positive kismet

Talk about kismet! I've been having a completely horrid few days at work and just went for some time out to The Design Files in search of eye candy - and there was a whole post on Positive Posters.

 {image via The Design files}

Positive Posters is an international poster competition in its second year. Established in Victoria, Australia by graphic designer Nick Hallam the competition "gives graphic designers an outlet to create freely, and to use their skills to inspire, challenge and make a positive difference in a non-commercial way". Ahhhhh how nice! This could not be more appropriate for me as all my creative juices are being stifled by corporate bureaucracy at the moment. The brief for this years competition is based around this quote by Benjamin Franklin:

I haven’t failed; I’ve had 10,000 ideas that didn’t work

You can check out the gallery of finalists here. Somehow Lucy at Design files managed to capture my top 4 from this list - all of which I want to plaster my workspace with :-) 

Jump over to Positive Posters and find your favourites from this years competition as well as loads of positive messaging packaged in great design! Also, drop by The Design Files and see if you can't find your own inspiration!

pretty places - the happy home

The Happy Home blog is one that has been in my 'daily reads' list for a while and today I want to share a tale of curtain rods. Belinda Graham is the web editor for Real Living magazine (a favourite of mine for very practical but stylish ideas) and she also authors this lovely blog sharing some fabulous decorating ideas as she renovates her home.

I was reading through the pages of her blog and came across her "Let there be (temporary) light" blog post. It is Belinda's tale of tracking (or hunting) down curtains (and lights) for her living room. I found myself laughing out loud and nodding along as she recounts her treks to Ikea and the "choose-your-own-curtain-rod buffet" at Spotlight as I too have recently walked the same path. While perfectly OK, the living room curtains that came with our house are hung off the ugliest curtain rod and rings I have ever seen (they are also in our bedroom). All the other windows in our house came with timber blinds when we bought, taking away the dilemma of window decorations when we moved in and we have just put up with the rods for now. We have two sets of tall sliding doors that lead out to our courtyard and the curtains (completely OK dark chocolate bouclé fabric) fit the decor well and more importantly keep the cold out in winter and the heat in summer. So far I have found some pretty decent ready made curtains, but alas we have lovely high ceilings which = non-standard curtain drop lengths. In turn this means custom made curtains = $$$$ and so new curtains go back to the home decor wish list.

 

There is hope though - and this is where Belinda and her blog come in. There was more head nodding as Belinda recounted her desire for white curtain rods on her white walls. She has ended up with black rods (read why in her post and see the lovely picture above) and I think that she has saved me from a decor obsession. You see I was having trouble finding white curtain rods I liked with the right level of "whiteness". I agree with Belinda that darker curtains on a white rod could end up looking like they were floating mid air. So with that blog-land has given me inspiration - perhaps I can keep the curtain we have but just find a replacement rod - and it doesn't have to be white - hooray!

Please pop over to The Happy Home blog and see if she can inspire you too.

pretty post

To Brighten Your Day, originally uploaded by Trisha Brink Design.

In the midst of a crazy Friday, this image from Trisha Brink Design has made me smile. Isn't this the type of mail we would all prefer to receive!

a pretty way to read

I have a new favourite gadget - an e-reader. As an avid reader, my book collection was becoming a challenge as I was rapidly running out of ways to store them. I don't like to throw away books I have enjoyed as I know I would like to re-read them one day. Worse still I seem to like reading books from a series or collect books from a favourite author (or 2). I have donated a lot of books but that wasn't solving my problem. There was also a financial issue as well - books aren't cheap! Anyway enter my lovely e-reader with e ink (it's not an ipad) and I have devoured many novels with no space issues. It was fantastic when I was overseas as I effectively took 50 books with me without excess baggage issues (I read the entire Stieg Larsson Millennium trilogy while on holidays). Today I found an etsy store full of lovely, pretty ways of carrying around my gadget and others like it.

Top: Starflower Suntiles Pink Wallflower eReader Cover

Bottom Left: Green Apple Dot eReader Cover

Bottom Right: Blue Wallflower eReader Cover

The Elizabeth David Design store has lots of beautiful fabrics used to pretty up practical things like organizers, phones and e-books and ipads. Using great fabric patterns from the likes of Amy butler - in fact check out all the fabrics available in the Flickr gallery here. My e-reader currently sits in a boring black leather case which I would happily trade in for one of these lovely covers instead! I love how much effort is taken to create a beautiful combination of fabrics inside and outside. Now I just need to pick a fabric - what a fun chore! Join me, even just to see the wonderful work and fabrics used in the etsy store.

Sweet Paul - does it again

I've shared my love for the super talented stylist Paul Lowe aka Sweet Paul before. He showcases his talents through his popular blog and just now has celebrated the release of the 2nd edition of his online magazine. The Fall 2010 issue is packed with beautifully styled images, crafty ideas and drool worthy recipes! I'm just happy that it's still a little cool here so I can appreciate all the hearty, warm food he has in this issue!
Here's a bit of eye-candy to get your week started - but do pop over and browse all 109 pages of the Sweet Paul Fall 2010 emag. It's well worth it!

This table setting on page 102 is lovely and simple with beautiful textures and colours, but how can you look past that incredible lamp by Sarah Foote!

How about this super stylin pumpkin from page 14! Be sure to check out the full design collection!

 

Paul really gets his food prep and styling muscles flexing in a great 6 page mushroom recipe feature. These images are amazing and they look super tasty too!

And to finish off with desert I dare you not to drool over this Salted Caramel and Chocolate cake!

{all images from Sweet Paul Fall 2010}

i wish - wall vase by otchipotchi

Today I'm drooling over these lovely unglazed porcelain wall vases from otchipotchi.

I love the idea of collecting a single flower or stem and placing them in these little delicate pods. They have a lovely handmade quality and I would happily have a few of these on my walls. I think even empty you could cluster these together to make an interesting feature!
The otchipotchi shop is full of little gems, like these doily stones (yes more pebbles!)

These lovely pieces are the work of Portuguese artisan Paula Valentim, you can view and buy her work from her online store here and also learn more on her blog.

wedding inspiration - vases, bottles and more

Today I thought I would share with you some little bits of inspiration I've been collecting for a friends wedding. I am thrilled to be styling the event (so much fun!) and have been busy working with the bride to pull together the look we're going with. One idea we are following through on is using an eclectic mix of vases and bottles in the decor, both on the tables as well as around the venue. The overall look we want to achieve is a classic romantic look with a nice looseness to it that suits the couples personality as well as the venue. Here are some pictures that make up my moodboard for the day.

These beautiful images were captured by Marianne Taylor of London couple Emily & Owen's wedding. The bride had collected the vases and bottles from op-shops and markets. I will be using similar pieces, but sourced from within the brides and grooms family. There are some beautiful crystal glasses and vases of all different shapes for me to play with. I really like that there will be that personal touch in the decor of the venue!

This dreamy purple theme is from another wedding photographed by Marianne Taylor, this time in the English countryside. The reception was held in a farm house and featured garden flowers like lavender and hydrangeas displayed in sweet little glass vases,  silver teapots and dainty cups and saucers. This is the relaxed yet romantic feel I'll be trying to capture on the wedding day.
Here are a few more images along the same theme (sources under each image)

 {Stylish country wedding on Wedding Chicks}

{a rustic outdoor wedding from Once Wed}

 {even a watering can gets a look in for this backyard wedding on Style Me Pretty}

{coke bottles can be pretty too - Style Me Pretty}

{i love the science theme with these beakers and old filing cabinet - what a great prop! - Style Me Pretty}

{time for one more beaker shot - again on Style Me Pretty}