Friday Brunch

Hello Friends!

Well how have your holidays been?  It has been so wonderful having my wonderful husband off work for a few days. 

Last friday, I had the extended family over (brother/wife/daughter, sister/husband/son & Daughter) for a long awaited family brunch.

It was a really nice day.
Everyone arrived at 10am.
We ate at 10.45am.  I had the newspaper, coffee and fresh flowers ready as I made the Hollondaise sauce for the eggs benadict,  while miss Mimi made the pancakes...all was wonderful as the morning progressed. 

Here are some pics...

 

I had a vintage, fresh, summer theme with lots of white, lace, glass and flowers.

 

I even used some of my own nannas milk jugs for vases, they were so pretty.

 

This particular one was my favorite!!!!.....

 

 

Here was the menu, placed on each plate...

 

 

 

I also had a mix of old plates to add to the vintage charm...

 

 

We had a very loverly morning/afternoon.  After brunch the kids swam in the pool and us adults lazed around, read, chatted and laughed.  It was so wonderful catching up with my siblings.

 

 

Getting Organised with a Kikki.K workshop

Last December I decided to finally get around to sorting, organising and making our home office 'pretty'.

I tried to do it as low budget as i could.
 I used an old pine desk, as well as a very old pine bookshelf that had been sitting in the corner of our spare room gathering dust (and piles of junk). 
So one week hubby and i got in and finished painting the walls, and then the man inside me LOL, came out.  I pulled out the electric sander, paint gun and got to work.

 Once all done, we brought it in placed the bookshelf on top of the desk.  I had old black gift boxes that I repurposed into storage.  Printed my own labels and here is the end result...

 

Im happy to say that I was so pleased with the end result.  The room was light airy, fresh and beautiful.  I did most of the decorating with items i had.  Its amazing what a bit of paint can do.

 

Well, almost 12months on...its still there but just not so...um...neat and tidy...*sad face*

I had all good intentions of being organised and tidy this year but as the months rolled on, the paper piles on the kitchen bench ended up just getting placed on the desk...and after so long doing this im no more organised than i was prior to the makeover *sigh*

 

Last week I was at Robina town centre walking past Kikki.K...one of my most favorite stores in the universe.

I go in there and indulge in my fanatises and in total denial that my home office will and does look like that store.

 

Really...it doesnt, but one can dream, lol.

 

All the pretty white and blue boxes, files, paper, pens, diaries, calenders...ahhhhhhhhhhh..........H.E.A.V.E.N!

 

While I was there I noticed a woman siting down having a one on one consultation.  I also noticed close by a brochure for 'paperflow' workshops.  I asked the shop assistant about it.

I had heard about these before and wanted to do but in my denial thought "ive got it sorted, i dont need to do one of them...im the organised queen"

 

After talking to the lovely store assistant, I admited defeat and decided I DO need help.

So i booked in for the last workshop of the year.

That was last night. 

 

 The workshop was a cosy affair.  Just me and 3 other ladies (as well as the professional organiser and shop lady)

we were greeted with either a glass of champagne or sparkling water, and fresh strawberries, tim tams and crackers.

 

We introduced ourselves to each other and  told each other why decided we needed to be there.

It was an hour workshop which included a handbook and a kikki.k pen.  We also were entitled to 10% discount on the night as well as a one week after the workshop to allow us to go home and work out what we need.

 

It had some amazing ideas.  Their 6 step paper station is fantastic and I am going to implement it into our home...not just in the office either.

The principles could be applied to almost anywhere in the home.

After it was all done I purchased the 2013 family calender ~ great for organising and planning things individually and as a family.

 

I also purchased the kikki.k 'peek-a-boo' shopping basket.  it was suggested to leave it at the front door and place everything you need in the car.  All you have to do is pick it up in the morning as your walking out the door and your not searching for things like DVDs, Library books, signed forms for school etc.  As you remember (ideally the night before) place it in the basket. 

 

Along with the basket I also purchased the 5-tab plastic pocket.  This is also great to place in the basket for the smaller things like shopping list, mail, forms etc that I may need through out the day.  It also fits neatly into my handbag.

 

 

 

So today Im all set and keen to tackel the office.  Miss Mimi is home sick from school today so I am making the most of my time to start planning.

 

I think the problem I had origanally with my office is that I did all the decorating and put pretty boxes etc around but honestly...didnt realy serve a purpose other than to 'look pretty'.

 

Now my office will not just look pretty but will also be funtionable.

 

 

Today my goal is:

*Revising my notes

*sorting & cleaning office

*Planning what I need exactly to have a properly funtioning office

*making notes for what I need

 

The goal=

1.Have a fresher, tidier office that I can locate things at an instant

2. Have a smoother running home,  Finances etc.

3. Save money

4. Happy family!

 

If you ever get a chance to do a kikki.k workshop I would definitly consider it.

I feel it has given me a new lease on organising and will be much, much easier to maintain in the long run.

 

 

My new love...Pinterest!

I've been hearing all this hype about 'Pinterest' over the past year and a few months back  It seemed like my kind of thing...some described it as "Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes." and "Pinterest is an online forum for creativity. Users can create inspiration boards that link directly to the source of each project/recipe/photo etc. They can follow someone else’s boards, whose tastes and interests they admire. And there is space to open a discourse about what is pinned via comments and “likes”. 
I read more about it HERE
Creative, inspirational, arty...this sounds like my kinda thing!!
 I signed up for an invite (yes, you need an invite...for some reason you cant just join??)  (you can find me In this link) Once I got my invite Imust admit I was a little confused/overwhelemed by it.
I went off it for a few weeks and discovered a blog raving about it.  So I got back onto it and gave it another shot.  Ok, after spending a couple of hours 'playing' last night and I was pleasantly suprised.  Ithink Im now 'in love'...IGET IT!
You can get onto this site and click on a pic, save it and then it takes you to the place it came from (i.e if its a tutorial on DIY for example).
Pics like these...

It is just fabulouse and I am worried I may be just a bit addicted now....eek.

project catch-up. DIY table runner and cushion

Oh how I LOVE Thunderstorms in the morning.  Yes, Its a dark thundery morning here this morning.  Thankgoodness its a saturday.  We got to stay in bed just that bit longer and listen to the rain and thunder outside.  Pancakes and cinnamon apples for breakfast and hot coffee...mmmm.
So anyway, on my snuggly morning as the kids get stuck into saturday Disney on tv I thought i would do another catch up blog (3 in 3 days...Im doing good arent I?).
Today Im going to show you a simple idea my lovely friend has done at her home...and I lovingly borrowed her idea for mine {she doesnt mind...honest}.  Its a very, very simple lacey table runner.  Very effective.
In my thrift shop, shopping trips I always seem to get sucked in to those beautiful vintage doyles.  You know the ones that are REAL lace.  Not the cheap manafactured ones.  The sort that you can just see some lovely old grandma making with her bare hands 40 years ago.
I seem to have too many to know what to do.  This is a fantastic idea.  It looks just so nice.

Gather up your doyles and arrange them in a long line, overlapping slightly to match the length of your table.  Arrange them in an arty fashion {big ones with small ones etc} This may take a few goes to get it right. The different shade of white and beige, shapes and patterns just complement each other so nicely.

place a smal stitch in between each one so stay together on your table. 

The next project I did a few months back. 

Its a DIY printed cushion cover.  It is very easy to do.  All you need is...

*a plain cushion cover

*a Printer

*a sheet of stencil plastic

*a black sharpie

*fabric paint

*stanly knife

This is the first time ive ever done this.  I think I could do better but this was just an experiment but over all I was pretty happy with the outcome but I want to play around some more with some other prints etc.

Find your design on the computer.

Get the right size, shape and then print it out onto a sheet of white plain paper.
I then trace the shape on to the stencil sheet with my sharpie and carefully cut it out with a stanly knife.  This is tricky especially if its a detailed design.  Realy think about this.  This where you need to cut BEFORE you cut.  Its kind if an inside out cut as its a stencil.

Once this is done its time to place it on your cushion cover.  I lightly sprayed the stencil with glue just to keep it in place while I paint it.  I also place a few strips of tape just to be sure.
PLACE SOME CARDBOARD INSIDE THE COVER TO PREVENT THE PAINT FROM BLEEDING THROUGH TO THE OTHER SIDE!!
Dab the fabric paint onto the stencil/cushion cover.
Leave the stencil on the cover for a few hours to dry completly.  Taking it off too soon could smudge the wet paint.

One off and all dry, I went around the shape with my black sharpie pen, just to define the outline of the shape and it looks more finished.

Like I said, I am realy happy with how it turned out.  I think I could do better but not bad for a first attempt, i think.

Bedroom makeover.

So, last week I got in my head to paint renovate my room....somthing that has been on my mind for a while.
As I havnt got the money to just go out and purchase anything I want in one big hit I decided to spread it over about 8 months.
Over the past 8 months Ive been eBaying, at the shops looking for bargains, thrift store hunting and surfing the net for the best deals.
I have been storing them up and putting my purchases away for the big reveal.
Last weekend i  painted and put it all together and i must say...Im VERY happy with the results.  Tell me what you think of my 'new' room...

I took before shots on my phone as I cant seem to locate my camera atm.  Anyway I will work on that as I realy want  you to see the before shots...It always seems to add more impact.
Let me give a verbal (or is that written...?) description of before. 
Ok, The bed was a natural rustic wood.  A Lovely bed however after 12 years was a little over it.  I didnt want to get rid of it as this is the first thing my husband and I ever baught together.  Im kinda attached to it...weird I know but I am.  Also, it is such a solid, strong bed it would kind of be silly to get rid of it.  I painted it a cream colour.
I had no curtains above the bed in that window...just the blinds. 
The bedside table and tall boy were a dark teak, they're now a cream colour (same as bed) The 'old' curtain on the slididng door was beigey/gold.
 The walls were white (not too bad) and the doors and trims were apricot *ugh*.  My quilt cover origially was white but about 2 years ago it ripped *sob~sob* so I have been using our old cover which was blue and white.

  Overall it wasnt too bad but just not nice.  It didnt feel connected and I felt like it was old and dirty looking.  I needed a change as well as a nice retreat for hubby and I to go to at night. 

We now joke and say...we feel like we finally have a grown ups bed room...LOL.
The colour paint i used for the wall was  Dulux Tapestry Beige in quater strength.  Such a beautiful colour.  For the doors and trims I simply used plain dulux white in a gloss.
The curtains are Ikea Vivan curtains purchased for half price on eBay.  All the frames are from a thrift shop that I spayed in a gloss black.
Overall...Im happy with our light, airy, fresh, romantic bedroom.  One of my biggest project to late, completly done by me alone...in 4 days.  Room, doors and trims painted, bed bedside table and drawers painted, curtains up and decorating.  I loved every min of it.
Next is miss Mimi's room....

My free DIY jewellery hanger

Wow, I love this time of year. At the moment the weather couldnt be better.   It is the 17th day of summer here and we've been waking up to blue clear skies, warm summer sun and we've been swimming, playing and relaxing. About 4 o'clock evey afternoon we get a tropical storm to cool it all down, but thats ok because we then wake up to blue skies again the next day.  This is the sort of weather I remember as a child...the weather has been so messed up the last few years so its nice to have this. My poor husband still is working at the moment but he will have a week or two off from the 24th dec YAY!
Anyway, yesterday afternoon my wonderful sister and sister-in-law popped in for a swim with the kids and a glass of champers{for us~ as ya do} and then my sister offered to take my two for the night.  I have to go pick them up soon but for the moment Im enjoying just sitting here with a cup of coffee in quietness LOL.

So I thought while its nice and quite in the house I would blog about a jewlery holder i made some time back.
I used an old drawer.  My husband was throwing out an old wooden desk he had at his office so I grabbed the drawers.
Here you can see I took the handle off and painted the outside and some of the inside of the drawer...

I just used a white primer/sealer...worked a treat as it went on so, so easy and was quite easy to sand back a little on the edges for that chic look.

Next I had some pretty wrapping paper in my supply box that I cut to size, fitted and glued it to the inside of the drawer.

Next I turned the drawer upside down so the front of the drawer was on the bottom.

I then had an assortment of old drawer handles that I also had on hand that I place in a way that could hang long necklaces and smaller bracelet like items.

This was the finished result {sorry about the dodgy pic...It actually looks better now with better jewlery however I just took this pic quickly to show you the finished result}

It sits nicely in my room and i now have all my necklaces, bracelets etc where i can see them and out of the way of little 7 year old hands, LOL.

The whole thing cost me $0.00 to make.

Latest Creation. 'Little birdy' wall Canvas .

Today I have created a new post showing my latest lttle creation...a new vintage inspired wall hanging.
As Ive mentioned many times I love vintage inspired items, I love whimsical little unique pieces and birds...tiny little finchy type, They are sooo cute.
Anyway, I had a wall im my lounge room that was just bare and lacking personality.  I went and purchased a canvas from a discount store, the sort that has a fat frame.

I painted the canvas in the colour that suits my colour scheme in my home.  I chose Green Balm 3 From Nippon paint,
I purchased a sample pot from Bunnings, which was more than enough for my canvas.
I simply just rolled on the paint...2 coats.
Once it was dry I placed a wall sticker onto the canvas.  Birdys....of course!
As you can see from the pic it is a silhouette of a tree branch, with 2 little finches in amongs it.
I was quite proud of the end result.  Very happy and has filled that lonley little wall in my lounge room and cost next to nothing for my beautiful artwork.