Thursday 31 December 2015

Happy New Year!


2015 already has come to an end, time does really fly!
We ended our year with a sad note, we lost our 15 year old Lucky. He was not ill, and his passing away was very unexpected, but all of a sudden he stopped eating and drinking and he passed away quickly without too much suffering. We have a lot of old dogs now and we are mentally preparing ourselves for loosing them, Lucky was the 4th we lost in the past 14 months and it has been hard. We still have 10 at home so a lot of consolation, but the thought of loosing them is really hard.


On the bright side, a new year, new plans to fulfill, new ideas and dreams to become reality.
A new year always makes us stop and think about improvements, do you have any big plans or dreams to chase in 2016?

Wishing everyone a Healthy, Happy and Peaceful New Year!



Monday 28 December 2015

An Artful Upcycle Project


Sometimes my mother comes with crazy ideas, ideas I do not appreciate (right away), some do not pan out but a lot of craziness turns out to be quite brilliant. This project is one of the good kind :)
I painted this oil painting back when I was going to my drawing course. It is not really the style I normally paint and was my first portrait, so it has a lot of room for improvement but it was just a step to learn. I thought about improving it but somehow never knew what to do with it and I didn't want to ruin it.
So here come mum's crazy idea: 'make a bag out of it'.
my first reaction was raised eye brows and probably scratching my head, but it eventually worked out.


Tadaaaa! It was a challenge sewing it. Unlike fabric, painted canvas is very sturdy and can not be turned in side out. It was pretty hard and each step took some figuring out but I am happy that I have a crazy mother, and am happy with the result :)


I've made it with leather details, and a baroque style lining, it closes with a zipper (I was glad that I managed that!), you can see more pictures and details in our bag shop StarBags.


I had cut out the canvas from its wooden frame, leaving me an empty frame which could have been used again by stretching new canvas, but I have attached vintage style map printed leather to it and am using it as back drop for some of my bigger globes :)
We offer this type of world globe printed leather in our supply shop, in case you want to make something like that too, but this leather is also perfect for upholstery, bags and more.


Thursday 24 December 2015

Merry Christmas!


We here by would like to wish everyone a very merry Christmas!

For us the past 7 years Christmas is the time we work harder than ever, which we are thankful for of course but doesn't leave much time to celebrate :)
We never have snow around here, its too warm for that, but we will now rest a bit and enjoy our merry and bright bathroom!


I painted the ceiling 3 times, only need to give the grouts some tender loving care and then clean it up all nicely but we are very happy with the result, considering how it used to look this is a huge improvement :)

Monday 21 December 2015

Newly Listed: Hand Braided Copper Bracelet


Hand Braided Copper Bracelet Cuff - Bohemian Jewelry Wire Wrapped Woven Braid by StarDelights
No Other Way. Original Fine Art Photography. self portrait, contemporary, girl portrait by borninnovember
Red Carpet - Fairytale Photography - Enchanted Forest - Foggy Magical Landscapes - Home Decor  by slightclutter
Abstract Fine Art Photography Industrial Rust Orange Red Rust, Red Head by sherilwright

Thursday 17 December 2015

More Progress!


I'm so happy with the progress that we've had these past 2 weeks. You know you annoy yourself for years on things on your house and when you finally do it you think 'why did I not do this years ago?!'. The things that have been done are that kind of things, it didn't even cost a lot of money nor time, it was just a question of getting in to action, which was exactly why I shared the plans here for an extra kick in the behind :)
I've already show the shed before with the new door, in the mean time the surroundings of the door has been plastered, I will paint the walls of it this week. I also mentioned a stone path. You see the shed is our laundry room and we walk through that part of the garden almost every day (you know laundry grows during the night). The problem here was that with walking on the grass for years the ground was lower, making it a perfect rout for water, aka rain but also sprinklers water. So often walking to the laundry room was a muddy business like doing the laundry wasn't torture enough :)


We now have a pretty stone path there, every time I walk by or on it I smile, these little things give such a pleasure :)
You can also see a metal square thing in the ground on the right side.


This is that door up close. It goes to an underground room, which is not a bomb shelter but the mechanical room for our swimming pool (which we haven't used for years as it costs so much money to maintain clean). This little door has also been annoying me for years, it's so ugly.


I spray painted it green, it costed me 25 minutes (including waiting between 2 layers), it costed about 3.50$ and has been the cheapest and quickest yet one of the most satisfying make overs ever :)


The path continues until the shed, where usually a lot of water gathered, including between the house and shed, now no water will go there and everything will stay dry and pretty.


So if you have small annoying things in the house that you have been wanting to fix for ages, by all means; go for it! It is thrilling, satisfying and cheaper than therapy :)


An as I have been showing a lot of home renovation projects I also wanted to share a creative before / after project.


This bag was entirely hand knitted by mum, all in one piece with lots of colors, 100% wool, making it perfect to felt.


Once she knitted it and felted it in the washing machine, I have sewn the lining and kiss lock, and attached a chain with upcycled leather strap on it.


Making it an adorable and colorful little purse, available at StarBags.


Wednesday 16 December 2015

Newly Listed: Pearl Kazaziye Necklace


Pearl Necklace Sterling Silver Kazaziye Handwoven Statement Jewelry with Pearls by StaroftheEast
pink clouds photography, sky photography, nature photography, clouds nursery decor by bialakura
Flower photograph, home decor, ethereal art, floral, botanical, heart, fine art print by dullbluelight
Ocean Photography Print Fine Art Oregon Beach Pacific Northwest Landscape by WildWildernessPhotos

Monday 14 December 2015

The Sky is the Limit


I've finally finished a project that has been hanging around for ages. A little landscape in a shadowbox made with driftwood and boat wood.
I kept it pretty primitive giving it something naive like a kid's drawing.


Due to the little clouds I think it looks great with our bigger driftwood clouds, and somehow in my opinion, this combination would look great in a nursery and/ or kid's room. They are both available in our decor shop.
I then thought it would be fun to check out nursery clouds on Pinterest, and found out that I am not the only one who thinks that clouds look great in children's rooms.


These cloud shelves are adorable and are IKEA hacks, who doesn't love those :) As seen at limmaland.


I love this modern looking nursery, eventually it are the parents who have to enjoy nursery's the most, baby's don't really have any decoration opinions :) Found on Sklardesign. I actually would love a ceiling like this for my own bedroom too!


Cloudy walls made with handmade stencils are a wonderful idea, as seen in mermagblog.


I love this adorable corner with clouds, cheerful raindrops and rainbow buttons on the chair! So cute yet neutral gender made which I love. Source hypeness.


A cozy reading corner with plush clouds from projectnursery.

I guess clouds are, in some way, a cute way to say 'The sky's the limit' to kids :)

Saturday 12 December 2015

Newly Listed: Knitted Blue Tunic


Knitted Blue Tunic Tank Top, Bohemian Top Size Large US size 12 EU size 42 by StarsWear
feather painting - watercolor feathers -Blue Jay Feathers - bird feathers, natural home decor by amberalexander
Chrysler Building, Stars, New York City Print, New York Photography, NYC Art Deco by Raceytay
Winter Trees Photography Landscape Blue Sky Home Decor Print Bare Branches by VictoriaEnglishCharm

Thursday 10 December 2015

Bathroom project; finally progress!


So finally progress with the big plans I have been sharing, and I just had to share them :)
It has been a crazy hectic week with Christmas orders to ship and workmen in the house but we survived and are happy with the progress and results so far.
I am very happy to say that this ugly little window is no more!


The reason that it has no glass is that it was a sliding window, so in fact only half of it opened and steam hang around for ages.


Resulting a moldy ceiling and not a very nice showering place. So we had removed the glass part to get some more fresh air in it, as the window was pretty rotten anyway. Of course in Winter this became a problem as it was too cold to shower so we attached a rolling plastic so we could close it while showering. And now it is all gone :)


First we had to empty the bathroom, it is amazing to see all the stuff we people accumulate even in a small space as a bathroom.


Then the knocking out part started, dust everywhere and the small window just like with the steam was not enough to get out the dust.


And then light! Even in the mess it looks so airy, I also want to point out that the before pictures were taken in August when it is very sunny, and these are taken yesterday and today, much lighter in December.


The new window will arrive in 10 days, we will shower with some plastic before the window but are very happy with how it already looks.


Also the ceiling was scraped and re-plastered, I will paint it later this week with an anti bacterial and anti mold paint, yes we have learned our lesson. The paint will be white again so our bathroom will be as light as a piece of heaven :)
There is more progress going on but I will share them later this month when all is pretty and ready!

Monday 7 December 2015

Newly Listed: Knitted Felted Wool Bag


Knitted Felted Wool Bag Kitsch Shabby Chic Rose Floral Purse by StarBags
Art print clouds, dramatic, storm, sky, puffy, pink, peach, blue by JimnEmPhotos
Flower Photography, Floral Wall Art, Pink Flowers, Sky Blue by AmyTylerPhotography
Acrylic Painting, Original Sky, Cloud Formation, Clouds Moving In by kerriblackmanfineart

Thursday 3 December 2015

December Revamps


So non of the November plans became reality, a huge disappointment, and the only reason was that we apparently only have 3 spare tiles for the bathroom and the tiles are not available anywhere. We have been searching for them on and offline for days but all was fruitless. The thing is when you want a larger window you have to knock out some wall and as the wall is tiled you always need a bunch of spares, but we are just going to dive in this month and hope for the best or will adjust according how it goes, we'll see, but we have to finish it! There I've said it now there is no turning back :) As the bathroom was going to be done together with the fixing of the walls around the doors and the garden path all got on hold.


One revamp we did finally accomplished is this vintage kimono. I hear you thinking 'big deal', well it is :) It took as a whopping two months to finally accomplish an embellishment, ridiculous, I know. First of all, all the old sewing was not so strong so it had to be made all over and it was super boring which was hard to get rid off, but finally with some vintage embroidery, trims, orange leather trim and buttons it spiced it up and is finally listed in the clothing shop.

Keep your fingers crossed so all goes to plan this month :)

Wednesday 2 December 2015

Newly Listed: Butterfly Necklace


Butterfly Necklace Vintage Watch glass, Black veined white butterfly, metal, solder, Aporia crataegi by StaroftheEast
Black And White Photograph Of A Monarch Butterfly Caterpillar Print by RedHedgePhotos
Spider Web, Black and White Photograph, Nature Photography, Nature Prints, Spiderweb Art, Photo by JLMPhotographs
Dandelion Art Macro Dandelion Photography Dandelion Seeds Wall Art Picture of Dandelions Print by AmyTylerPhotography

Tuesday 1 December 2015

Seeking help from the USA :)


Do you live in the U.S.A?
Do you have an Etsy shop and are familiar with the intricacies of the post?
Would you be willing to accept parcels for us, collect them in one box and send it to us?
This would be about 3-4 boxes a year, but you would receive small envelopes and parcels throughout the year with both your and mine name on it to avoid confusion.

A good Etsy friend has been doing this for years, but cannot any more due to an illness in the family.
We buy a lot of supplies on mainly Ebay, but also Etsy and Amazon. Many sellers don't ship abroad and others ask much more than is due to mail outside the US.

Of course, we pay for all shipping and will reciprocate in a nice way for your efforts.

(envelop photography by Anna Remarchuk)

Monday 30 November 2015

Raindrops Gathering


After an extremely hot October and November we finally had some very rainy days. Actually the amount of rain can get a bit overwhelming after months of dryness days of water pouring down, but once the sun starts shining again every thing seems green, fresh and lush and the air smells deliciously earthy.


Somehow on these rainy days I always feel like making a cloud, or two. I usually make small, medium and large sized driftwood clouds but sometimes when we find a very large suitable piece I make an extra large one. Actually the last one I made in such a size was last year, but finally this week I found a nice big piece and made a super large cloud with it right away.


I found it ridiculous to water the garden in November but as it was pretty hot and dry the garden got a little sad, it is now happy again :)



The other day it was cloudy but not raining for a bit and I took some pictures of new items. But the sun was playing hide and seek and with every few pictures the sun came out making the pictures with to much shade, so when the sun came out I took pictures of the plants with their pretty captured raindrops, and when the sun hided again I took pictures of the items I wanted to list, it was a fun game :)



 I love how the plants keep hold on those precious drops and drink them slowly.


In the mean time my big cloud turned out wonderful, I can completely imagine it hanging on the head side of a bed making it a perfect dreaming place :)



This extra large beauty is now available in our decor shop, among with smaller driftwood clouds.


What do you love most about the rain?