site love

These days I am much too poor to be able to afford to buy magazines (thank goodness I have one prepaid subscrition). While I do love turning the pages in my hand, and ripping out the glossy pictures for inspiration, I have found that a website can be almost (very nearly) as good as the magazine.

Cue, Country Living. Adorable magazine, super amazing website! I spent hours after I found it, just, browsing through every article they had posted. Soooo many amazing ideas for home decorating, restoring, upcycling, and cooking. My project list grew exponentially in the time that I was browsing. I've already started a couple, and others are waiting patiently in line for me to find the perfect pieces to make them.

Here are a few of my favourite things (all of which are on my to do list) :

Isn't this picture frame board pretty? Before I had even found the site, I had a project like this in the works. The frame is painted, I just need to buy the corkboard and frabric to make it prettiful, and then hang it in my room.

I must admit, I have a thing for old framework. I am so in love with this shelf idea. Again...Must go thrift an ornate wood frame soon.

I thought these candles were just the bees knees! I would love to try my hand at candle making, and I think vintage tea tins make them perfect for gifts! I predict that Value Village will be seeing alot of me soon.

And, as per usual, I save the best for last. As if vintage china plates weren't beautiful enough on their own, then you go adding sentiments or quotes and arrange them on your wall, and they are just that much more amazing! Needless to say, this is the project I am most excited about. Right now I have a huge poster of the Eiffel tower on display, but I can see that coming down to make way for an inspiring collection of vintage plates.

I just love the personal touch of doing something yourself, thrifting and repurposing. There is truth in the saying that "Everything old is new again" . If you're looking for more wonderful ideas (these really are just the tip of the iceberg) check out countryliving.com, or click the post title which will link you to their site.

Let me know what projects you're working on, and share any ideas that you may have; I'm always looking to expand my repurposing idea book. Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

-Katrina

p.s. - I'm tinkering around with the layout of the blog, so if you find it changing frequrntly, just bear with me.

hats

Recently I've been seeing alot of stylish ladies wearing very stylish hats on flickr! I've always admired hats, and wished I wore them more often. Some are for looks and some are for practicality, and some, thank the heavens, do double duty. So I decided to share with you, those hats (and the ladies who don them) which inspire me most.

AnaBita here has been my inspiration for wearing berets. They are just made for her, really. Go check out her flickr page, here http://www.flickr.com/photos/shopoholic79/ to see more and be as inspired as I am. And can I just say that I love her hair, the side swept bangs and those gentle pieces that frame her face are perfect for wearing hats.

When I saw Rachel wearing this gorgeous crocheted number, I was gushing my praise. How sweet is it? The colour, that large groovy flower? So perfect. She collects and sells quality vintage wears through her etsy shop. I highly encourage you to check out her flickr page, which will also lead you to her Etsy shop, here http://www.flickr.com/photos/30828317@N08/.

Now see here, Andrea has her own collection of amazing hats. One of the ones I was fell most in love with, was this gorgeous red cloche. Check out the huge red bow that adds such charm to it! So perfect. How could you feel anything but chic in such a hat as this? See more of her wonderful hats on her flickr page, here http://www.flickr.com/photos/acatofimpossiblecolour/ .

Lastly I wanted to highlight my friend Steph, now it should be noted that they're just going into their summer weather this time of year, so her hat serves the purpose of keeping the sun off her face. I just love how she has paired the straw gondola style hat with that flowy white dress and superstar shades. So lovely. She has at least two or three other hats she has been wearing under the sun recently too, so I reccomend you check out her flikr page here, http://www.flickr.com/photos/archibald-maximilion/ .

So there you have the hats that I'm loving right now. I have got to find me a couple more of my own, so I can start looking as pulled together as these ladies. Hope you enjoyed and found some inspiration for yourself. Let me know what you think!

loafin' it

I woke up today with the desire to make my own bread. There is just something special about getting up early, rolling up ones sleeves and getting to work on bread, which is sure to warm the house and offer a delicious aroma to the air.

I've got to hand it to women who were making bread (or who still do) without bread machines or KitchenAids. We have neither of those oh so convenient tools, and thus, I did all 250 kneads by hand. Using part whole wheat flour seems to make the dough a little tougher, and therefore requires more effort. I felt I had worked up a sweat first thing in the morning. But for the sake of the end result, I loved it!

I decided to do two loaves in the french style, thicker than baguettes, but still sort of free form. I had googled bread glazes this morning, and rather than use the usual egg wash that Mum's recipe called for, I chose to use olive oil. Look at the nice golden-brown crust it offered, and the oil added a hint of mediterranean sweetness to boot. I glazed it before and after it went in the oven.

Nearly as soon as it came out, Mum cut into it and we taste tested...Verdict, nothing beats homemade bread. Also, be sure to vote in the new poll and leave any comments or questions you may have! Thanks for stopping by.

some like it sweet part 2

After my last post of little sweet things, I realized there was some crucial cuteness I had bypassed. So I decided to do part two, and showcase those yummy little wonders. I'm not gonna lie, I have a penchant for cupcakes and cherries.







Here we have my recipe book. It's got plastic holders for all my recipe cards, as well as long pages for longer recipes. Its really quite cute. It's only about a sixth of the way full, but I'm increasing my collection over time. Only the very best gets a place in here.






Here's a sweet cherry magnet I got in my stocking this year. Now take a deep breath before you scroll down...

The most adorable *mini* spatulas, complete with cuppycakes!!! Winners how I love you for supplying my mother with these to put in my stocking.

Lastly, is a project I completed last month. I can't take credit for the canvas bag, I've had it for some time, but I did design the cute cupcake that I ironed on, and then stitched into place. I love the blob of pink fabric frosting, and the heart cherry on top. Oh, as for the sprinkles...thos are sweet vintage buttons I picked up for a dime. All I have to say is...life is better with sweets. Even if you can only look at them...not eat them...

charmed thrifting

Today Mum and I stopped into Value Village to see if we could find anything. And we did. I found some great little charms on various chains. Some were such a decent price I picked them up immediately...Others were well...outrageously priced for second hand charms but I gave in and bought them too.


I found a sweet little goldtone daisy charm, a must have for me. A cute itsty-bitsy rainbow, which I will use on some piece for my etsy shop (soon to be opening I swear, I'm in the process of organizing all the last minute details now). The one I could not pass up despite its price, a vintage telephone! Hello awesomeness, thanks for calling! And lastly were some sweet vintage bows; cause they were sweet.

So what do you think? Mega cute right? I also managed to find the perfect frame for a project I've had in mind for a while. I'll post that one later, when I show you what its being upcycled into.

Thanks for visiting my humble little blog. I've recently photographed & created a new header, what do you think? Also, be sure to check out the latest poll and place your vote! Thanks so much. xx

couture photography

So my good friend who just recently celebrated her birthday (27 gf, whooo!) told me she was dabbling in photography, and wanted to pursue it more seriously. She sent me the link to a collection of work she had done, and I was so amazed!!




I am so proud of her for going after this dream. I just had to showcase a few of my favourite photos here. The one above is my absolute favourite. Amsterdam....Look at all those cool bikes!

This gorgeous ceiling shot is somewhere in Dubai.

And these last two, are pictures she snapped during the big opening celebration of the Burj in Dubai. Its the tallest skyscraper in the world now!

Kayla, your work is amazing and you know I totally love you. (and miss you for being half way across the world from me). Consider this a belated birthday gift.

You can find her site here, http://klaaspice.tumblr.com/page/1 to see more gorgeous pics she has taken. As she goes after her dream, I am going to continue posting my favourite shots here, so stay tuned!

birthday card

It's the birthday of one of my best friends soon. I decided to get her a gas gift card, something useful for any driver. My Mum pitched in also, because my friend looks after our cat when we go to my sister's place (she's cared for Fiona two long weekends in December).

I used some of my fun stamps. I wanted it to have a sweet, yet edgy appeal.

Instead of a standard card, I decided on a trifold style. Yay...more stamps and punches!

And the middle section. More cute stamps and a little red pocket to slide the gift card into.

And on the back, there is my logo, for my soon to open Etsy shop. daisy.k.creations. Yay!