My Room So Far...

Years ago I stumbled across Alicia Paulson's blog. I think everyone I know who makes clothespin dolls credits her with their original design, but her creativity doesn't stop there. She is a wonderfully creative and inspiring person, and when I first saw photos of her studio I fell in love. It is bright, colourful, girly, and beautiful. It has turquoise walls with white trim and pretty florals and touches of red and spring colours thrown together in a way that is simply perfect.
I would love to be able to look at my room one day and feel it was perfect, just like Alicia's studio. It's not there yet, but it's getting close...


My prints finally arrived yesterday, five days after they were supposed to, and I love the photos even more now that they are printed and framed and hanging on my blue wall! My bedding is from Ikea - and the curtain fabric too - my sister gave me the cushion for my birthday a couple of years ago, and yes, it's also from Ikea!

My complete spur-of-the-moment-impulse-buy mirror. I fell in love with it when I first saw it. It was on display in B&Q as an isle-end showcase, with wall paper, chandelier and chest of drawers. They didn't have stock, and each time I went in for other things, I'd find a reason to go and look at the mirror again. It was too expensive, and then when they finally did get stock in, they'd changed the mold and the new ones weren't half as detailed and elaborate, so I pushed it from my mind. But one day, when I went in and stood looking at the mirror again, I decided to ask why the design had changed and whether they would still get more in like the display one. They said no, they had changed suppliers and would never get another one in like the display. It was that one or nothing. But then, I noticed a hairline crack. And I asked if a) they'd sell me the display model (yes!) and b) would they discount it, seeing as it had the crack (yes!) so here it is, hanging proudly in all it's gorgeous detail on MY bedroom wall!! A bit of decorator's flexible caulk will cover up the crack, and I haven't done it yet - so see if you can spot it.

The little birdhouse was a £6 impulse buy - it's too pretty to hang outside, and while I didn't know where to put it when I first bought it, I knew how pretty it would look on my blue walls as soon as I'd painted them. My friend Becky gave me the little bird hanging from it - you would think the two came together, wouldn't you?

So, if you noticed the piles of books next to my chest of drawers please ignore them - I have an old bookcase that is going to get painted white and if I put the books back on now it'll never get done, because I'm just lazy like that! And, if you'd like to see Alicia Paulson's studio, click here.

I'm taking a break...

...but I guess you already figured that one out, huh?

I don't know what it is, but I haven't really felt like blogging recently. Maybe because the sun has been shining and it's lovely in England at the moment, maybe because I've been busy with all my odd jobs, but I haven't really missed it and I'm sure I'll be back into blogging when some new hobby or project tickles my fancy!

I've painted my room... it's looking very pretty, I promise I will take photos and show you once all the details are done. I bought two red glossy frames, which I've hung above my bed with a pretty little birdhouse hanging in between. I wanted photos of my kids to go in them, and was aiming for that high-key black and white look. I snapped these with half an hour to spare before dinner yesterday, and I'm thrilled. I think I have beautiful children, don't you?




Having wanted black and white shots, I'm now torn between them and the colour. They do look lovely in colour too. Mm, I guess I'll have to print them both ways and see which I prefer "in the flesh", so to speak.

I still visit all my regular blogs, sorry if I don't always comment, I am really trying to limit my time spent on the internet. See you soon ;-)

The power of word of mouth advertising...

Last week, I had an email in my inbox from Photobox. It was advertising their classic A4 photo book, and after saying they had 1000 reasons to make one, they said 'hang on, 1001 reasons - it's free!" I was given a voucher for a free classic book. I had a week to use it in, so I needed to use existing photos. I first thought of doing a random 'year in the kids' lives' selection of pics, but then had the brainwave of using our holiday snaps from Tenby, Wales. It worked out perfectly that across the 26 pages, I used all my favourite shots, without compromising any. It's great that you can choose your layouts and background colours on each page, so if you want to go for one picture or six, full bleed or with borders, you're in control. It also marks each shot from your album that you've used with a check, so you can instantly see if you've missed one or used it twice by mistake. Because mine was free I decided to pay for the upgrade to premium paper, but actually, I'm pretty sure the regular would be just as good as this paper is really thick.

I've wanted to do a scrapbook layout using these shots for ages, I'm so happy to have been able to use them this well in the book. The full bleed looks great, and the print resolution is fantastic.

A friend exclaimed about this page - "It looks just like a book!" I know what she meant though, it really does look fabulous, don't you think?!

So, proving just how powerful word of mouth advertising is, I've shown this to everyone who sits still long enough to shove in their hands, and quite a few have said, "Ooh, I'm going to make one for my folks" or "This is what I can do with all my holiday snaps!" and I reckon Photobox will sell at least three books as a result of me showing off my book. Plus, I really really want another one for myself now!

'Scuse the long silence but...

...it's been Easter holidays and we've been having fun!

Seriously, since the holiday started, I/we/the kids have : visited my sister and a had a great day shopping with her; taken the kids to an indoor play area; gone to Alice Holt Forrest station; had an Easter Egg hunt, gone ice-skating (Holly and me) and swimming (Liam and Tris), taken photos of my friend's baby for a brief I got from PaperCraft Inspirations; gone to our favourite park; built a den with all the neighbourhood kids; played for hours in the sunshine with neighbourhood kids; finished job for PaperCraft Inspirations; made a whole bunch of crafty projects, including a teddy bear Holly got for Christmas; gone shopping and discovered we have an H&M kids close enough to go to weekly (if we wanted!); gone into London to the Natural History Museum; had friends over for lunch and play and built tents, cars, trucks and dens in the living room using every chair, cushion and blanket in the house and that doesn't even include tomorrow, when cousin Michael's coming, and the weekend, for which we haven't made fixed plans yet.

Isn't being a kid fun? And as blasphemous as this my sound, I haven't taken my camera with me anywhere, preferring to just let them play and have fun, and not think about posing for me every two seconds. I have had my mobile though, so while they're not great quality, the memories are there...

Happy Easter!

Does this picture make this teeny tiny little Easter Scene look big? Believe me when I say, it's the teeniest little gem I've ever seen, and I was so surprised to receive it in the mail this week, all the way from Mercedes in New Zealand! The little nest is exquisite, and those eggs!

Thank you Mercedes, it was such a lovely unexpected little parcel, and it's on display with all my other Easter goodies!

My 1:1 Easter Wreath...

....and my 1:12 Easter Wreath, hanging on the dollhouse door!

Hope you all have a lovely Easter!