All Things Lovely

The Dark Knight

Although this really has nothing to do with craft, design, decorating or anything I usually blog about, I wanted to mention The Dark Knight. I finally got to see it last night (yes, I am way behind the times), and WOW. As an Aussie, I guess I am totally biased because of the presence of Heath Ledger. He was superb and I am honestly still shocked that he's now gone. I still remember him from Sweat and Home & Away!

Anyway, what a wonderful movie, and what a wonderful performance.

 

I Need A New Desk

As part of my studio reno, I'm looking for a cheap, wooden desk that I can strip back and paint white to match everything else I'm painting white. Gosh I have a lot of painting coming up!

Anyway, these are two desks I'm watching on Ebay. Imagine them in white, what do you think? They would be my sewing desk, so I am a fan of the little drawers. I plan to replace the knobs with these gorgeous ones from Anthropologie.

PS Please don't outbid me! LOL

This is the cheaper desk at the moment.

And the one I actually like a little bit more, but as my luck would have it, it's the more expensive one at the moment.

I really need to work out what I am willing to spend, what do you think is reasonable for a 2nd hand desk?

ETA The second desk sold for more than I was prepared to pay, but the first one has no bids and is still sitting at 99 cents! I'll watch it and see what happens... I just need to arrange a friend with a ute or trailer.

The Cushions Are Done!

I am so thrilled to have these out of the way. I wrote myself a massive 'To Do' list for the past few days. I took two days off work and it was bliss. So, cross at least one thing off the list. Although 'Fully clean the house' might have to wait a bit!

I've ended up making three of these, I have another two seater lounge, so the third is on that. Yay, the winter colour scheme is finally coming together! next up I'd like to recover a light shade and make a brighter table runner for my coffee table... all in good time, they're not on the To Do list yet.

I'm In An Etsy Treasury!

I feel so flattered, IVYDesigns on Etsy has featured me in her treasury. Now I hope it makes it to the front page!

New Amy Butler Fabric

Amy Butler's new range of fabric seems to have snuck out, August Fields. Just in time, because there are some beautiful colourways that will go with the paint I've chosen for my bedroom. Not to mention my spring/summer theme for the lounge room. And it's in a home dec weight so perfect for curtains and cushion covers.

I'm finding it strange though that there is nothing that I can see (unless I am totally blind, which is not unlikely!) on her website about the new range....weird.

Anyway, I'm happy and I'm ready to order some. I'm also really happy about the range of solids that she has brought out, right in time for a bag I'm hoping to make.

Uh Oh, More Paint Colours

I'm still on a search to find the perfect colour for my studio. I've now fallen in love with this colour, which I found via the Fixing Adam's House blog. This is Palladian Blue by Benjamin Moore. Now that would all be well and good, and I'd be dashing out for a sample pot, except as far as I know it's not a brand that is stocked in Australia!

I've just used the colour viewer on the website to recolour this bedroom to get an idea of the look. I really like it, and I know it would look beautiful with white furniture, but will it go with the fabric I've picked and want to use for recovering chairs and other little features?

Does anyone know how I would get the formula for this paint so I could try and get it made up here with another brand? Granted, it may not be perfect but I could give it a shot!

Wordle Magic

Thanks to Nicole at Making It Lovely, today I discovered Worldle. You put in a block of text and it makes it into funky art. You can change the colours, layout etc. I decided to Wordle my favourite verse from the Bible, what a cool idea!

More Studio Inspiration

I am really taking my time on this studio! I'm having so many problems picking a wall colour just to start with. So far, there are splotches of pink, green and yellow on the walls, as well as it's original blue. It looks quite diseased. I'm going to give a pale aqua a shot, and then I'm determined to make a decision. I've even booked time off work, so I have to paint it then.

I've found some more studios I think are lovely for various reasons, I have no idea where they come from so my apologies for the lack of links.

I love the brilliant storage from all the cupboards, as well as the old sewing machine sitting there, just gorgeous.

This room just looks so fresh and crisp, the wall colour in fact is not far from what I've chosen for my master bedroom. I also like the white furniture which is what I'm hoping to end up with. The storage in the desk is a brilliant idea.

I like all the shelving in this one, it looks fantastic and is also incredibly functional.

Lastly, the storage here looks amazing. Ikea has these fabulous bookcases and boxes, so I dare say one will end up in my craft room.

So, now I'm just counting down to finally having some time off work and getting it all done! I had a lovely trip to Ikea on the weekend to scope out some ideas, I'm now rather excited about it all.

Just What I Need

I am really loving these new posters from Orange Beautiful, I think they would be perfect in my new crafty room when I'm feeling like I have too much to do.

I especially love this one, it's become a favourite phrase of mine! And the bonus is, it will even go with the colour scheme! 

They are limited edition prints, so if you want one, do something about it and buy one. 

Anthropologie Envy

In my blogging travels, I've seen an abundance of beautiful decorating items from Anthropologie. Me being a slightly obsessed online shopper, I of course checked out their website only to discover they don't ship to Australia. Of course, there are ways around this, but it still just adds to the price.

I am completely pea green with envy that US residents, and others have such easy access to this amazing shop! I can't even think of any major shop in Australia that would come close. It's like a combination of Myer, Freedom and a whole lot of little gift shops. Aaah... I think it would be my mecca!

Anyway, enough rambling, here are some items I would really like to get shipped over here for future projects.

The Waterwing Knob and Tweet Knob - would be perfect on a set of drawers I'm planning to use in my new sewing room.

 

And then there is this beautiful Floral Kingdom Frame, perfect for anything I think.

At close to a cool $800, I am dreaming but how cool is this light fitting? The Songbird Chandelier... so pretty.

 

A more affordable option might be the Aviaries Shade.

I guess I will just have to keep dreaming until I can do a massive online shopping trip... in the meantime I will just dream.

Meet Indiana

I'd like you to meet my dog, Indiana. He's 9, so certainly not new, but I adore him! I named him after Indiana Jones, and his adventuring spirit has certainly had him live up to his name. My parents gave him to me for my 21st birthday present. I had so badly wanted a dog, and thought there was no way I could, until they surprised me with this wriggling little bundle of joy and love. He is still to this day the best present EVER!

He is a beautiful handsome golden labrador, and the best puppy I could ever ask for. Aren't pets the best? Unconditional love.

Unfortunately, when I moved out of home I couldn't take him with me. A number of reasons; my backyard has no shelter for him, the backyard is quite small and he is a bit of a diva and doesn't cope well when away from his 'home'. The first two problems could have been overcome reasonably easily, but taking him away from my dad would have been too hard on him. So, he does come for visits and I visit him a lot, but for now his home is sadly not with me.

The iPhone Hype

Tomorrow is a momentous day in Australian history - the Apple iPhone finally will be launched here! And yay, we get the 3G version. Still not sure whether I will get it in the next few days or not, I do still have a working Nokia N73, but the iPhone is just so pretty! I know when I see them out and about I won't be able to resist.

I would love to hear particularly from US readers who have had the iPhone for what seems like ages. Is it worth the hype? Is it relatively easy to pick up and use? I am a bit of a geek, so new technology is fun for me.