Flickr Favourite: Evatxu

[Both images: Evatxu via Flickr]

I adore the atmosphere that is captured in these photos and the feelings that are conjured up inside of me. These London scenes are very familiar to me, but I've never seen them depicted in such a beautiful way. Battersea Powerstation is a very strong and sturdy structure, but looks soft and ghostly in the photo. It makes me wonder if this is how the powerstation would have looked when it was still in operation - the air misty from the fumes.

Etsy Favourite: Tree & Kimball

[All images: Tree & Kimball]

I discovered these beautiful pieces of jewellery by Tree and Kimball today - they are hosting a giveaway on Calivintage. I've never seen anything like this before.. I love the combination of the different materials and I'm eager to make one myself! They are so delicate, yet striking.

Clara Vuletich

[All images: Clara Vuletich]

I came across Clara Vuletich via Bricolage, which is a collective of London-based textile designers. Clara specialises in hand-printed textiles and wallpapers, and combines traditional printing methods with the latest technology to create striking, modern designs. She is involved in the Textiles Environment Design Project at Chelsea College of Art & Design (my college!). All her work is backed with a concern for the environment and on her website she lists her key environmental principles as:

1. Using recycled materials wherever possible
2. Conscientious use of colour
3. Sourcing of the best sustainable base fabrics and papers
4. Understanding of the ‘life-cycle’ approach to design

I particularly like the geometric printed wallpaper shown in the images above. It works so well across a whole wall as well as on the screen. I love the way sections of the print overlap.

A dress from a shirt

On a whim, I bought a men's shirt in a Charity Shop on Friday because the fabric was so pretty. I initially thought I would make a skirt out of it, but soon realised it was better suited to a dress so I could make a feature of the button placket. I really surprised myself with the finished dress, as I had no idea if this would work! I don't have a sewing machine so did everything by hand. I'm really happy with the way it hangs, and it works just as well with a long sleeved t-shirt underneath, as it does by itself. I can see myself wearing this a lot!

The shirt I bought was a size Large so it had the length I needed for a dress. I eye balled all the measurements and continually tried it on and adjusted the pins until I got what I wanted. The dress doesn't have a zip so it needs to pull over your head and shoulders, so I made it slightly loose. The hem of the shirt was already there which made the process quicker. I like the softness of the curved hem and the way the back is slightly longer than the front. Overall, it feels very comfy and casual.

I plan to make more dresses, and I think the shape of each one will come out slightly differently depending on the initial garment. Next time I'd like to use a shirt with buttons all the way up the front. There are so many variations on the simple form and I can't wait to play around!

* How I made the dress *

Other tutorials:
A skirt from a shirt

Flickr Favourite: The 10 Cent Designer

[All images: The 10 Cent Designer]

I just can't stop looking at this flickr stream! It's everything I love...

Scrap Facet Chair

[Images: Thinkk Studio. Found via: Apartment Therapy]

The scrap wood on the back makes each chair unique. I love the crisp faceted form contrasted against the the patina of the aged wood.

Sliding panels

[Images: House in Midorigaoka, Japan by Camp-Design inc. Found via Dezeen]

I find the sliding walls and panels in this design very appealing. This idea has been applied internally and also to the wall that connects to the outside space. It would be very interesting to mix up the opacity of the panels: transparent as well as solid panels to offer different degrees of privacy. I think the detailing on the sliding runners is quite beautiful. When all the panels are pushed to one side, one huge space is created -- ultimate flexibility. Who needs fixed walls?

Habitat

[Images: Habitat]

I really like the interior shots on the Habitat website at the moment. I hope there's a new catalogue out soon!

Flickr Favourites: Cats

Sources are linked:
1. Ceci n'est pas un...
2. untitled
3. Rat-catcher
4. ninja kitty

I've discovered some incredible cat pictures over the last week. I came across the first photographer via Fabric of my life, and it turns out I knew her from uni four years ago! Emilie is from Paris and spent a year at uni in London. She is an incredible photographer and is taking part in the Impossible Project. The Internet world is not as big as I'd thought. CRAZY.

This will be my last cat post for a while. Maybe I should set up separate cat and Boyzone blogs to indulge my other obsessions...

Delicate desk

[Image: Living Etc]

I'm trying to convince my husband that laptops are the way forward. I'd like a desk like this one but the whole look would be spoiled by our ugly Dell monitor and huge silver tower.

It's clever how the bottom strips of blind have been painted to add a pop of colour to the room.

Daily Wear: Coral Cardi

T-shirt: Topshop, originally teal then hand dyed blue
Cardigan: Joseph A, Thrifted
Skirt: Uniqlo
Tights: Urban Outfitters
Shoes: Crocs Lily Winter

I've literally been looking for something in this colour for years and was over the moon when I picked up this cardigan in a Charity Shop last week! Pink doesn't usually suit me, but this coral/blush colour is perfect. I know it'll be my favourite for Spring.

Dutch elegance

[Images credits: Bloesem]

Bloesem has been one of my favourite blogs for a long time, and I really look forward to the Let's Get Personal house tours. This week's house seemed to jump out at me more that usual, so I just had to make a note of it here I don't forget about it! It is the home of Dutch artist/designer Jurianne Matter. I love every detail and there are many more beautiful photos on Bloesem.

PS. I had a play with the new blogger template features today and created a menu under the header.. It's too much fun! I need to concentrate on my uni project. My Easter break is one month long: must work, not play!!

Window love

This is the roller blind that I'd picked out for the kitchen in the flat that just wasn't meant to be. It's from John Lewis and I love the combination of colours. I'd dreamt up the whole decor to complement this blind! I'm sure it will work fine in any other kitchen, so all is not lost. (I can't install it in my current kitchen because there is no window, which one of the many reasons we have decided to move.) I just hope this blind is still available if/when we finally move!

The smell of Spring

My darling Honey has been sniffing around these daffodils all week. She just can't resist them. But she knows she's not allowed to touch: just a glance from me sends her scampering off the table with a little whimper.* When I say "No", she responds with a little meow. Sometimes it's a silent meow but I can see her little mouth open. I often feel guilty. My mum says I'm too firm. My husband just laughs when she reacts to "No" used mid-sentence.

I needed some cute photos of Honey to use on greetings cards (my family must be sick of us!), so we had a little photo shoot and for one afternoon only I allowed her near the flowers. I know, I send her mixed messages...

* I do have a good reason for banning her from the daff's as they are poisonous to animals. Maybe I shouldn't have them inside at all!

Kitchen nook

[Image: Apartment Therapy]

I've still got kitchens on the brain. This is the sweetest kitchen nook and it doubles as a craft area. I need one. With big windows, just like this one.

Time for new pans

[Image: Flickr]

Last night I stocked up the freezer with leek and potato soup made from my granny's home grown leeks. The fresh, crisp leeks tasted delicious raw. I felt sad cooking them but I knew I'd get better use out of them in soup. When I use store-bought leeks, the soup ends up a pale creamy colour with a slight green hue, but yesterday the soup was a vibrant pea green! I was quite worried my husband wouldn't eat it as it looked so unusual. It just goes to show that home grown vegetables have concentrated goodness in them.

One day, if/when I have a bigger kitchen, I'd love a whole collection of nice pots and pans. I think it would make cooking much more fun.

Colourful garden furniture

I rediscovered last year's Fermob catalogue and scanned in some of my favourite pages. I don't have a garden or balcony but I wouldn't mind a set of pretty chairs to use at my dining table!

Daily Wear: Turquoise & Blue

T-shirt: Uniqlo
Jacket: Thrifted H&M
Skirt: Urban Outfitters
Shoes: Lily Winter Crocs
Tights: Sainsburys

Necklace & Bracelet: Gifts

Three things...

1. Does Photobucket have a sensor that checks if photos are acceptable to upload?? The image above just would not upload, so I ended up taking a screen shot and pasting back into a blank Photoshop file and it worked fine. Crazy!

2. Still no developments on the moving-home front. Our flat will be remarketed with a new agent next Tuesday so hopefully things will start happening soon. We have kind of lost the flat we fell in love with, but no one else has bought it yet so if we find another buyer it could still be ours, but there is no guarantee. We'll have to let Destiny decide.

3. I booked tickets to see Boyzone on tour in March 2011! I wanted to buy tickets in the fan presale but there was a fiasco with the website not showing seat numbers. There is always some degree of ticket stress but this time was the worst. So this afternoon I prepared telephone numbers and seating plans for the mad ticket rush tomorrow morning. As crazy as it sounds I started dialing through the numbers so I could write down the options I needed to select to quickly get to the front of the telephone queue in the morning, and out of pure chance one venue had released tickets on the telephone the day before general sale! I managed to get 3rd row tickets at the centre of the stage! I have seat 33 in row 3. My favourite number is 3 so what is the chance of that? My ever-so-lucky husband will be sitting in seat 34. He just doesn't know it yet. Now I can relax and forget about buying tickets and get on with my uni project...

Recent Flickr Favourites

1. The Red Door
2. .4046
3. Good morning
4. Arrangement

[Sources are linked]

Warm tones

[Photo credit: Apartment Therapy]

I'm craving some fun colour for my home ready for the spring and summer!