Art Class Nailed

For new years I obviously wanted to paint my nails accordingly. But everything seemed done and somewhat bleh!
So I whipped out the old art books and drew inspiration from the masters. (How silly that I'd never thought to look to artists for artistic inspiration. In retrospect it seems like the most obvious direction and source of ideas)

Post-impressionism is an era of art that really appeals to me. Let me first be honest, I am no art curator. I'll definitely confuse Monet and Manet and couldn't name their works, but I am able to appreciate beautiful art. 

So, post-impressionism, often characterised by thick energetic brush strokes and bold colours is, for me, most often, a visual feast. It does not clearly depict the image but often allows the viewers to create their own impression.

Drawing from this I created my post-impressionism inspired firework nails. 

These were somewhat time consuming, especially as I only had one paint brush, but based on their thick strokes, were relatively easy to execute.

Unfortunately I didn't take step by step pics, but start with a deep dark blue base colour (I used essie midnight cami), then once dry, apply the colour strokes to each nail, then after that the silver strokes over and in between the colours , then the glitter layer and finally a thick top coat to seal in all your hard work. 

But why not rather let your inner artist out and do it whichever way feels right to you :o)

It's beginning to look a lot like christmas...

Christmas is all around, so obviously my nails would follow suit and get dressed up for the season...

Anthology Pop Up

Durbanites, if you haven't already been there, then take a swing past Windermere Centre to explore the gorgeous new pop up shop, Anthology.

Occupying the space of the previous Food Lovers Market you'll find a light, airy, spacious pop up shop selling a collection of carefully curated items, from gorgeous 'pre-loved' clothing to inspiring art and tasty macaroons. 

The vibe is relaxed yet sophisticated, the clothing old and new, the decor fresh and clean and the art is seriously cool. (I've got my eye on this flamingo piece that I'm just begging to bring home...)

The store will be open until January so be sure to swing past before it moves on.
  

Halloween kisses

Halloween, although big in the states, is hardly a big deal in South Africa.

However, pretty much everyone I know loves to dress up, so Halloween gets her fair share of celebrating, despite that fact that you won't see pumpkins or skeletons decorating any lawns. It's actually mainly the dressing up that we partake in, and that's about it. (Some kids trick or treat but they have to visit quite a few houses as many folk forget to buy sweets as the shops here don't make a fuss over halloween candy)

This year we headed to a friend's beach cottage down in Umzumbe for a  little shindig. I didn't take too many pics, but I did instagram a few...

I baked a batch of angry spider cupcakes

we may not have pumpkins but we do have oranges...

Day of the dead, pocahontas and a hobo

 

ghostly decor

The Boyfriend and I

and of course I had to make my nails halloween appropriate

Happiness is... being organised

How organised are you?

I can be the queen of organised or utterly forgetful, overwhelmed and lost. It all comes down to planning. When I plan I feel confident and everything just works. So I like to plan... I write lists and I  keep a calendar.

Keeping a calendar has been my social saviour. At the age I am, there are so many weddings, engagement parties, hens parties, baby showers and then also all the usual; birthdays, dinner dates, farewells, and everything in between. So I keep a calendar, stuck right up on my fridge, penned in with all our events, so that I see it daily and then so does The Boyfriend. (Don’t try tell me you didn’t know we had dinner with your parents tonight… It’s been on the fridge for two weeks now).

And now to add a touch of joyful happiness to my organising, Fathima, the  cat-loving, water-colouring illustrator behind the beautiful Happiness is blog, has started designing free printable monthly calendars. If you need some clarity in your life too, click here to visit her site and download these awesome calendars.

While you’re there be sure to look around at all her gorgeous illustrations and designs – you are going to love her style!

Here’s just a peek…

 

All images taken from Happiness is blog.

Floral Fetish Nailed

Am I taking my floral fetish too far? Dresses, skirts, in my hair and now on my nails too! But personally, if I may say so myself, I am in love with this mani! It reminds me of Cath Kidston designs and having Cath Kidston nails makes me happy.

These nails weren’t too hard to do, but they do take patience and time, but it is so worth it!

What you need:

• A base colour (I chose a soft blue - Mavala Lagoon) but you could even use a creamy beige.
• Your flower base  (I used a bright pink – Essie Lovie Dovie )
• Your flower detailing ( I used a darker pink  - Mavala La Paz)
• Green for the leaves ( I used a woollies olive-y type green)
• Top coat and base coat (as always)

After applying your base coat, apply your base colour. I apply two coats so that it is fully opaque.

Once the base colour is dry, create the base of the flowers. These are not meant to be perfect circles so no need for other tools, the little brush in the nail polish is perfect. Just dab onto your nails creating messy little spots.

Once these are dry, using a toothpick dipped into your darker colour draw little squiggles on your roses. These create the petals and define the rose. I sort of outlined areas of the rose and brought them in making a 'c' shape of sorts. Play around and see what looks best on your nail and your lighter pink spot.

Lastly, you need to add the leaves. Do not leave (hehe) these off. They really bring the final look together. Two little green triangular-ish shapes complete your little rose.

As you go from step to step the flowers won’t really look good. You may think it is looking messy but once every step is complete they really come together to look gorgeous. Up until I had completed the last leaf The Boyfriend was not entirely convinced either, but as a final picture you’ll see the effort is so worth it.

Helpful Hint: I read that sometimes it is easier to try do the splodges on your left hand using an earbud as it is easier to control. I however managed with the nail polish brush so didn’t use them, but if you’re struggling keep one close for just in case…

Whitewash Weather

The view from our balcony

The weather this weekend has been quite miserable, which has suited me  perfectly as The Boyfriend and I have created a list of 35 things we need to get done to our house before the year is up. The list has everything from the very simple (buy more big wine glasses) to the far more extreme (convert the spare room into a creative workspace). And this weekend we got going on our list.

We are redoing our spare room into a space where I can blog, do my DIY and get messy, and also a space where The Boyfriend can sit down with good music and edit his surf footage (He received a gopro for his birthday so he can now be seen in the water with it on his board, or strapped to my old mop pole for better angles...)

We are building a work desk in the room and wanted to make the desk a space where I can mess without making the desk look damaged, so we decided a good whitewashing will create a look that will actually be enhanced by drops of glue and splatters of paint.

Whitewashing Wood

What you need:

• Wood
• Sandpaper and sandpaper block
• White water based paint
• Water
• Varnish / sealant
• Paintbrush
• Mixing container
• Old rags

Before you can start with the painting you will need to first prep your wood. Using the sandpaper sand the wood down to remove any old varnish / paint. Be sure to wipe the wood down afterwards as you don't want any dust to be there when you paint.

Sand the wood

Once the wood is sanded you need to create your whitewash. Mix 2 parts paint to 1 part water. That's it. No funny tricks here. 

Paint on the whitewash in small sections

Working in small sections, paint your wood, and then wipe the excess paint off. Whitewash dries pretty quickly so wipe as you go.

Wipe off excess paint

Once the whitwash has dried, apply a second layer if necessary. Once this layer is also dry, get your sandpaper and start sanding where the wood would naturally weather, so on the corners and raised areas. This adds the texture and worn look.

Sand the wood again to age it

Finally, once you wood is looking well old, slap on a layer of sealant / clear varnish to protect the wood.

Varnish wood

Once we have finished our workspace I promise to post pictures of the final product...

...in the sky with Diamonds

I am so excited!

A couple months back I spotted a few beautiful bird illustrations online and I just knew I had to have them in my home.

But they had no reference to where they were from or who did them, and so started my mission to find out who the artist was and get my hands on some of her work.

After much googling and searching (what do you google, bird illustrations? Water paint birds?), I eventually found my way to Abby Diamond, the artists behind the canvas. With a  name to search everything became  a lot easier and my eyes were opened to her incredible collection of works.

Having originally  loved just one picture I now found myself wanting them all (typical) and had to narrow down my selection to 3 of my favourites. ( I chose top 6, printed them out, took them home and played until I could commit to only 3, which admittedly is probably too many anyway)

And then the fun part, she sells them online on Society 6 and they ship all around the worlds – yay - so my order is placed and now I have to wait patiently (truth: run and check the postbox daily) until my parcel arrives. I cannot wait.

Here are the three I eventually settled on, but do check her out to see the rest of her designs…