Category: Fashion
Best Christmas Craft EVER!
Bella and I had a festive Saturday afternoon covered in glue ‘n’ glitter, making our own Christmas cloche dioramas…they were so simple…yet so satisfying!
In amongst our renovation/building chaos we gathered all our bits together: A glue gun, uhu glue, foam plates, plastic wine glasses, glitter and all the little Christmas ornaments we could find.
We carefully, using a sharp knife, cut the end of the plastic wine glasses off, and cut out oversized circles from the foam plates.
Then we arranged and glued on our festive scenes.
The upturned glasses were glued down and had glitter added through the still open stems.
Finally they were topped and glued with the hanging part of an unwanted bauble and the bottoms trimmed off.
So effective.
Such fun!
Making them together and seeing them all…just made us smile.. and want to make more and more!
If you can..just do it!
Laters, Kate x
Feel the Force..
Love this. Because of new legislation in the Ukraine all remnants and symbols of the country’s communist past now have to be taken down. But in Odessa (in a town far, far away) they’ve taken things an artistic step further and converted their statue of Vladimir Lenin into none other than Darth Vader.
Artist Alexander Milov has added a helmet, cape, boots and a secret weapon…
Under Darth’s hat is a wi-fi hotspot providing free wifi to all those who stand at his feet.
Oh the symbolism. Ahh the parody. Ker-ching the tourist revenues..
Laters, Kate x
Kick Start x
It’s that time of year again to slap on the glitz and layer on the lippy…except it’s never really like that. It’s more like normal clothes with a touch of fairy dust.
So far better to get the staples right..and MiH are having a sale right now…
Tempted?
Laters, Kate x
Hats Off!
Hats are having a moment..the humble bobble is back big time..so maybe there’s hope for the rest hitting the mainstream again.
It would be fun. Hats may not speak, but they say volumes about an outfit.
All of these tempting delights are by the talented Karen Henriksen, a milliner working in London who’s perfected the tightrope between modern and timeless.
(All pictures Karen Henriksen and Pinterest)
Oh to have a few precious hours trying them all on and pouting in a fetchingly foxed antique mirror. Such stuff dreams are made of.
Laters, Kate x
The Inbetweeners x
If we Brits are obsessed with the weather it’s with good reason: On Friday it was a barmy sixteen degrees..on Saturday, it snowed (OK it didn’t hang around but it wasn’t a figment of a vivid imagination either..) which possibly explains why we’re all so preoccupied with layers and wearing coats that remind us of beds.
Because the quilt is having a quiet spin in the limelight, perfect as a stand alone or working it’s magic as a sartorial hot water bottle under a top coat, it’s one of those under-the-radar-winter-must-haves.
And Amsterdam based Company Scotch and Soda have some of the best…
Casual or smart.
Often reversible.
They’re adaptable, transitional and just a little bit different.
Another addition it to the winter uniform list of lust.
Laters, Kate x
Skirts and Trims x
The latest obsessions on our renovation are skirting and architrave…and the difference it can make to the personality of a room.
Particularly if it’s picked out in a darker colour.
Oh! The height! The scale!
And ours is going on! Only the top layer mind, as the floor has yet to go down..but it’s a bright, burning light at the end of a long dark tunnel.
Laters, Kate x
They’re Here!
The kitchen lights in all their milk churn glory have arrived! Including their beautiful wording…
On the flip side are painted typical canal art scenes of castles and mountains.
I’m suspecting they’ll be hung in a row like this..so the cook on the far side has the last laugh..
My cup, it floweth over…
Laters, Kate x
Fur coat..
There comes a point in every house renovation when Ikea becomes a must not a want. It’s that line in the concrete dust between Pinterest dreams and harsh reality. Not that there’s anything inherently wrong with Ikea – a huge percentage of what they do verges on the genius. It’s just that, chances are, everything you like will be replicated a hundred times over in millions of homes around the globe, even in your next door neighbours, which as an individual, never sits comfortably. But that’s where Ikea hacks kick in – the idea of taking the basic Ikea form and transforming it into something with Icarus-like wings. A concept the company Superfront has taken a whole leap further..
They design and manufacture fronts, handles, legs, sides and tops that fit Ikea’s most common cabinets.
And they do it with style and panache.
What’s not to love?
Except there’s a mental leap to get over..you’re buying Ikea because it’s cheap..and then you’re going to spend lots of money on it to make it special? Why not cut the middle man out and buy something expensive in the first place?
Or let these designs stand on their own two feet and cut out the Ikea bit? Except then they’d be unhitching from the global gravy train…
Hey ho. At least what they do opens up the opportunity to follow suit and nick pay homage to all their ideas too..and so the dog eat dog world of design continues…
Laters, Kate x
Man-spiration..
There’s no way to select life with silver tongs – no matter how much you want something, it doesn’t always happen. But you can always react to it. For instance, the Husband’s work has been a turdstool since forever, with it being even more ridiculous in the last few months and no sign of change. I did suggest we saw this as an opportunity to throw life on it’s head and middle-class caution to the wind and head off in a camper van to the deep, dark unknown.
He said, ‘Seriously Kate…’
And I said,’Yes, seriously..the window of opportunity to take the kids out of school is closing and if we don’t do it soon, we might never be able to..’
‘No, I meant, seriously Kate, who’s mid-life crisis is this?’
So I haven’t got the keys to the camper van just yet, but that hasn’t stopped the constant thoughts of simplicity providing a goldfish loop of white noise in my brain space, whether it’s interiors, clothes, people or life.
Maybe that’s why these outfits are so appealing – they’re not big, brash and laden with special effects.
(All pictures from Pinterest and Browns)
Just clear and present. Simple.
Laters, Kate x
Kitchen heaven!
The kitchen light’s are coming! The kitchen light’s are coming!…and I have no real idea what they will look like or whether they will actually work, except that in my head they are totally brilliant.
I needed three pendants to hang over the new island unit but didn’t want to go down the industrial look, not because I don’t like it..I just wanted something very different.
Also, I’ve realised over the years that I have a passion for folk art..an art form we don’t take seriously enough here in the UK. All the images here are typical examples of British canal art – the traditional means of decorating canal boats and barges. I think it is stunning, ingenious and totally covetable.
So I’ve commissioned three milk churns to be painted just for me by my favourite canal art painter…and they’re finished!!
Seriously. Can’t. Wait. More details when they’re here.
Laters, Kate x
Maison Bentley Style 