Publisher Textiles, I love you...

I've had a long term love affair with Publisher Textiles since getting a freebie botanica print note book with an issue of Inside Out Magazine many years ago. They have the most beautiful range of hand printed fabrics and wallpapers. We have this Rocket Lamp covered in their "Apollo" print fabric in our lounge. Such a lovely intricate print:

I don't know if this fabric is still in print, but there are cushions available in denim colour on the Publisher Textile site here

After searching for about 2 years we found this fantastic mid Century Fler rocking chair. It had been badly recovered in dusty pink velvet, complete with cigarette burns, delightful. The foam was still in pretty good shape, so I thought I would have a go at re upholstering it. I used Publisher Textiles "Bugsey" fabric, which was the perfect weight and really easy to work with. Not bad for a first effort, I love it!

How amazing does the print look on a larger scale?

 Image from Inside Out Magazine via Publisher Textiles site here

I had enough fabric leftover to make this table runner:

I also bought a few meters of this gorgeous botanica print to play with. It's beautifully sheer and would make a lovely curtain. I would love to paper a room with this print one day, just need a bigger house!

Geometric market finds

We found these at these lovely wooden shapes at the market last week. A real steal at six bucks! I'm not sure what they are but have some memory of them lurking from my childhood, school perhaps? The wood has a beautiful colour and grain. I'm always surprised by the funny things we find when treasure hunting.

The painting behind  the shapes was bought from a community art gallery on another country treasure hunting trip that weekend. Community galleries often have wonderful work that is ridiculously affordable. This beauty cost $35! We got to have a chat to the artist (Ann Williams) who told us the painting is based on the principals of Sodoku, interesting stuff!

The shapes remind me of the work of super talented Adelaide designers daniel-emma and their range of amazing desk accessories. I love the simplicity of their collections and the whole story of their brand. Despite working at some of the most amazing design studios in the world (Marc Newson, Thorsten Van Elten and Committee), they have chose to live and develop their brand here in little old Adelaide. It is a fantastic reminder that anything is possible no matter where you live.

A great interview with the talented couple can be found here on from The Design Files.

Birthday celebrations

I turned the big 34 last week and  had a lovely time celebrating. I generally try to avoid the birthday thing, but every few years I get my head out of the sand and invite a few friends over to celebrate. Good friends, good food and booze and some very lovely gifts. Feeling very spoiled and incredibly lucky.

Elias drew this 'black hole', (slight Space obsessed at the moment) for me at kindy. Kind of a big deal considering he hardly ever draws (much to Ben's dismay). It went straight to the pinboard!:

Some lovely lilies from my Dad, who lives on Kangaroo Island, but came over for the week to celebrate my brother Al and I's birthdays, conveniently 4 days apart:

A gorgeous little china owl box from have you met miss jones:

And my most favourite gift of all... our lovely friend and talented photographer Elise gave me framed prints of these gorgeous photos she took of Elias earlier this year. Heart melts every time I look at them, now to find the right spot for them:

I should do this birthday thing more often!

Ombre drawers

I've been inspired by these gorgeous ombre drawers that have been doing the blog rounds lately.

We bought this little set of drawers a few years and it has been sitting in the spare room collecting dust for ages.

Before:

I don't know what kind of wood they are made from but it gets dented and damaged so easily. I thought it could work well in Elias' room as a bedside table I used leftover paint that we used to paint his room, mixed with white gloss to make the varied shades. I'm pretty happy with the end result.

After:

Buy our crap on ebay won't you...

We are selling some of the stockpile on ebay at the moment, including this cute vintage cane rocker that we used in Elias' nursery:

and this nice set of drawers:

and this little Fler chair:

 as well as a few other bits and pieces. Click here to visit our little ebay store if you are interested.

Preserves and channeling Martha

We've been on a bit of a budget since I left my job late last year, and that combined with trying to waste less has led me to rediscover preserve making. I feel like an such an old Lady, but I love it!

I have given away so many jars to friends, but we still have this stockpile to get through:

So far I've made quince paste and jelly, tomato and lime chutney, tomato relish, peach chutney, pickled beetroot, Japanese daikon and other veggies. We had a bumper crop in the veggie patch after a very rainy summer in Adelaide, thanks to global warming...

Our friends gave us a huge bag of oranges on the weekend, so today made orange marmalade with this recipe, Karen Martini's glace oranges, and this orange and yoghurt cake I saw on The Martha Stewart show. They all worked really well and I will definitely make that cake again, low fat and delish!

Tangerine dream

I have just logged back into Etsy after a very long (about a year) break. I had forgotten how addictive it can be, so many amazing handmade items at super affordable prices. I purchased this baby from the very clever a merry mishap I can't wait for it to arrive! Perfect to brighten up my mostly black winter wardrobe. Visit the gorgeous Etsy shop here, currently on sale including a free pair of earrings with each order!