At Home: DIY Projects in Our First House

Since having our baby at the end of November I haven’t been doing as much sewing but I have been working away at projects around our new home. This is our first house and we moved in at the beginning of October so I did what I could while pregnant and then once our baby was born I spent a lot of time staring at the walls I desperately wanted to paint.

Browsing Pinterest and blogs inspired me by seeing what other people had done to transform their homes with simple updates that can make a big impact.

Using paint can go a long way. This was what I first started with since it is the focal point of our living room and this combination of oak, dark blue and beige just didn’t work for me.

I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Pure White to do the fireplace. It was so easy to use with no surface preparation needed.

 

 

Here it is after one coat of paint and in total I think it took about three coats to get even coverage.

 

This is a wood scroll that I glued on to add more detail to the woodwork.

Here is a close up of the finished fireplace which was sealed with the Annie Sloan clear wax. Using the wax was the worst part of doing this project because it has a really strong odour.

Once the fireplace was painted the dark blue suddenly looked much richer with the contrast against the bright white. I knew that I would paint the fireplace white but I didn’t expect to keep the dark blue wall but that ended up being my favourite accent colour and I have carried it throughout our home. 

 

There are other things that have changed in the before and after picture besides the fireplace but I’ll share that painting in another post.

 

 

 

 

 

Sebastian

I’ve been away from things over the last little while since my son Sebastian was born. He’s two months old today and I’m now getting back into the studio for a little bit longer each day. There’s a little crib in my workspace where he naps while I work on orders and new designs…a few of which I’ll be posting soon.

IDS West

After almost a month in Europe on a honeymoon I’m back in the studio and getting ready for IDSwest coming up this weekend. I’ll be in the Studio North area showcasing wall art and pillows. Here’s a look in the studio at what I’ve been doing before it all comes together in a couple days.

This Weekend in Gastown

This weekend in Gastown find Shibang among many other local designers for a Pop Up shop hosted by the online marketplace Cargoh.

One of the designers to be there is Elroy Apparel. I am a huge fan of her clothing, here are a few of my favourite pieces from her spring/summer 2012 collection:

Recent Work

It’s been a long time since I last did a blog post. Over the past month and a bit I’ve been making some new things are here’s a look at what I’ve been up to.

Coloured leather coin purses. Using a vibrant background colour and leather were both something I hadn’t done before.

This is a sketch I did based on a custom make up set that a customer requested, below is the finished product — a large box shaped cosmetic case and a brush roll.

The big tote is back for summer and in a light bluish-grey cotton with heavy bridle leather handles.

This was a commission I did for a bedroom in Toronto. Most people are putting the wall art in their bedrooms above the bed and this mauve colour scheme is the most popular.

I dyed some new colours of wool, mostly in shades in of soft pink which are part of the bridal collection.

And lastly, I was able to restock my supply of thick grey wool so the felt iPhone sleeves are available again (as featured in this etsy finds email below).

Plum Tree Weddings

One and Only Paris Photography

Over the past couple of weeks a giveaway has been running on Plum Tree Weddings, a UK based wedding blog with a focus on global weddings. Beautiful images from weddings around the world and inspirational colour themes and ideas are all together on this site. Below are a few images from Plum Tree Weddings and if you click through they’ll lead you to the source.

P at Dy Photography

Jose Villa Photography

This was the cosmetic case giveaway — thank you to everyone who entered.

Another place to find Plum Tree Weddings is on Pinterest. I highly recommend following her boards, the images are stunning.

One of a Kind Spring Show

I’m in Toronto now through the weekend at the One of a Kind Spring Show.

This beautiful work is my friend Steph’s who I’m staying with while here in Toronto. She is a resident at Harbourfront and makes beautiful hand dyed scarves, pillows and wool blankets.

Lulie Wallace

I came across Lulie’s work via a series of clicks on Pinterest and fell in love with her work. Her use of colour, pattern and texture in these floral paintings are so captivating and beautiful and I just had to share. Lulie works out of her studio at the Redux Contemporary Art Centre in the Charleston.

More information and images of Lulie’s work are available on her website and in her online shop.

More Cosmetic Cases

After 3 years of making only one main cosmetic case  I decided it was time to add some more sizes and variety. Last month I drafted up some new shapes and sizes as shown below in my sketchbook and in prototype form in the solid white. 

The three new sizes shown together and below they are made in their final form.

Spring Colour

Spring is here on the west coast and I’ve been busy working with bright colours, metallic paints and larger scale. These are some photos of my current wall pieces that I’m working on in preparation for the Toronto One of a Kind Spring Show coming up at the end of this month.

I love the neon trend and have been adding electric colours to some of the wall art as a way to introduce bright colours into a room. My favourite is this neon yellow/green colour.

In addition to the neon and bright colours I’m also working with neutrals and soft colours.