sphere

2. pin in place. i used one pin every few strips as i didn't need one for each one, and the paper gets quite tick with all the layers so minimal pins is best!

3. repeat until full coverage is achieved. make sure that you overlap the strips of paper/fabric so that if they move around a little you can't see the polystyrene underneath.

4. using a piece of twine between 15 and 20cm long, tie so that you get a loop.

5. pin the loop to the bauble. i put the knot end on the bauble and stuck the pin through the knot to make sure it holds.

project 3: cookie cutter decorations

i think these are my favourite out of the three. and i always love a bit of gold and white together!!

you will need:

- air dry clay (or fimo. i found the fimo ok but if its cold, its a lot of work to get it flat if using a whole block in one go and you then need to bake it. i prefer air dry clay as long as your have a couple of days to let it dry)

- christmas themed cookie cutters (i used a scone cutter for the circle ones and got the dove, nutcracker, snowflake and bethlehem star from sur la table in the states, and the bell is available in lots of different places)

- rolling pin

- baking paper

- skewer or knitting needle

- nail file

- masking tape

- spray paint in your choice of colour (i went for a muted gold)

- twine

steps:

1. roll the clay or fimo out so that it is around 4mm thick. i found this thickness about right as if thinner, it will curl as it dries and if thicker it just takes ages to dry. i rolled it out between two sheets of baking paper to stop it from sticking to my rolling pin and kitchen table. the only thing to be careful of in doing this is that as the baking paper absorbs some of the moisture, it can crease which shows up imprinted in the clay. to alleviate this i would get two new sheets of baking paper for the last bit so there were no creases in it

2. using the cookie cutters, cut out your shapes. rework the clay and roll it out again to reduce wastage (and then you get extra decorations!

3. THIS STEP IS IMPORTANT!!! using the skewer or knitting needle, create a hole where you want the twine to go through. if you forget this one you will have lovely pieces that you cannot hang!!!

4. once dry (i usually left them for 48 hours to be sure, there should be a slight colour change - the clay gets a bit lighter), use a nail file to tidy up the twine hole and the edges. i found the cutters did not give me completely clean edges, but a nail file was enough to fix them up

5. using the masking tape, mask up the areas that you want to stay white. you can see in the picture that the nutcrackers, doves etc. have white bits and gold bits, this was just masked up with the tape (and scissors to cut the shapes). make sure the tape is well stuck down and covers all areas that you don't want to get paint on them - spray paint will find the spots that don't have some good taping going on.

6. using the spray paint (outside on a very big sheet of paper or the like - it has a wide spray and again, seems to have quite a far reach), spray your ornaments. i usually found that at least two coats were needed. follow the instructions on the paint for distance to hold the can, time between coats etc. you can apply as many or few coats as you like. try not to drown the ornament, as this can end up in a pubble on the paper which the back of your ornament is then sitting in while drying which can affect the finish.

7. once the paint on the front is dry, turn over and repeat step 6. make sure that in both steps 6 and 7, you still get the edges.

8. once all dry, take off the masking tape and, using 15-20cm lengths of twine, thread them through, knot and you're done!

HAPPY EASTER

i hope you all have a blessed easter! He is risen!!

BRIDGES OF THE USA

so the very large gap in previous blog post was partly due to an amazing four week trip to the united states and canada (where it was FREEZING!). as part of that trip, we spent some time in san francisco and new york. i'll admit, new york was my favourite (closely followed by a snow covered/freezing over lake louise), but looking back through my photos, i noticed that there were a lot of pictures of those cities significant bridges.

i think that partly the interest is as a tourist (seeing these super famous icons for the first time) but i think it is more than that. the architectural style of each bridge is distinct and directly represents the time that they were constructed, alluding to the history of those places and the time that has passed. Those pointed arches and the detailing in the towers is such a quick and visual time reference and causes the mind to imagine what the city would have been like at that time, and to imagine what those bridges have seen in the city timeline.

lastly i think the fascination is about the engineering. for their time, these bridges were a marvel and a masterpiece - can you imagine the brooklyn bridge being built in 1885 and still standing in 2013 - amazing! i don't think my brain could fathom the engineering now with all the assistance that computers could give, let alone at the times these bridges were built!

EASTER STYLING & A CHANGE OF SEASON

soooo... i know it has been a while but i am back! and hopefully a little more regularly now! today is my first day of working for myself (really excited and totally freaking out). i am hoping this new change will really give me some decent chunks of time to work on my designs and work through the best method for printing and making. so as of today, wednesday's are 'owl & bridge' work days. hooray!! i will be adding new things up on my blog as they develop as i will be too excited not to share.

anyway, enough of that...on the weekend west elm, pottery barn, pottery barn kids and williams sonoma in sydney had an easter styling event where four different stylists spent half an hour styling an easter table for one of the stores. some of my favourites (sibella court, megan morton) were there, along with a couple of people i hadn't seen the work of before (cameron kimber, marco meneguzzi). here are a couple of iphone snaps i took on the day.

SIBELLA COURT FOR WEST ELM

i really like sibella's mismatch style that is brought together by colour a consistency in colour. also the different textures of timber, ceramic, glass, enamel create an dynamic tablescape and keeps you interested after the first glance. Sibella and her team dyed the eggs themselves using a martha stewart 'how to', but her brief to the team was 'to keep all the ones martha would have rejected'! Also as a must, greenery! Books were a clever trick to change up the heights which can create a flow to the table. she did put a rug on the table as a tablecloth which looked good, but i don't think i would be that game.

Sibella's encouragement was to use the things already in your house. walk around and find a whole lot of things and then pick and edit from that to create your tablescape. you will always have left overs but that is how styling works - you always gather more than you need so you can pick and choose and edit.

MARCO MENEGUZZI FOR POTTERY BARN

i hadn't come across marco's work before, but what i did like about this tablescape was that it wasn't overly spring. so many things around easter are to do with spring, which is totally understandable given that it is spring in the northern hemisphere at this time but we are in the southern hemisphere! i like that this one suits more the autumn climate at the easter time of year - it looks like an autumn table because of the colours without taking away the eggs and chickens etc. which symbolise new life. it is also very american and county in style which is not traditionally my thing, but it works here and is effective in grasping both the climate and the celebration.