Eryn With A Y

Florals: Roses and Baby's Breath

Do I hear an inner groan? We all remember the days when the roses and baby's breath combo went hand in hand with bad perms and lacy curtains. Back then it was the ultimate combination in the florist's repertoire.

Then we got wise, we looked further afield for our flowers, and we left the 80's well and truly behind us.

But everything has a resurgence, right? And I'm assured by my sister the florist that although they were tacky, they're coming back in.

Based on her claim that 'I can make all flowers look good together', here's my take on the humble rose and baby's breath combo.

If you disagree, direct all comments to the sister!

Hybrid Decor- Jewellery as Embellishment for the Home

In an effort to improve my photography (and generate content!), I purchased some flowers on the weekend.

I may have also had a little elicit shoppy- shop on the way to the florist. I found a cute elastic bracelet pack from the brand ‘Karyn in LA’ at City Beach. I was drawn to it because Karyn spelled her name with a Y, which is kind of my thing (as far as I can tell it’s a City Beach brand and there is no actual Karyn).

I got home with my goodies and set about cutting tags off things and hiding them away so husband didn’t see. All my loot was spread out on the kitchen table, including some vases that I was going to use for my flowers.

Insert light bulb moment!

The bracelets fit perfectly around my vase and gave the vase a little extra ‘pop’ of colour and a point of interest that wasn’t there before.

I used white flowers in the vase to balance out the busy brightness underneath.

I think the result was amazing, and I know I’ve got plenty more bracelets out there to affix to things. Do you?

DIY: Wall Art Decals

I love the wall decals that you can get these days, especially if there’s a baby on the way (owls, owls, owls!). It’s a quick, easy and affordable way to pretty up your walls.

Back when I was renting, I purchased some of these stickers, and I wanted to put them up. I was quickly waylaid by the husband: “No putting of decals on the walls in case it hurts the paint, even though they are advertised as wall friendly.” (Not in so many words…)

I was a bit annoyed, my visions of arty wall decals shattered, but I came up with a way around it using a canvas and some paint. I really should thank him because the artwork has made the move with us to our new home and it’s hanging up above our bed.

He doesn’t read my blog, so I’m safe to say this.

This one’s so simple I’m not even going to put it in an instruction list.

You’ll need your chosen wall art decals, canvas, a stamp and two complimentary colours of paint.

Once you’ve got it all together, paint the canvas, stamp the stamps and when it’s dry, arrange the decals on the canvas.

Tip: I chose a stamp that was evocative of the decal itself.

Tip: Use a random pattern for the stamp, with some having a heavier line and some thinner. It adds another dimension and doesn’t look like it has come straight off the shelf.

Tip: You don’t have to stick the stickers on in the same pattern as recommended on the sheet. I had to play around to make the decals fit, and I had some left over in the end.

Tip: The decals can get a bit dusty, and that makes the stickers lift from the surface. Keep it clean to make sure the artwork stays stuck. Mine has been up for over three years with proper care.

Decor: Market Finds

I love going to markets and thrift stores, but I'm really picky. Something inside me just won't let me make a purchase unless I absolutely know that something is right for me.

That's why I was pleasantly surprised when I stopped by the Busselton Markets on a recent trip down south and found TWO really cool items!

The salt and pepper shakers cost $5. With the amount of time that would have gone into slicing all the wood and putting it together, I felt like I was cheating someone with the price!

The pot trivets were hidden away in a corner underneath a bowl. I got a flash of the teal and pink combination and just had to have them!

Photographed together here, they look great together with the woody tones. The saucer is from a vintage French tea set that my dad got me.

Here’s one last photo of the trivet in action in my lounge. The black candlesticks on the right were another thrift shop find in a Wanneroo store. So cool and very me!

What are your thrift store bargains?

(The Busselton Markets are open on the first, third and fifth weekend of each month, and are located right on the foreshore).

DIY Chevron Wall Art

I was wandering through Spotlight's home living section and I saw these cute plaster swallows and butterflies that you could scatter across your wall. Except, yawn. Butterflies and swallows? I'm not a five year old.

(I'd show you the image, but Spotlight is another store that doesn't really understand online retailing. If you're reading this spotlight, I work in marketing and I love DIY! Hire me?)

Of course, being a serial maker I thought, 'How can I DIY this?'

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Chevrons. Love ém. So, the trusty chev was a no brainer for my very own wall art project.

Sidebar: This project was cursed from the beginning! Thicker Femo, cold weather, no light for photos, batteries dying, cameras being locked in the safe and the key being on husband's key chain and husband being at work.

You'll need a pack of white Femo, some card, a scalpel, a rolling pin and a board, white acrylic paint, some sticky hooks for the wall, some scissors and some wire (I used my jewellery notions) and some pliers.

Cut your pattern on some card. I used a microwave popcorn box. Sidebar: did you know it's possible to burn microwave popcorn? I thought it was idiot proof. Apparently not.

Roll out your Femo. I left mine about 5mm thick because I wanted the chevs to have some weight since they were hanging on the wall. Downside: it takes a while to dry.

Tip: Femo can tend to curl up a bit as it dries. Weigh down the edges with something light, like a notebook, not something heavy that will make a dent in your design.

Cut with a scalpel. I felt like I was on Grey's Anatomy a little bit as I did this.

Bend the wire. I put two loops on the ends and wedged it into the Femo, then put a layer over the indentations and pressed it in with the end of my pliers. Make sure there's a loop sticking out of the back of the Femo that's big enough to hang on a hanger.

Wait for it to dry. Yawn. I then gave my Femo a coat of white acrylic paint to make the white pop. Then you're ready to hang!

Tip: Why stop there? Paint your chevs, I'm doing some with a row of orange stripes along the top edges for my sister. I'd also like to see what they look like with some wrapped and painted twine.

What do you think? What would your ideal wall art shape be?

Decor: Three Trays, Three Ways

Have you noticed an abundance of trays on sale lately? They’re currently the ‘in thing’ to buy, and they’re generally pretty well priced, so chances are you’ve probably got a few lying around the house.

Are there any that you don’t know what to do with? Let Aunty Eryn tell you what you can do with them. She is the Queen of Trays.

(Like my Wild West filter on this image? Very boozy looking).

The reason why I’m the Queen of Trays? I’ve figured out the secret. They’re a perfect way to contain clutter, yet still have the items you want to use readily accessible.

Here’s my Guide to Trays (otherwise known as 'The Lazy Person’s Guide to Minimising Messes’).

1. They can be used outside the lounge room:

I use this one in my bathroom. It was originally from Freedom, and now it holds all my makeup (I have culled a bit for this shoot though).

I love using it because everything is in the one spot in the morning. All I have to do is reach down and grope around in the box and I come up with what I need.

It also looks much nicer than having stuff placed all over the bench tops, and prevents my bobby pins from exploring.

2. They can hold multiple storage items:

You don’t have to put everything in the one tray and hope for the best. Other containers look great in trays, and segregate the items you need. I’ve got Sharpies in one, pens in another and some tools in the third.

This tray holds all my go to items when blogging. I like to move from spot to spot when I blog, so it’s great to have an easy tray to carry around. It’s also great to contain the clutter when I work from the kitchen table.

3. They are easy to clean away:

This is one of my special entertaining tricks. I get out all the booze bottles and put them in this tray for two reasons.

1. People think we’re really generous with our liquor and that I go to a lot of effort to make things look nice. (It takes 5 minutes, and I’ve had that margarita mix for donkey’s).
2. People won’t go through my cupboards to find glasses and drinks, especially when they’re three beers down
3. People put things back in trays. It’s like a suggestion that ‘this bottle goes there’, and instead of half empty bottles of wine ending up all over my kitchen bench, they stay in their designated zone.

Then, at the end of the night (or more likely in the late morning with a pounding headache), you clean them away in a flash!

4. They’re easy to clean, but it doesn’t matter when it gets messy:

This is the ultimate point of the guide. Who cares if your makeup tray is messy? It’s all in the one spot, not gathering hair and bits of stray toothpaste on your husband’s corner of the sink. But who wants a photo of that? Here's some more booze!

Remove a Colour Cast with Photoshop

Oh dear. I took some photos the other day for my Look Lounge post. I set the items up near a window, because it was a very rainy day and I wanted as much natural light as I could get.

Then I spent about an hour taking photos, moving stock around and taking more photos etc. I looked at the images I took on the camera, and I bumped up the ISO when it got very cloudy.

I did everything right, right? Apparently not! All my photos were slightly blue tinged.

Which is strange because photos taken indoors generally take on yellow cast. It may have something to do with the tint on the windows.

A quick web search found the solution to my problem.

To recolour photos in Photoshop where the image is lending towards a blue tinge (or any colour really), just pull the image into the program, make sure the layer is unlocked and select Image > Auto Color.

Bam. It's that simple (most times).

If you're not happy with the auto adjustments (and it doesn't work 100% of the time), you can play around a bit more by selecting Image > Adjustments > Auto Colour, then playing with the levels manually.

In this case, though, the image adjusted perfectly using the first option.

Before:

After:

Decor Coming Soon: Telephone Table

Remember those old telephone tables? They seem to have come back into fashion lately. My sister has one, and it's made me extremely jealous,

So, when I was cruising through an op shop recently and saw this I had to pick it up. It was a bargain at $15!

The screws are a bit loose (but I'm used to that), there's a couple of chips in the laminate that I plan to buff out and gloss over, and the cushion is truly atrocious but I think once I fix it up it will look great.

It's final resting place will be at my front door, below a coat rack that I have ready to screw into the wall.

I have another table in the entrance facing the front door. I've painted it black and stained the wooden top. So, I'm thinking about painting the telephone table black to match.

Then I will re-cover the cushion with a cooler, but still robust, fabric and possibly tile the top shelf.

What do you think?

Style Room: Moving Day

It was moving day today! The floors, doors and windows are in, and it was time to dress the room.

After I put together the chairs, and the table. Personally, I love that sort of thing, but it was like delayed gratification having to wait to see what it all looked like!

It’s not quite finished, there are still a few finishing touches to be made, but the majority of the furniture is in! Still to come is the white wardrobe that the Centre has in storage, it needs a bit of a clean up though.

The Adairs prints will go up on the side of the wardrobe once it is in, and the drawn in the wardrobe will be where the constultant will store her paperwork. This is a rare cameo of me, totally posing for a shot.

On one wall (not pictured) I will be putting mirror tiles, and the other I'm planning some wood block art using photos of the awesome urban art at the Centre.

What do you think?

You can finally see the Harvey Norman couch in all its glory, it's a four seater and it makes a great statement.

And do you like my arrow on the wall? It delineates the two areas of the style room so well! The light purple is for the consultations, the dark for the workshops.

Next steps are to repaint the coffee table and put up the artwork on the walls!

Micro Decor: Post It Note, Sharpie, Magnet Combo

A quick, cute and cheap way to make sure you don't forget stuff at the shops!

Not all decorating projects need to be big and time consuming. Kind of like my Micro DIY posted previously, this one is a Micro Decor project that will take under half an hour to create (less if you have the supplies), and cost under $5 (depending where you get the products).

What you need: a clip magnet, a Sharpie and a book of Post It Notes.

My magnet was gifted to me, but I'm pretty sure it came from Officeworks. The other items are easy to get at any shop. My Sharpie has an extra fine point, great for utlilising space on the note.

There are two life problems that this little hack solves: the fact that you always forget something at the shops, and the fact that your bag is too small to carry a notebook (there's enough cr@p in there, right?).

I love this version because it is so easy to just grab the pen and write whatever you need on the fridge (which for me is normally while I'm in the middle of cooking), and because it's so easy to rip off the Post It, attach it to your wallet and mosey off to the shops (then throw it in the bin afterwards).