Popsicle colours!

Being a brand ambassador for Graham & Brown is so much fun! This month's design challenge, The Popsicle Trend, has me thinking in all kinds of new and creative ways about how I inject colour into my life. When I think of popsicle colours, I think of the sherbet lollies I loved as a kid, of brights and pastels and ombre tones. With this month's challenge asking where I can see popsicle in my past, present and future, I had a lot of fun reminiscing, creating and day dreaming for this post.

Past

As soon as I thought of the popsicle trend, this amazing tea cup and saucer that was given to me by my friend, Darci came to mind! The ombre pink cup, and the tropical pink and orange saucer complete with toucans and pineapples is the perfect way to inject some summer warmth into your winter cup of tea.

Present

 

  

My little sewing corner is bathed with light in the afternoon,  making it incredibly hard to get a decent photo, but it is definitely the part of my room that fits the popsicle trend most perfectly. Graham & Brown sent me the paint to give my sewing chair an update to make it fit in better with the pastel colours of my room. The colour is Disney's Cinderella's Perfect Pastel. It reminds me of the colour of the frozen yoghurt popsicles I've loved since I was a kid and it's perfect for a subtle hint of colour that compliments the rest of my room. If you'd like to give painting a chair a go yourself, there is a fantastic how-to on Graham & Brown's blog. The mirror above my sewing table is one of my most favourite posessions. It was a gift from my parents for my 15th birthday and it definitely picks up on the popsicle trend with its bright, ombre flowers. The popsicle colour scheme is completed by the print by Autumn and the colourful crochet squares that are my current inspiration for my craft pursuits.

Future

Popsicle by sunae-reilly featuring replica furniture

I really love the mid century aesthetic and think it fits in amazingly with the popsicle theme. Taking inspiration from my toucan tea cup I've put together this beautiful mid century tropical themed living room, featuring Graham & Brown's Flamingo wallpaper. Grahamm & Brown have a super impressive array of wallpapaer, which is my new favourite obsession after watching this season's House Rules. Of course, I had to be a little bit literal in this design, including a retro popsicle poster, which I think would look great above the replica sideboard, with the flamingo wallpaper on the adjacent wall, behind the sofa. Most of the stuff in this image is from my new favourite furniture designer, Matt Blatt and it is definitely a "future" style because there is no way I can afford Matt Blatt furniture for a good few years yet!

What do you think of my past, present and future interpretations of popsicle? Where does popsicle fit into your style?

Cottage Bedroom*

Cottage bedroom by sunae-reilly featuring a glass vase

With my plans to travel Europe coming to fruition later this year, my mind has started to wander off in wild fantasies of running away to the English countryside when I finish uni, buying a cute little cottage and settling down as a homebirthing midwife. I picture myself warming my hands by a fire, drinking tea as I look out the window across snowy fields. Ideally, my little cottage wouldn't be too far from Cornwall, so that in the summer I could drive through the fields, now lush and green, for day trips to the seaside. My cottage would be a little run down when I bought it, but I'd take a lot of pride in renovating and decorating it.

I've recently become a brand ambassador for Graham & Brown and I think their Northern Rose wallpaper would make the perfect feature wall in my cottage's french provincial style bedroom. I'd pair it with furniture in neutral colours. The big, puffy settee, large bed full of cushions and throws, and coloured glass evoke a soft, country vintage charm when paired with the bright and beautiful floral wallpaper. This room would be the kind that you'd happily lounge around in on a Sunday morning, and struggle to leave on a dreary day. Soft blues and pinks in the accessories would tie the room together and sweet smelling candles would perfume the air. 

My dreams of owning an English cottage are a long way off coming true, and I haven't even convinced Jake to come on my holiday with me yet, let alone move half way around the world, but who knows what the future has in store? 

Bright Bedroom Wishlist & Moving Home*

Bright Bedroom by sunae-reilly featuring a hooked rug

Those of you who follow me on various social media platforms will probably already know that I moved back in with my parents this weekend. There were a variety of reasons for this - the main one being my health and I've realised that it's definitely the right option for me at this time in my life. I won't be moving out again in a hurry, and for the first time in a long time, I'm finally going to have the money to decorate a little!

The above colour scheme was inspired by that awesome, lime green bean bag which is from Bean Bag Boss, and the brightly coloured floral duvet cover which is from K-mart and is currently on special for just $29! Moving back into mum and dads means that a lot of my stuff is having to go into storage, and I'll be back to a single bedroom again, so I like the idea of the bean bag so I have somewhere to sit and read, away from the rest of the crazy house, and can just tuck it out the way under the bed or in a corner when I'm done.

This is a slightly brighter take on the pastels that I usually go for, but I love that all I'd have to do is switch out the duvet cover to return to that softer look if I wanted to. I'm currently working on a bright/pastel granny square blanket to fit a double bed and think the pops of colour in this little collage would go really well with the yarn I've chosen. Any guesses what my favourite colour is? Hint: it's everywhere in the above picture! Follow the links below the collage to find out where everything is from! What do you think of this colour scheme? Anything in particular that you love from this collage?

The Dream Rental and a Wednesday Bedroom Wishlist

So, Jake and I have officially started house hunting after inspecting one property on Monday together, and me inspecting another alone  yesterday. It's really starting to sink in that soon all our living arrangement hassles will be over and we will be living together, like we should be!

The unit we went and looked at on Monday was in such a great spot, with views overlooking North Creek and big sliding doors which led out onto a verandah off the living room, but inside it was really disappointing! The photos on the internet made it look quite okay, where in reality, it looked like the chipboard in the kitchen and bathroom cupboards was about to turn to dust, the bedrooms were more like cupboards than anything, and everything was quite chipped and outdated. I wanted to apply for it anyway after looking, convinced that we couldn't afford anything better but Jake wasn't keen at all, and for once I listened to him and agreed we would find something better suited to our needs.

Then we saw this beauty in the real estate listings:

It was a little ($80) over our price range, but I instantly fell in love with it and just knew I had to find a way to convince Jake to let me go to the inspection the next day. I sat down and drew up a budget - one with my estimated weekly earnings doing one day of child care a week plus my benefit, and one with my benefit alone to prove to Jake that even if I had a bad week for work we could still make ends meet in this place with careful budgeting on my part (he is fine, he is about to get a pay rise so Mr. Richpants didn't need a budget drawn up). Although he was a little sceptical of my ability to actually stick to a budget, finally he agreed that I could go and look at the house and see if it suited our needs.

Well, what can I say? IT'S PERFECT! I'm not kidding. Its even nicer in real life than in the photos and I just about died walking around it and seeing how gorgeous it is! The fireplace had me actually, literally squealing with delight, as I've always wanted a fireplace to curl up with a book beside, and it has a shed and everything, which will keep Jake happy. Oh, and it's right across the road from my old school, which is where I am planning on doing my work experience for uni, and hopefully getting a job one day. Can you see why it's my dream rental?

My biggest thing for Jake and I at the moment is finding a place where we will be comfortable for the next few years. This will be my third move this year and I am so sick of the whole process - I just want somewhere we can settle down and start making some memories together. Somewhere we can actually call home! I don't really think we would be happy living in a poky, little unit because we both like our space, and we really need something with a garage for his motorbike, tools, bmx, kite board and whatnot (yeah, he has a lot of hobbies and a lot of junk). I know we would be comfortable in this house, and if we got it, I don't think we would move unless we got kicked out, or found the money to buy our own home. With two bedrooms, an office, a sun room, an entertaining area, a shed and separate dining and lounge room, it honestly has everything we could ask for. Unfortunately, with about 30 other people at the inspection yesterday, most of them older, wiser and in better financial positions than Jake and I, I'm not feeling too hopeful about getting this place. I will certainly try though!

1*/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9

When we move, I really want to update our bedroom. I started doing this at my place in Southport, but decorating a room you hate spending time in isn't much fun, so I didn't get very far. I did buy a gorgeous, pink and white floral Laura Ashley quilt set though, and ordered a custom bright, floral watercolour print from Autumn's shop to hang on the wall. This wish list is inspired by the colours in that print, and by my desire to bring a bit more colour into our bedroom. 

The chest of drawers from Bedroom Furniture Solutions* is exactly what I need to store my vast amounts of clothes, and the top two drawers are the perfect size to house accessories. I thought that replacing the wooden knobs with cute, ceramic ones would help to brighten the room a little and make the chest of drawers mine. I loved some of the beds from Bedroom Furniture Solutions as well, but since we already have two perfectly good ones of those, and a limited budget that was out of the question! At the moment half of my clothes are in a small, broken pine set of drawers in the garage, and I've been meaning to paint it and fix it up for ages, but I really do need something bigger, so I'm better off buying something new and saving my DIY energy for another project.

I love everything in this set so much, even though some of it is a little out of my price range (ahem, vintage alarm clock). Turquiose, yellow and pink are the perfect colours for our bedroom, and if we get that awesome house, I will have to buy myself a few things off this wishlist to celebrate! 

Wish me luck!

*Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post for Bedroom Furniture Solutions. All opinions are 100% my own. Photos of the house are from the Ballina McGrath Real Estate website

Cute Cushions

Since getting our new-to-us lounge last week, I have been super excited about finally getting our living room looking the way I have always wanted it to look. We have a bit of a blue, white and orange theme going on at the moment thanks to my Blue Willow collection and an antique plate given to me by mum, and I am absolutely loving the pop of brightness it brings to an otherwise boring room. I would really like to bring this all together with some nice, bright cushions on the lounge but right now choice is not my friend, and neither is my bank balance!

I can't decide whether I'd like plain blue cushions with orange patterned ones or plain orange cushions with blue patterned ones. What do you think? I've put together a little wish list below of patterned cushions which I love, but besides from number 3 which, being Blue Willow, is obviously my first choice and is wayyy out of my price range, I can't decide which I like best.

Since budget is an issue, I will probably end up making whichever patterned cushions I end up with, but I'm curious - which type of pattern do you think I should go with based on the pictures below? Orange or blue? And simple like the middle two, or busy like the others?

Decisions, decisions, decisions I tell you!

Cute Cushions by sunae-reilly on Polyvore

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6

DIY Coaster Tutorial

I don't know about you, but I hate the look of water rings on wooden surfaces! It is so disappointing to come across a nice table with little, dark rings mottling the surface! After spending a week refashioning my dining table, the last thing I wanted was for people to plonk their drinks down on it and create water rings, so I set about making my own pretty, blue and white coasters for my dining table to protect that pretty, wooden surface!

I also made these cute vintage bicycle ones for my non-existent coffee table (hopefully we will find one soon!)






















To make your own pretty coasters, you will need:

Blank Wooden Coasters 

(Mine were from Kaisercraft and were less that $1 each)

Scrap booking Paper 

Mod Podge 

Foam Brush

Spray Sealer

(highly recommended)

Exacto Knife/Rotary Cutter

Cutting mat

Pencil

Scissors

Here's the how to:

1. Turn your scrap booking paper upside down and trace the outline of the coasters onto it.

2. Cut around the outlines with scissors, making sure to cut outside the line! This is important so you don't end up with wood showing on the top side of your coasters. You can trim off overhang later with your exacto knife.

3. Mod Podge your scrap book paper cut-outs to your coasters, using a wide, foam brush. Let it thoroughly dry.

4.  Turn your coasters upside down on your cutting mat and trim off any overhang using an exacto knife or rotary cutter.

5. Give your coasters a few coats of Mod Podge to seal them, letting each coat dry before applying the next, and making sure to seal around the edges. I gave mine about 5 coats, but I was probably being excessive.

6. To eliminate tackiness, spray your coasters with a light coat of acrylic sealer once Mod Podge is dry, and they're ready for you to enjoy!

I hope you found this tutorial helpful. You don't have to use the spray sealer if you don't want to, but I would highly recommend it. I haven't gotten my hands on any yet, and my coasters are constantly stuck together when I stack them! I used matte finish Mod Podge for my coasters, and some people have told me that the shiny finish is less tacky, but I'm not entirely sure whether this is true.

Happy crafting!

My Blue & White Obsession

Blue and White Inspiration

Blue and White Inspiration

So, I may have mentioned before that I am a tad obsessed with Blue & White at the moment. I'm not quite sure what started this obsession, but I think it has something to do with the Blue Willow teapot and cooking stuff I got for Christmas and my birthday off my mum, dad and sister (little bro got me a fondue set - what a champ!). 

The term "Willow" is applied in a general way to many of the copies of the blue-and-white porcelain imported into England from China during the last half of the eighteenth century. For a century and a half the "Willow Pattern" has been the stock-pattern of nearly every British Pottery manufacturer, and although at times its popularity has waned, it has eventually returned to favour, and now is again at the apex of its popularity. Thomas Minton is thought to be the original producer of Blue Willow china in England, but was closely followed by other manufacturers, such as Royal Worcester, Spode, Adams, Wedgwood, Davenport, Clews, Leeds and Swansea in the production of the Blue Willow pattern. The Blue Willow china I received for Christmas is modern, and was made by Churchill, but it's not just the classic nature of the Blue Willow pattern that intrigues me, or the colours, it's also the legend associated with it's origins. 

The Blue Willow legend was probably made up as a sales pitch by one of the English companies who produced it, in order to sell more of their product, but it's a beautiful story nonetheless, and I think it's quite romantic. The story is about the daughter of a wealthy Chinese merchant being put to death after she runs away and gets married to a commoner. Later, the addition of the Gods turning the lovers into a pair of doves was added to the story. This was to tie in the story with the newly added pair of doves on the china. All of the main elements of the Blue Willow pattern are included in the story, just as in the poem which was on the box of all of my Blue Willow china:

Two birds flying high,

A Chinese vessel, sailing by.

A bridge with three men, sometimes four,

A willow tree, hanging o'er.

A Chinese temple, there it stands,

Built upon the river sands.

An apple tree, with apples on,

A crooked fence to end my song

And now a look at the Blue and White which is decorating my household:

The Blue Willow china my family gave me, displayed on an old cane hutch. 

(This display is obviously not complete, but money is an issue when it comes to decorating here)

Mum gave me this enamel Blue Willow jug not long after Christmas, to add to my collection. It's vintage and unmarked.

This Delft candle holder was a part of the huge collection of china mum gave me last week.

You can find a tutorial for these coasters I made on the blog later this week :)

So, what do you think? Are you a fan of the Blue and White look? I just love how it is so pretty without being cutesy - I'm trying my best here to decorate in a way that Jake will like as well, and so far the Blue and white thing is working really well! Obviously, our decorating is still a work in progress, but I couldn't be happier with how we have our apartment looking so far - we have only been here and living out of home for a month, after all!

Are there any colour combinations that have you swooning at the moment? I'd love to hear :)

Guest Post: A Few Of My Favourite Things (Vintage Bird Girl)

 

 

 

 

It's an honour to be posting here at Little Foal. Sunae has come a long way in a short period of time, & I for one am looking forward to following her blogging journey.


It's no secret that I love all things vintage....from clothing & accessories, to linen, home wares & furniture. Anything & everything really. I'm not too sure how it all started, but I love the designs & styles of older things. I've been collecting for at least 5 years. I find most things at op shops, & occasionally at vintage stores, & some gets passed onto me too. It's so hard to narrow down my favourite vintage finds as my house is filled with old treasures, but here are some pieces that hold a special place in my heart.

New Zealand deer antlers

My husband & I have always loved deer antlers, but we could never justify spending $200 or more on a set. On a holiday to New Zealand in 2011 we stayed on a farm, & the farmer had a wonderful collection of antlers in his shed. I was admiring his antlers when he asked if I wanted to take some home with me. So we chose two sets of antlers, as I had planned to give one set to my best friend at home. I was so nervous bringing them back to Australia & wondering if customs would allow them through. They gave the all clear to one set, but the other one wasn't as clean, so we had to leave it behind at the airport, much to my friends disappointment! I found a wooden board at an op shop to mount the antlers on, & just needed my Dad's help with his drill. I think this is one of my favourite things because of the happy memories of our time on the farm in our favourite country, as well as the kindness of the farmer. And I feel secretly pleased when I see how much they go for now, knowing I got these for free. You can read more about the antler adventure here.

 

Starburst Clock

 

I'd been searching for an affordable starburst clock for what felt like years. Always checking Ebay & the vintage stores. I discovered this Metamec clock under a pile of other stuff at the Woolloongabba Antique Centre. It was only $40 because the clock mechanism wasn't working, but I knew that could easily be replaced. It felt so good to find something on my vintage wish list, especially when they usually sell for hundreds of dollars.

China Cabinets



These two pieces are very special to me because the large one belonged to my Nana (I remember being fascinated by it as a little girl), & the smaller one was passed onto me by one of my dear friends who is 80 years old & was moving into a nursing home. They hold many precious pieces & they remind me of two lovely women who have a special place in my heart.

 

Tooled bag collection
 

Anyone who reads my blog knows I LOVE accessories. Most of my bags have been found at op shops or occasionally on Ebay. I am especially fond of tooled leather bags. I love the worn leather & the unique designs. They are so sturdy & last forever. These were all purchased at op shops, with the most expensive costing $10.

Mid Century Shelves
 

 

Living in an apartment means I don't have a lot of space for furniture, so when I came across this compact shelving unit at Lifeline I knew it would be the right fit for our home. It cost $25, which is definitely at the higher end of my op shop spending, but these can sell for hundreds of dollars at the vintage stores, so it was a pretty good find.

 

My Jewellery Collection




I've been collecting jewellery since I was a little girl & my collection just keeps on growing. Most of it is found at op shops or gifted to me. The only problem with such a large collection is how to best display it. I use a thrifted spoon rack for long necklaces, a $2 shadow box for special brooches, lots of dishes & containers on my tall boy, & a set of vintage sewing drawers for my beads & bangles.



Vintage Frocks
 

And finally to my beloved frock collection. I've been wearing vintage pretty much all of the time for the last couple of years, & my frock collection has steadily grown over that time. I gravitate towards dresses as I feel most comfortable in them. The majority are op shop finds, & the other great source is Ebay. I think I have somewhere over 50 by now. It's funny though, no matter how many I have I still have days when I feel like I have nothing to wear!


Thanks so much for checking out some of my favourite things. Once you have a passion for vintage the biggest issue is having enough space for your collections. It certainly is addictive, but it's a lot of fun too.

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Thank you so much, Leisa, for guest posting here today - it means so much to me to have such a wonderful blogger as my first guest post!

If you would like to see more of Leisa's wonderful vintage collection, check out her blog at Vintage Bird Girl. Leisa's posts are always so well put together and you will be amazed by all the gorgeous vintage treasures she finds!

Farmhouse Glam and a touch Boho...

I just took the HomeGoods Stylescope photo quiz and it told me that my home decor style is farmhouse glam and a touch boho. What's farmhouse glam you ask?

Farmhouse Glam is the delicate, exquisite balance between beautiful femininity and rustic nonchalance. She's all about the discovery of unexpected sparkle amidst the less polished. She wears high heels and a denim jacket, a string of pearls and bare feet. And her home feels as special as it does comfortable.

Hmm, I like it!

Take the quick little quiz in a moment of boredom for your own style diagnosis, some quick tips and a new pinterest board to follow!