Blue Background

The Princess Margaret Show House is always filled with wonderful decorating ideas. The dining room from the 2011 house has remained in the back of my mind for the past two years. Isn't that hit of blue in the back of the dining room cabinet beautiful?

Photo by Michael Graydon in the October 2011 issue of House & Home

This inspired us to do something this weekend... I'm putting the finishing touches on today but will post some photos tomorrow!

Bedazzled

Life on Van Island is pretty casual and the dress code here reflects that. It took me a few years to make that cultural shift but now I'm completely comfortable in my 'uniform' of in jeans and cotton shirts. I have even given up wearing heels... something I would have never believed six years ago. While I love the freedom and ease that comes with this part of island living, I do miss the little bits of glamour that existed in my pre-Vancouver Island life. That's why I think I need to get the Ultimate Sparkle Umbrella by Klair.  I think this is the only bejeweled accessory I have a real chance of integrating into my current wardrobe.

Photo from Masato.co.uk

Creative Blues

Because I'm up to my eyeballs in three simultaneous work projects, I'm craving the opportunity to do some creative things at home. That probably won't happen until July... in the meantime, I'll just dream about turning the extra meter of blue chevron fabric in my sewing stash into this. 

Photo from here

In the Pink

Last weekend, while on the mainland, we met our new niece. The day before we left, I decided she needed some additions to her wardrobe with custom embellishment. With a bit of ribbon and a few butterflies, here's what I cam up with. I love my nephews dearly but it turns out that sewing "in the pink" is great fun.

DIY Wedding

Here are some more photos of the wedding we went to last weekend. I was pretty involved in the preparations (from doing all the flowers to helping the bride pick out a dress) and Jeff created the ingenious cardboard tube vases that held the flowering branches at the outdoor "altar" and did 101 other tasks behind the scenes. Here's what we helped create:

The part that made me most nervous - making the bride's bouquet. It was a rustic hand-tied bunch of white hydrangeas, Queen Anne's lace, pink and green lisianthus, purple scabiosa, cream stocks, ivy and lime green puff balls. Against the bride's eggplant purple dress, it was very pretty and I was very pleased with how it turned out. 

What kind of boutonniere do you make for a groom allergic to most flowers? A green one. Thankfully, it looked great against his purple tie and shirt. 

Jeff's aunt, another cousin and I made the centerpieces out of thrift-store clear glass vases, greens from our gardens, mystery purple flowers from my garden, pink tulips and yellow ranunculus. The mantle was simple - just votives and ivy. 

The groom cut wood disks for under the centerpieces. My mom sewed table runners out of sheer curtains the bride found at Value Village. A trunk from our maple tree (trimmed several years ago and stashed in the garage) became the place cards. And the wedding favours? S'mores ingredients for the bonfire that happened after dinner. 

 The groom fabricated the fantastic cupcake stand out of wood disks and a brass frame. The cupcakes were from Lynne's Lovecakes in Chilliwack and they were delicious. The icing was the best icing I've ever had - light, smooth, not grainy and not sweet. They tasted as good as they looked.

The bouquet wilted during the heat of the wedding but perked up once it got back into water. It survived our day-long trip to Ikea and got home, 2 days later, looking fairly fresh.

I don't have pictures but we also did two huge arrangements of Solomon's Seal, pink snapdragons, green bells of ireland and a mass of other greens for the front of the "altar". It was great fun... and I'm happy it's over!

Flower Garden

I'm not a pastel person. But I love this gallery wall designed by Nichole Loiacono using floral photographs taken by British photographer Cassia Beck.

Photo from Parlor Home Blog by Nichole Loiacono

The Ultimate Playhouse

Jeff and I are excitedly anticipating the birth of our new niece any day. Last week, I was searching for some small sewing project ideas for her and happened on this fabric playhouse:

Photos from Made By Jill

It's made to fit over a dining room table like a giant table cloth. The front door flaps open and all the fruit and vegetables are attached with velcro so they can be "harvested". I think this is the most adorable playhouse I've ever seen. Now back to my search for that small sewing project...

Good Idea or Just Good Marketing?

One of my friends sent me this picture with the question, "Do you think this would really work?". It's allegedly a regular old planter spray painted with glow-in-the-dark paint.  Jeff's not convinced and I'll admit, the photo does look a little enhanced.  I'm still intrigued and think if it works, it could be an interesting way to light up our otherwise dark front walk. Maybe it's worth a can of spray paint to experiment?

Photo from Rugged-Life.com

Color

I have not been feeling all that creative recently (hence the lack of Creative Monday posts for the past month). En route to Victoria on Saturday, I read an article by my hands-down favourite Canadian stylist Margot Austin which included photos of her summer cottage in PEI.  I don't usually like yellow but I adore Margo's headboard makeover. The colour is fittingly entitled "Lullaby Yellow".

Photo from Margot Austin via Canadian House and Home

Sweet Shamrocks

I usually just decorate for Christmas and Easter... and the little bit I decorate at Easter probably doesn't count. In my growing need for clean lines and simplicity, seasonal decor just doesn't fit. However, I do really like these framed four leaf clovers from Angus and Company. If I was going to decorate for St. Patrick's Day, I'd choose these over leprechauns any day. 

Photo courtesy of Angus & Company

House Art

This Rebecca Seale print is very sweet, isn't it? She will also do a custom version with a drawing of your house.

Photo courtesy of Rebecca Seale Illustration

Tweet

I am in love with this doorstop. I'm just not sure I need a doorstop...

Doorstop from Rockett St. George

Fun Bunks

My people are farming people. That's probably why I think these bunk beds are AWESOME.

For more information and tutorial, check out the Rucker Rendezvous blog (which is also the source of these great photos). 

Rainbow Mat

Spring has started in our tropical part of the world. With the tulips poking out of the ground, I've been thinking about garden plans and outdoor projects we want to tackle this year. I'm at a loss of inspiration this year and feel less and less motivated to continue work on the garden and exterior of our house.  Or I was until I saw this:

Photo courtesy of Makezine

I'm not sure it would be all that useful at removing mud of the bottom of my wellies but my oh my, isn't it happy?

Butterfly Art

I'm not an art connoisseur. We have just a few pieces of original art in our house (and a few more mass-produced Ikea and Winners specials) and a few more original photographs. I suppose that's because I like to change things up every season or two- move art around or put a new photograph in the frame. Swapping around original paintings just isn't in the budget.

I also love creative and colourful art. You know- the kind of thing that turns this:

Photo courtesy of Little Green Notebook 

into this: 

Photo courtesy of Young House Love

or this: 

Photo courtesy of Kiki's List

Thanks to the May 2012 issue of Country Living for this idea. 

Spring Art

I found this image via my sister-in-law- it's a few clothespins with magnets stuck to one side, and   some pages in an old botanical book. Together, they make instant refrigerator art. How fresh and lovely is this?!

Photo courtesy of the Stina Ballerina Blog

Confetti Art

I'm doing something I never thought I'd be doing this winter/spring- helping plan a wedding. It's been most wonderful distraction and bright spot during a very overcast, grey winter this year. There are three of us putting our creative heads together and I think we've come up with a few ideas that will make the big day in May fun and unique.

Over the course of many Google images searches for centerpieces, favours and bouquets, I stumbled across some interesting art. These sculptural art installations are made entirely of suspended triangular paper confetti by Denmark-based Japanese artist Yuko Takada Keller. I'm not sure if I'm drawn to the watery blue and green colours or the gentle movement, but I think they are beautiful.

Image courtesy of Yuko Takada Keller 

Image courtesy of Yuko Takada Keller 

Image courtesy of Yuko Takada Keller 

This makes we want to paint every wall in my house white, bleach our oak floors and hang colourful art. To me, this feels like an inspired breath of fresh air.

Art Blues

I love the artwork of California Architect Steve Gianetti- it's soothing, has wonderful movement and is in shades of blue and green, my two favourite colours. As I sewed grey pillows last week to go with the grey bed skirt in our bedroom (photos coming soon), I found myself craving a hit of marine blue or aqua green that perhaps, a small painting could provide? If only the budget could provide as well...

Art collage by Steve Gianetti. Photo from Brooke Gianetti's website