Lovely layers

This is something I’ve been doing for a couple of years. While in college, I was forever ordering wallpaper samples. Most of them I wanted to keep forever, so in a bid to look less like a crazy hoarder, I put my favorite wallpaper samples to good use, along with some of my favorite things. 

Above, is an album of wild flowers my grandmother posted me when I was little {I also framed her letter}. It’s full of cards that she collected from cigarette packets, each detailing a different wild flower in Ireland. This was my first layered frame, and still my fav.

This little number is of course, a hydrangea. It was salvaged off of a bouquet of hydrangeas from my parents garden last summer {below}. It kept me company for many weeks.

This is a ticket I kept from when we were on holidays in Tunisia two years ago. We were miles from anywhere, in the Sahara, at one of the original Star Wars sets. There {thank god} were toilets at this remote attraction. The men – could go use the facilities for free. Women, had to pay. I’m not a feminist, but I became one in Tunisia. I kept it as a cheeky reminder, and luckily had the perfect frame.

And this is some lace I brought back from Brugge {or Bruges} in Belgium. I scoured charity shops for weeks to find the right frame, and eventually my patience paid off. 
If you have any small pieces of wallpaper, or paper of any kind that catches your eye, why not layer it up? Most good wallpaper sites allow you to order samples for free {just have to pay the s&h / postage}. So if you have a particularly sentimental piece you’d like to frame, this is an alternative way to jazz it up. 

Kitsch up your kitchen

This is a project I’ve had on my to-do list for ages. I have a healthy tea cup collection, and I’ve wanted to display all of them in all their glory in our kitchen. This is a really straight forward project, and will instantly add a kick of kitsch to your kitchen. Additional note: I will say this is a project for a low traffic area. If you’re thinking of pimping out the area just above your kettle or above your sink, seriously consider how much you move around in those areas. 
p.s. This is a project I know Janine will like!

What you’ll need : a hammer, a screwdriver {which I cleverly didn’t include in this photo … }, a measuring tape or ruler, 1″ cup hooks, a piece of wood, screws {longer than the piece of wood, but not too long to go through the cupboard overhang}, a set of pliers, and some dainty tea cups. 

Step 1 : lay out your teacups against the piece of wood. With yur ruler/tape, measure the average distance between the cups, and accurately mark out the distance with a pencil on your wood. I had 12cm between each cup, with the first cup set 5cm from the end.  

Step 2 : with a spare nail, gently hammer it into the wood to create an indent to start off your cup hook – it’s quite tough to start one off otherwise. Step 3 : it will begin to get difficult to screw in the cup hook, so here is where I find a pair of pliers very helpful. A couple of extra turns with the pliers will ensure your cup hooks are secure and strong. Step 4 : make sure all your cup hooks are facing the same direction. “Bitch please, I’m not that stupid”is what you’re thinking, but it’s amazing what little details one can forget. And no, I’m not calling you stupid. You’re the smartest bitch I know. 

Step 5 : once all your hooks are in a row, give your cups a test spin to make sure they look okay before you affix them to your cupboard. On a side note, I assure you I didn’t match my number-circles to my cardigan. That is a complete fluke. I swear. Step 6 : in my haste and excitement to get this mother up in my kitchen, I forgot to take any pictures of the assembly process. It’s up to yourself which way you would like the hooks to face – towards you, or away from you. To me, facing away seemed the safest way, but you may feel otherwise. Affix your hook rail {minus the dainty tea cups} using a good number of screws and your screwdriver {an extra pair of hands will come in handy}. Make sure the hook rail is sturdily in place before you hang up any of your cups. 
And that’s it! Sit back and enjoy your cute collection waiting to be oo-ed and aw-ed at 🙂 
I’ve been waiting a week to post this sweet little number. As it happens, we haven’t been home {except to sleep} since last Thursday, so I haven’t had time to blog it. Plus it took me ages to Photoshop the details into this mother. I’m very indecisive these days. 

Matroyshkas meet kitchen

While sitting at my desk last week, I was e-mailed a press release featuring these M-cups {matroyshka measuring cups by Fred and Friends}, and I needed them. I don’t impulse buy often these days, so this was a rare treat for me. See, I have a thing about all things Russian. Multi-purpose matroyshka dolls you say? A bit cheeky? And they’re measuring cups? It didn’t take much convincing. 

I just think they’re a dangerous mix of adorable and quite clever. Seriously, how cute are they? The top of the largest piece {far right} is 1 cup, followed by 3/4 of a cup on the bottom, followed by half cup etc.

Welcome to my kitchen 🙂