I miss NZ…

… and these lupines that grew EVERYWHERE.

DIY Blackboard

Ever since I saw this, I’ve been dreaming up ways to incorporate blackboard paint into a project. I love how practical it can be, and how fun it looks. So back to Bunnings to pick up some blackboard paint and a bit of board. Two coats and 24hrs of drying time, and voila!

It’s perfect for our recipe list, little love notes and a sketch of our favourite place to be. Now to find a wonderful frame like Ros did!

Grateful

Last year was a big year of ‘new’. New surname, new postal address, new husband. In the mix I also got a new job – a new shiny opportunity that filled my 9-5 and bought in the bacon. But the new and shiny wore off after awhile, and for the last little while I’ve been getting frustrated. My attitude hasn’t been great and being at work was just something ‘to get through’.

So last week I gave myself a little kick in the bottom (metaphorically) and made a mental list of why I am grateful for my job. It took me a moment to get started, but then I couldn’t stop.

If someone asked me what I’d like to be doing five year out of uni, I would have said something like, “Oh, perhaps something overseas, somewhere in Asia or Africa, or working with refugees, or maybe in the HIV/AIDS sector, but I’d love to be able to write and be creative, but also work with and support people, to learn about culture, be using those community development theories I studied, but also getting management skills, evaluation skills, training skills etc. etc.“

The crazy thing I realised is that, just one year out of uni, I have a job that combines everything I’ve listed and more. Sure, I’m not overseas, but here I am in my beloved Brisbane, working with people and communities from various nations (my team alone speaks over 20 languages between them).

I have a job that is so perfect for me right now that it’s kind of unbelievable. Yes, there are challenges, but I am learning so much and really am so grateful for this opportunity.

Plus I get to sit across from CONDOMAN, and who doesn’t love a superhero office buddy?!

cupcake toppers

We aren’t big cake people, so right from the word go we decided we wouldn’t have a wedding cake. I suggested a cake of cheese, which Will thought was funny, but then he surprised me with for the engagement party. Mmmm cheese… I was a happy girl.

But back to the wedding cake… I thought a cupcake each might be a sweet treat at the wedding (in case we needed any extra sugar!). I saw hundreds of cake toppers on wedding blogs, but it wasn’t until I saw a pair of little lego people that I knew what we should have.

I painted Lego Man Will to match real man groom, right down to the blue tie and yellow Billy Button button hole. As for Lego Woman Laura, I had no idea how to make a lego wedding dress, until I found a semi-dried up bottle of pearly fabric paint that was sticky enough to stick together (and to lego lady), but dried out enough to be moulded into a rough replica of my dress. Oh and the bouquet is a peachy earring I had sitting in my jewelry box.

As for hair, well I had no idea how to replicate my wedding hair on a teeny tiny lego person – so bare heads it was!

And now for the hilarious kicker, we completely forgot about the cupcakes at the wedding reception, despite the fact they were sitting right in front of us! Ooops I hope someone got to nibble on them when everything was packed up!

Animal love

We’ve fallen in love with a lamp.

It’s quirky and fun and about 4 times more than we’d want to spend on a lamp.

From Hart and Heim

Then we did some sleuthing and found out that it’s actually a replica of this, a life size horse lamp from Moooi. Which is even quirkier and at least 100 times our price range (i.e. $5500!!).

So instead, we opted for a rabbit. He’s not a lamp but he’s just as sweet. Though apparently he’s been scaring a few of our male guests lately!

P.S. – Notice our bookshelf? I have a new theory that 99% of book covers are either blue, white or orangey red. Or black. But one day, we’ll own enough books to do this!

William and Laura stamp

This stamp is one of my favourite things ever. Will and his dad secretly organised it (as in, Will got the design to his dad, and his dad MADE it!) and they surprised me with it one morning at church. I was so excited! It was such an easy way to personalise envelopes and we can keep using it over and over and over again. So lovely!

If you want a great personalised stamp but don’t have a father-in-law quite as talented as mine, head to Etsy. I found this little shop months ago and was seriously considering placing an order just before I received our special W+L stamp.

And lastly, let’s bring back hand-written (and hand-stamped!) mail. Isn’t it the best?

Blue and Yellow

I’ve been taking Mrs S’s advice and adding pops of yellow around our house. Yellow and blue together makes me happy!

Our vase of supermarket sunflowers lasted all week, and we’ve had lemons sitting on the table for ages. The tablecloth is a beautiful tais I bought when I was in East Timor, but never knew where I’d be able to use it. And the mosaic fruit bowl was a 21st gift from a girlfriend and one of my favourite things in our house!

DIY Pom Pom Scarf

A couple of months ago, my lovely sister put me on to one of the best blogs out – Scissors and Thread. The blog is a collection of clever DIY projects from all over the interwebs, and I have been madly saving countless project ideas on my Google Reader.

But enough of getting inspired and seeing great ideas, right? Time to get my hands dirty!

I started with this pom pom cowl scarf, from The Purl Bee. I bought my supplies at Spotlight before I read the tutorial, so in hindsight, I should have bought a slightly longer piece of fabric, and a fabric that was a little more lightweight. But it all worked out well in the end!

Simple! Cut fabric into a long rectangle, pin pom pom trim down the long sides, sew on trim, sew short sides together and voila! Nothing like a bit of colour and pom-pom to brighten up a simple outfit.

Do you Pinterest?

Pinterest is my current favourite. Do you use it?

Describing itself as a ‘virtual pinboard’, Pinterest lets you save all the beautiful images you find online in one spot. You add a ‘Pin It’ button to your browser, and whenever you find something you’d like to find again, hit ‘Pin It’ and it’s pinned!

Source: myyellowsandbox.blogspot.com via Laura on Pinterest

You can create different pinboards for different projects or events. I created a Wedding Hair board when planning the wedding and it made choosing my final hairstyle such a breeze. I’ve also been ‘pinning’ ideas For the Home, Quotables and inspiration for Events. You could have a Recipe board, or one for Gifts, Fashion, Travel Destinations or just about anything.

Source: littlemissmomma.com via Laura on Pinterest

Will used the quote above in his wedding speech – I’m on the look out for a beautiful print of it for our home. And below, I did a big search of ‘Houses with blue walls’ when we signed the lease on Smurf Haus – I was a little worried the blue would overwhelm us, but it’s so lovely!

Source: littlegreennotebook.blogspot.com via Laura on Pinterest

This artwork below was inspiration for this.

Source: thingsorganizedneatly.tumblr.com via Laura on Pinterest

Words that make me want to be brave.

Source: taniawillis.tumblr.com via Laura on Pinterest

The BEST thing about Pinterest, in my opinion, is that it automatically collects the source data from each image. No more trying to remember where you saw something from. And what’s more, you can follow friends, follow strangers, and search for just about anything.

Head over to Pinterest to request an invitation or I think I can invite you myself if you’d like – just let me know!

#Three

Tags

Art, colour, ikea, paint swatches, smurf haus, twenty three list

#Three of #TwentyThree – Make something beautiful for our new home.

Not only does our lovely little Smurf Haus have an abundance of picture frame hooks, our living room also has a beautiful high picture rail. So much hanging space – it really is an arty renter’s dream. So what to hang?

Will and I have made a promise to only hang art or photos we’ve created or taken ourselves. I love colour (you’d have to, to live in this blue house of ours!) and wanted something to brighten up our dining room. So off to Ikea to get a frame, to Bunnings to get paint swatches and to my crafts box for some sticky tape. Easy!

The big challenge was choosing where all the colours should go. It’s a great exercise in colour theory though, and not nearly as messy as painting.

Once I decided on the layout, I used sticky tape to secure each swatch. I could have cut off the names I guess, but I like them too much. Inca Trail. Iced Cupcake. Splice of Life. Who names paints and how can I get me that job?

The finished product. So very cheap and so very easy.

Next up, I’m thinking something else for the dining room inspired by this, this and this, a big doggy silhouette for the lounge room (perhaps like him or her) and some handy clipboards for the office.