Packets of light

Packets of light, originally uploaded by the cheshire smile.

Short on time today but wanted to find and share something pretty for today. I think this beautiful image certainly fits the bill.
Check out all the lovely photos in "the cheshire smile's" flickr stream.
I particularly love the Comforts of Home set (look out for the amazing camisole by the window photos) and am also loving the Les Fleurs set which is where I found the above image.

Get crafty

Want to learn how to make these?

 

This very cool and crafty little birdcage garland is courtesy of Laurie Cinotto. I went on a bit of a journey after first spotting them over at Creature Comforts, which led me to the full instructions here at The Brides Cafe.

It's a great little decorating idea and the instructions are really detailed and make it seem quite easy!

For more great crafty ideas had over to Lauries own blog - La La Laurie.

This is one talented lady.

I really like these little birds in this garland, once again created for a wedding site with all the instructions and templates.

I actually have recently added up the number of birds I have around our home as decorations and have reached capacity. Any more and I will be like a cat-lady but with inanimate bird objects!

There is something really appealing about bird shapes in decor items - but I need to find something new! That can be part of my new year goals - a new decorating motif!

summer continues

NSW central coast long jetty walk the plank, originally uploaded by jason_gazal.

A teeny tiny celebration of the fact that even though the work year is kicking off again, Summer continues. This is from Long Jetty on the NSW Central coast, just outside The Entrance where my hubby and I spent a very impromptu day. It's nice to travel away from home for a few hours and take in the sea and a some relaxation.
{image by Jason Gazal}

pure pebble joy

I have something so sublime to share with you. The most perfect pebble image.

This little wonder is an untitled photo taken by Australian sue.h - who takes photos because it makes her happy and it certainly makes me happy too!

Here's another stunning image in black and for true eye-candy check this image out here floating on a black page.

These images are part of a pebbles, stones and rocks collection. Check out the slideshow. It's wonderful.

Aming some of her other amazing collections are a black and white floral set and a still life colour set with many gems like this ball of string

A truly talented lady and a joy to browse through!

a little space to decorate

So I have a little room (a powder room if you like) that has just been lightened up with a white coat of paint by my hubby. I'm excited and ready to flex my decorating muscles in the smallest room in the house. I have had some vague ideas but thought I would go out and look for some more inspiration. I headed straight to Living Etc and checked out their bathroom galleries

 

I like this very feminine approach. Unfortunately I don't have the budget for those really cool tiles or room for a hot pink chair either... but I do like the mirror. I am quite partial to round shapes and already have an amazing big cut work mirror sitting right outside this rooms door. It might be nice continuity having an round or oval mirror.

Here's a way of injecting some colour. As a separate little space which sits behind a closed door most of the time I like the idea of introducing an all new colour to our home. I have been partial to this shade of acid yellow for a while. This could be a good way of sprucing up a second hand mirror.

I could also introduce some colour with a feature panel behind the mirror like this. I initially thought of a great wallpaper panel and got excited at the prospect of only needing a small amount (therefore it was affordable) but the reality is that would run behind a sink and get water damaged very quickly. A bright paint colour though is a good comprimise.

This mirror with a little ledge for a teeny tiny display is a great idea. I'll have to look out for one.

Anyway I am quite inspired now to go out and search first for a mirror and then get a colour theme going.

100s & 1000s of inspiration

I am the proud new owner of an amazing DSLR camera - a Canon 500D (thanks Santa) and have come across this amazing competition run by Canon through their EOS website (which in itself is very inspiring especially for those wanting to learn more about their cameras ability!).
The competition is called Photo5 and it consists of themed challenges. You need to register for the main challenges and you receive a box in the mail which contains your brief and some materials to use. This years themes were Splat, Close-Up, Bokeh, Portraiture and there was also an open brief of Practically Black.
I'm particularly fond of the Close-Up challenge. It involved getting up close and personal with 100s and 1000's candies.

This is the winning photo by  Sam Hobson. It was a popular type of shot to do and there are a couple more eyelash shots in the gallery of all entries. I think the moodiness of this and the beautiful soft focus is what got it out in front.

Here are some more amazing shots for the up-close entries:

I like the child theme to these photos - after all a fairy bread sandwich is a childhood joy!

{top left: It wasn't me! - leesap | top right: Tasty Treats - flashpoint | bottom: Ngahuia Riri}

More colour and little smiley thumbs up!

{top: cidtow | bottom left: 100's and 1000's - mark (this was a finalist) | bottom right: Smile - Justine}

{top: The Party's Over - Loki666 | bottom left: Fried Egg Special - Roosterfish | bottom right: 100s and 1000s Hibiscus - KrystalK}

The creativity of all these entries is amazing and looks like it was a lot of fun coming up with the ideas and then also getting the shot!

Colourful cheer for the New Year

While I officially have come out of my Christmas holidays today, mentally I am still there. To kick-start the new year here on 'pretty' I thought would begin with a riot of colour.
I came across this really concept by Sony in Japan - Canvas@Sony. 3 Japanese designers are chosen to design skins for Sony Products - unfortunately a lot of the sites are in Japanese, but I did end up on the trail of one of the 2009 designers - Aki Miyajima. Her design was my favourite of the 3.

I don't need a laptop - but surely can find an excuse for one this pretty!

Here are the other products given the same treatment:

Check out the products and other designs here - it looks like they also display huge billboards of the winning designs on the side of a Sony building.

Anyway, as I mentioned I went on a bit of a journey with this designer and discovered some of her other work. Her portfolio is full of her signature look in both vivid colours as well as striking black and white illustrations. Here are a few of my faves.

 

 

Anyway I thought this was a nice colourful start to the new year!