My Shabby Chic Easter Gifts From My Mum

Scrapbook Shabby Chic Style Framed French Picture

A couple of summers ago I was in Paris and fell in love with these posters of old vogue style advertisments. They all easy to get, they sell for 5euros in most of the tourist traps around Paris. The picture itself was a little small to put on the wall by itself, so I decided to use one of my scrapbook frames and make it a little more interesting.

I love old vintage floral wallpaper, and I collect scrapbook paper which has that kind of look. This faded pink floral is a perfect compliment for the french print. I cut the white border off and put it on the paper but kept it positioned off centre.

I used some vintage style wallies which I have had sitting around for ages. The style and colours really coordinated with the picture.


I used two medium sized 'letter' cut outs and a few flowers.

I must admit I don't love the stark white of the frame at the moment. I think I will try and find something with a warmer tone to complement the picture more.

However it absolutely does the job of coordinating with my new small size cushions I got a few weeks ago at a thrift shop for 50cents ea so I am pretty happy with the final result.

Here are some pics of how I transformed my parents pouch shabby chic style (continuing on from my previous blog) for my sister's birthday.

So my parents have had this swinging pouch seat for at least 10 years and it is definitely a little worse for wear. 

Now the staples of shabby chic are clean, comfortable and pretty (IMO) so I rummaged through the sheet cupboard and grabbed every floral pillowcase (and pillow insert) I could find. 

Considering my time constraints meant I only about 20 mins to spend on this I quickly covered the padded green cover with a floral sheet and then put floral covers on all the other cushions. I placed these on the seat and against the back to make it more soft and welcoming. 

I used a lace curtain and a soft rug to drape and hide some of the frame and also to soften the look.  

The final effect

My Shabby Chic Vintage Look Rose Sheets

I got these fabulous Rachel Ashwell for Target Simply Shabby Chic sheets (what a mouthful) on ebay for $10 in brand new condition. I love them. The simplicity of the border of roses on pure white cotton really does make them seem vintage and pretty. 

The colours in the roses also coordinate with her other bedding range which I use, the Belle Bedding Collection. 

This is how the top and bottom sheets look when placed on the bed, you get a delightful double border of roses. It is almost a pity to cover them up with my quilt. 

The pillows are my favourite as you can see them all the time!

Stockholm in the Springtime

I had a chance to revisit Stockholm in May last year. It is a city of bridges, 253 or something ridiculous like that but it has a lot more to offer than that. It has preserved (for the tourists most likely) its Old Town. Now Old Town is truly OLD, it is located on a little island and its most outstanding feature is the Palace. It still has the changing of the guard and plenty for tourists to see inside. The rest of the island is a maze of narrow cobbled streets lined with gorgeous old buildings which have been converted into delightful boutiques and cafes. 

Colorful Dublin in Springtime

I was able to spend some time exploring the beautiful city of Dublin.  It was a day balanced on the cusp of the change of seasons from winter to spring. The air still carried the chill of winter, and if you looked up all you could see was a soft grey sky through the still naked branches of the trees. But springtime had indeed arrived. It was lovely to see blossoming trees clustered around grey stone buildings and the vibrancy of the flowers in the parks in their carefully tended beds.

          

          

More Pretty Flower Pics From Pau in France

A Visit to Blarney Castle in Ireland

I had a chance to visit to Blarney Castle in Ireland last Easter. Home of the famous Blarney Stone, the legendary Stone of Eloquence, found at the top of our Tower. They claim that if you kiss it you’ll never again be lost for words.

http://www.blarneycastle.ie/ is the official webpage, and yes I did indeed kiss the stone, though considering I never shut up before it is hard to gauge the results.

It was a freezing yet sunny day and the grounds of the castle were gorgeous. There were daffodils blooming under the trees and banks of flowers surrounding the castle.

Key to Long Lasting Roses

I got these lovely shabby pink roses at the market this morning (closing half price special of $3.25).

While I often find there isn't much fragrance in the roses you buy in the shops but these have that evocative rose garden smell.

I follow a few easy steps to make my roses last as long as possible.

Step One - Start with a clean vase and clean water
Step Two - Change the water every 3 days
Step Three - Recut 1 inch from stems each time you change the water
Step Four - Add flower food each time you change the water
Step Five - Keep the roses in a cool place

Other Tips
- Ideally clean the vase with anti-bacterial soap or bleach
- Use the cleanest possible water you have available (distilled or rain water is the best)
- Remove any leaves that will be under the water

Why Clean and Change
Roses have tiny tubes to suck up the water and they will plug. This is why the vase and
water should be sterile to start with and the roses should be recut each time to reopen the tubes.

A little flower shop display in Pau, France

There's just something about fresh cut colorful roses.

I stumbled across this display outside a colorful little flower shop in Pau, France last May. The adorable miniature boxes of roses looked amazing set alot plain wooden crates and tables. The rose petals scattered on the pavement were also charming.

This lovely flower is from my mother's garden. It only shows it's beauty for a short while.