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?

Newly Listed: Embroidered Owl Tote

Embroidered Owl Tote Patchwork Purse Natural Woodland Bag by StarBags
bird man in moon tree stars twilight crescent winter teal blue - Hello Moon by SherriConley
Fern and Dried Leaves Photograph, forest decor, macro autumn plants, woodlands by TheWhisperingGrotto
blackthorn berries photography, nature photography print, winter blue berries, nature wall decor by bialakura

The Highest Tide

I've never recommended a book before here on our blog, which is actually quite weird when you know that mum and I are both avid readers and not a days passes that we don't read.
The reason why I am doing it now is maybe because this book, The Highest Tide by Jim Lynch, is all about the sea which is a topic we love and of course the sea inspires a lot of our creations.
Although it is a bestseller I never had heard of it but it caught my eye in our local second hand book store.
Mum read it first and was totally in love with it, but she wanted me to wait so that she could print out images of all the marine creatures mentioned in the book.
The book is so magically written that you'll think that the animals mentioned in them are fiction but they are in fact all real.

I was especially shocked to find out that the Giant Squid was actually a real thing, also known as The Kraken. I'm sure you have seen a movie with the Kraken, like The Pirates of the Caribbean (a movie I totally love btw) where it destroys an entire ship. But before you get nightmares about it, it is a deep sea creature which actually hardly has been seen in its natural habitat and is mostly found in the stomachs of stranded sperm whales or sometimes they get stranded on the beaches of New Zealand, Norway and Newfoundland. Also they are not as huge as shown in movies, but they are impressive non the less.

(Kraken (version 2) by Chris-Garrett)

So if you decide to buy/ read the book, have a source of internet near by to checkout the animals mentioned as it makes it even more amazing. Jim Lynch does explain them all very well, but images does make it more impressive.

I decided to blog about this book way before this necklace came to life, but as it matches it so well and as we are very proud of the result I thought to show it off here :)
To give the impression of a pirate ship on sea we surrounded the beautiful vintage ship with large pieces of Variscite, small pieces of Lapis Lazuli and Pyrite as treasures hunted by the pirates :)
Available in our StaroftheEast shop.

Newly Listed: Bohemian Rafia Clutch

Bohemian Rafia Clutch Purse Wallet Corcheted Rafia Colorful Stripes by StarBags
Fairytale Castle Paper Print by twoems
Bird Artwork Realistic Bee-Eaters Pastel Drawing Nature leaves Wall art, feathers by MuddpuppieDesigns
Colorful Abstract Wall Art Painting, More Than Hopeful by kerriblackmanfineart

Butler Chair

While our November projects are totally going nowhere due to the fact that we were not able to find our stash of extra bathroom tiles. We did finish a new furniture piece!
This kind of chair has several names a few of them are 'Butler Chair', 'Clothes Valet' and 'Valet Stand'. Usually these are pretty much only to hang your next days clothes on but ours is also a beautiful chair, perfect for in front of your vanity mirror in the bedroom.

We'e made it with a vintage embroidery which has beautiful shades of pink, green, cream and blue with birds and flowers, making it pretty feminine but not girly :)

I came across these beautiful flowers on Pinterest made with currency (money) which has the same style and color palette. I think it would look great with our chair :) These flowers among many others are made by Justine Smith.

I have one myself, mine is blue, and it is super handy, especially if you are not a morning person and simply do not function without coffee :) You can figure out what you'll wear in the evening and dress yourself in a zombie state in the morning.

I can totally imagine it in a room with rustic wooden pieces, natural grays and whites and blushes of pink, like this interior from Marie Claire Maison.

At the back is a place to hang your pants or skirt, I also often hang my hat on the top when I want to wear one. The non hanging stuff can be put on the seat, and you can of course sit on it while wearing your socks etc.
This beauty is available at our decor shop, StarHomeStudio.

Newly Listed: Sterling Silver Urchin Necklace

Sterling Silver Urchin Necklace with Cubic Zircon Orange Sea Urchin Sterling Silver Necklace One of a Kind by StaroftheEast
Digital Art Print, Giclee Print, Fine Art Photography, Home Decor by MoonDanceStudios
In Bloom photography print, romantic pink and green succulent wall art by FotografieKoehler
Abstract Fine Art Photography Old Barn - Tin Type by sherilwright

A Beach Cottage

A few months ago I discovered the blog A Beach Cottage, where you can follow Sarah in Australia and her renovation of an old beach cottage. Her entire house is almost entirely white (even her dog) with loads of vintage finds. She always arranges everything prettily which wants to make your scroll and scroll through her blog.

In A Beach Cottage you can often see vintage oars standing prettily in corners or hanged above windows or doors, so I was very happy to finally find our oars hidden among our many vintage treasures.

As my Oars pictures are far from magazine style like pictures and to give you some ideas what you could do with them I'm showcasing here some beautiful pictures from this lovely Australian beach cottage.

Our oars are estimated from the 1930's -1940's entirely hand carved. I've sanded them to remove the sad remains of some very yellowed varnish chips so that they are ready to be painted as preferred or to keep them just beautifully rustic and simple.

They are very long and one got a little crooked for additional rustic charm.

Our oars are available at our home decor shop, StarHomeStudio. The beautiful images are all from ABeachCottage, take a look at Sarah's blog and instagram for more beautiful beach vibes.

Newly Listed: Copper Agate Necklace

Copper Agate Necklace - Wire wrapped Art Nouveau Gemstone Jewelry by StarDelights
Abstract Fine Art Photography Industrial Rust Orange Red Rust, Red Head by sherilwright
Autumn photograph, muted colors, flower wall art, ethereal, botanical print, fine art photograph by dullbluelight
Nature Photography, Orange, Rustic, Fall Decor, Fall Leaves, Large Wall Art, Brown, Autumn by Racetay

Newly Listed: Celtic Knot Ring

Celtic Knot Ring Sterling Silver Hand knotted Kazaziye woven Fine Silver Mat Silver by StaroftheEast
Cloud Print, Nature Photography, Sky, Cloud Art, Pale Blue and White, Pastel Summer Art by EyePoetryPhotography
Bright White Versailles Photography, Tile, Sculpture, Statue, French, Paris Decor by GypsyFables
White Iris Photograph, Sepia Toned Photograph, Botanical Art Print, Shabby Chic Home by JudyStalus

Tender Loving Care

This little drawer chest has been hanging around in our attic for quite some time and it was time to bring this sad piece down to give it some tender loving care :)

The leather on top was all dried, ripped and ugly, under it was a layer of blue fabric which was holding its filling.

The filling was old school, saw dust! It was still neatly in place but not my choice of filling.

Once all filling, nails, fabric and leather was removed I sanded the wood completely until the woods beautiful color came back, a pinkish warm colored wood and as soft as baby bottoms :)

I decided to spice it up with a fancy leather instead of a classic more obvious brown leather.

All freshened up and totally not something you want hidden away in your attic, I love how old pieces are strong and beautiful enough to fix them up and give them another life, unlike new stuff that just gets thrown away.

This newly revived beauty is now available in our home decor shop, StarHomeStudio.

Newly Listed: Sun Star Cuff links

Sun Star Cuff links Solid Sterling Silver with Black Enamel Cufflinks by StaroftheEast
Old Pages Leather Journal, Personalized Journal Custom Monogram, Leather Notebook by MedievalJourney
large antique convexed wooden oval frame, portrait of a young man, bubble glass picture by simplychi
Raven Study No. 1 - Giclee Art Print - As seen in Oldboy by thecoldyear

Sunday Expedition

We had another wonderful Sunday, it is hard to believe that these are taken in November. We are still having wonderful weather and we are making use of it!

This week we drove in to another not visited road and we were glad that we did. We came across some small little bays with beautiful clear water. Boat owners were also enjoying the amazing weather, but all in all it was quiet and peaceful.

The water was so clear that we actually saw some beautiful critters in the water.

A huge jellyfish, little fishes were hiding near it.

And an octopus who gave several different poses to me.

Near this magical little bay we walked towards the woods.

We did not come across a single person, which is one of the advantages of going in to roads that most people do not go to.

We came across an old well, not in use anymore for a long time as it was mostly filled with mud.

Some forest beauties.

And deep in the forest a little fairy tale house, the witch was out collecting herbs :)

On our way back I saw a massive amount of cactus, twice my height. There was a stop sign among them, most likely put there when they were much smaller, but it seemed like the stop sign was for the cactus as you could hardly see it from the car.

These Sunday trips always gives us new energy, I hope you enjoyed it with us!