holiday inspiration part 2 - street graffiti, bill posters & murals

As I was flicking through my photos in search of flowers for Tuesday's post, I came across quite a collection of street art pics, I thought I'd share too.

In fact there was a whole bunch of recurring themes, eg. shopfronts & market stalls; doorways & windows; old bicycles and interesting pattern & textures.

I love the graphic poster design against the blue graffiti - Vientiane, Laos

a wall of the bike taxi ads - Hanoi, Vietnam

striking black and white - The Marais, Paris

the infamous 'space invader' - Montmartre, Paris

under gothic ironwork - Lipscani, Bucharest

peeling back the layers, Prague

a small section of the 'Lennon Wall', Prague

a riot of clashing colour - Istanbul

sky scraper high - can't quite remember where in New York

a section of a beautiful waterfront mural - Kas, Turkey 

cute forget me not - Bozcaada marina, Turkey

Don't worry, I won't bore you with an endless slide show of my holiday snaps. But doing this has reminded me what a great source of reference your photos can be, especially for colour...

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holiday inspiration part 1 - flowers en masse

If you're like me, you take about a million photographs on holidays, only to file them away on the hard drive to be forgotten...

It's a shame, because when I do revisit my holiday snaps, not only do they transport me back to that far flung adventure, but they're a wonderful source of inspiration.

Like this past weekend, I spent a couple of hours soaking up the Winter Sun in the garden, weeding and planning some pre Spring planting. It reminded me of our last Northern Hemisphere Summer holiday and the gorgeous array of flowering colour we saw...

Here's a couple of the photos that have me itching to plant lots of pretty colour this spring...

sunflowers, sunflowers & more sunflowers - Marie Antoinette's farm, Versailles

yellow in the shade of an apple tree - Cappadocia, Turkey

gorgeous colour  by the roadside - Cappadocia, Turkey

 

growing wild in amongst a temple ruin - Hanoi, Vietnam 

hanging orchids for sale - Hue,Vietnam

potted hot pink bougainvillea - Hoi An, Vietnam

unbelievably pretty, if only I knew what it was..? - on the street in Budapest

hundreds upon hundreds of festive red planter boxes - Hirmer Department Store, Munich

rows of bright red cockscomb - Hanoi, Vietnam

sort of related.. a masse of vintage floral still life paintings - window installation, Munich

What will you be planting this spring..?

Bags of inspired style..

Yesterdays post was a bit of a rant.., so I thought I'd better end the week on more positive and inspiring note.

Courtesy of the latest MAP magazine (The Eco Issue), comes a piece on a very talented and forward thinking accessory designer, Canadian Ashley Watson.

"Ashley and her staff handcraft her one-of-a-kind leather products using exclusively recycled material. She began designing handbags with recycled leather in early 2005, inspired by the original features of soft and gently worn jackets purchased from charity thrift stores. She ultimately incorporates these features, such as pockets and seams, into each unique bag or wallet design."

How often do you see those puffy (generally 80's) leather jackets gathering dust at your local op shop? They're often made of the softest leather, but are so well.., outdated, I've never given them a second thought, until now!!

I really love this idea, especially Ashley's relaxed, slouchy style... You can find out more about Ashley and treat yourself to one of her many lovely pieces here.

Wishing you all an inspired weekend!! xx



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where's the joy??

toy shopping as I imagined it, fun!

A little someones 1st birthday is coming up soon, so I'm on the lookout for presents.

With Target's toy sale advertising bombarding us every time we turn on the TV or open the letterbox, I thought I might as well have a look in...

Quelle Horreur!! It was aisle after aisle of plastic fronted boxes stocked sky high and a traffic jam of prams, tantrums and stressed out parents! To put it bluntly, it was bloody awful!!

And it was pretty much the same uninspiring story at the other big three (retailers), minus the queues...

I thought toy shopping was going to be fun??!!

Then we made a trip to our old friend IKEA.. I know what you're thinking, IKEA can (especially on a weekend) way out-strip all of those big stores in the hectic shopping experience stakes...

But the toy department in IKEA is fun!!

An IKEA kids classic

It's full of kids (little & big) testing it all out! Crawling through tunnels; swinging on cool modernist looking swings; playing house with cuter than cute mini kitchens etc, generally having a ball...

Sure they do sell some odd things at times and it's all probably just as mass produced as the stuff in the plastic fronted boxes.., but for me (and maybe it's that Swedish sensibility) their toys seem to have more integrity, they evoke that feeling of surprise and delight that old fashioned or handmade toys do.

roll up, roll up...

Anyway it worked for me and hence I came away with some fresh ideas and a bunch of great stuff including this irresistible little tent!!

Thanks IKEA, for making shopping for toys what it ought to be... Fun!!

spring fabric finds...

There is still a month of winter to go (officially) but with recent days looking like this and temperatures in the early twenties, it feels like Spring is here already...

Although for the past two weeks I've had my head down, working away on a little freelance gig (hopefully I can share more on that soon) and haven't stopped to appreciate this wonderful warm weather we've been having... 

That was until yesterday, when Thom and I got to spend a lovely couple of hours down on the waterfront. All that fresh air and sunshine has got me in the mood for some serious pre spring sprucing!

First up a proper spring clean, boring but totally necessary. The one downside to all this sunshine.., the dusty steps, dirty windows and blinds etc. are plain to see..

Then on to the fun stuff..!!  Doing something fabulous with my recent haul of vintage fabrics!!

I'm in love with this painterly 60's barkcloth (found on Ebay).  Cushions or  as  husband suggested perhaps a lampshade? It's almost too lovely to cut.., maybe just stretched on a canvas. What do you think?

Several metres of soft seersucker found in an old box at the Aid for The Blind store. After seeing so much of it on Downton Abbey, I couldn't pass it up.

This beautiful embroidered piece came home with us on our first trip to Vietnam. It's been sitting in the cupboard for years, just waiting for the right opportunity...

Not quite Black & Spiro (have you seen Anna's gorgeous new online store),  but it all works together quite nicely, don't you think?! 

I can see a couple of generous floor cushions in this super colourful Ikat, that I picked up from another local op shop...

And last but not least... I thought this would make a fun pair of Bermudas for Thom. I offered to make a matching pair for the husband too. He wasn't at all keen though... Maybe a bunch of picnic napkins instead.

Anyway lots of sewing/make and do projects for me ahead.., so watch this space. In the meantime, I'll be cleaning, cleaning, cleaning...

Have a great weekend!! xx

the last cuppa..

Our toaster has been a bit dodgy for a while now and the fridge is almost certainly on its last legs, but our trusty kettle has always been dependable.., until this morning!

After almost ten years of service and many thousands of hot beverages, our first purchase as a couple (awww) has died..

No time to be sentimental though, I refuse to start the day without a strong, hot cup of tea and so this weekend, I'll be out hunting down a worthy replacement.

Not sure style wise though, should I go..

 cheerful with an 80's vibe? I kinda like this one..

minimalist?

stovetop? probably not..

 scandi vintage? slim chance of scoring one of these treasures..

or same as before? Yeah, probably..

who doesn't love a good frock drama..?

My husband for one..  Not me though!!  I'm mad for them and Downton Abbey is my latest obsession! 

Sure, it's pure soap opera and has been made for commercial telly, with a production budget to rival the biggest Hollywood blockbuster..  Don't let all this put you off though... It's sooo deliciously good! 

What a treat to look at too... every frame, from the opening credits to the very end is chock full of Edwardian gorgeousness. 

The scenes shot in the grounds of Highclere Castle (where the series is filmed) are probably my favourite. They've got me longing for Spring, white linens, lace and high teas on the lawn..  

Downton inspiration..

Season final on this Sunday night.., can't wait!!