bedtime dreaming

Have you discovered Serena and Lilly? I had not heard of this amazing store before, but somehow found myself recently getting lost in their catalogue online. It seems that they have star pulling power with with Nicole Kidman and Jennifer Garner as fans of their nursery ranges. 

I think that dressing your bed is such a little, simple pleasure that can make such a big difference. Over the weekend I swapped around the throw cushions I have on our bed, from creams and blue to greens, and it is like I have a new bedroom! I love how simple it is to make a decor change with linen and cushions. Here are some totally dreamy images from the June 2010 Serena and Lilly catalogue.

 

Aren't these dreamy images? The prints in the bed linen is wonderful, as are the combinations. I really like the bold black and white softened by the green, as well as the soft pink used under the crisp blue and white above. Now how about these kids rooms.....

A room certainly fit for a little princess, how wonderful is this colour combination... and for the boys there is this great sea inspired room.

I love the vintage sails hung behind the bed and paper pirate hat touches! I would love to know who the talented stylist is behind these images!
Warning:: try and avoid being clucky when you see some of the nursery images...

Again another incredibly styled image - how wonderful are the paper cranes! This colour pallete is divine too.

Here's another childs room with a pop of colour - a great combination of blue and persimmon/orange.
There is so much inspiration in this catalogue, I've come back a few times just to browse! I even love the way they display the paint colours available.

I also really appreciate that there are lot's of decorating tips both on their website and in the catalogue. They show you how to out some of their looks together.
Check out the Serena and Lilly website (there's a local Australian version too). You can head straight for the catalogue here too if you need more amazing inspiration.

Friday Fun!

It's Friday so let's find something fun... Even though the weekend is nearly here, I still needed a pick-me-up today. I'm happy to have stumbled across the very talented Ben Heine's Pencil vs Camera series on Flickr

Pencil vs Camera 29

I love this picture for both the scenery in the photo and the extra 'story-book' life fun the illustration adds. It also looks so simple, but is so masterfully composed. I love the way the road curls away off into the distance.

Pencil vs Camera 30 

Another great shot enhanced with loads of fun!

Check out the full range of Ben's Camera vs Pencil work here on Flickr

So happy Friday - let's all try and have some creative fun this weekend!

collectables

A little while ago I shared my family trait of collecting things and was inspired to create beautiful images of my mums great collections. Today I thought I would share more, creative people who turn hoarding into beautiful pieces of art. It is difficult as someone who loves objects, to maintain a balance between tasteful amounts of things and a house full to the brim with bits and pieces that need dusting.

The self proclaimed human magpie, Jenn from Quercus Designs has the most amazing eye for collecting objects and then preserving them in beautiful images, like the one above of sea glass.

Jenn has found an outlet as well and sells both the subjects and photographs of her collections through an etsy store. This one above, Beachcombing Series No8 is for sale currently as are bits of sea glass. I love the idea of spending a day out beachcombing and coming home with little goodies to turn into art.
Here are a few more creative collectors that are amongst my flickr faves.

I love this nautical themed image by bricolagelife. Another collector who collects and creates - check out the Flickr gallery here and etsy store here

These lovely objects were destined for an eco-friendly mobile by Yummy!INK but at the same time make a wonderful image.

Another sea collection, I really like the composition by Camilla Engman. I particularly like the little aqua cross in the top right. Check out more of her organised collections here on flickr.
Finally, a non-sea collection but super pretty and girly.

Described as a " lovely collection of girly, nostaligic treasures" this print is from The Light Fantastic etsy store. This resonates with me as I have my old ballet shoes hidden away somewhere along with other memorabilia from my early life as a dancer. This is a very space effective way to hang on to little pieces of nostalgia, without having to find the space to keep them all and move them from house to house!

i wish .... for a pretty pebble by Yoran Morvant

 

Combining two of my favourite things - pebbles and ink 'doodles' I would love one of these amazing pebbles from Yoran Morvant's Pierres Graphiques range. See them all here at Ashes and Milk

All the pieces are hand drawn and unique both in shape and size and are definitely on my wish list.
For more pebbley goodness - see my previous finds here.

a kindred spirit

It's no secret that I am an etsy fan and a place I like to visit for some inspiration is the treasury page. This where creative etsians pull together collections of products based on a theme, be it colour, shape, texture, season... pretty much anything. It's a great way to find new shops and objects to add to your favourites. I recently was drawn to a treasury by hoolacreation - it is a beautiful celebration of one of my all time favourite colours.

 {Soft and Romantic Treasury by hoolacreation}

I have already added a few pieces from this collection to my favourites.

I was so impressed with the collation of some many beautiful pieces of art, jewellery and clothing that I wanted more from this talented lady. It was at this point that I discovered that she and I were kindred spirits with similar tastes, and low and behold careers. We both are graphics designers, the only difference is she has channelled her creativity into creating wonderful products - something still on my "one-day" list.

 

 {funny and lovely colors treasury by hoolacreations}

Next up, I found this collection of aqua and red - a colour combination I recently blogged about here. My eye straight away went to the Handpainted Pattern Bowls from Kevin Oshea Designs (2nd left bottom row) and the Vintage Russian mechanical alarm clocks (far left bottom row - sold already unfortunately) from Clockwork Universe.

.

 Another treasury colour combination is this orange and blue set called Goooood morning Etsy! There is definitely something very fresh and 'morning' like about these colours and once again some great products.
My picks: love on a sunday morning - framed print (top left) - such a tasty image, and the smiley face of the Shine mixed media collage print (2nd left - second row).

The final icing on the cake for me was this typographic celebration - Typographic addiction. I noticed a piece from plastique (the helvetica necklace) from which I still want buy something...anything. I've also now been introduced to another typorgraphy jewellery maker - junkprints. I love the visionary necklace (top row, 2nd from right). I noticed another familiar seller in Farouche whos cool Sugar and Spice tags I featured a few months ago here. This time it's the bold typographic print "you are here now" (top row - far right)
Now not only is hoolacreations a wiz at pulling together great etsy treasuries, she has a great store herself selling prints, bobby pins and necklaces. The style is a modern retro feel and very cool. Here are a few pieces that caught my eye. I seemed to be drawn to the green items - perfect for us southern hemisphere dwellers haning out for a sunny, green spring!

Round Round Handmade Bobby Pins

Spring 2 print

Spring Necklace

Catch up with hoola creations here there and everywhere: etsy, www, facebook, flickr & twitter

I want to live in CB2

I have some serious retail envy for anyone who has access to a CB2 store in the USA. As I flick through their catalogue I find myself thinking, yep I could live in that room, that room, pretty much every room. It's a combination of really cool and different products, with great styling and photography. Here are a few pieces I would buy and the rooms I would live in...

This room above is made cool by the Hive Storage Unit. Coming in blocks of 3 hives, you can stack them and combine them to make your own sculptural display to house books and other nick-nacks. Did you also notice the floor lamp with the red power cord? Finally a power cord you don't need to try and hide in and around furniture!

There are 2 features in this room that I would really like - the Gear 'C' Table and console table and then the incredible Chop Chop wooden side table/stool. I really like the combination of the minimalist glass and metal Gear range with the big, chunky timber pieces.

These Chop Chop pieces also have a great back story. Using recycled urban forest timber only from trees which have been felled if they are suffering from damage caused by wind or old age, the production process is then done with minimal environmental impact. Each piece is oiled and waxed by hand. Read more about some of the people behind this project on the product info page.

Another cool CB2 room here features the Array Silver bookcase. Also check out the use of it as a towel holder in the bathroom (click through the little pictures under the main one here)

 

I do have a thing for yellow and love this combination of yellow chairs with the timber table, but what really caught my eye was the collection of Lumi Candleholders clustered together in the middle of the table.

I like the simplicity of these shapes and how fabulous they look with a long taper candle in them. Even better, they are pretty cheap - $2.95 - $4.95 USD - so you could afford to buy many to recreate the clustered look.

This last room close up features some pure CB2 quirkiness. The un homme and une femme vases (on the wall in the background, are one of those great features you could add to your home for a bit of unexpected fun. You can top them up with anything you like and change the way they look. Again they are so cheap, only $6.95 USD so it doesn't cost a fortune to have something different!

To add some more fun to your workspace (because every office desk needs something fun) here are a few more accessories that make me smile... I hope they make you smile today too!

mr. white photo or memo holder

stikit tape dispenser

russian nesting dolls set of six

lavender eye candy

4....., originally uploaded by Kirsty Mitchell.

I have been completely blown away with a discovery I made last night. The fashion photography of Kristy Mitchell is so amazingly vibrant, I dare you not to be in awe. This image in particular gives me such joy. A few years ago I read a great book - Wild Lavender By Belinda Alexandra - which is initially set on a lavender farm in France. The book has such beautiful, vivid descriptions of the rows of purple flowers. Now combine that with this incredible fashion image and you have WOW factor!

getaway to...Italy

A little while ago we took a virtual trip to Paris thanks to the beautiful photography of Irene Suchocki - is photography. If you didn't come along, please check it out here.
Yesterday I popped by Irene's site again and instantly fell in love with the amazing candy coloured images from her travels in Italy.

 If you fancy these pretty prints in your own home, you're in luck as they are available in Irene's etsy store. She has even assembled a great set of 4 prints of these great images from Burano, Italy. Here are a few more Italian beauties to get your weekend started nicely!

Check out the full set of prints in the etsy store or for more of Irenes work see her website or her myspotify shop. I just love the treatment she gives her images. They are so dreamy or to quote Irene "Poetry for the eyes".

i wish... for a soul bird

Todays 'i wish' has a Finnish theme to it to keep in line with my recent posts.

 {Soul Birds by Sanna Annukka}

Sanna Annukka has been on my radar for a while as I seem to keep seeing her work popping in lots of my favourite pretty places online. Half Finnish and half English, it is easy to spot the influence her childhood summers in Finland have had on her work. She has taken the folklore tales of the Kalevala and applied it to her work, including a print range for Marimekko.

 {Kanteleen kutsu fabric by  Marimekko}

Christmas pieces from Marimekko by Sanna Annukka

I really love the bold graphic style in her work and it translates so well from simple black and white, to vibrant colours (as favoured by Marimekko). Sanna has an online store where you can purchase the Soul Birds (the little ones are out of stock though). She also sells screenprints, including this spectacular city-scape.

{Archipelago}

{Magic Berry Bush}

{Call of The Cuckoo}

I certainly could find some wall space for these! Check out Sanna's website and online shop here and enjoy!