Weekend Project: creative gift wrapping.

For this weekend's project, I decided to add another creative gift wrap idea to this board on pinterest. Rorschach or ink blotting is such a simple way to make pretty wrapping paper for girls or boys, young and old. I stuck to three basic colours, but you can use any hued drawing ink you find at your local art store.  I used a clean glass dropper (from an old bottle of facial oil) to drop a little bit of ink into the centre of the paper.  This is just done on printer paper, which is easy to manipulate, but very messy!  Make sure you put down something under your work that can get ink allllll over it; your hands will get some colour action too (but it washes off!).  Once you've added your drops to the paper, fold it in half ink side in and smooth the ink out.  Open it up to reveal your pretty design!  You'll love it, I guarantee, and it's SO simple!

spring has sprung.

here

we welcomed the first day of Spring Down Under and it really gave us a show- bright blue skies and warm weather. I'm actually a winter kind of girl myself, but I do love a change of season (and crave it to be like at home, where it's a significant change in smells, air, everything), so I appreciated the sunshiny atmosphere yesterday.  I hope everyone is still enjoying their end of summer long weekend at home! #lineinthestone

5 ways to dress up your front doorway!

because this isn't the prettiest of interiors posts, I'm calling it an 'ideas post'. what can you do to jazz up your front doorway when you live in an apartment block? believe me, the first thing I would do is paint my front door if I could (I have already painted the inside half of it a buttercup yellow). I have re-arranged quite a few things in my rental, but I feel that painting the outside door would just be drawing too much attention to the many other changes I've made inside...which so far...no one has said anything about. phew! even if you have a drab coloured door that you have to live with, it doesn't mean you can't do wonderful things around it to make it more welcoming for yourself and your visitors.

seasonal floral crowns.

Photography: Fiona Galbraith All crowns made by: Nicole Valentine Don

four seasons have come and gone since I started my floral crown series; I thought it would be fun to look back at some of my favourites. the top 3 images are winter, then 2 for each season thereafter (even though we technically did more). which one is your favourite?  i think mine are still the cherry blossom antlers, but they wouldn't fit in the grid!  

Egg basket as a light pendant.

Photo by: Fiona Galbraith Production, Project & Styling by: Nicole Valentine Don

a new little project is up for JB Est 1979; find out more about how easy this pendant was to 'make' and install, HERE.

#lineinthestone

i have been having the best time, getting creative with my most favourite souvenirs from the South of France. i still need to share my photos of my time in that part of the world with you, but for now, i thought i would share with you this little project i have been doing on instagram. it combines some of my favourite things; creative thinking with simple found objects from travels that don't cost anything, but are actually priceless. these objects to me, hold an innate wealth because of what they represent and the memories they evoke. on top of that, i love pushing myself to find new shapes for these pretty critters to make- it rocks ;)  i like it so much, i started a hashtag for the series: #lineinthestone. follow along!

'cantaloupe tonight...'

'my mom's got the car'. little dad joke for ya'. i've been playing along with the weekend hashtag project on instagram recently. this weekend the theme was ice cream and i had so much fun getting into the spirit of summer during winter down under. these final yummy images combine so many of my favourite things-  creative use/reuse of an object, super pretty colours together and a taste of nostalgia. thanks to my absolute favourite, my momma who served me vanilla ice cream in a cantaloupe bowl when i was little. 

DIY: wire cacti garden.

Photos by: Fiona Galbraith

check out my latest DIY project for JB Est 1979 and find out everything you need to know to make your own wire cactus creation, HERE.

weekend project: gift wrapping with ephemera.

i was invited to join this board on pinterest and thought what better what to re-introduce the weekend project post to the blog. i only used what i had around the house, starting with cutting up an old paper bag for the brown paper packaging-so simple. then i gathered bits of ephemera i have collected and had at home. i got these results by 

inspiration: instagram.

moon play, bokeh and souvenirs from the south of france; these are a few of my favourites from my recent instagram posts. follow along @little_nicki_ if you're not already!

quiver me timbers!

since the dreamcatchers have whittled down to one, I have added these arrows to the shop. they make for great nostalgic wall decor or put them in a vase; giving them as a gift is always a bull's eye!

dreamcatchers.

i was so excited to share the four dreamcatchers that i (finally) put up in the shop, but overnight 3 of them sold(!). this is the last one left and she is on SALE. stay tuned for new items being added later today.

SEARCH FOR A STYLIST contest!

i am lucky enough to be a part of the Inside Out magazine SEARCH FOR A STYLIST contest, featuring all products from The Home (click through for a peek behind the scenes). we were given a very open brief to put together a vignette showcasing our style for a mock-up of an Inside Out cover; i obviously chose a very tight option- the intimate shots are my favourite. i also made some little cutie cacti out of wire and wool especially for the shoot- what do you think? please click through or search www.searchforastylist.com.au and VOTE FOR ME! i could win a full time job and the chance to style a real cover (as much as i love freelance, i just got back from Europe and a full time gig sounds really good right about now...). thanks so much for your support!!! i will be sure to keep you posted and remind you to vote if you haven't- voting closes June 23rd, 2014.

put a crown on it. 13.

Photography: Fiona Galbraith  Crown & Styling: Nicole Valentine Don

it is autumn in the southern hemisphere and i made this maple crown to round out the seasonal floral crown series. photographer Fiona Galbraith spent a very rainy Sydney afternoon with me and helped capture that little bit of magic that you can feel in the crisp fall air.

DIY: pendant lamp hanging planters

Photo by: Fiona Galbraith

howdy all!  click HERE to check out what i've been up to over at JB Est 1979 today.

i, (heart) robot.

remember this post? well, here is what i made - a naive cardboard cut-out robot costume for the launch of Domayne Australia's 2014 winter bedding range. i also did the cat lover silhouettes that feature in the cover of the catalogue.

inspired by: The Grand Budapest Hotel.

i know it's un petit peu cliché, but i went and saw Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel this weekend and loved it. the colours; those bubblegum pinks, fuzzy peaches and marigold hues, the magic, the richness of attention to detail- it was a feast for the eyes, made me want to travel to small european wonderlands in the snow and inspired me to come home and make my own set of fancy hotel keys. et voilà:

collect moments.

my last ojo de dios tree in a crazy, yet cosy corner of my kitchen last week; captured by: Fiona Galbraith.

still, so long, sweet summer.

in light of this beautiful day, i thought i would share another fun collaboration with my little sister. she embellished this crown for me and i added the text. stay tuned for the autumn (southern hemisphere that is) crowns coming up just around the corner…

check out the rest of the seasonal series, here.

Photography: Fiona Galbraith  Digital Design: Madelaine Rumball Crown & Styling: Nicole Valentine Don

sharing is caring.

i have been SO busy this Easter long weekend (working on a new international project, soon to be revealed…!) that i never got a chance to share with you this lovely post that the even lovelier Briar put on her blog last week. we met in person a couple of months ago now; i was so smitten that i then made her a couple of arrows (soon to be available in my shop) and painted them according to this reference image she gave me for colour. i was very overwhelmed by her kind and generous words. see more here. thank you sweet sunday collector, i hope our paths cross again very soon!