Connecting

Since quite a lot of you are still passing by this place here, I thought of linking you to the post written over at Domestic Stories. Hoping to be seeing you there and expecting you so happily :)


It's a crafting day today...actually we are putting music in a jar! 
Just like that, while telling domestic stories, or else what is happening in our little Penthouse, there where you met me.....still here in this place we've so much loved and which is slowing outgrowing itself...oh well, changes are part of life.


                                                  Join us!

Love for paper...and a very simple craft...

Love for paper..., originally uploaded by ivy style33.

....I had just two small pieces of my favorite papers, big enough though to cover the two simple glasses we no longer use ( new ones have come to the home's life, since a while ).

Instead of remaining unused, as they did for some weeks, they now glow beautifully at night, holding tealights inside.
They look equally nice during the day though.

Rectangles - circles - lines & curves

I guess you all have figured it out by now, that I love geometry and shapes....it was one of my favorite subjects at school and was a complete nerd at it, looking forward to solving the homework exercises...now that I see nothing wrong or uncool about being a little " nerdy "...no problem in sharing that! ; )

Now, I mostly care about geometry and shapes serving the purpose of good design, function, comfort and of course, jumping out of its "Strictness" and providing pleasing eye candy...
Have a lot to learn but love this process!

The Little English House Project....

....the last day of December and of this year has alreay arrived and is soon to end...hard to believe how fast time passes by! December for me was quite busy and had a couple of pleasant surprises, so it already brings me to the new year with a positive feeling and energy. I hope and wish the same to all of you!

...leaving this last post on my blog here, presenting a small project that brought me a lot of happiness while preparing it at the beginning of the month. I made the gift wrapping for 20 sweet woolen Santa Clauses in white or in beige, which were given as a symbolic present to the business associates of my friend Susan, the English teacher  of the Little English House in Wiesbaden.

For the wrapping I used:

-> rectangular paper bags made from A4 paper prints of my own " Christmas " design in 2 versions and sizes

-> white & golden string

-> little trees & stars made from cork...

-> decorated each with a snowflake punched fron the same papers

-> cards made from silver carton on which I handwrote the wishes

-> handmade bag from recycled paper to carry the presents in.

 Finally, as I wanted to leave my links in case people want to contact me and had not business cards at that time, I made some bookmarks instead. I used the same silver carton I used for the cards and handwrote my details on the back side. I decorated them with thin waxed string in three colours - dark pink, purple and beige/brown - and tiny silver reindeers, resembling to having been made from pieces of mirror.

I hope you enjoy the pictures...and wishing you all to have a wonderful beginning tonight in this New Year to come! May it bring to each one of you exactly what you need and wish for!

See you all in 2010!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wallpaper crazy!

By now I can declare myself as....wallpaper addicted! Ever since these vintage, wallpaper rolls came my way....the notion of the word has a whole new meaning to me. Not that I wasn't fond of wallpaper before used in decoration, as much as in creative crafty ways, but I simply started appreciating the whole concept a bit more.  

Any way, to make a long story short....these vintage rolls I 'm talking about are original, stamped and handsigned pieces of 1965 Albert Van Luit wallpaper, an American company that seemed to have a glorious name back in the good old times. I also checked their current stock, but to my disappointment  found nothing similar to these glorious pieces. ( Thank God for brands like Ferm Living!)


They hold names such as India, Renaissance, Borgese Damask and all of them have golden accents in their designs. Originallly I would consider something like that to be too glamorous for my kind of minimal, low and neutral toned style,  but I was surprised to see how well they work together with natural materials such as here or creating a more modern contemporary look like here. Both pictures are from The Penthouse.


Another reason that they fancinate me is the story that lies behind their discovery....in the dusty attic of an old wallpaper shop, in the very center of Athens....forgotten.... I really have no rememberance of how I ended up up there. I have the impression that I 'm driven by a special force when it comes to discovering and revealing similar things.

I have been returning to the same store now and then during my visits in Athens, but must admit that the prices were higher up, due to the fact, as the owner said, that there is currently a lot of demand as stylists, decorators and  theater people have been finding their supplies there. Oh well, the man is still kind enough to give me a reduction, since I never leave with less than three rolls in my shopping bag!

Some of these were meant to be sold under the vintage category in my Etsy shop, but it was too hard for me to let them go. So, I decided to get crafty and play with them a little, while producing things handmade for my shop. This is how I came up with the " Christmas - and not only! - ornaments", currently listed and availiable in newivystyle's shop. Don't be confused by the name, it is my shop, ivy style33's shop! 

Hope the following pictures will serve as much as an eye candy to you, as they do to me! 

Wishes for a great weekend : )

  

Wallpaper projects

  Today I grouped together pictures of a few wallpaper projects that I did a month ago. I find myself in love with this material and the endless ways in which it can be used! I will not write many details here, rather I 'll pass you to my flickr account, where you' ll find more descriptive details of the projects.  

   As I 'm in a flight mode tonight, there are rather a few things I need to take care of....still as you can see, it is hard for me to keep myself from posting! I hope you' ll enjoy the pictures and get inspired for new weekend projects, as it is only one day away!
Have fun...oh!...and happy Thursday : )

Reusing and repurposing stuff

From pants to a pillow case....In the photo of the...photo...there is me in the Greek island of Paros in 1995...oh gosh!...I was 20, already crazy about decoration and design, enrolled in Psychology classes at Deree( The American College of Greece ) and must have bought 40 pairs of vintage bell bottomed pants within a year, for 500 drachmas each ( that's 1,50 euro!) from the basement of a shop that was selling out original stock from the 70s. 

I had them made into a pillow case some 5 to 6 six years ago and it has been a favorite of mine ever since. I love to reuse, recycle and repurpose things, fabrics, materials. It's an endless game, a process of creativity, through which objects have a story to tell and souls are soothened....
And you?...what have you repurposed or reused lately?....links to your pictures please if possible! Smiles for a lovely Sunday to come....a relaxing one...a creative one....a fun one...or whatever makes you happy...= )

Tah - daaah....! Framed wallpaper samples on reading corner's wall.

Well, it took me longer than I thought to come back.... In the meantime I have been so much enjoying that our Penthouse has beenposted in some favourite blogs, such as Http://rearrangeddesign.blogspot.com/2009/07/house-tour_20,
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/inspiration-decorating-with-neutrals-09054, http://www.etsy.com/storque/spotlight/etsy-finds-decor-soothing-suite-4472/and http://www.kireei.com/index.php?p=1&id=633
A big thank you again, Ana, Susane, Christine and Chris! You brought a lot of visitors to my Flickr page ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/ivy_style33 ) and I have the oppurtinity to meet and exchange views with so many creative, wonderful people!
So, prior to leaving for vacation I was wondering wether I should wallpaper the reading corner's wall and if yes with which one. I loved all the samples so much, that I decided to decorate the wall using them. Something which also fits better to the fact that this house is rented. I also decided on keeping the costs of this project low, so I bought inexpensive RAM Ikea wooden frames and painted them white ( instead of buying for example the white RIBBA ones, which would mean the triple costs) .

Wallpaper samples framed. Size of frames: 20 x 30 cm. Size of wallpaper samples : 18 X 30. To fill in the gap, A4 white paper sheats were used.

The frames after three coats of white paint ( Weisslack) , painted with a roller.


10 Ikea RAM natural wooden frames were bought for 2,99 euros each.