Pretty Roses...

Good morning!

I am so proud to say that these beautiful roses came out my very own garden! 

I have one little rose bush behind a rock in my back garden and once in a blue moon do I get a rose but yesterday afternoon I saw this beautiful deep pink petal sticking up from behind that rock and lo and behold there were these two beautiful flowers just calling....pick me...pick me! 

So, I picked them!  Aren't that just oh so  pretty....

Bye for now,

Mandi xx

A Touch of Talent...

Hi there!

A beautiful friend of mine from East London, South Africa, Philippa, sent me these two divine cupcake paintings that she painted herself!  Aren’t they just gorgeous! 

She is a very talented young lady…not only does she paint, she also does Home and Table Styling! 

Philippa would love to hear from if you are interested in her gorgeous cupcake paintings (amongst other ones too!)….she makes to order!

Her contact details are 082 655 6570 or philippa.l.stewart@googlemail.com

I also have a very talented Mom….below is one of her recent paintings she did of a canal in Venice! 

Not only is she beautiful, but she is artistic and creative!  She’s always had a passion for painting and decided last year to actually embark on some art lessons….8 months on and this is what she is producing!  I am very proud of her! 

Hopefully I have inherited some of her talent!

Bye for now,

Mandi xx

A Lick of Paint...

Hi again!

I am sorry I haven’t blogged for a while but time just seems to run away with me!  It’s a busy life being a working mom and sometimes there is very little time left for ME!  Anyway, where I do have a little time or make time for myself, I enjoy sitting on my laptop following other creative people’s blogs….yeah, I know, some people read a book, some people shop, me….I scout the internet!  Ok....I also paint and decorate and paint some more...!

I’ve come across so many blogs and websites that my favourites’ list is out of control.  There are a couple that I visit / follow on a regular basis…one of which is Paint Me White.  This blog really inspires me.  It gets my creative juices flowing.  I want a house like Sandy's!

So, what we attempted this past weekend, as a start, is to paint our bedroom a much lighter colour.  Before we moved in to our house, we painted the whole inside in a colour called Trade Winds….a biscuity beigy colour BUT in hindsight our house is too small to handle the colour.  We have given it a year and a bit but it’s now time for a change and although I can’t suddenly paint everything white, I can start by painting the walls a lighter colour which’ll open and freshen each room up!

Ok….so we chose a colour, got home on Sunday afternoon, adorned our painting clothes and started painting.  Well, we have landed up with ‘mint’ walls!  We didn’t choose ‘mint’….we chose an off white but because of the darker colour underneath, the off white has changed ‘mint’….I kid you not!  So it’s off to the paint shop we go again….will keep you updated!

In the meantime….you can ‘ooh and aah’ over some of

Paint Me White’s pics from Sandy's beautiful home!



Images from Paint Me White...thank you Sandy!

Please pop on to Sandy's blog by clicking on the link above!

Bye for now,

Mandi

My little corner...

Hello there!

Over the weekend, Ron and I moved a few pieces of furniture around (we do that every now and again when we get a little bored!).  I was using the dining table as a work station and we were both getting a little fustrated with it (actually Ron more than me…but I guess it was bugging me a little too!). 

Try sitting and eating a family meal with a laptop and printer taking up more space than us at the end of the table.  And then, when having guests over, everything had to be packed up and shoved to the bedroom….extremely irritating!

So, a wash basket, a cupboard and a console got moved to solve the problem!

I now have my little space in the corner of our bedroom and am quite chuffed with it! Ron says it’s kind of...‘Sex in the City’ish’….Ok, I’m not SJP and we’re not in NY but hopefully some creative writing will come from it!

I’m still busy making it mine…I need to paint the console again (I have a 3yr old who decided it needed a little art work with a ballpoint pen!) with a fresh new colour and find some inspirational photos for the frames but for now, it’s cute and cosy! 

 I think today is a good day to go choose that paint and get started on it…..watch this space for my new and improved little corner of the world!

Bye for now,

Mandi xx

Those little accessories...

Hi again,

The other night, some of my friends and I started an ‘interior forum’ on Facebook – it all started with a picture of my Cath Kidston bag and the chair it was on!

We had so much fun finding out how much we had in common in decorating and our love for the Shabby Chic / French Provencal look.  We all posted photographs and it was really nice to see my friend’s beautiful homes!

We live in a small house that could do with a lot of renovating and expanding which we cannot pursue at the moment due to long, lengthy reasons but I really have made the most of it and am very proud of my little home and how it’s turned out!

Last night, I got a bee in my bonnet and went around with my camera taking photographs of some of the favourite little accessories around my home!  The house was quiet, everyone was asleep and all you heard was the clicking of my camera.  I’ve put together a collage of all those photographs for you to see…enjoy!

Bye for now,

Mandi xx

A New Year with new beginnings...

Happy New Year everyone! 

I bet we've all made resolutions that will most likely be broken in a week, but I have decided that I'm going to stick to a few of mine this year, for good! Ok, so the diet will be broken by Tuesday but hopefully my inspiration for the year will keep going…

My one idea for this year is to start putting my painting skills to task and seeing where it takes me! 

I love taking an old piece of furniture and transforming it into something wow but giving it a lick or two of paint, a scrape or two with the sander, new handles, with a lot of love and elbow grease thrown in!  So, that’s where I am going start and let’s see how it goes…I will keep you posted with some befores and afters!  And maybe I will get to sell a piece or two!

Thank you to all the blogs I have visited in the last week or two…you have given me so much inspiration and encouragement!

Just two of the pieces I've recently made over...

Before and After!

Before and After!



And a little inspiration board to keep me going...

Bye for now,

Mandi xx

I'm dreaming of a White Christmas...

Hello!

I’m on holiday…..at last and I am really starting to feel the Christmas spirit!  Our Christmas tree is up, Luke’s gorgeous handmade wreath is on the door, Jamie’s Christmas decorations are up and my gift shopping is well on it’s way.

Every year I leave the decorating of the tree up to Ronnie and the boys.  And every year they do an excellent job of it!  But every year I vow to try something other than red and gold!  But come time for the tree to go up and be decorated, I am so not organised enough to change that look, so red and gold it is this Christmas, yet again!

But a girl can dream, can’t she!  I have so many ideas on how and what I would do – the choices are endless – pink and purple, turquoise and silver, black and white but one I would really like to go for is ALL WHITE!  If you can’t have the snow, you can certainly have the décor!

I just love the pics I’ve found that have inspired me….my white Christmas is not so far away….