Tag Archives: home

Three Hundred & Sixty Five – Days at Home: Week 31

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The first cheat in this series, but warranted inclusion! Offensively Yellow handbag…matches the walls at a local restaurant. / I have ignored Winter all together; sandals forever. And glitter everywhere. / Tea parties on the living room floor every day. It does wonders for morale. / They call sticky plasters ‘bandaidles’. I found these on the wall ‘healing the house’, they told me. / Knitting. I’m obsessed. / Thrifted: Hello hen! Hand painted chopping-board. / New colours for a new project – an exciting collaboration on the horizon. / Poor little neglected garden; still feeding us everyday. / Do you think it’s a good look for me? My stylists have been hard at work.

Three Hundred & Sixty Five – Days at Home: Week 30

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I used to draw all the time. Then, like so many things that fall away with age or expectation or exhaustion, I stopped. Now I do a page a night; mostly hand lettering for now. I’m excited about where it’s going. The ‘crazy right’ you see there is a trace from the previous page. Serifs are hard to get looking evenly fat. / Little Mabel feet hiding in the curtain. And yes, they’re on the wrong feet. And no, she doesn’t care. / Washing shells collected in a polka dot bag and carried home from Sumner beach. / We think we’re clever. / ‘Look, Mama! The drawer has a moustache!’. / It’s hard to say which is my favourite; the ‘E’ he drew in his name, or the hair on the self portrait. / Florals all the time. / Project! / And something so exciting made for me by sweetest Yas at Quill and Fox.

“Let me fall out the window / with confetti in my hair” – Tom Waits. / We Make: giant wall confetti.

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You will need:
Sheets of card in your desired colour way.
I went with for sort of toned down disco. Like, disco for ladies. You want to dance all night, but you also make a hell of an ice tea. Do not feel limited to using card. Fabrics. Maps. Wrapping papers. Pages from children’s books. Though you may need to back these for weight. A texture wall would be great in a kids room. Or for drunk people at parties. Confetti made of fake fur. Foil. Sequins and sparkles under Duraseal. Let your imagination run wild. Channel Yayoi Kusama. Invite me over.

A pen, scissors and a template in your desired size. A side plate is perfect.

Blu-tak. Those tiny stick dots they use for photographs, maybe? I don’t know. The preferred adhesive of the person who owns the walls you are about to confetti.

 

 

You will need to:
Bake a large cake. Lay out a drop cloth on the floor in front of the television. Find the least watched most watched children’s animated feature you have. On drop cloth lay all the items the children could ask you for in an hour. Water. Face cloths. Batteries. Remove all items you would usually confiscate in an hour. Water. Face cloths. Batteries. Give the children half the cake each. Roll film.
Draw as many circles as you can fit on your card. This will take some time, but will be strangely fulfilling in the way repetitive menial tasks can be. Cut out all of the circles you have drawn. This will take some time, but will be oddly meditative in the way strangely fulfilling way repetitive menial tasks can be. Breath in and out uninterrupted. Then confetti what needs confetti-ing.

 

Wall Confetti3Wall Confetti2Wall Confetti1Wall confetti4

Three Hundred & Sixty Five – Days at Home: Week 28 + Thrifted.

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You know how they say, always take off one accessory before you leave the house? My answer to that is to put on an Octopus necklace. / Iggy Pop in her book fortress. / Tiny dancing feet in warm socks – we’ve all had terrible colds. / A photograph Theo took. That’s me in the box. Texting. It was quite peaceful actually. / Nothing like a hideous pair of men’s socks when you are feeling poorly. / Thrifted: A handsome copy of The Great Gatsby – found at the local Sallies for free. / Thrifted: Side plate for the wall in the kitchen. I adore the boats! 50c from the Salvation Army. / Crisps are an essential part of the crafting process. / What vegans eat: Chick pea + 3 bean salad with tomatoes and spinach. Salt, pepper, drizzle of olive oil and parsley.

Three Hundred & Sixty Five – Days at Home: Week 27 + Thrifted.

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The hardest button to button is probably the cutest. / Thrifted: Blue Willow platter. So handsome. / Ranunculi are my favourite + washi tape picture rails / Thrifted: Blue Willow teapot and 6 pretty cups – perfect service for a spot of tea in the watery Winter sunshine + Snapdragons & Carnations – Mabel’s choices from our fortnightly trip to the flower market. / Thrifted: glorious yellow sifter; how happy you make me. / Five Minute Fix: Hanging new curtains (also thrifted this week!) / Spot the Sausage Dog. / Mabel’s new tattoos. “This one is a fish! And this one is a spider!”. But which is which? Answer on a postcard to the usual address. / Spring is sneaking into our garden. I couldn’t be more ready.

Three Hundred & Sixty Five – Days at Home: Week 19.

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Moving leaves from gutters after days of rain while you stand on the footpath and offer instruction / Practice makes perfect / So many questions I now just point. (You thought you had me, “What does this say, Bubba?” “Um…’on’?” “Close…it says ‘No'” “But…those are the letters for ‘on’!” and on and on (and no) it went for, seemingly, ever / Buttery, buttery toast / “What does this spell, Mama?” – Mabel gets in on the action / Things Vegans Eat: Vegan Coleslaw: 1 Onion, 2 Cloves of Garlic, 2 cups Red Cabbage, 4 grated Carrots, large handfuls of leafy green vegetables (pictured here: Spinach and Silverbeet) + Parsley. Toss through with Olive Oil and the juice of a couple of Lemons. Don’t have plans to kiss anyone directly afterwards.

Other People’s Houses: #3

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Name: Louise Sutherland / Queen Stitch

Job: Property Manager / Crafter and Blogger

Location: St Albans, Christchurch.

Describe your style: Colourful. Eclectic. Ordered. Colour is everything. I could never live in a minimalist white box (and I would only spill tea everywhere).

Favourite element of your home: My red front door. Painting it the brightest red I could find was one of the first things I did when I moved in. It was something of a personal statement. It might sound airy fairy but every time I walk through it, it reminds me of who I am, how far I’ve come and what I stand for.

Plus, y’know, red doors are so sexy!

I am inspired by: My confused and awkward Anglo-Kiwi up bringing. 1950’s and 60’s design, art, fashion and culture. The films of Wes Anderson. Travel: colours and cultures of the places I have been and those where I want to go (currently Paris, Mexico, India, Scotland and Scandinavia). Vintage, up cycling and the joy of a good rummage. Being surrounded by things that have history and a back-story.

I’ll never part with: My first Matryoshka (Russian) doll. My dad brought it back for me from Istanbul when I was 9. Apparently back then Russia still got a lot of goods through the borders into Europe, so this doll is the real deal (my dad, the history nerd, always stresses the significance of this point to me, so it is my duty as a good daughter to pass it on).

If I open the doll up I can still smell the raw wood which takes me back to the exact time and place that he gave it to me. It’s amazing. I hope I can still have a good old sniff when I am an old lady!

I am obsessed with collecting: The perfect book collection. I love unusual art and design books and those weird ones you can only find at book fairs.

I believe that you can tell a lot about a person by their books (or lack of) and I think mine reflect me pretty well (if I visit your house, I will probably judge you based on your bookshelf, sorry).

Where to from here?: I don’t quite have that figured out yet (does anyone? oh God, do YOU?). Past attempts at plans have never worked out all that well.

I figure if I keep doing what I love, being a good person and saying an enthusiastic ‘yes’ to opportunities as they arise then you can’t go too far wrong…plus, you know, the Universe, karma and cosmic intervention etc etc.

Oh and I shall also continue evolving into the lovechild of Nigella Lawson, Helena Bonham Carter and Morrissey. That would be lovely.

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Be sure and check out Louise’s blogs: Queen Stitch + Some Beardy To Love
Felt Store
Facebook Page
& Twitter!

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Other People’s Houses #1
Other People’s Houses #2

Three Hundred & Sixty Five – Days at Home: Week 15.

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I’ve so enjoyed the challenge of a photo a day; and I’m still taking them! But love how they look all together, at week’s end, so they’ll be a little Sunday feature.

Bright orange Gerberas on the sideboard; I never used to care much for them, but now I love how long they last; their relentless optimism / Should probably get around to cleaning this up… / Theo vs the broccoli / My fortnightly treat – flowers for every room / Potatoes from the garden washed in the sink / Helping me write the card for their Grandmothers birthday / Theo is obsessed with the Atlas of late – we search it for places we recognise. Walk our fingers from our lonely Pacific island to Aunties in Borneo; in London; on Adventures / My little gift and name tag made for my lovely swap partner Jess as part of the recent National Bloggers Conference / Like the first day of school! Me on the morning before the conference.

Theo asked me on the way, ‘Mama? Are you going to a conference to make a new internet?’. Kind of, Bubba. Kind of.

I love being a part of this community. The spectrum of people it has introduced me to. Their humour and inclusiveness. Their personality and honesty. Their creativity and ability. And being able to transfer these connections into real life? The best.

It was also a reminder that it’s true what they say; never meet your idols. Or they just might get you lost in a part of your home town that even Google maps doesn’t want to know about, and completely confirm to you, that all the best people, the brightest and the best, think there’s nothing funnier than a good innuendo. Aye, Alex Fulton? In-your-endo.