Watch and Marvel

Photo Made by Girl blog

We have all seen these lovely hand cut maps created by Famille Summerbelle, but do you know just how much work goes into creating one of these lovely maps, watch the link below and marvel.

avaiable to buy from:

Bodie and fou also a nice little interview here by Bodie and fou

Famille Summerbelle

Made by girl

Have a marvelous weekend!

Habitat Surprise

A special delivery had me dancing around the living room like a two year old yesterday, a box full of Habitat goodies! Now usually Habitat do not deliver to the Channel Islands, but with the help of the newly set up delivery service, ship2me, you can now buy all those lovely items that once upon a time would have meant a trip to the UK to get.

In my box of goodies included a lovely brightly multicoloured latticed ribbon cushion, a large throw and a table lamp, which had me playing stylist for most of the afternoon, (i need plenty of practice there I know)

Ambra Cushion £35

Sherbert throw £35

This cotton throw will keep me snug from now right through to the summer when it will come in useful for a picnic blanket, with summer salads and pink lemonade!

Palermo table lamp down from £19 to £13.30

this little lamp looks fab on my newly acquired tea chest, though I think it will end up in my daughters bedroom, she has plans of decorating her bedroom this weekend, white , black, and bright pink.

See that red sofa above, how could you miss it? I was going through a red phase a few years back, but now I'm longing for something grey......

And the Winner of This is my Habitat is..

you may recall that last October Habitat ran a competition to find the new face of This is My Habitat, well the waiting is over and I can reveal that the winner has been announced and it is....

... Alison Hyslop, aged 58, Alison sent in a photo of herself sitting in her living room and is now set to follow in supermodel, Helena Christensen’s footsteps as the face of the This is My Habitat. She is set to feature in the Spring/Summer 2011 campaign after wowing the competition judges with her striking, colourful and modern home. Here's what Alison had to say when you discovered that she had won:

“I literally couldn't’ speak for about an hour when I was told that my entry had won. I was excited to have been picked as the overall winner as I’m a big fan of Habitat but to be fronting an advertising campaign really is something else.
I love Danish design and natural materials but don’t tend to stick to one trend. I like pairing different pieces together for a unique look, especially if the product is interesting, bright and beautifully made.”

Information provided courtesy of www.Shinyred.co.uk

Let there be clusters of light.

Right now I'm loving cluster lighting, Click on each picture to take you to where you can buy them from, actually one of these beauties is virtually free!

Available in Black and also white

I'm not dolally after all!

http://wholelottalovely.wordpress.com/

You may recall a few weeks ago that I did a post on chalk boards which I am really loving right now, and there was a little bit of confussion as to just where I had spotted the picture above, (I had been blogging while watching TV and flicking through my pile of magazines) I thought I had spotted it in the Livingetc magazine, then found that it was in the Ideal Home Magazine, well actually I was right all along, I had spotted it in the Livingect magazine, it was this months to be exact (February 2010) I thought I was going a bit dolally, but I'm happy to report that I'm not! Well anyway, the stylist who had styled the shot for the Ideal Home Magazine turned out to be marie Nichols, (Marie left a comment on the post) who is an interior stylist from the UK, currently working as a freelance stylist in Sydney, she writes the blog Whole Lotta Lovely, which is now on my list of must read blogs, if you have ever wondered like I do, how the process goes from idea to final photo in the magazine, then you get a little glipme into this on Maries blog, click here to see an example. Being a stylist is something I dream of maybe doing one day.......

Scandi wall decoration.

Don't you just love the fresh feel of these scandi wall decorations? Perfect for a child's room. Recently a couple of people I know have had babies, so I have been in the mood for a looking at baby stuff, not too much though you understand, don't want to be getting broody myself now!

These lovely scandi inspired wall decorations where spotted at Lily and Lime, and come with the recycled teak shelf to fix to the wall. Not only do they make a lovely poster style display, but as they are made from hardboard can be used as drawing boards to develop creative drawing skills when your little ones get older.

Chalkin it up.

Ideal Home Magazine (above)

madebygirl.blogspot.com (above and below)

Chalk boards have been popular for a while now, I even have a section of wall painted with black board paint in my kitchen, but how about these ones above, don't they look great? and they don't have to be black! The lovely pink board is ideal for a girls room or play area, and I absolutely love the one behind the bed, though not entirely sure if the art work is done using chalk.

Update; the lovely calendar chalkboard above was featured in the Ideal Home Magazine September 2009 and Not taken from the living etc magazine as previously stated. Apologies to all, that's what happens when trying to watch TV and blog at the same time, and flicking through back dated homes magazines. :) Hope that clears up that little over sight.

Design Challenge

Have you ever thought about designing/making a piece of furniture, but don't have all the resources? The CustomMade.com Design Challenge invites you to use Google SketchUp to create your design and upload it here: If you design the winning creation, CustomMade.com, an online marketplace for consumers/designers seeking customized furniture and wood pieces, will create the piece you designed -- and pick up the tab!

You will have to be pretty quick though,

Entries Accepted: January 18, 2010 – February 12, 2010
Voting for Top Three Entries: February 15, 2010 – February 23, 2010
Winner Announced: Friday, February 26, 2010


For a full description and a link to the rules, check out http://blog.custommade.com/2010/01/design- challenge-2010/

Finding your own style: Part two.

How did you get on with Part one of Finding your own style? Is there a style starting to emerge? For the second part of Finding your own style, we are now going to look at

• colour
• pattern and
• texture.

Do the same with this section as before, get a sheet of paper or a scrap book (I note from your comments that some people prefer to add thing to a scrap book, I like a sheet of paper hung up so its easy to see) and start to look at colours, pattern and different textures that catch your eye, try visiting a DIY store and collect some paint samples, again look through magazines and tear out any rooms settings with a colour scheme that you like, check out fabric samples and wallpaper samples with patterns and textures that that you like. Build up a Sample/mood board of all the samples that inspire you. I'll be back in a few days to share mine with you, again do feel free to share what you find either by leaving a comment or sharing on your own blog.

Interior Trends 2010

When it comes to walls in 2010 i think we will be seeing alot more brick, exposed or painted brick work will be the feature wall choice of many, adding interest and texture to rooms giving it a chic rough feel, slightly industrial/mill house feel but teamed with chic individual furnishing.

Abigail Ahern

If you are not Lucky enough to already have brick work, and are eager to get this look in your own home, then Dreamwalls have some stunning fake stone wall in various styles, quick and simple to install.

Finding Your own style: So far.

One thing I want to do this year (amongst other things) is to find a style that fits my home and fits me! I don't know about you, but I find it really hard to narrow down a style that I truly feel is right for my home family and myself, when it comes to interiors, I'm like a child in a sweet shop, and want a bit of everything. So I'm doing this exercise to try and pinpoint what I like when it comes to interiors, decor and home furnishings. And so far this is what I have come up with, (click the picture to enlarge it) have you had a go yet, if you haven't, and your are finding it hard to find your style, I suggest you have a go, the results may not be those that you expect. My results so far are certainly a surprise, having a huge pile of home magazines, mostly with a more home and country feel about them, I was expecting to see a certain amount of pink flower and floral emerge, but actually that's not what I have been drawn to! The picture above is a mix of old but with a modern influence thrown in for good measure, not at all country.

Next week Finding your own style: Part two.

DECO myplace.

I was recently invited to join Decomyplace to share tips ideas and photos from my flickr pages, which I did, and if you get a chance take a look your self, its simply brimming with great ideas tips and images for the home, from over 70 different countries around the world.

January 2010!

Well last year is behind us, a whole new year is in front of us and I guess for many its a chance to start a fresh, wipe the slate clean and start all over again. So what are you planning for your home this year, new decor, new furnishings, or even a new home all together , its so exciting isn't it?

I have been toying with the idea of swapping our bedrooms around, you see when we moved into our home some 17 years ago, our two girls where just toddlers and the second bedroom, complete with bunk beds seemed just fine for them both.... Fast forward a few years and unfortunately the bedroom did not grow to accommodate my ever growing girls, and all that comes with two young adults, who out grew the bunk beds, (actually one night the bunk beds collapsed with the girls in them.... they survived the ordeal, but the bunk beds did not) so for the last couple of months my eldest daughter has been camping out on the sitting room floor, not ideal for any of us, you cannot imagine just how much stuff young girls have, especially when most of it is all over the living room floor!

So I came up with the idea of giving up our large bedroom and moving into the smaller bedroom, giving the girls some much needed space. My husband is not keen on the idea but i feel we have to at least try..... Check back later to see how we get on with this one...or not.

So what else do I have planned? well for January I am going to run a little series on Finding your own style, this is as much an exercise for me as I hope it will be for you, and will be kicking off form next week all being well, so do join me for this, and hopefully we will all learn something along the way....

I'll be back to checking out items selling on Folksy again, but sticking to just a monthly post, if you have been following the Friday folksy finds before, you may remember I had been posting every Friday, but it was just becoming a bit too much, so just one monthly Folksy find from now on.

Well I think that's all for today, as this is turning into one of the longest posts I have done for a while, but before I go, I will leave you with this little tip, which I have taken from my lovely Good Homes magazine, calendar for January 2010, Liven up your sofa or bed with a colourful cushion or two, by making the most of the new year sales.

Graham and Green

LOMBOK

Right now I'm off for a lovely cup of January Tea, it really does taste better in a china cup! Enjoy the rest of your evening...

Love for vintage and retro continues...

Images from amazon.co.uk and H is for home

There is nothng quite like the feel of a bakelite phone handle in your hands, and that sound you get from dialing each individual number in the dial, of course numbers use to be some what shorter back then, but we are still loving these vintage phones, and more recently phones from the 50s 60s and 70s are seeing a raise in interest. If retro is your thing then how about something like the lovely turquoise one above, really adding a pop of colour to your work desk, or what about the bulls eye phone top centre, are we going to see a return of the mods? remember them?
For places to buy check out H is for Home or amazon for retro or vintage phones, or check out the second hand/charity shops where you may be able to get the origianls.

This is My Habitat competition.

Hello every body, I'm back from my weekend away, did you think I had got lost? I have been a bit lazy this week, and not blogged at all, but this morning I opened up my emails and great news, those lovely PR people from shiny red dropped me a line so I could pass on to you some exciting news about Habitat!

By now you are probably aware that Habitats new campaign is called 'This is my Habitat' (for some reason I get a song in my head and start singing this is my..... habitat.... to the tune of I did it my way) fronted by non other then Helena Christensen, well today habitat launches a 'this is my Habitat' competition, and invites you, yes you, (UK home dwellers) to dig out your camera and share what makes your house a home, what gives you the ahhh good to be home feeling when you unlock your front door after a hard day at work.

So for all you fans of design and interiors, unleash your inner interior stylist, get snapping and share your creative style, and your favourite habitat piece of furniture with the rest of Great Britain, and get this! you could be the next face of Habitats 'this is my habitat' campaign. The prize also includes a photo shoot in London, an overnight stay at a 5* star London hotel, plus £1,000 worth of Habitat vouchers! Sounds good?

Want to know more? click through to the Habitat site here. AND not only that, if like me you are unable to actually step into a real larger than life Habitat store (not because I have some strange tick that stops me from crossing the doors of huge department stores, but because I live in Jersey), Habitat’s online store goes live this week. Customers around the UK are now able to order from across the entire range of home furnishing and accessories and get it delivered to your door,... all from the comfort of that so very stylish sofa you are sitting on! Go on you know you want to give it a go.....Gosh all this excitement is making me giddy.

Anthropologie

Where you lucky enough to go to the opening of Anthropologie in London? I wish I could of been there, instead I had to settle with giving my daughter strict instructions to go and take lots of photos for me, and I have to say she did not disappoint. I was going to add them all in one post but as there are so many I will split them up into two. Otherwise you could end up with an Anthropologie over dose!

There you have it a tour of the store, whats your favourite photo? I love all the colours, justs makes want to go paint a dresser and fill it up with brightly coloured blankets and throws, I'm here that soon there will be an online shop for all of us UK Anthropolgie lovers, can't wait.

More Photos latter guys!

A little glimpse of my home.

When it comes to the interior of my home, I don't really know what my 'style' is, its a for ever changing and evolving style, partly because when it come to interiors I'm a bit like a child in a sweet shop, one week I love country, the week after I love something else. I am a bit of a magpie for shinny and glass things, and I have little collections of things all over the place. I also love things bought from junk shops and charity shops and if I get up early enough love to go car booting.

So here is a little glimpse of my living room, this is where I spend most of my time when I am at home, usually typing away on the computer in the corner.

Book shelf filled with homes magazines and little collections of things.

Plant pots are great for hanging earrings from!

Cats rule in our home, they get the best seats! And we have 3

A recent discovery, wrapping paper make great posters. Just need to get them framed.

That string lamp shade ended up in my bedroom.

Stones collected from walks on the beach, living on an Island we have plenty to choose from!

Homes books, I have plenty, and i keep Ikea catalogs, anybody else do that?

Fresh flowers, I just love them.

So there you have it a quick tour of my living room, call back next week when it may have completely changed!...only kidding.....

So whats you kind of style, is it something that changes with your mood, do you like to keep up with the latest trends or are you comfy with how your home looks.?