Life's a Beach!!

This card was created for Die Cut Dreams Challenge Blog. This weeks challenge is #55 Life's a Beach!!
 

To create this card I used Stamps: Art Impressions Beach Buddies.  Penny Black Beach Day.  Cardstock: White hammered, blue, green.  Papers: DP Creative Imagination.  Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black.  Colourings: Copic markers Penguins C5/C7/Y23/B23/B24/YG23/YG25.  Sand and Castle E31/E34.  Border YG23/YG25/B23/B24/E31/E34.  Sakura gel pens Glaze 800/829/835/849.  Papermania blue shimmer chalk.  Dies: Sizzix Sizzlits Mask and Snorkel.  Embellishments: Papermania blue shimmer dots.

 

Hints and Tips

When you use chalks spray the card with a cheap hairspray to prevent the chalk from rubbing off.

Fibros On The Inside

By request, here are some interiors from Life's A Beach and Gidget, both the creation of my friend Christine Lewis. They now have new owners who love them and are taking them to the next level.

Thanks to Simon Kenny for the great photos.

You Scream I Scream

This card was created for the Penny Black Saturday Challenge.  This weeks is #107 and the theme is Paper Patch.

To create this card I used Stamps: Penny Black Hedgy Flavour, Ice on the Pond.  Woodware Ice Cream Parfait.  Cardstock: White hammered, light teal.  Papers: DP Doodlebug Designs Inc Summer assortment. Pink, brown, red.  Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black.  Colouring: Copic markers Hedgy E000/R20/C3/C5/E25.  Froggy YG23/YG25/R20/R00.  Ice cream E31/E34/BG10/BG11.  Light teal marker.  Dies: Sizzix Originals large Cupcake and Ice Cream.  Punch: Woodware Square.  Martha Stewart border punch Dripping Goo.  Embellishments: Papermania adhesive crystals.

Hints and Tips

To make the patchwork I punched out squares of DP paper and stuck them all down onto a piece of card, then drew a zig zag edge around each square.  After doing all of this I realized it would look just the same if I had  kept the piece of DP paper in once piece and just drew squares on it. 

More Fibro

My husband, who is sometimes jokingly called "the fibro architect", sent me these photos (at botom) of typical fibros before the makeover. These ones which date from the 1950s-60s with the butterfly roofs are one of the most sought-after designs.

The gorgeous pink fibro called "Gidget", is one he is working on at he moment for clients Claire and Richard. They have done a great job decorating Gidget with a fun retro theme.

The blue one with the orange door is an ugly duckling makeover challenge we could not resist.

The fourth fibro, called 'Life's A Beach", was one of the first to be decorated in an over-the-top, retro style by Chris Lewis.

Bubbles

This card was created for the Just Magnolia Challenge Blog.  It is Week 61 - A sketch by Bev.  I decided to use my Tilda Blowing Bubbles because I have had an idea brewing in my head since I bought it, I wanted Tilda to be stood inside a bubble. 

To create this card I used Stamps: Magnolia Tilda Blowing Bubbles.  Cardstock: White hammered, pink.  Papers: DP LLB Retro Rose, blue, pink, green. Inks: Memento Summer Sky, Tuxedo Black, Angel Pink, Bamboo Leaves.  Colouring: Copic markers Skin E000/E00/E11/R20.  Hair E35/YR23/Y23.  Shadow C3.  Wings B000.  Sakura gel pens Souffle 907.  Stardust 744/700.  Medium 50.  Dies: Spellbinders Nestabilities Standard Circles Large.  Cuttlebug embossing folder Swiss Dots.  Punches: Martha Stewart Edge Scallop Dot.  Woodware flowers, leaf.  L-Em.comn stamen.  Embellishments: Papermania Dew drops.  Art Deco glamour dust crystal.

 

Hints and Tips

If you are paper piecing you image why not emboss the paper and add extra colour to the image using a souffle pen.

Just What Is A Fibro Shack?

I often get asked by readers from the USA what a fibro beach shack is and today there was another query.

Fibro cottages date back to the 1920s and are the iconic Aussie Beach Shack. We bought our first beach fibro back in 1998 and got hooked on their quaint, retro holiday vibe and have been buying and doing them up ever since.

They have become very trendy with creative types from the city and where we live there is a kind of unofficial contest to see who does the best fibro makeover.

Some are done in a retro kitsch way, others in a more sophisticated "designer" way.

Some of them have great names like:

The Big Kahuna

On The Beach

The Fibro Majestic (after a famous old hotel called the Hydro Majestic)

Life's A Beach

Gidget Goes to Culburra

Summercloud

The Riverboat Queen

Duz Us

Keep It Personal

Today I was reminded by my friend Allison over at Pink Fibro, who is a pretty talented writer (and sub editor), to keep my blogs more personal. I think my last post on Ilse Crawford was a little too 'magazine', so here's the back story.

Al reckons I should feel free to name drop, too, although I must admit I am cringing...

Ok. Yes, I have met Ilse Crawford many years ago - at a small party my old mate Craig Markham, who runs all those Firmdale Hotels out of London, threw in her honor. I found her to be elegant in a modern way but very real, an unusual combination that gives her a certain aura.

Among the gang of Aussie expats there was photographer Martyn Thompson who shot her recent book, Home is Where The Heart Is. I used to work with Martyn quite a lot back in those days and am occasionally reminded of him by a beautiful picture of a face he took that hangs above my fireplace. Martyn and Ilse are a creative match made in heaven. They share the same love of dark, sophisticated images (or is that just the London/New York light?) and a quite masculine interior aesthetic.

Martyn is a very stylish man and the interiors of his own homes have always been a passion - there is an interesting series of still lifes and collections in every room. I can see his hand in the book is more than just recording the things and places Ilse wanted to include.

What strikes me most about the interiors he photographs are how personal they are. I think a style lesson to be leaned from this creative duo is how important personal touches are in your surroundings (as well your blogs). They are not only good for your soul they put the soul into a room. Remember this next time you put a room together, or change things around if the room doesn't 'feel right' and it will suddenly come together.

Little Boy Green

This card was created for Die Cut Dreams Challenge Blog.  Challenge #54 Green & Blue Colour combo for a Teenage Boy.

To create this card I used Stamps: The Greetings Farm My Guy Ian.  Inkadinkado Rock Star.  Cardstock: White hammered, green, blue.  Papers: DP Little Sizzles Earth Tones these where used to paper piece the clothing.  Dovecraft Masculine.  Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black, Paris Dusk.  Versamark Watermark.  Colouring: Copic markers Shadow C3.  Skin R00/R20.  Hair E35.  Shoes C9/C7.  Dies: Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Four.  Cuttlebug embossing folder Spots and Dots.  Punches: Woodware circles.

Hints and Tips

I used the Spots and Dots folder and circle punch to echo the design on the background paper, this helps pull the design together.

"IT" Girls of Design - Ilse Crawford

While on the subject of attainable fashion guru Jenna Lyons at J.Crew, I was reminded of some other style makers of our generation.

These are the people who, I think, are making us re-think design trends as well as inspire us. These are the girls I check up on every now and then when I need a trend injection.

(I think I'll do one per post as they are all so interesting in different ways...)

1. Ilse Crawford is the former editor of Elle Decoration in the UK who now runs a design consultancy that tackles all kinds of interesting projects, including many hotels, restaurants, commercial spaces and offices from rural England to Hong Kong, Stockholm and New York.

What I like about Ilse is that she has brought our perceptions of what is "designer" back from the brink of cold and stark minimalism to something that is all about addressing human needs - what she calls "emotional design".

Ilse's approach to designing a space is intellectual but that is far from uptight and boring. She seems to set out to weave a cocoon of emotional cues that invoke memories and history and tease the senses with texture, pattern and colour.

Looking at these random examples above, what I love is the confidence of mixing different styles of furniture and the irreverent way she has taken 'personal touches' to a whole new level -note the 2nd top picture (Soho House, NYC) with the collage board, glossed french bedhead and glossy modern chair.

What is really great though is that these are all public spaces. She has given the hotel room and restaurant genre the personality of someone's private boudoir, like you are staying in some stylish New Yorker friend's Soho loft while they are away.

And... there's not a practical mushroom tub chair in sight!

Cheers

This card was created for the Penny Black Saturday Challenge.  The Challenge for Week 106 is Travel/Holidays.  So I thought what do you always wear on a beach holiday, a bikini.  The Penny Black stamp Cheers! is so perfect for this challenge.

To create this card I used Stamps: Penny Black Cheers!  Beach Day.  Cardstock: White hammered, green, pink.  Papers: DP Doodlebug Designs Inc Summer Assorted.  Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black, Dessert Sand.  Colouring: Copic markers Face R00/R20.  Sand E31/E34.  Shells YG23/YG25/YR12/YR20.  Sakura gel pen Glaze 849.  Derwent Inktense watercolour pencils.  Embellishments: Papermania adhesive dots.

 

Hints and Tips

I used a black glaze Sakura gel pen on the cow to give it more dimension.

Does Jenna Have Sequined Cushions?

I love the style of J.Crew's chief designer Jenna Lyons. Love her Brooklyn brownstone. Love the way she teams a nautical stripe tee with pewter sequined pants.

Love the way she approaches trends with a kind of brave, girly, gut instinct - "we feel what's new, what excites us for the season, and it might have been something we didn't like last season". She said something along those lines.

It occurred to me when I saw her on Oprah yesterday (we get it a two months later here, sorry US readers) that its taken me a while to come around to sequins in the home. Is it just me?

For about two years now we have been presented with endless shiney bedlinen and throw cushions at trade shows and I have berated the wholesaler's reps over and over again. "I'm SORRY, but I just don't get that look for the bedroom. It's just too shiney for me."

The penny has dropped that the reason I am not a fan of that look because I have not seen it put together well. I'm coming around now to sequins in the home but I'm going to style it like Jenna would. Team it with a cotton stripe and add something else that's a bit decadent like the equivalent of the chunky beaded bracelet Jenna would wear.

In the Rose Garden

What a lovely Sunny day.  I have just found out I have made the Top 3 of Die Cut Dreams Challenge Blog what a lovely way to start the week.  Todays card was created for the Just Magnolia Challenge Blog.   The Challenge is at Week 60  In the Garden.  I have just bought some beautiful papers from Papermania aptly called Rose Garden just perfect for this challenge. 

To create this card I used Stamps: Magnolia Strawberry Tilda.  Cardstock: White hammered, green.  Paper: DP Papermania Rose Garden.  Dark pink, light pink, green.  Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black, Angel Pink, Rhubarb Stalk, Bamboo Leaves.  Colouring: Copic markers Skin R00/R20. Hair E35/YR23/Y23.  Flower stalk G40/G82.  Sakura gel pens Medium 50.  Stardust 700.  Dies: Sizzix medium Sizzlit Branches W/leaves.  Punches: Woodware flower, leaf.  X-Cut flower.  L-Em.com stamen.  Martha Stewart Deep Edge Trellis.  Embellishments: Papermania adhesive shimmer dots. 

Hints and Tips

If you don't have shimmer dots to match the colour of your project you can change the colour by colouring them in with a permenant marker.  I just buy the clear shimmer dots and colour them in to match my project.

"I Want A Hamptons House"

My husband is forever being asked to design a "Hamptons House" for his clients. I blame the movie "Something's Gotta Give" and Martha Stewart among others. Now you Americans out there, yes, you can take a pat on the back for inventing this enduring, classicly elegant look.

Today he asked me again for some visual cues and I gave him the pic of Diane Keaton's living room in SGG.

What I want to know is where did it come from?

Have you Hamptons fans got some inspiring pics of the outside of these houses you could share with me?

(I have posted this one on the dunes before but I just love it.)

Room For A Teen

One topic you don't often see much of in design magazines is how to decorate a room for a teen. This is a great example from Louise's place which her eldest daughter (who had just finished design school) put together for her 15 year old sister.

There's a cool chill-out zone for the teen and her girlfriends, where they sit around, chat and sip tea, an elevated sleeping area above the well used wardrobe and the all important study area underneath.

The girls are forever out shopping for vintage stuff and I love the way they have created a very personal, funky vibe with the old standard lamp, painted picture frames, nanna rug and chair painted bright red.

Contemporary Country

Sometimes you only have to look in your own backyard for inspiration. My friend Louise, who lives only a few of paddocks away, has an amazing house. I did a story on her (of course!) for Country Style Magazine a while ago and now that I'm thinking of the possibilities for my own house, I don't have to look far for ideas.

Like us she had the old farm cottage to start with. It was completely renovated then two more contemporary pavilions were added - the largest for the living area has dramatic, recycled wharf timber beams framing the ceiling. The smaller pavilion is attached to the old cottage and houses such modern amenities as ensuites, walk in robes, powder room and laundry.

It's a great marriage of old and new and has made a great home for a family of six.

Summer Flowers

This card was created for A Gem of a Challenge and Sir Stampalot Challenge.  I decided to combine the two challenges because they work so well together.  A Gem of a Challenge, challenge is #5 Ribbon and Buttons, Sir Stampalot's challenge is "Punch It". 

To create this card I used Stamps: Pink Gem Designs Sitting Chloe.  Papermania Hampstead.  Cardstock: White hammered, green.  Papers: Doodlebug Designs Inc Spring Assortment, yellow, green, pink, blue.  Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black.  Kaleidacolor Pastel.  Colouring: Copic markers Skin E000/E00/E11/R20.  Hair E35/YR23/Y23.  Derwent watercolour pencils.  Sakura gel pen Stardust 744.  Papermania green shimmer chalk.  Dies: Spellbinders Nestabilities Petite Scalloped Circles Large, Standard Circles Large.  Punches: Martha Stewart Border Scallop Dots.  Tonic Studio Multi flower.  X-Cut flower.  Woodware flower.  Embellishments: Mixed shaped buttons, green ribbon.

Hints and Tips

To make the flowers really stand out punch them first, run through an embossing folde,r then lightly rub and ink pad over the embossed area.