I am so loving these amazing dinosaur planters from Plaid Pigeon… they’re made of repurposed dinosaur toys, hand painted and sealed (complete with drainage holes), and the succulents inside are hardy enough to survive life with everyone from the green thumb set to the black thumb set.
If these came to live at my house...
both the cats and my darling daughter...
would go absolutely out of their minds!
I’m loving these super cute hand screen printed pillows, cushion covers, stockings, and cozies from Robin & Mould! Everything they sell is printed using water-based inks on natural linens and cottons at their little shop in the UK. Yellow and teal seem to be the colors they favor, but they’ve taken custom orders in the past!
I’m not really sure how owls became a thing, but here I sit on a couch decorated with owl throw pillows. Maybe I’m getting a little zany in my old age – please look away from my sock monkey kitchen chair pillows – but I can’t help but love animal inspired decor. Once upon a time that would have meant a leopard print chair, but now it’s more likely to mean a framed quilt patch featuring stylized songbirds or a pint glass with an elephant on it.
So how cute is all this?
The whole empty frames thing has been much derided as lazy or ghetto or less-than-creative, but I still like it and think it can be a whole lot of fun if hung in something other than a grid. The look works especially well if you have some nice frames that will stand out on their on. Conversely, you can play around with frame orientation until you find art that you like that also fits into your budget.
Sometimes you can have too much of a good thing, but I think that in this case more is more. The empty frames being so colorful doesn’t hurt one bit. (via)
This pic strikes me as belonging to the waiting-on-art camp. The perfect silhouette? Artwork scrawled on construction paper by tiny hands? The perfect print, perhaps? (via)
Empty frames framed by other frames? It’s a little odd, but all right. I like how the gold frames find a friend in the little lamp with the golden shade. (via)
You don’t need to go crazy, especially if your empty frames are larger and particularly striking, like these.
Of course, it’s not like you have to commit to keeping all your frames empty forever. Mixing empty frames and frames containing some kind of image is the moderate (and now quite popular) way to incorporate empty frames into decor. (via)
I was all set to post about a cute little crafting project that lets you make a ‘please remove your shoes’ sign because, hey, no one wants beach sand or road sand tracked all over their floors. But as I was poking around the Intertubes wondering what else I could include to flesh things out a little, I happened upon a much radder DIY project that is as cool as the other was country-ish.
I won’t say this is an easy DIY Pacman couch project — think woodworking and upholstery shaping, not Mod Podge and a couple of minutes with a cordless drill. But for those with the time, energy, space, and materials money to give it a go, I say try it! Then (whether or not you’re successful) send me a link so I can feature it here, of course.
How adorable is all this stuff from Ninainvorm? She makes cute and colorful ceramics, screen prints, collages, and more, then sells them in her Etsy store way out in the Netherlands. Shipping is as expensive as you might imagine, but if your goal is to brighten up your environment, perhaps it’s worth it?
She says: “I make these name plates as a custom order for children and grown-up loved ones. I use the most beautiful vintage plates from my large vintage plate collection and then add screenprinted images & cut the letters of the name by hand out of colourful ceramic decal paper. Then the plates are fired in my kiln on a high temperature. The result is a unique, personal, sustainable and very cheerful plate.”
She says: “A beautiful medium-sized (contents: about 0.65 liter or 2/3 mugs) vintage 1960s design teapot, redecorated by me with my screenprinted lots of dots pattern in 6 colors. The vintage teapot is still in a very good condition, only some of the glazing on the handle feels a little bit rough, which isn’t something visible but you can feel it a little when you rub it with your fingers.”
She says: “Each set contains the six different postcards that you see on the pictures. In my other listings you can see detail pictures of the large prints that these postcards are the smaller version of.”
She says: “A beautiful medium-sized (about 7.5″”/18 cm diameter) vintage plate to which I added my screenprinted spirograph image. The plate is quite old, but still in a real good condition. This plate is fired on a high temperature and is therefore fit for daily use or to put it on a wall as wall art.”
As if you couldn’t guess, her life is just as colorful as her creations. See more at
her blog, which is well worth a visit!
Nothing new, patchwork furniture is often the purview of crafters with leftover fabric scraps and quilt-happy grannies. But is it chic? Can it ever be? Squint Limited thinks so and churns out colorful bespoke chesterfields, lampshade, and even dressers, all wrapped in a mix of contemporary and vintage fabrics. Oh, and period furniture styles that just pop when upholstered with bright, cheeky prints and bold colors.
Squint Limited’s pieces are made in England and upholstered traditionally, with tied springs and hand stitched seams. Each design is priced individually depending on the final mix of fabrics used, and a selection of sofa shapes can be made as bed settees. In other words, this ain’t your granny’s couch, and you’re going to pay more than she did for one. But, oh, aren’t they divine?
I grew up playing with two reddish-orange wooden horses, painted with colorful stylized tack, but not knowing what they were. A lucky click later, and here I am, remembering with fondness my dala horses. Known also as dalecarlian horses (or dalahäst in Swedish), these very pretty ponies entered into existence as toys for children, then became emblematic of Sweden. Whatever you want to call them, I think they’re absolutely lovely. Here are just a few examples of how your might integrate a dala horse into your family:
Got a message — something like LOVE or POOP or NUMBERONESTUD? Don’t hide what you have to say in a notebook or on your blog. Spelling it out in no uncertain terms is the thing to do these days. Put it on your wall in a frame, even if it’s slightly off color. Stack it on your bureau. Write it on your walls, graffiti style, or slap it up there using some printable decal vinyl. There are a million and one ways to express what you’re thinking in plain old English… or your language of choice.
For the purposes of forthright expression in the home, I’m currently loving these printer’s block letters by Sage, Inspired By Life. So what if they’re only replicas? They’re also only £3.25 each, which means you can spell out anything from your kid’s name to your favorite naughty word for less than some fancy wall art you found on Etsy. No offense, Etsy, you know I love you lots and lots.
Vintage pottery is just plain fun. It’s fun to collect. It’s fun to display. And it’s fun to use, because if it’s going to take up space in your home you might at well enjoy it. Plus, as collectibles go, it’s easy to find and inexpensive to buy (especially on eBay). What’s not to like? You can base an entire room around a cool piece of vintage pottery, especially if the piece has great color or lines.
What’s not to like? You can base an entire room around a cool piece of vintage pottery, especially if the piece has great color or lines.
I’m not advocating smoking, but if you’re looking for ashtrays that don’t scream truck stop, vintage is the way to go.