DIY Party Ideas

Over the weekend a girlfriend was hosting the 50th Birthday celebration for a mutual friend. She did such a beautiful job on the party decorations and i was happy to be asked to contribute a couple of DIY party projects. The first DIY project was the place cards or name cards. As the birthday girl is a lover of nature and recycling, i tried to keep the theme natural. I found loads of inspiration on Pinterest and finally decided on a mix of coloured card, ribbon and hessian.

The next project was ’50 Things we love about Robyn’. This idea would translate to any age and basically involved friends and family sending us little phrases or words telling us what they love about Robyn. It didn’t take long to get to 50 items and these were then printed onto card and decorated. They were hung up on the night using string and pegs for guests to admire and read. At the end of the night they were all put into a memory box that i’d covered and decorated…..along with polaroids taken on the night.

And what a gorgeous job my friend did with the table settings. The orange, purple and green theme looked great!

7 Vignettes with the Interiors Addict for December

7 Vignettes with the Interiors Addict on Instagram for December was probably my favourite month yet. The themes were creative and there was a definite focus on being festive! Here’s my round up of images –

1.Giving

2. Twinkle

3. Summer

4. Cheer

5. Red and Green

6. Jolt of Colour

7. Feast
Merry Christmas all! I’ll be taking a break from blogging, but am hoping to be back into it in February 2014. Happy New Year!

My underwood typewriter, an irish guard’s jacket and the Sunday Telegraph

Last week I was lucky enough to come across this old underwood typewriter in a secondhand store. I’ve admired so many online before, but they are almost impossible to freight because they are so very heavy. Local pickup is the only way to get your hands on one. I was surprised when I saw this one in an unassuming secondhand store at such a cheap price. I’ve seen them priced over five times what I paid, so I was doubly thrilled with this latest vintage find.

This Irish guard’s jacket has been a part of the guesthouse for a while now. It hangs proudly on one of the antique mannequins in the parlour. It’s a gorgeous shade of red and according to the label at the collar, it once belonged to an Irish Guard named Lieutenant Stacpoole.
 

The detail on the jacket is amazing. It has beautiful braiding, appliqué and piping on the sleeves, collar and tails. And is accented by brassy, gold buttons. It may look pretty, but it clearly has been made to protect the guards from the coldest of weather. It is so heavily quilted that even the strongest of guards would have felt weighed down…..warm, but weighed down.

This pretty little bird plate is yet to find a home at RedAgape. I picked it up at an antique shop in the blue mountains. I don’t think it’s worth anything, but the colours caught my eye! It should be a nice match for the living room.

Finally, it was a little bit exciting to have one of my instagram pictures featured in Sunday Style, the pull out in the Sunday Telegraph! Please follow me on instagram to see more of my pictures. Have a good week!! 🙂

Jumbled Workshop with Emma Blomfield from Nest Designs

Yesterday i was lucky enough to attend one of the first ever workshops at Jumbled in Orange.  Jumbled is a gorgeous and colourful homewares store in Orange that is all about mixing, not matching. I love this store and rarely walk out empty handed after a visit. So, when they announced they were having a workshop with the beautifully talented Emma Blomfield from Nest Designs, i was super keen to attend. As regular readers would know, i constantly second guess myself when it comes to decorating RedAgape Guesthouse, so any hints and tips from people in the know are always welcome. Emma is a interior stylist living in Sydney and homewares buyer for The Home. Emma’s focus is on e-decorating, which is perfectly suited for those of us who are looking for advice, but aren’t living close to a major city. Being able to access online advice cuts down on costs and makes creating a beautifully styled home more affordable. Emma shared her four bigs rules for decorating –

1. Plan – think about how the space is going to be used.

2. Don’t Follow Trends too closely – pick items you genuinely love to have in your home.

3. Floor Plans – think about furniture size and placement.

4. Finishing Touches  – soft furnishings, rugs, curtains, decor items.

One of my favourite tips was using warm white globes in the house, not cool white. Warm globes create a more flattering light, that is, we’ll look much prettier in warmer light.  I’m rushing off to Bunnings today to grab some new globes!! 🙂 After Emma had shared her tips, the serious business of cutting and pasting began! My mood board focuses on inspiration for getting my home office furnished and organised. It’s a tricky space because the kids use is for homework, my husband for work and i plan on fitting in some crafting space. The mood board below belongs to my sister, who attended the workshop with me. I must say, i thought her mood board was the best in the room. You really feel like you’re in the room when you look at it. While creating our mood boards i happily admired the inspiration surrounding us. Even with the centre tables of Jumbled cleared for the workshop, the store was still brimming with fun and colourful homewares. The green beaded chandelier is definitely one of the my favourite things in the shop, followed closely by the Ziggy and Bea zebras on canvas by Penny Farthing DH. At the conclusions of the workshop, participants wandered the store to happily spend their vouchers that were included as part of the workshop. I spent a little more than my voucher allowed, but came away with a fabulous rag rug for the office and yet another design book to add to my collection. LOVE!! I must say a big thanks to the two lovely Jumbled ladies that made us feel so welcome and waited on us with coffee and snacks. What a great way to spend a Sunday. 🙂

Gift shopping for Nerdy Men plus recycling old atlases

Happy April Fools Day!! We are celebrating my husband’s birthday a day early this year to take advantage of the public holiday. The kids and I also thought it would be fun to celebrate on April Fools Day. So, what do you buy a nerdy guy for his birthday?
Anyone who has read my blog before will know that my husband LOVES maps! See here. So, an atlas was at the top of my list for his birthday. And you really cannot get better than The Times Comprehensive Atlas of the World. He loves it and I know he will bore me with useless facts about the world for the next 12months at least!

I wrapped his atlas in map gift paper and his other gifts in the pages torn from an old atlas. And seriously, he was like a child at Christmas playing with an empty box. He raved about the pages (even when they were torn from the presents) and ignored his brand new atlas, while he examined the old pages. What a nerd! 🙂

I’ve used old atlas pages before to decorate gifts. They make great envelopes and if you’re crafty enough, they can be transformed into gorgeous, original gift bows. And these were really quite simple to make.

This massive map by Telegram Paper Goods is the perfect gift for your nerdy man. It looks awesome on our office wall and I know he’ll spend hours examining it and planning trips in his head. Happy Birthday Johnathon! Xo

Crafty Foxes and Needle Felting

About a year ago I joined a craft group called Crafty Foxes with the aim to complete all of my unfinished projects and use some of the supplies that I’ve collected over the years. Anyone who is into craft will understand the joy in searching for new projects and adding bits and bobs to the craft cupboard. Unfortunately, like many other crafters, i fail time after time to complete my projects. For me, it’s because I bore quickly and while I’m 100% pumped and excited about any new project, I do tend to get distracted and the enthusiasm fades.

I’ve never been a member of a craft group before, but I love it! The group is run by a lovely welcoming girl who encourages us to visit fortnightly with lap sized craft projects. The group is easy going, accepting and kind. Everyone is welcome. And boy! there have been some funny conversations around the craft circle! The project I’m working on at the moment is a needle felted girl. Needle felting is basically agitating fibres until they tangle and become felt. The needle is barbed (and sharp!!) which aids the agitating. Here is the girl I’ve been working on. She needs a few more details but she is basically complete. She will be used as a brooch, hair clip or bag decoration. My daughter Eilish has already called dibs!

One Lovely Blog Award

Thankyou to Sandy and her fantastic blog urbanrusticblog.com for passing on this inspiring recommendation.

Sandy is one interesting girl! Mother and Broadcast Designer. She has worked for Television Networks & Post Production houses in Sydney and The UK. She is a collector and treasure hunter and blogs about some ultra cool items. Her pictures are always clear, minimalist and interesting. She has a quirky sense of humour which i love. Please check out her blog.

According to the One Lovely Blog Awards I am to reveal 7 [random] facts about myself and nominate up to 15 blogs I feel worthy of a One Lovely Blog Award.

So here goes….

1. I am meant to be writing an essay on social inequality and the Occupy Movement, but I’m procrastinating.

2. I have been planning for retirement since i was 18, and i don’t even work full-time!

3 . I LOVE a bargain……can’t walk past one. Full retail price offends me!

4. I have a chronic illness that has been torturing me for three years now.

5. My favourite week was spent in NYC over Christmas and New Year 2012, with my husband and three children.

6. I started studying psychology this year and ironically it has kept me sane through one of the best and worst years of my life.

7. I love craft….all kinds.

ok  time to present some other Lovely Blogs…

plasmalatte.wordpress.com

design-vox.com

victoriaelizabethbarnes.com

thefairfox.com

thepaintedbranch.com

thetreasurehunteruk.wordpress.com

Testing, testing…

The friends you make when you are a kid are very special. They feel like family to me and even when the time between catch ups can be a year or more, we fall right back into the friendship like no time has passed. I feel so very blessed to have three such friends. I remember a teacher at our graduation saying to us that we probably wouldn’t stay friends, we would have good intentions, but time and life sometimes tears friendships apart. I recall thinking that there was no way that would happen to us and i am pleased to say we are still close.

My gorgeous friends! Love you guys!

We try and catch up for a weekend away together every year. Some years it is harder to organise than others and unfortunately it’s not a matter of just throwing some clothes in a bag and heading out the door. Getting organised to go away without husbands and children can be a little tricky. Most years i arrive at these weekends feeling completely frazzled and drained….this year was no exception. BUT, i always go home feeling well rested even though the weekend always go too quickly.

I felt honoured and privileged this year to have my friends come and stay at Winterfell. I am not ready for ‘real’ guests yet, but i have most of the basics. We were lacking a fridge in the kitchen, but had an old one in the garage…..and really, who minds getting the milk in the morning when the temp is 3degrees! 🙂 ha!

A little goody bag on the side tables in each bedroom….

another little goody bag here….

and another one here…..

My goody bags looks pretty sad after i received this fantastic housewarming gift from one friend. It consisted of a wonderful stash of varied books and some games….perfect for the house!!

It was so lovely to lay by the fire and chat until 2.30am!! hmm…..sleep in required the next morning.

Bird life in the backyard.

I enjoyed some light reading.

And oh my goodness the food!! Thank you Tonic and the Old Mill! There are NO words to describe your food…..drool…this tart is from The Old Mill

Flourless Orange cake from The Old Mill….so pretty and delicious.

I am so glad these girls were my first guests! And the first to sign my guest book.  I am so sad it’s over already. Bring on the next one!!

Red, the inner critic and a sneak peak of the parlour…

We drove to Millthorpe again today. The short 2 hr drive makes a day trip quite doable, without completely wearing everyone out. Johno planted new hedges in the front garden and hung some more pictures and mirrors in the house. He had to use a drill today! For anyone who knows my husband, this is a big deal. I’m talking masonry drill bits, wall anchors and hooks. He did a great job and it looked exhausting, so i was really glad it was him and not me. That said, i didn’t spend the day lazing by the fire (i wish!). I made beds, unpacked kitchen gear, reorganised the parlour and helped measure out drilling points.

I discovered today that i might be addicted to red. I knew i liked red, but after looking around Winterfell today it’s quite clear that an addiction is forming. There are splashes of red throughout the main living area and parlour. I’m quite conservative, so i guess this is my way of adding some colour. I really do LOVE it. And it was the red door of Winterfell that got my attention in the first place.

My inner critic was louder than usual today, so i had to try extra hard to squash it. Sometimes i wonder why i am so critical of myself and the things i do. I question every little detail in the house and i want it to be perfect. Of course, nothing and noone is perfect, so i reassured myself today with this logic. And really, i’m not an interior designer. I have no skill in this area, so it’s time to lighten up and not be so hard on myself. With all that said, i’ve been completely unhappy with the parlour. It was too busy and was full of vintage and antique gear, which is great, but there was too much of it. So today i did a reshuffle and moved stuff out of the parlour and into the bedrooms and stuff out of the bedrooms and into the parlour. I’m feeling much happier about it now. I just need a nice coffee table….

Here is a sneak peak of the parlour. And where did the kids spend the day?…..lazing by the fire. 🙂

Weekend Away

 Finding a weekend where we can steal all of our little family away isn’t easy, so sometimes we have to force it. I am so glad we did. It snowed a little in Millthorpe this weekend…..just a little, but that was enough to make the kids happy.

We accomplished a lot in two short days. The biggest thing being BEDS!! Very exciting and much better than sleeping on the floor. I haven’t attached pictures as they are mostly undressed and not looking especially pretty at the moment. We also hung a lot of pictures, pulled out old rose bushes, levelled  hedges, assembled stools (x6), bought some essential boring items (brooms, mops, etc) and managed a little sleep in each morning.

I have so many pictures to share of our progress and junkyard finds, but i’ll focus on the kitchen and living area. I fall more in love with Winterfell at each visit. It feels like home. I hope our guests feel that way too.