A gift I received this Christmas (or rather gifted to myself with gift money!) was the newest title from my very favorite Aussie stylist Sibella Court. ‘Nomad’, explores how you can easily create wonderful nooks and installations within your home to display your much loved travel mementos.  As usual, Sibella’s beautifully styled pages rekindled my urge to travel and explore the back streets and hidden gems in ‘my list’ cities like New York, London and Paris.  I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I did!

One of my favourite blogs to read has to be Sweet Paul, written by New York City based, Norwegian, Paul Lowe – a food and prop stylist. His craft creations and yummy recipes are used in many editorial and commercial projects; but most notably in his own online and free publication, Sweet Paul Magazine.

Paul’s Oslo heritage can be seen in all aspects of his work. Cleverly working light, texture and colour in an effortlessly chic way. Crafting also comes naturally to Paul which gives him the edge to think out of the box and create something truly special. His beautiful images and food creations will not only make your mouth water, but they’ll leave you inspired. Sweet Paul’s recipes are easy to follow and due to the rustic, fun nature of the images – you don’t feel intimidated to try them. The elegant recipes are for home, friends and family; rather than Masterchef professionals! All 172 pages of the Winter 2011 Sweet Paul Magazine are brimming with original and festive ideas for you to try. Personal favourites from this issue include ‘Make Your Own Paper’ Pg 28, ‘Christmas Pudding Cupcakes’ Pg 37, and the feature on a homemade ‘Natural Christmas’ Pg 53. The feature on crafting your own wreaths {Pg 118} offers a creative option to the old classics. Oh, and the Divine Chocolate feature {Pg 160}!! There’s just too make great features to choose from.

To view the Winter 2011 Sweet Paul Magazine please click here.

The following images are from the blog, ‘My Shabby Streamside Studio’, and belong to the talented Sandra Foster.  Her pure and simple style is breathtaking, combining white on white interiors with pretty vintage accessories.

Tips on vintage styling:
- Use old medicine bottles as vases, clear glass look best.
- Use old french linen as a tablecloth, embroidered edging looks super cute.
- Hang vintage bags on door knobs or if you have one, on the corner of your metal bedstead.
- Shabby chic some old pine chairs, take a look at our guide on ‘How to Shabby Chic furnitre’.
- White metal bird cages are still a firm favourite, try filling one with tea-lights and hang it above your dining table as a feature light.

I have certainly noticed that Christmas is becoming more personalised and crafty from year to year. The possibilities of how you decorate and style your dining table, gift wrap and trees are endless and provide you with opportunities to take the time to enjoy more than just the food and presents! I recently stumbled across this image of a gorgeously designed Christmas spread, which successfully combines rustic, contemporary, earthy, romantic and beachy styling. My favourite touch is the hanging pine cones! What is your theme this year for the festive season?                                                                                                                                     Image via: Sweet Paul

Hello everyone, I’m afraid it’s been a while since my last post as I have been out of the office for a while, but I’m back and now and have some fantastic posts coming up.

I was in the middle of sorting through some bits at home and whilst doing so, I came across these original needlecraft books from the 1950′s; there seems to be a vintage theme on my blog at the moment!  They belonged to my grandmother, who was crazy about needlecraft, and I think they’re fantastic.  The front cover of the first image is especially interesting as 50′s interiors are so fashionable, people are paying a lot of money to buy original pieces like this; especially the sideboard.  The 1950′s paint swatch card is from Erwinhouse, I thought it would be interesting to see all the colours together.  Most of them are a bit heavy for my taste but I am a fan of the Chelsea gray, I could see this one amongst the Farrow & Ball colours.