What I Have Been Doing

Getting finger bunions and whittling down my ‘to read’ pile.

Old Skool Photoshop

I remember the days…

(with thanks to withstyleandsubstance)

Cork and Calico

I’ve been looking for a jewellery box for a long time. Something wooden, old and Japanese, was what I had in mind. But to date, nothing suitable had materialised. With various bits of bijoux scattered about everwhere, in boxes, in drawers, I was having quite a time finding something when I needed it.

Last weekend, I thought ‘hang it!’. Literally.

A cork board, some unbleached calico, a few staples and several pins later, voilà.

And by gum, being just that little bit more organised is lovely!

Project: Bed

After just over two months of living it student/squatter-like on a mattress on the ground, I finally have a bed! There has been a lot of painting, sponging, drying, sanding, dusting, and yet more painting, sponging etc. to get the finish I was after. But I’m happy with the results. And it’s an absolute joy to be elevated for the night’s rest and to finally have my bedroom in order.  Oh, and my chair is standing in very nicely as a bedside table.

 

 

Wooden Box

I recently picked up this crusty, damp wooden box for a steal. I dried it out, treated it with wood cleaner and then stained it with some lovely Danish timber oil.

Now it houses some odds and ends, some bits and bobs.

Project: Chair

On a budget and with a specific look in mind for my furniture (shabby chic, provençal/scandinavian beach hut), I’ve been haunting antique/junk/vintage warehouses, and spending not a little amount of time in hardware stores, getting to know products, techniques and picking up tips from staff.

After much research, I decided on a whitewash which needed to be ordered from Sydney. One weekday morning, I turned up before work, suited, to a factory office in Canberra’s industrial district, to pick up the paint. The rather large bloke manning the office looked surprised by my attire but did not blink an eye when taking payment. As I struggled manfully to get the 10 litre tub the fifty metres to my car, I imagine he looked quite amused.

An unfortunate collision between one of my fingers and a serrated knife meant I won’t be able to tackle my bedframe for a few weeks, I’m estimating. But I experimented with a chair I picked up recently for a song at an antique store.

I’m quite pleased with the results.

Before…

After…

Small Touches

Moving into a new place has its benefits and its downsides.

Not having a bed is a prime example of the latter. Not one to rush into such a purchase and hamstrung by Ikea’s absence in this part of the world, it took me a little bit of time to shop around, choose and order one. It has finally arrived, but it is undergoing a Project (more later) which will leave me on the mattress on the floor for goodly few weeks yet.

But it offers an opportunity for a fresh start decoration-wise.  And it doesn’t take much to turn a formerly anonymous space, into your own. Even if you are sleeping on a mattress on the floor.

I found the Letters of D.H. Lawrence and the old silk thread wooden spools in a vintage store in Canberra.  The spools are sitting on my makeshift dresser just because I find them pretty. The photo frames were a bargain at one of the bigger department stores in town.  All images and other books have been collected over the years.

A makeshift bedside table of books.

And another  makeshift bedside table ie. the floor.

Little Laughing Monsters

Random doodlings inspired by this.

Rainy Weekend

The steady pitter patter of rain on the roof, a little Nina Simone, a dash of Jacques Brel, some homemade apple and rhubarb crumble, and, of course, a cup of tea…

Zebra

Disbelief in magic can force a poor soul into believing in government and business.
~Tom Robbins.

Can someone pass the zebra over then?