Let's BE Fabulous! ❥

A little reminder to be FABULOUS!!!

#nzbloggers #roseleaf #raindrops #quotes

'Baby Tears' Planter...❥

Baby Tears (aka Irish Moss or Soleirolia soleirlii)

is the sweetest little plant.

Originating from Italy, it is one of my favourites.

Little tiny leaves cascade down the evergreen stems

which give this plant the name of baby tears.

Perfect as a ground-cover due to it's spreading nature,

Baby tears grow in semi shade or full shade garden beds.

It looks lush and green all year round if kept moist.

(It's not fond of dry or frost!)

And it's super SIMPLE to propagate.

Just take a clump and plant it where you want it to grow.

How easy is that?

And it is a superb weed suppressant.

Baby Tears is also fabulous to grow in pots indoors or out.

As well as in hanging baskets.

I like to plant mine in a plastic pot that I then place in an urn that's indoors.
Coconut fibre around the internal edge keeps the plastic pot hidden.

Even in the early stages of growth, it is pretty.

Eventually it will cascade over the edge of the planter.

And when it is too big...

Root cuttings will be taken and a new plant started.
❥

And if you are wondering about that hint of gold in the background of the first planter photograph,
yes - it's a new CUSHION...

The gold leaf image and cream cushion fit in with the decor PERFECTLY.
One can never have too many cushions, can they?

#babytears #planter #indoorplant #shadeplants

BUBBLE JOY!

Ok - so here is one of those random posts -

JUST BECAUSE!

I have been photographing bubbles....

or should I say trying to master the art of photographing bubbles...

 And these images are so pretty.

And even though they're not perfect,

I thought I would share them with y'all.

#newzealandphotographer # photoart #bubbles 

Re-purposed Light shade Flower Bowl...❥

Vintage milk glass light shades are BEAUTIFUL!
And ya all know how I LOVE flower bowls...
so it was a no-brainer as to what this ole light shade was about to become!

One problem was the GORGEOUS shape...
It did not sit flat on the table.

But that was nothing my trusty airdry clay could not fix!
(Seriously peeps - one should always have this stuff in the craft cupboard!)

I cut three pieces...

Rolled each into long sausage shapes...

Squeezed the three ends together...

And made a clay plait.

Then I checked sizing to create a plait base for the light shade.

Cut and joined it.

And left it to dry.

Once dry, the light shade bowl was placed on top.

The bowl filled with water and flowers.

Ahhh...upcycling satisfaction!

The flower of choice was a creamy white to pale yellow coloured camellia.

This is a favourite of mine.

It's called ' Jurys Yellow'.

It's vigorous, bushy and a shares profuse flowers from Autumn until Spring.

It has an upright habit of 2 metres by 1.5 metres.

Plant it in semi-shade for best flowers.

The bees LOVE this camellia too.

I love the way the light reflects on the glass!

I love everything about my 'new' vintage milk glass vase!

For updates about the latest blog posts,

you can join for free HERE.

#camelia #flower #upcycled #flowerbowl

DIY Bird Wall Decor...❥

This bird wall decor piece is a fun activity to create with the children.

We used a free swallow template from the internet, 

which you will find many bird templates in varied shapes and sizes.

I made a slight modification to this design as I wanted the tail to be a little thicker.

 

You will need airdry clay.

Airdry clay is available at most craft and art stores in New Zealand.

Press your paper cutout template onto the rolled clay.
Don't make it to thin.
Like any clay - the thinner it is the more fragile it will be when dry.

Use a bread and butter knife (safer for the kids) to cut around the outline of the template.
My grandson aged 5 managed to do this pretty well alone.

To make patterns, use any object you already have that will imprint.
This is a metal heart which was perfect for the task.

Then attach a hanger with more clay onto back side of bird - I used a metal bead label tag.
Carefully place onto a baking paper lined card.
Put aside to dry.

 After about four days the bird was dry.
You can keep it in its natural clay colour or paint it.
If you were to place on a covered porch I would seal it with clear sealer.

But because it was decided to put this into the bathroom, which is blue and grey, we decided to paint it with grey chalk paint. 

Once dry it was hung.

A wonderful 'Grandson and Nonna' craft memory.

And it looks wonderful with the other DIY art piece in this room too.

Faux solar leaf print

#airdryclay #birdcraft #claycraft #homedecor #diy

Aqua Guest Bedroom Reveal....❥

 The guest bedroom makeover was much needed.

And although a walls and ceiling upgrade were not in the budget, 

I freshened up the whole room by painting out the golden woodwork using white on the trims, 

and grey chalk paint on the built in dresser that was also golden wood.

I'm totally AQUA crazy so there was no question what colours to use in this room.

The duvet is one I already had (moved in here from the lavender bedroom), 
and I bought one new velvet cushion. (on sale of course!)

Old furniture finds were upcycled.
A new curtain rod and drapes put up. (Bought on Sale)

Then the room was dressed with my collected aqua bits and pieces.

Here are the furniture before photos:

I picked up an older lowboy dresser,

and a side table for $120 at the second-hand shop.

They received a much needed makeover with grey chalk paint.

Here are some after photos:

You can see how the grey chalkpaint has brought out the beautiful detailing on the lowboy dresser.

An old oak chair was painted white, and the seat recovered with pretty fabric.

 I found the gorgeous soft aqua coloured velvet cushion in a sale.
The painting is one of my own.

 The 'Doily' cushion that I had previously made was added to the bed vignette.
Find out how to DIY a doily cushion HERE.

The furniture and accessories are all French Country inspired.

This old oak bed I have owned for many years, and it was once black.

It's now painted in white and distressed. 

This tray is a wood one that was painted white and then has had 'old plates' mosaic detailing added.

Find out how to do this HERE.

Curtains are from the Briscoes standard range.

I waited until they had a 60% off sale to purchase.

 And from my 'AQUA' collection, I added a few favourite pieces.

The guest room is now visitor-ready,

and is now one of my favourite rooms in the house!

For updates about the latest blog posts,

you can join for free HERE.

#nzbloggers #diy #furnitureupcycle  #aqua #interiors #decor #budgetmakeover #frenchcountry

Chunky Knit Blanket 'Bling' Fixer Upper....

Don't you just love it when you stumble across a major BARGAIN!!!

And that is exactly what I found with this throw at Briscoes a few months back.

It was everything I love in a throw....

It looked like a hand knit in its heavy chunky gorgeousness.

It was creamy white.

(Even though I LOVE colour - I also LOVE neutrals)

And the price was outstanding -  

$159.95 - marked down to 59.95!!!

But there was just one little problem with it...

The bling metallic stripe was rose gold and my living space has gold accessories!

But I bought it anyway.

So you can see the problem here...

Gold and rose gold.

 So I foraged in the lace store box and found this pretty crochet style lace.

How perfect was that.  

 I stitched it on via the sewing machine...

And now have the perfect throw 

- with a little bling still showing through the lace.

Just enough to avoid the Rose gold and gold clash problem I had before.

#nzbloggers  #crochetlace #blanket #throw #homedecor #upcycle #fixerupper