Festive Pegboard

A quick update on the Rose & Grey white pegboard styling challenge, and I've added a festive theme to it this week.

The Autumn Surprise Project organised by 'Capture By Lucy' is drawing near so I picked up some paper, tape and tags this week to get an early start.

To get myself in the spirit I bought some mini mince pies, and promptly ate the whole packet! Woops, just a tad too early. 

I have also decorated the board with vintage baubles, fairy lights and leaves as I had these for some other styling photos I was working on and tidied them away on here. 

I'm off to Sisterhood Supper this weekend where we will be trying our hands at a few different crafts and rounding the day off with fine dining, all held at a great new venue called The Forge.

Lots of info about that and some weekend get away ideas next week, until then, I hope your festive preparations are coming along, just don't eat all the pies!

French Foraging on the English Coast

When I get a bee in my bonnet I really do go all out.  I have for some considerable time, wanted a very particular small leather club chair, it had to be the smaller version, a very particular shade of leather colour, with a shaped back and just the right amount of tatty.  Dated about 1920 to 1930 from France.  You can find many variations but the price is always, shall we say, reflective of the age and rarity. I've noticed that the good French antiques mostly come over with the dealers on the coast, namely from Brighton along to Margate, where they are then distributed to the rest of the UK, or even back to France as one dealer told me.

So I resigned myself to having to travel to pick it up and used that as an excuse to have a night away and a little explore along the beaches and cliffs. I really want to explore the UK more so plan to do a few travel blogs for anyone wanting a day or more nights trip.

the most interesting shop in the world, my friend Jane says so, it's in Rye

Last time we had a week exploring this area, in the summer, we stayed in hotels and honestly, they really weren't brilliant.  I chose the most reasonably priced so didn't expect the Ritz, however some basics were lacking, generally in the bathroom, room size and wifi departments. One bathroom was so small you had to squeeze along the side of the loo so that the door could close before you used it. The sink was designed for 'Barbies' house and it was impossible to get a cup under the tap such were the dimensions. Mostly one had to wander around, and end up sitting next to the receptionist to get any kind of wifi connection and one pub hotel in Lewes (not the cheapest either) had peeling paint on the walls, threadbare carpets and the worst tasting wine I've ever been overcharged for.

With this experience behind us I said to the other half, well let's try an Air bed and breakfast it can't be any worse and it's only for one night. 

Maybe it's because I'm listening to an audio book by Bill Bryson, that I thought I would blog about the trip. The book is the follow up to Notes From A Small Island. (I can't recommend these books enough, they really are riveting and his observations are so spot on it makes you want to cheer loudly). The most inspiring sort of travel writing you are ever likely to read. 

So in my Bill Bryson mode I thought I would talk a bit about this area's highs and lows.  In a nutshell, Rye is gorgeous, every nook and cranny seems to be picture perfect, although parking is a bummer. It has quirky right up to it's eyeballs, there's even a shop(pictured above) which doesn't seem to have a name, never has its front door open and everything inside seems to be sold. But, it's the most interesting thing you will ever stumble across.

Hastings has some cool streets and seems to be on the up but St. Leonards and down to Eastbourne have areas that really have seen better days and it would be so lovely if something could be done to make them great again. 

This I believe is the nature of seasonally visited tourist towns and it's a shame, but while the buildings are struggling to keep up to standard, the beaches, promenades and the NATURE is spectacular. The area of countryside just above that stretch of coast is beautiful too, particularly now in it's autumn glory.  My eyes have been over saturated with the orange and red tones of the trees as we meandered up and down winding roads from Fairlight to Battle.

The light was very strange, there was a red stripe on the horizon like the sun was setting, or rising, but it was the middle of the day, this added to the dramatic effect of a slightly blustery day on the English coast. It was beautiful and raw and so far removed metaphorically to the cafes and restaurants along its shore side. Get your kagool on and explore, find driftwood, interesting stones, watch seagulls and marvel, it's like standing on the edge of the world. Then you cross the road and back you are ...

Am I the only person who has a problem with UHT milk in those little plastic containers? Why? Why? oh Why? do we still have them. The milk tastes gross, theres never enough in one for a cup of coffee or tea, and the containers don't bio-degrade.  So what's with that, why can't the cafe owners buy a pint of milk and put it in a jug? is that really too much to ask for.  This little plastic pot is neither here nor there.  It's not old-fashioned or modern, it's stuck somewhere in another age of ignorance and sadly it is reflective of some of the establishments one encounters in coastal towns. The kind of places that still have flourescent strip lighting and menus harking back to the 1970's, when the only Italian food the English had heard of was Spaghetti Bolognese and Lasagna. 

We found a few of these, hiding in different guises, one Italian restaurant purporting to be of great quality by its reviewers, had the most un-appetising pasta range and the food, when served was luke warm. Sat next to the front door, I dined in my coat on tepid and very over priced food.  

The Air b'n'b I chose was a very large house one block behind one of the hotels we stayed in last time so felt that this would make a good comparison. I'm happy to say that my experience was good, the room was larger, the bathroom not bad and it had it's own kitchen so you could rustle yourself up anything from toast to a meal should you fancy. The wifi was very good in our room, so all round, considering it was about 20 pounds cheaper than the cheapest hotel, we were impressed with what we got for just under 50 pounds. 

I'm quite fussy about interior decoration and attention to detail so I won't talk about that as it's personal taste.  Also some things you just have to pay extra for, like plush en-suite bathrooms (with a bath not just a shower), but unless you are pushing the proverbial boat out for a special date, then the compromise is value for money.

And so the French chair, well that came from a man with an e-bay shop and website called The French Depot and they have a huge stock of large pieces of furniture, well worth a look.  We found a second chair, in need of a lot of repair and also brought that home too so I will be trying my hand and fixing it up over Christmas.

It's a shame that the English coast struggles out of season to provide eateries.  If you are a food lover stick to Rye rather than take a chance on a seafront diner which may leave you out of pocket and still hungry.  

If, like us, you are shopping for Antiques then you will not be disappointed.  I have ordered some leather chair repair products so that I can have a go at this kind of re-upholstering/repairing and I will do a blog about it with my findings. That may be helpful to you if your budget will only stretch to one in disarray. 

If you need a blast of fresh air then I highly recommend nipping along to this area of coastline.

Pin Up Peg Board from Rose and Grey

This month's styling challenge from the on-line company Rose & Grey is a white peg board, definitely an old school item for sure.

The board comes with cute little wooden pegs which have different coloured tips, they are quite secure when pushed in and as you can see will take light weight objects.

I started with a children's theme as I had a lot of baby toys in the house.  No, don't go and get all broody on me, and no, I haven't got some exciting news to tell you, the only patter of tiny feet in this house are from cats .... lots of cats ...and squirrels. 

As I don't have children this is one area of decorating that has passed me by, and whilst I pride myself on having just about every prop imaginable for photos, I was severely lacking in the baby department.

The reason for the baby items came about because I was photographing some adorable keepsake toys which had been made from baby clothes and embroidered with the child's name and birth date.

It was a lucky coincidence really because I think the pegboard looks like something that would fit nicely in a nursery or young persons room, (although it is so completely versatile I can also imagine in in a stylish office) and it fits nicely with the keepsakes theme as this would be a great way to display cards, baby shoes and small toys.

And if it's not going from one extreme to another, here's my Styling The Seasons photo for Halloween, featuring my Ziggy, who was bribed with treats ... appropriately .... Ziggy says Treat not Trick!

Peg Board is available from Rose & Grey, Mirror Glass Stars from http://www.holycowhome.co.uk/ , broom Ikea, Hat Waitrose, and Keepsakes From My Sewing Room 

Loving my blender

It has been my intention for quite some time to expand my blog posts into more life style than just interiors, my focus on colour inspiration took up a lot of my time this year so I'm hoping to now expand more into travel and food and whatever takes my fancy that I think might be of interest to you.

The food element, however, may not be such traditional content as recipes but more the 'non cooks' alternatives. And so, as it has influenced my eating habits since August I really would like to talk about the Nutri-bullet (or nutritional smoothies however you achieve them).

As a non cook, I'm not very good at getting my five a day, I don't eat junk, (perhaps as the odd treat), but I was concerned that I should try and pack in more nutrition into my diet.  The other thing is that I don't really like to eat fruit, I buy it, it sits in the bowl, it goes soft and grows a furry jacket and I throw it away. That's the brutal honesty, good intentions which somehow don't come through.  Several ladies I'd met this year were raving about the Nutri-bullet and when my tattooist Tracy told me that there's virtually no washing up, well, I was sold. I'm telling you this because if I can switch then maybe so can you.

It will probably take too long to explain all the combinations of fruit, vegetable and nuts/seeds etc. as these are explained in the brochure when you buy the bullet and the possibilities are endless, so here's just my preference for those who don't normally like the taste of green and healthy drinks. 

To get some greens into the drink you put a handful of kale or spinach in first, not too much to start with especially if you don't like the taste like me, but hopefully the other fruits will disguise this.  Then something to create a creamy texture, for me that's always banana. Then you go freestyle with your other combinations, mango, strawberry, blueberry, pear and so on. The liquid can be water, coconut water, juice or almond/coconut milk. I also add some oats. For sweetness add dates then pop in some super food extras like Goji berries and Chai seeds, nuts etc.  OK you get the picture.

Generally speaking this will all taste great, however, every now and again the colour may look a bit brown and this puts me off.  So to keep my enthusiasm up I try to make the colour as nice as possible too.

At a recent get together with some other local business women I was given some sachets from a company called "Love Your Blender".

They make five different flavours of a super food boost to add to your cup before blending. I had never heard of the fruit Lacuma, anyway the Sweet Lacuma blend gives a lovely caramel taste, the sachet contains, Lacuma, Carob, Vanilla, Mulberry, hemp seeds, pecan nuts and flax seeds. All this adds fibre, good fats and proteins.

The Cherry Rose additive sachet is really good for your skin, containing Acerola Cherries, Rose Petals, Sea Buckthorn Berries, Vanilla Pod, Almonds and Hemp Seeds.  'Love Your Blender' give you recipe ideas and this is a great help as it cuts down on the hit and miss of free-styling.  For all the detailed information check out their website here 

I need to keep myself interested and inspired so these have been a great help and I'm thinking that when there is less choice in seasonal fruits around they would be a good taste booster. 

Personally, I feel the smoothies are great as a meal replacement and it's a good idea to have at least one a day, they are very filling too so I'm sure you won't feel hungry.  If I find any more killer recipes I will let you know and please can you also tell me of any of your favourite fruit combinations, any recommendations gratefully received. 

Styling The Seasons with Annie Sloan Wall Paint

Last year I was a 'painter in residence' for the chalk paint by Annie Sloan, before being chosen I had been using it for some time on walls, despite the fact that it was originally intended for furniture. For me it was a welcome change to traditional emulsion paint, giving a velvety matt surface.  The lack of sheen on the surface gives the colour more depth which changes throughout the day depending on the light. 

This however is not for everyone and is probably not ideal for areas of high wear or where water might splash. So now to fill that gap, Annie Sloan has developed a specific wall paint and this week I got to try it out.

My studio has wooden 'tongue & groove' panel walls, so in actuality I was painting over a standard emulsion on wood. This made the roller slip a bit so there is some slight patching, this would only take a few minutes to rectify and was down to the roller and not the paint.

I'm so familiar with the original chalk paint I find normal major brand paints very weird. Firstly, emulsion wall paint is so thin and splattery, needing several coats very often and the cheaper the paint the worse it is.  Secondly with wood paint Im allergic to the fumes and this was the major reason I changed to chalk paint in the first place.

The colour I've used here is Versailles, but please don't take these photos as a good representation of it, I was shooting in quite strange light and depending on your computer screen settings, the colour will not be precise.  For a truer colour look at the Annie Sloan site  and get tester pots, paint large areas of the walls you want and see how it looks in situ. I have seen Versailles look quite yellow in some light but in my studio it is a pale coffee beige. I wanted a neutral that seemed quite seasonal, matching the tones of changing leaves in nature. 

So how is this paint in comparison? Well, firstly I was really surprised with how thick it is, it must be the thickest wall paint on the market.  This I think would be particularly useful if you are painting a light colour over a dark colour, on the last photo I painted over a very dark blue chalk paint on the chimney breast and it covered it just fine. Also as I was painting onto a wall there was no slipping with the roller so its incredibly flat there.

I used a very cheap and very rubbish roller to apply the paint, just to put it through its paces.  It went on the wall a treat and while it didn't look 'even' when wet, it dried all one colour. 

The paint has a very slight silk finish so is suitable for wiping down or splashes of water but still matt enough not to be shiny.  

  

You can see the range here.  The coverage was good for a thick paint too and so if you are using the furniture paint you can find a wall colour that will work with it as Annie's paints sit very well together and she gives excellent tips about which ones sit alongside each other. 

While I'm here I would like to say a thank you also to stockist Dawn at Halcyon Days in Rye who very kindly gave me a tester of the wall paint in Duck Egg Blue, which I've used in a few photos now. I wandered into her shop when on holiday this year and we spent lots of time there chatting and laughing, she has some great vintage items too. 

The wreath on the chimney breast is now on its third or fourth incarnation. It was the one that I was given when we went to the 'Styling Spring At Mine" workshop.  It is now resplendent with dry hydrangea heads and I expect will get a bit of ivy and maybe even some holly nearer to Christmas.   

This wall paint has given me the bug again, I'm thinking about some other lighter colours now the natural daylight is disappearing. Also time soon to dig out the furry rugs and woolen throws. I've already started to light fires as there is a distinct nip in the air, and yet there are still roses on the bushes outside so it's an odd time to be sure.

Janice. 

Urban Jungle Bloggers Plants and Blooms

Im so happy to be part of this community of Urban Jungle Bloggers, Igor and Judith are very generous in sharing posts and photos and their appeal is worldwide so it's very interesting to see people from other countries following the same challenges.

This month its Plants and Blooms, very appealing to me as there is usually some floral element in my photos, it's the finishing touch, a way to capture forever the beauty of something transient and fragile.  Below are some of my home grown roses, the bushes were planted this year and still giving me lots of fragrant blooms.

My background colour in these two shots is using Annie Sloan Wall Paint in Duck Egg Blue, but as I painted over a green colour this may have effected its hue. Always consider this when painting, colours will change from that on the tin if you are painting over another strong colour. 

I shall be reviewing this new wall paint soon, with full details of how it differs from Annie Sloan's chalk paint.

Above is a new play thing, a notice board from Rose & Grey. It comes with clips and a finish that looks like old wooden pallets. 

I should also mention that a couple of these small planters are hand made. Above the little pale green one is from Katie Robbins (Ceramic Magpie) and below the mug top left is from the online store The Future Kept.

This large round vase is a vintage one by the company Bitossi, a highly collectable retro range.  I really want one of their lions, and am always on the look out for one.

More vintage goodies in this photo, I attended a truly fab event The Bloggers Vintage Jumble and instagram meet. Fellow bloggers from far and wide congregated on a sunny Sunday afternoon for tea cake and shopping in a village hall in Lindfield. It was lovely to see the faces of social media friends, a too rare occurrence in my opinion.

Jessica Trent sold me the embroidered table cloth and this was one of many great items I came home with, I was unable to show any restraint. Heather Young very generously let me snaffle the hydrangeas.  I'm currently growing a lot of the plants but as it's their first year the blooms are still a bit young and floppy to hold any shape when cut. From what I can work out, the hydrangea heads only look like this when they are quite old flowers which almost dry on the bush before picking. So thank's Heather you have saved me doing a midnight raid on a neighbours garden .... :)

My next blogger meet is in Bristol for the Sisterhood Supper with Toast, not toast to eat, silly, but Toast the great label. The food is being cooked by a well known chef and we will be learning calligraphy and wreath making. 

I hope you are all enjoying the Autumn colours, in the UK we have been blessed with such great weather the last few months making this time of year even more special. 

Country Curtains - Divinely Vintage

This week I had the pleasure to work with a lovely lady called Sue from Divinely Vintage.  

Sue has been specialising in curtains for 20 years and certainly knows her stuff.  The main part of her business is in second-hand designer curtains which originally would have been extremely expensive. We aren't talking flimsy ready mades here, but bespoke heavy curtains made for country homes and manor houses, all at a snip of their original price.

You can find Sue's curtains through a number of different ways, theres a facebook page, website, ebay and etsy shops and also several Antique shops where she sells (Ampthill Emporium and St. Martins Antiques Stamford), all the links are on their website.

There are many big designer names in Sue's stock, Colefax and Fowler, Sanderson, Zofany etc. Most of these curtains are lined and inter-lined, and as the weather is now turning colder this is a perfect time to change over from your Summer lights to some serious draught preventing door and window drapes.

Sue stores much of her stock in a listed barn, which it is hoped will be turned into a showroom.  Amongst the beams are piles of gorgeous vintageness, so we had a rummage and took some of the stock outside. 

As this was probably the last of the beautiful weather we were so happy that the sun shined for us this week, a nip in the air but oh so lovely and much appreciated after the rain.

Recently Sue was commissioned to re-home all the curtains from Toddington Manor and this is another of the services she offers, working on commission to find a good home for a used quality item.

Im sure if you read this blog then you are like minded when it comes to second hand, it's not always perfect and even if it seems dated in some settings, it is possible to re-invent a look for it.  In the 1980s the fashion for floral was to have it everywhere, every surface covered, with extra borders and frills, a bit much Im sure you will agree, but take out some elements from that period, like some lovely Designer Guild curtains and put them in a setting with wooden floors and plain walls and you will create a whole new look.

For all the links to see Sue's curtains and outlets go to her website http://www.divinelyvintage.co.uk/ and give a home some old manor glamour.

Styling The Seasons Autumn tables

So I thought I would just show a few images from earlier this year of how I decorated tables and some new ones done for our monthly Styling The Seasons, I hope these inspire you to think outside of the box when it comes to choosing containers. 

I often use Moroccan tea glasses, and hope to boost my collection when I visit that country again next year. Lucky for me though, my local lifestyle store "Holy Cow Home" has stocked some beauties. The ones above have a lovely silver sleeve around the glass, making it easier to hold when full of hot mint tea. Having a few of these in your cupboard will always prove to be handy as either tea glasses, mini vases, or you can even put a candle in them.

To be honest, most regular kitchen utensils end up being used as something else, a boyfriend once had a rummage in my cupboards (as they do) to find some cooking pots, as he pulled one out at a time I pronounced "no thats the one I melt candle wax in", "no thats the one I use for acid baths in jewellery making"  ... and so on, you get the idea.  So, not surprising, my collection of enamel coffee pots are used mostly for flowers, spoons are used to stir and mix paint and baking trays to dry pot pourri in the oven. 

My personal style with flora is very unstructured and wild. I like to mix them up with foraged hedgerow, and even the weeds get used.As I drive around the countryside where I live, my eyes are always out on stalks looking for something interesting to snip and take home.

We all know that presentation of food is an important factor, and the table setting should be too, perhaps using one central centre piece or little individual place settings. Even a buffet wall can be made to look seasonal by hanging up some ivy or creeper.

Colours around food are as important to making the food apetising as the edibles themselves. As a colour lover Im besotted with the psychology of what it does to our brains. Wall colours in rooms can make you calm or hungry, vibrant or rested. It's the same with food presentation, nothing is less appealing that grey food, so what are the colours that make us hungry and get our mouths watering?

Green is associated with health and abundance. Yellow makes you happy and orange stimulates the brain, gets you excited and is also considered healthy and comforting, like Pumpkins, carrots and squash.

Top of the list for stimulating colour is Red, the most commonly used colour in restaurants as it pushes your hunger levels to max.

So here's a thought, why not use food as the container? Hollowed out pumpkin would give you a hit of orange, place it on a circle of autumn fall leaves maybe, the perfect centre piece for a Halloween buffet filled with flowers. I placed a glass inside to hold water and depending on how long you use it as a vase for, you may still be able to use the pumpkin in soup or pie.

So here's my looks for the start of the Autumn, still in transition as there are a few summer flowers around like the hydrangea and rose. The leaves are now turning so we shall have to be more inventive as we head towards winter. 

If you can't get out and about to find flowers or rummage the hedgerow here's a couple of great places where you can organize delivery from;

IN THE USA; https://www.bloomnation.com/

IN THE UK ; https://www.bloomandwild.com/

IN EUROPE ; https://www.euroflorist.com/

Apartment hacks and light ideas.

I thought I would write a post about ideas for small apartments, the use of light and space being more key in these spaces, so here's some ideas which you may find handy. 

Some time ago a client had an unused attic which was full of his old musical equipment, having decided that perhaps he would use this space again as a flat rather than a work storage area, myself and a friend set about clearing the space and making it habitable again. This was a difficult one though, firstly the flat was in the roof and it was seriously tiny, but nothing is impossible so we set about to use some interior designer tips of how to maximize the light, create the illusion of space, and get all the essentials into a kitchen the size of a postage stamp.

The flat had a decrepit kitchen from the 1970's and very oversized curtains on the windows, which restricted the light. We had to decide where in this two room attic a bed would go as there had never been one there before. We decided the lovliest space by far was under the VELUX window in a very low ceilinged part of the room.
So we moved the oversized curtains out and decided to show off the cute end window to its best advantage.

If someone was going to sleep here however, then the VELUX roof window needed a blackout blind so that they could have the option of whether to look at the stars, or complete darkness. This was also a good idea because in this flat it became extremely hot in the summer and the blackout would keep the room cool while it was closed.

We replaced the oversized curtain on the end wall with a simple piece of antique french lace panel, letting in the light but also suggesting some privacy. Underneath the lovely lace is a roller blind for night time.

We had never fitted a blind to a VELUX window before so here's what you need to know.  Firstly you have to find the serial number of the window, it should be written on it somewhere, hopefully it will be an authentic VELUX made window as this ensures you get a perfect fitting blind.   

Once you have this number go to https://www.roofblinds.co.uk/ where you will see a large selection for differing needs.  We chose a plain blackout blind, when you click on 'buy' you will then have the option in a drop down box where you put your serial number "select window type" and then a second box where you put the size.

This ensures that your blind will fit perfectly.  When it arrives it comes with instructions for you to fit it yourself. I would recommend doing it with someone, its a two man job in my opinion, but I'm not the expert in DIY, it is just handier to have two pairs of hands. 

To create the illusion of space we changed the all magnolia room to have two feature walls, one surrounding the end window in the bedroom nook, making that area look longer to the eye, and one on the long wall which runs the length of the flat. 

The colour is Cooking Apple Green by Farrow and Ball, a fresh but calm colour.

Another great way to bounce the light around a room is with mirrors, use them to reflect light around, not just as a way to look at your own reflection.  Doing the double mirror in a bathroom gives you a way to see the back of your head as well as bouncing the light back and forth.

Next comes the kitchen, this was a great IKEA hack, where we adapted an IKEA kitchen by painting the wooden cupboard doors with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and cutting closely the cupboard spaces. We wanted white cupboard doors but not melamine, so we bought a wooden door that was on sale and painted it Old White.  We chose a white fronted cooker and the option to put drawers under it rather than a facia.

For planning your own kitchen I really believe in IKEA, they have the largest range of solutions for fitting the essential appliances in a small space. Trying to fit in a cooker, washing machine, sink and hob all along one wall just over six foot long is about as challenging as it gets.  We hired a very clever carpenter and plumber who adapted a standard kitchen so we could maximise every square inch. We re-jigged some of the internal cupboard sides so that we could squeeze in a pull out rack shelf on the end. Luckily IKEA also made a two ring hob, although Im not sure if this is still available. This is a kitchen for one and as a normal four ring hob would have taken up all the work surface we decided a smaller one gave a better balance. Let's be honest, I rarely use all four hobs at once when cooking for myself so we thought two rings were sufficient.

extra storage made by fitting drawers under cooker and cupboards

If you are converting an attic then roof windows like VELUX are an essential, just be sure that you always use authentic VELUX blinds for efficiency. We could have fitted a few different types, the Energy blinds probably would have been a better option as they are designed to control the climate inside and also be a blackout to unwanted light at night. If the space is for a child then you might want something cheerful from the Disney range. We kept it simple and white because the apartment's owner had a lot of mis-matched furniture.

In the lounge area we found a folding table and painted the top in Old White so this would act as a reflector, dark wood just absorbed the light from the window and made the room dingy. A wooden slatted blind worked here to keep the room cool during the day as it was sealed an had no opening. The double glazing was also foggy so the venetian slats distracts from that while still letting the light inside.

Small can be perfectly formed, it just takes a few clever ideas. Look for ways to increase how the daylight enters the room, use subtle colours to create the illusion of space and keep it simple and uncluttered. Don't crowd windows with curtains and try to add some strategically placed mirrors, these tips should get you on the right track for your attic conversion. Itzala roof blinds have great discounts on their range right now so its a good time to revamp your loft conversion and maybe re-assess its use. With the increase in home B&B through AIR maybe you can earn some money from your attic.

Picture Frame Collage

Everyone loves a bit of collage don't they, it takes me back to school days, art being my favourite lesson. My idol Sir Peter Blake has been a great advocate of this type of art and his work shows the extreme of brilliance in this arena.   But unless you commit yourself to a canvas or dedicated art box, its not always been that easy to present your work other than in a scrap book or using glue.

So here's a way that you can have your memories on display all the time.

The online company Rose & Grey have the perfect solution for creating this art on a small scale with these adorable frames. The frames come with brass or zinc edges and are hinged like a book with a little sliding wire closing lock. As there is glass on both sides, unlike conventional frames which have a backboard, these take on a whole new dimension. 

The simplicity of these frames is perfect for giving the widest range of looks, you can really let your imagination run wild with what you put in them, whether its prints, photos or a mixture of both with some momentos. I really love old postcards and photos of my family from the turn of the century. Above I also made this temporary shelf by hanging a piece of leftover flooring plank with string fixed to a central hook above, making a triangle shape.

This gives a frame to the frames and will take the weight of light objects so that you can make the display more three dimensional, I also felt that the triangle shape mirrored that of the hanging ribbon.  When displaying art in frames its always best to either group several together, or make a feature to tie it together.

These frames look lovely hanging from a hook some distance from the wall, you could even hang them in a window as they are double sided.

Place your collection on the back glass while the frame is open, you may want to fix some things in place with a tiny bit of blu-tack, but if the pieces have a small amount of thickness to them they will stay in place without any glue.

I fancied the idea of hanging them from branches and then thought Id see what they looked like with a stencil branch.

I painted this wall and stencil some time ago and have now added these frames with collections of memorabilia inside (fabric and pressed leaves and some stamps). I have a friend who has a collection of lace alone in a group of these frames and it looks lovely, particularly if you have a subtle colour on the wall behind coming through. Perhaps you have a small scrap of fabric from a wedding dress or quilt, something with sentimental attachment.

You can change the items in your frames around as often as you like without damaging the photos.  They are hung with a small piece of Sari fabric made into ribbon, each frame has a totally different fabric so they all have individuality. I untied my fabric ribbon and re-tied it in a different way to make it a big shorter, but this is something else you can change around in your own way.

Please find these frames and the other zinc edged ones over at Rose & Grey. I hope I have offered you some ideas about how to use them, Im just one of the bloggers reviewing these so look out on social media for the other bloggers ideas, can't wait to see them myself!

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