inspiration

Baby: Ikea Room

February 27, 2015

I’m an uber fan of IKEA! I get a lot of inspiration and ideas on home decor and organization from there. For someone that isn’t too handy at building things and is always looking for nice modern pieces at affordable prices, IKEA is the place to go! It’s hard to ever go into their store and NOT buy a single thing.

The next thing on my ever growing house decorating/renovating list is of course the baby’s room! Here are some IKEA finds I quite like! The baskets are great for storing toys and/or blankets. The box organizers are great to go inside the drawers for a neater organization of clothes/cloths etc. IKEA have stacks of Baby and Children furniture and homewares. Go check them out!

ONE // IKEA EKTORP TULLSTA Armchair
TWO // IKEA HANGA Children’s Coat Hangers
THREE // IKEA HENSVIK Cot
FOUR // IKEA ADUM Round Rug
FIVE // IKEA VANDRING RUTA Blanket
SIX // IKEA MAGGA Seagrass Basket
SEVEN // IKEA GADDIS Basket
EIGHT // IKEA SVIRA Box Organizers
NINE // IKEA KOPPANG Chest Of Drawers

Super Easy! Decorating Plain Boxes

October 29, 2014

I found these 3 plain brown boxes at my local supermarket and wanted to transform them into cute storage boxes for my office. I had seen lots of Pinterest posts on dupes of the Kate Spade ones and wanted to recreate my own.

Here is what it looked like before. It was really plain, and really brown. I wanted to paint one with black and white stripes, one with black polka dots, and one wrapped in cute pattern wrapping paper.

It’s really simple and easy to do. First, I did 2 coats of white paint over the boxes. Leave these to dry. If you want to skip this step just buy white boxes already. These Ikea ones are pretty good!

For the stripes – measure the length and divide it evenly depending on the size of the box. I went for around 4cm, but you want to measure it evenly so you don’t even up with an uneven bit at the end. Then just tape every second stripe with painters tape. I really recommend painters tape as they peel off quite easily and don’t rip the cardboard underneath. I learnt the hard way when I used regular maskng or sticky tape! Paint the sections black with 2 coats. Let it dry then peel the tape off.

For the polka dots – I was going for a irregular free-hand sort of look. Using a brush I just painted circles on the box and filled them in making black dots. Eyeball the spacing between dots. If you are going for this look, don’t worry about making mistakes!

For the wrapping – I used cute food patterned wrapping from Frankie Magazine. Before starting, make sure you’ve got enough paper to wrap the entire box, and the lid! Using modge podge, paint one side of the box at a time. Stick the paper on the side, then fold in the edges and tape down (just like you are wrapping a present). Overlap with wrapping on the other sides. And that’s a wrap! (Get it?) heehee.

Super easy ways to decorate your boxes and have beautiful looking storage boxes on your shelves. I am storing spare notebooks, craft supplies and paint in mine!

Make Your Own Gold Leaf Quote

October 4, 2014

I love decorating my home with quote prints mixed in amongst photos and artwork. There’s something quite chic about the letters being in gold. Create a stunning gold word or short phrase to add a bit of shimmer to your walls or shelves.

SUPPLIES
// watercolour paper
// gold leafing sheets
// brush
// pencil
// small cloth or extra brush
// adhesive for gilding (for gold leaf)
// clear varnish sealer
// black ink (to practice with)

1. Decide on the word or phrase you want. Start writing it on paper in different ways and layouts, practicing the lettering until you are happy with how you want it. Use a brush with black ink to practice the strokes and get a feel of the brush as that’s how you’ll be applying the adhesive on the paper. It’s best to have the letters quite bold and not too thin.

2. When you are ready, take your sheet of watercolour paper and write your phrase down using your pencil. Erase mistakes and do over until you are happy.

3. Use a brush dipped into the adhesive gilding and paint over your pencil sketch. It’s hard to see the glue as it’s clear but if you turn the paper towards the light you’ll be able to see where you’ve painted. Really make sure you’ve got enough of the adhesive down on the paper, not a super thin coat and not a thick glob but something in between.

4. Wait a little bit for the adhesive to get tacky and lay your gold leaf sheet over the top. It’s okay if your sheet isn’t big enough, just take another and patch up where it didn’t reach. Pat the leafing down with a cloth or separate brush very gently making sure it adheres to the glue.

5. The gold leaf will work quite fast on the paper but you’ll need to wait 10-15min for it to dry. Then slowly start ripping the excess gold leaf off around the letters. Using a brush, or your finger with a soft cloth, start removing the gold leaf closer to the edge of the letters. If you’ve applied enough of the gilding adhesive it should come off quick cleanly. But if you haven’t (like me) then some of the gold leaf will actually come off the letters (see that V?). Don’t worry! We can fix this!

6. All you need to do is apply more of the gilding adhesive with the brush and gold leaf again. Patch up all the little areas that the gold leaf didn’t stick to the first time.

7. Brush off all the excess gold leaf. If you have a frame to put this in, then you are done! If you want to protect the quote, paint or spray a clear varnish sealer over the top. Wait for it to dry and voila!

August Inspiration Board

September 3, 2014

oh my gosh those pillow cases are so adorable I must have them in my life! It might even inspire me to make my own version dupe! What do you reckon? Some white pillow cases and iron transfers?