Mia Bella House Tour: The Laundry Room...

 The laundry room is blue paint over textured wallpaper.

The bathroom which is the next room is painted the same colour for continuity.

There is art in the laundry -

because I love art!

 There are benches on both sides of the room 

with cupboard and drawer storage under them.

The cupboards are white.

 Accessories are French Country.

 Handcrafted decor pieces hang above the washing machine.
Click here for instructions on how to make the laundry sign:
http://miabellapassion.blogspot.co.nz/2013/06/laundry-sign.html

The tutorial for how to make the button heart on the silver tray can be found here:

http://miabellapassion.blogspot.co.nz/2013/11/diy-silver-tray-and-button-heart-art.html

 This picture is a free image I found at:

http://dorothysueandmillieb.blogspot.co.nz/2013/09/national-honey-month-free-queen-bee.html

I simply popped it into a white frame.

There are hydrangea heads in bottles...
Because one must have flowers!

And I can honestly say these upcycled bottles are authentic FRENCH ones,
because they once contained juice imported from France! 
They are wonderfully textured and a lovely shape.

There is a cubism styled shelf unit,

(I asked the builder to build me a shelf, and this is what he made.

Not quite what I had in mind, 

but I think it adds interest to the room.)

 The basket was spray painted white.

And the French tin vase was a bargain at $3 from Farmers.

A French label from 'The Graphics Fairy' 
was simply mod podged onto a clip lid preserving jar. 
The pegs are from the craft section at the $2 Shop.

 These laundry powder tins look fabulous as well as being practical.

The handles on the cupboard are matt silver with crisp clean lines.

 The benchtops are grey...

 The floor is a pebble look grey toned lino. 

The wash tub is built in to the formica bench top.

 It was the biggest one we could find.

We had a few strange looks when the maltese dog was taken to the store 

to see if she fitted in the sink!

The tap fixture can extend and has a shower function.

Perfect for little dog bathing!

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#laundrydecorideas #stylingalaundry

Valentine Vanilla Berry Cupcakes...

Looking visually stunning in red and white...

These Valentine vanilla berry cupcakes are an easy to make 

delicious to devour Valentines Day treat!

Topped with delicious fresh strawberries and raspberries,

this is one advantage of living in the Southern hemisphere at this time of year,

as summer berries are abundant.

Using a red valentine style cupcake case,

whip up your favourite vanilla cupcakes,

recipe link: http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/19431/vanilla+cupcakes

bake and then...

 Ice with vanilla icing...

Top with berries...

Dress your table with a homemade red satin table cloth....

and it simply shouts 'Be my Valentine' !

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#valentinerecipes #valentinecakes #valentinesdaybaking

             

You Are....Simply Enough.

Sharing with you all today,
 a photo quote...

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You are....

Simply enough.

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you can join for free HERE.

#Rosequotes #Positivethinkingquotes

Stenciled Valentines Heart Door Mat...

Welcome your valentine with this love heart door mat.

Or just create one because it is super cute!

And like many of my projects, it's super quick to create 
and SIMPLE!
To create your own stencilled door mat,

You will need:

Black Spray paint
Newspaper
pins
scissors
and

a heart template

 Cut the centre out of the printed heart image to create a stencil.

 Glue it onto a sheet of newspaper
(This stops paint overspray) 

 Cut the heart centre out again.

 Place in position on the mat.
I picked this mat up at 'Bed Bath and Beyond' for under $10!

 Using the pins tack around the outside of the heart template.

 This holds the paper firm and stops the paint getting underneath.

 Spray on the paint to create the effect you desire.
(Instead of black, you could use red or white as alternative colour choices)

Carefully remove the stencil guideline.
Leave to dry.

Then place at the door!

Add red roses...
In half an hour, you have whipped up the perfect Valentine's Day welcome!

Discover more 'Valentine's Day Ideas & Free Printables' at 

https://miabellapassion.blogspot.com/p/valentines.html

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#heart #craft #valentinecrafts

Let's Grow A Waterlily In A Pot...

The 'Let's grow a waterlily in a pot' project began in a few weeks into Spring... 

The temperatures in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand 
range from -3 degrees Celsius in the winter to 27-32 degrees Celsius in the summer.

So the summer in my region is amply hot enough to grow water lilies.

The first thing to do is select a pot...
Plug the holes in the bottom with a waterproofing sealer.

As this pot was not glazed on the bottom, 

I used my gloved hands to spread the sealer covering the bottom in a thin layer.

Put aside for 24 hours to dry.

When completely dry seal the inside of the pot.

I used the same silicon sealer that I used on the bottom.
Leave for another 24 hours.

Fill the pot with water.

This is the cross-your-fingers bit.

Leave to stand for an hour to check there are no leaks!
If there is, locate the leak points and seal them again with sealer.
Leave to dry.

When the pot is watertight, 

move to the position where it will permanently live. Remember that the water lily will need at least 6 hours of sunlight a day.

Refill the pot with water, 

Proceed to the next stage 

which is potting the waterlily.

I found a gorgeous tropical blue waterlily at a Garden Centre.

The tropical blue water lily is my absolute favourite!

So I potted it up into heavy loam soil, 

and sunk the potted lily into the bottom of the pot,

It sat 12 inches exactly below the surface.
Within 3 days, the first leaf was floating on the surface.
After three weeks of leaf growth,
a bud appeared .

That turned into a beautiful flower.
Then there was another bud.

It was amazing how fast it grew!

The buds are as gorgeous as the flowers.

This photograph fails to show the true blue of this lilly.

But this one is probably the truest blues you can get in a flower.

So PRETTY!

And did you know that water lilies are perfect picking flowers for the vase?

The bud colour hues are intense.

That colour fades into a gorgeous soft blue mauve.

 Growing a waterlily in a pot was such a success
and you guessed it - 
incredibly SIMPLE!
So much so,
next season I may grow another...
Maybe in a pot twice as large as this...
A miniature water lily might be nice!

The summer sun was so bright by the end of the photoshoot.
The last photograph was completely unaltered by Photoshop,
Snapped as is in the moment.
So here is a little water lily POP ART 
- just for you.

Since writing this blog post, I travelled to Rarotonga in the Pacific for a holiday, where these lilies grow in a perfect tropical environment.

 These photos show the divinity of that stunning blue colour!

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#waterlilies #growingwaterliliesinapot