Adding Architecture: Moroccan Arches

If you haven't caught on yet, I have a thing for Morocco. I haven't even been there, but got close enough to see it by standing at the very southern tip of Spain and looking across the ocean. I guess you can say we wimped out. While in southern Spain, my backpack was stolen by some Moroccan Gypsies,  at least that's what the Spaniards called them. I screamed like a crazy person, and some nice Spanish guy ran after the thieves and the Gypsies dropped my backpack, and it was returned to me. Anyway, that experience left me a bit afraid of going to Mystical Morocco. I still got to see plenty of Moorish influence in the south of Spain, and it was enough to hold my attention all these years later. As I've mentioned before, interesting architecture makes all the difference in a space. And while adding a Moroccan arch to your home might not be an inexpensive solution, it does have big impact.

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Fabric Faves: Vanderhurd

Gorgeous hand printed fabric from Vanderhurd. Beautiful patterns on pure linen. The selection is not huge, but quality over quantity in this case. Here are my faves:

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And from the hand embroidered collection:

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And check out these cool wall panels also from Vanderhurd:

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Shhhh! Niki Jones Sample Sale

I discovered Niki Jones and had fully intended to keep it my little secret, but now I'm feeling guilty about that since they are having a sample sale right now with some killer deals. It's a UK company, so you'd have to pay oversees shipping, but still some great finds to 'fill your home with stories", as she puts it. Nothing ordinary here. Here's some of my favorite finds from the sample sale, also be sure to check out her amazing selection of new and vintage kantha quilts. But shhhhh, don't tell anyone!

(By the way, I am not sponsored or paid by Niki Jones, I just think her stuff is way cool.)

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Wallpaper Panels

I'm loving wallpaper these days, but it's really a commitment, and that's hard for me since I'm so scatter-brained and always changing my mind. I like the idea of doing framed wallpaper panels since they are portable and can be moved if you move, or just moved to another room if you want to switch things up. Of course they look even better when they are put directly onto the wall with paneled molding, but I think the framed versions work just fine too.

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Color Lover: Turquoise and Red

I was running some of my designs for my soon-to-come shop by some friends, and someone mentioned that red and turquoise together are an odd combination. Can you still say that after seeing these? Fresh, clean, modern and a bit unexpected.

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Here's how I am inspired by the red and turquoise color combination: a sneak peak of Happy Habitat Accessories.

Serving Up Some More Trays

I'll stop with the trays, but they are just so much fun to make! I couldn't resist making some more for Mother's Day gifts.

Remember how last time I whipped these up, I said 'it's not rocket science'? While that might be true, I discovered you can screw these up. First mistake: a combination of spray adhesive with thinner paper. The spray adhesive made the paper too damp and you could see the color if the tray through the paper. The fix? Thicker paper. Second mistake: bubbles with mod podge. I didn't smooth the paper out well enough. It's pretty tricky and the stuff is so sticky, you don't have a lot of room for mistakes. The fix? Spray adhesive instead of mod podge on a piece on a piece of cardboard cut to fit in the tray.


For my lovely sister on Mother's Day

Coral and Taupe Tray for my mom.