Flowers make me happy!

February 23, 2015 by Hayley 8 Comments

If you follow me on Instagram you will know that flowers make me happy. I love having a big bunch of fresh flowers in my home at all times, but lets face it, sometimes the supermarkets don’t come through with the goods and florist flowers are not always in the weekly budget.

I wanted to have a look at creating floral and botanical displays on a budget. Note : there may be some foraging involved!

If you are lucky enough to live close to an Aldi, their flowers are only $5 a bunch, any bunch, all the time. Otherwise you can pick up bunches fairly inexpensively at your local supermarket. These are just some of the great flowers I have bought from supermarkets recently.

But if your flower budget is a little lower, say $0, you still have lots of options! Go and have a look at your own garden (or your neighbours), do you have any flowers? What about palm leaves? Frangipani? Any greenery brought inside can make a big impact.

Here’s a few pics from my house of things I ‘foraged’ from my garden. Palm leaves are so dramatic, they bring such a tropical summer vibe to your home, I’m surprised all our palm trees aren’t bald, I am constantly cutting leaves, but they do last for a few weeks.

I took ‘foraging’ to a whole new level and pulled out one of my agave’s pups. They seem to throw so many of them! It has been alive and growing in a vase of water in my ensuite for over 6 months now!

I love frangipani’s, the flowers don’t last very long inside but when your tree has an abundance of them, and they are free, you can change them every couple of days.

Here’s some great examples of ‘bringing the outside in’ I found on Pinterest, click on the image to go to my Pinterest page where you will find all these great ideas and more.

India Hicks gets it right every time with her impressive greenery displays, again all with plants that can be brought in from your own garden.

Don’t these big glossy leaves look great! Banana leaves and monstera leaves are favourites among interior decorators and I often see them looking fabulous in vases. Note to self : plant these at my next house.

You don’t have to have a lot of greenery to make an impact, here just a few leaves in different glass vessels look great! And if you are a really keen forager you might consider pulling a plant out by it’s roots, sometimes the roots can be a work of art on their own, it brings a whole different level of interest to this vase.

Lastly, if you can’t find much greenery, branches can make quite a big statement. They add dramatic texture and interest to any display. I love this simple branch on top of all those white books, I think it brings this whole vignette to life and without it the space would have been quite sterile.

What are you sitting there for? Grab some secateurs and get foraging. I’d love to see what you have in your yard, tag me on Instagram!

Hayley x

Rainy Day Activities.

February 20, 2015 by Hayley 4 Comments

Since a huge part of our county is currently wet I thought I would find some ideas to keep you all busy while your trapped indoors.

If you have garage, get that spray paint out and paint anything that’s not moving! Look at these easy peasy idea’s I found on Pinterest. Add some bright glossy paint to any old lampbase for an instant update. Or steal some of your kids toys, glue them to old jar lids and give it a spray, don’t they look fabulous!

If hand painting is more your speed, how about this gorgeous desk update with a simple ribbon border. Or these monogrammed drawers, so simple, yet so effective. I love these drawers, I want to try this one myself.

Now you have a smashing new lamp base, lets renovate the shade as well. It’s quite easy to re-cover an old lamp shade, I have done many over the years. If your a beginner a drum shade is the easiest to work with. You can recover your shade in fabric, wallpaper, old maps, there are lots of tutorials on Pinterest, I have a couple pinned in my ‘Crafty Ideas’ board.

If that just sounds like to much work, you can always simply add a ribbon or trim. Again, I have done this many times. I don’t think there is a lampshade left untouched in my house. I like to attach ribbon with 2-sided tape, it adheres well and is easily removed when I change my mind and want to change colours. You could use ribbon, upholstery trims, leather, tassels or anything that takes your fancy. Here is a couple of examples in my home.

If your handy with a sewing machine, how about adding some trim to your curtains or blinds. A greek key pattern looks expensive, and while it can be a little fiddly it just takes a little patience. This can also be accomplished without sewing anything, there are a few tutorials on Pinterest where you use ribbon and no-sew iron-on tape. This method also works well on cushions, as in the picture below. Click on the cushion picture to go to the step-by-step instruction at Sarah M Dorsey Designs. She has all kind of fabulous DIY’s on there! If you’r feeling extra handy, try the Nailhead Metallic Linen Headboard, WOW, it is really sensational!

Well, that should keep you busy! I’d love to see your crafty activities, please tag me on Instagram or Facebook!

Hayley x

Carla Dinnage Ceramics.

February 18, 2015 by Hayley 1 Comment

When one of Carla’s handmade ceramic crosses popped up on my Instagram feed, it was love at first sight. I mean, have you seen them? They are absolutely beautiful! Blue and white prints, adorned with shells, bright glossy tassels and gold lustre, what more could you want! Just in case you haven’t seen Carla’s stunning ceramics, I thought I would introduce you.

Meet Carla, a Mum of 4 small children, working from her home studio in Melbourne and producing some seriously amazing pieces of art. Apart from the crosses, she also has some very cool fish and cow skulls, and plans to expand her range in the near future.

Carla studied 3 years of Fine Art at R.M.I.T. She says, “At school it was always my favourite subject so it was a natural progression to study it after school”.

Carla Dinnage Ceramics was born in 2014 after her second child went to school and she found more time to be creative. Carla made a few pieces at home, and quickly friends and family started enquiring about purchasing her pieces. With a boost in confidence she posted a few pictures on Instagram and received a fabulous reaction from both individuals and businesses. Carla now stocks 15 retailers.

Carla says she finds her inspiration from her years travelling. She says, “I loved Mexico and New Mexico and loved the markets with all of the colours and unique gifts”.

She also appreciates other artist work, including Stephen Benwells ceramics, she particularly loves his large ceramic vases.

Carla’s future is looking bright with plans to create some slip casted bowls and a range of printed, hanging tiles. She also has a passion for hand building and would like to get back into hand coiling some large pots and vases. An exhibition might be on the cards in the future too!

You can see some of Carla’s pieces here. Or follow her on Instagram here. Carla also has a special offer of free shipping for a limited time, so be quick!

We can’t wait to see what you have in store for us next Carla!

Hayley x

Decorating with Books.

February 16, 2015 by Hayley 1 Comment

After such a positive response to my last post about beautiful books I quickly established that many of you love books also. So what do you do with your books? Do you plonk them on the coffee table, maybe throw them up on a bookshelf, or do you use them around your home to decorate with?

Books are fantastic for adding splashes of colour, for adding height to vignettes and for defining areas within a bookshelf or display space. Lets have a look at how to use books in your home.

Colour blocking your bookshelves is so much fun and very effective, you don’t need to have a full bookcase of books, just enough to define similar colours in each ‘block’. I love this look!

If you don’t have a huge bookshelf like these, your coffee table ‘needs’ book, it’s practically naked without them. They’re not called ‘coffee table books’ for nothing.

Most people have books on or in their bedside tables, don’t hide them away, use them to add height to a posey of flowers, or for a touch of colour.

If you don’t like the covers of your books, cover them! Brown paper looks effective, or for a little vignette you could use some wrapping paper, left over wallpaper, fabric or music sheet paper.

Here is how I decorate with books in my home. I often coordinate my book spines with flowers, candles or other items to give the colour pop greater impact.

I’ve chosen to restrict my bookcase to a colour palette of blue, white and neutrals. I have only used books that fit this palette. The books adds height, colour and interest to the overall scheme. I also use books to balance out smaller items to give them more impact.

Hayley x

*All images, unless stated, are from Pinterest, pop over to my Pinterest and have a look at my ‘Books’ board for further details.

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