home edition | chalk

So this post is long overdue. Or rather, the project that the post is about is long overdue. Way back when I got that quote wall decal in our entry, the husband started a project as well; painting a wall with chalk paint. Well, as it turns out following instructions isn't really his strong suit so it all ended up a disaster with big chalk lumps all over the wall. Fast forward about a month and a half, and I finally lost patience in waiting for him to fix it, so I made him get  a board the size of the wall for me to paint.

The board was put up about a week and a half ago, and I am loving it. I have wanted a chalk wall for ages because I hate having little notes and stuff all over the place. I hate forgetting things equally much. So now I am a happy camper, and I think the narrow wall between the entry and the kitchen (actually, it's the side of a kitchen cabinet) looks super smart.

From the entry


From the kitchen


Up close


So far we haven't filled it with stuff. I kind of like the white space (or should I say black).

wall decor | finally on the wall

Writing this post is making me truly happy. After many trials and tribulations with emails back and forth with the print company, and a lost package at the post office, I was finally able to get the wall decor that I designed based on a Pinterest find and posted about a while ago .

And I am thrilled with the finished result. I love how striking the entry has become compared to what it used to look like. Of course, we spent a weekend painting the house white a few weeks back and that helps too with the crisp feel that white has.

Alright, so this is before


And this is now


Better, no? I am very happy. I was also able to pick up both the lantern and the chevron door mat for practically nothing at a sale on hm.com just before Christmas.

We also started another DIY project yesterday, but the husband messed it up and so that remains a work in progress for a little while longer. I hope I can share soon (as soon as he fixes it, that is, LOL).

winter white

On Christmas Eve, the day of celebration in Sweden, we had a very nice and quiet - I don't want to say dinner because we started around noon and finished sometime after 8pm, so let's go with day of food with my family. To match my Christmas decorations, and incidentally also the gifts, I decorated the table with all white on white on white on white. Delicate and crisp and pretty was the way to go this year for me.













Resources:
White plates from IKEA
Glass plates from local second hand shop
Lace mats from H&M Home
Crocet snowflakes from La Rinascente in Milano, Italy
Wreath from local florist Anna Gouteva
Small wreaths are styrofoam wrapped in white lace
Votives from IKEA wrapped in white lace
Candle holders from IKEA
Glassware from IKEA

autumn dinner table featured

This is just a quick note to say that YAY! one of my table scapes was featured at Hostess With the Mostess last week. Since I was away I missed the day it went live, hence my late posting.

The HWTM blog is my favourite place to go to when looking for inspiration for party decorations so being featured is a very, very huge honour for me. And, yeah, the excitement when I found out was as big as the first time I was featured.

Just click on the photo to go to the post.

seasonal dinner party decorations

Almost a little shy of a year ago I shared two photos of a table setting I did for a birthday party (the husband's). In that post I said I would dedicate a whole post about the table itself. Well, here we are a year later, and can decidedly say that I never did. Ha! But I thought, with autumn at our doorstep and holidays coming up, it would be neat to take a look at it now.
The whole theme was set by the invite that had a very distinct autumn look. The style was very classic and simple, with the pumpkin as the main focus and a very subtle damask pattern on the brown background.


The decorations followed suit, and I went with a brown linen table cloth and a runner in green silk with a brown velvet print. White china, glass candle holders with green candles and flowers that matched the theme. The napkins were carefully chosen to match the colours, and folded in a novel way to be able to combine two different kinds. Each place setting had a menu card in the same style as the invite.
















The food you ask? Well, courtesy of the husband we had a fantastic meal; soup of Jerusalem artichoke served in the coffee cups seen above with a prosciutto crostini, and a wonderful stew with veal and mushrooms.

All in all it was a good dinner party.

Rockin' it

A while back my husband asked me to help him with some nice details for a rock themed party he was planning for his friends. And, who am I to say no to party planning?

The first thing to do was of course the invites.








The party itself got a little more glam than I think he had first planned on but it turned out pretty cool nonetheless.

To make it through the whole night it was decided that food was to be served; homemade burgers with potato wedges and coleslaw. This meant we needed to focus on the dinner table.



Instead of real table linens I used a black sheet from IKEA that I grunged up with paint splatter. This was very easy to do. I simply diluted some acrylic paint and used different sized paint brushes and practically threw the paint on the sheet.

The grunge was paired with some glam in the shape of black glossy candle sticks and black candles. We got the holders dirt cheap at local thrift stores and spray painted them with all purpose black paint.

The skulls were bought in a party supplies store and were also spray painted with the same black paint. The finishing touch, and the only splash of colour were the deep red roses placed in low tea light holders.





Each table setting got silver chargers and simple white plates to contrast all the black. Black napkins to match and a paper scroll banner for custom made for each guest with an excerpt from a rock song that fit each person.










The theme was carried through to the bottle buffet with the black sheet and the black candles. The buffet was placed in front of a large mirror wich created a cool effect making the buffet look bigger in the mirrored image.









Even rock dudes need sweets so I added some matching candy in the shape of skulls, bottles, and stars. Don't ask me if licorice actually goes all that well with bourbon whiskey tastewise. It looked good though.



Wine and beer bottles got custom labels in the same motif that was used on the invites and scroll banners on the table. The text on the banner on the wine bottles is a reference to the cheap red wine that Guns n' Roses used to drink while writing songs.





I also designed cards for the music quiz that was put together for the party and it followed the same design as the invites.



I really wish I could have shared photos in a more fitting setting (no glaring sunlight) but seeing as this was a party for guys only, I had to leave the premises well before the guests arrived and the sun set. I secretly wish I could have stayed ... LOL!

Just another Saturday night dinner

I shared a little piece of the dinner table for last weeks Saturday night dinner with the husband's brother with family. I thought I'd share a little more.

I like brown. Brown is a staple in my life. Our kitchen/dining room/living room (which makes up half the house really) is a combination of whites, tans, and browns. I like browns together with pastel colours like baby blue or pink. I also like browns with jewel colours. Like this gorgeous turqoise on my table here.

Paper cabbage

I made paper decorations for our dinner table this weekend.


 I made them just like coiled paper roses but I didn't glue the center down so the coil unrolled when I released. I think they almost look like some kind vegetable ... a cabbage maybe? I like it. I think it's pretty. I used papers by Jen Wilson (from a Christmas pack a few years back I think - very pretty papers) and added satin ribbon and a glass bead. Very simple DYI decorations.

Hybrid gorgeousness

Lookie lookie what I found at Designsponge. Man that is gourgeous! If I didn't already have three hybrid projects going (or rather collecting dust at various places in the house) I would be all over this. But I will try to restrain myself. But man, beautiful.

Homemade Christmas decorations

Here I am, coming to you live and direct from a brand new computer! I only unpacked it yesterday so I am far away from ready with migrating everything from the old one to the new, but so far I am totally loving the experience. Superfast and super pretty. What else could a girl want? LOL!

So, with Christmas just over and done with, I want to hold on to it just a little longer by showing you some crafts I did, but never had the time to post about, before Christmas.

These balls were done with papers from the Frostbite Paper Pack




They were surprisingly easy to make with directions from Kaiserkraft (link will come once I have it on this computer) but if you ever decide to make them at one point or another do get a circle punch! I didn't have one in the right size so I hand cut all circles for six balls. That's 120 circles. It took me four hours and gave me a nice little aching hand. Ouch!

I strung some of mine from the light over the kitchen island and it was just the right amount of decoration for me. Not overwhelming and not too ostentatcious. Simple but pretty.

You can also see a small peak of the wreath I made at the bottom of the first photo. All I did was wrap some white organza ribbon and attach some tiny white balls and that was it. It matched the tree perfectly.

Now, I am so not a flower person. I kill flowers and plants with lightning speed. I swear, plants have died within hours of being in my house. But in spite of this I bought some hyacinths and tried to do something crafty and pretty with them. Here's one:


I put a few pebbles at the bottom of a vase from IKEA, wrapped the bulb with fresh moss (apparently from France as per the florist's info) and placed it on top of the stones. I rummaged through my scrap stash and found a sparkly snowflake, a bell, and some gem brads. Those, together with some ribbon finished off the creation. I cannot tell you how accomplished I felt once I put it in the window, lol. Now, it still hasn't bloomed, but at least it's not dead.

Apart from the tree and door wreath, the wrapped gifts, and white pillar candles everywhere, this is pretty much all of my Christmas decor. I guess one can safely say you won't find any santa figurines in my house, lol. At least it will be easy to take down!

I hope Christmas has been good to you all!