the half couch

so it's almost finished.

ill run you through a quick guide to what i did.

1. find half seat half coffee table on the road.

2. buy black gloss enamel spraypaint, thick duct tape, and another spraypaint in the colour of your choice

3. lay thick strips of duct tape over the upholstery, making sure it is even and properly stuck. spray upholstery in sweeping manner, wait to dry and peel off duct tape.

4. clean surface of the wood, spray multiple coats of black glossy enamel spraypaint.

really simple, you could honestly apply it to just about anything.


so here is the (half) finished project, im just going to do a few more paint coats of the black and then i'll re-attach the cushion

from this


to this:






just in case you were wondering, total cost of the project - $11. not bad if i do say so myself. x

my colours

originally i was leaning towards mainly white and green but at the moment i am absoloutely DYING over black and green. the combination is fucking amazing, and i think it speaks volumes.

my next craft project is to revamp this weird half chair half coffee table object that Llew and Timmy got from the side of the road.

it is kind of like a coffee table except half of it has a cushion on it. i have no idea what it is and what its purpose is but i want to spraypaint the upholstery in stripes of green like this:

and then just use a paint that looks like black lacquer over the terrible faux wood finish.

here is the before shot, hopefully i can post the finished product tonight :)

my birdcage i spoke of earlier, as you can see it is in the process of being painted


my plants


milk crate lamp


also some other exciting things i picked up:
clock wall sticker from typo. it was $2, i shit you not.

bird wall stickers from typo, theses were $10


wooden letters from typo, $10 for three, they come in black and white, we got an H, an & and an L, for obvious reasons.

down and out chic

my new favourite blog!

look at this piece on "deep sultry green" interiors

here

droooool

random thoughts

in my posession i have an old rusty birdcage with a horrible plastic blue base. currently in the process of spray painting the base a lovely deep royal green, looking good so far, but am not quite sure of what to do with it. i am thinking of filling it with all different size and width church candles, and making them all melty, kind of like this:

but short of stealing candles from the church i have no idea where to get them, i saw some in a $2 store, but at $4-$10 each i am not about to spend that amount of money on candles, especially since i want a lot. perhaps i could check ebay, hmm.

my next project is also going to be to make a headboard for our bed. i am thinking of just buying a cheap piece of plywood, glueing some cushioning down and then using nailheads to upholster it in some amazing fabric. i dont think its going to be too hard, i want something like this, but perhaps a little simpler.


another project of mine is to brainstorm what to do with my moss balls! my darling llew has been getting me a moss ball whenever he walks past this florist, they look a little like this and i currently have three. im thinking of putting them in a spherical bowl but i am thinking that that is going to be WAY too boring. :(


my most recently finished craft project is this frame. it cost me $1 from the bower center on addison rd in marrickville, right near reverse garbage. (in all honesty two of the best shops EVER when it comes to cheap DIY homewares). it was originally a foul faux wood finish with gold trimmings, vom, but i bought a can of green spraypaint and spent about 2 seconds painting it and this is the finished product :)


over and out

current obsessions

my taxidermy obsession has moved over for a bug specimen obsession.

http://www.beckerminty.com/splash.asp

they have amazing ones at this store in potts point done by a french company and put in amazing black shadow boxes with a white background. unfortunately they go for between $150 and $350 :(

after hours upon hours of ebay sleuthing, i've found them for much much cheaper (you can get butterflies from around $8 including postage) just search butterfly specimen and millions will come up.

we have found the perfect giant stick insect from malaysia. it's $90 but so worth it. hopefully buying it asap.

also obsessing over little green notebook. it's my favourite blog at the moment and like any good woman, she obviously appreciates the colour green <3 (the link isnt working but its in my favourites to the right of the page)

on a mildly related note, Llew keeps teasing me about my green obsession. i also saw flourescant green cabbages at coles, i nearly died! i must find a way to preserve them and keep them in my dear house.

xo

it has been a while

and i've been getting very crafty.

the other day i went plant stealing. yes it's naughty but i havent been able to find ornamental cabbage anywhere other than flower stores (where it is pre cut) or already planted in council gardens. Llew, Sophie and I went on a mission, armed with 2 trowels and some enviro bags. i got 2 purple cabbage plants, 2 white cabbage plants (which i personally prefer), some african violets, about 4 mystery bulbs and some snowbells! i took them all home and lovingly planted them in my old apothecary jars. they look a picture and will be fantastic on the mantelpiece. speaking of mantelpieces, i have found the dream house. but first, here is a picture of cabbages so you can see how fab they are.


i also got an awesome picture from typo for $20, it is mounted on canvas and says "keep calm and grow a moustache". we also got some big wooden letters, 3 for $10 you cant really go wrong.

and my piece de resistance, as crafted for me by my adoring boyfriend was a lamp made out of green milk crates (yes you can find them behind grocery stores, yes you can be arrested for taking them, no we didnt give a shit). i saw them and had to have them, so we did a quick drive by. we got four of them home and were thinking "what the fuck are we supposed to do with them?". we wanted something innovative, useful and cheap, staying as far away from the typical college kid making shelves for their porno out of them, so i did a quick google and it came up with some pretty cool ideas;

milk crate chairs/stools


milk crate lights


basically i loved them both, but was leaning towards the stools. Llew really didn't like the stools and pointed out the fact that it would be very difficult and time consuming to make, so we settled on the light idea. basically we stacked up 4 green milk crates and put a lightbulb inside. the light was pretty harsh and it was pretty tacky looking so we cut squares of baking paper, blue tacked it to the inside and it gave it a really cool lantern effect. such a cool light we have been using it every night so far. ill update this post with pictures when i can be bothered to get off my ass. x

i reccomend

taking a day off,

having lunch at cafe Sopra inside Fratelli Fresh on Danks St in Waterloo. it's a converted warehouse and the food is to die for. you MUST try the stuffed zuchinni flowers, omlette with goats cheese and baby basil and a banoffee pie for desert. delish! the carafes of house wine are cheap and satisfying, and it is no taboo to start drinking at 10 in the morning.

after your appetite for food is satiated, cross the road and head into the PYD building and make a beeline straight for Country Trader. (for those not bothered check out their collection on their website) granted the furniture is out of (nearly) everyone's price range, i can guarantee you will be inspired and amazed. (i mean, when you're looking at a $50,000 antique mirror how can you not be?)

there are a few other cool stores in PYD, mother of pearl & sons has absolutely to DIE for handles. you can honestly make any old piece of second hand/ikea furniture into a visual delight :)

all of this can be followed by a trawl through the (amazing) vintage shops of crown street finishing finally on oxford street where i am sure a much needed beer should be consumed.

xxxxo