Interior Design

I love vintage cups and saucers and have my own small collection of miss-matched floral tea sets. Today I'm going to show you how to upcycle some old china to create a sweet little cake stand. I purchased my vintage cup and saucer at a hospice shop, you'll easily find little sets such as these in second hand shops, salvation army or garage sales, even grandmas house ☺ What you need: Vintage cup and plate (make sure your cup has a flat base so that the plate will sit level) Glue (suitable for china) Clear cellophane (for gift wrap) Scissors Ribbon Place your cup upside down on a flat surface, run the glue around the lower lip of the base of the cup where it will touch the plate. Place your plate on top, making sure it is even each side, you may need to get down to eye level to check. Carefully place something heavy on top (a cup filled with rice works well). Allow to dry per instructions on glue packet. As a lovely gift, just simply add some chocolates or little cakes. Red Vel...

Everyone absolutely loved Becky's Farmhouse kitchen post last week and I was thrilled that this has been one of my most popular posts, it just goes to show how loved the "farmhouse/country" style is.  Becky has posted some more images, her before and after and work in progress which you can view  "here" . If you missed my earlier post on Beckys kitchen you will find a link at the end of this post. Yesterday a friend came over and was mentioning that she is about to re-do her kitchen and how she found my blog great inspiration, of course I was thrilled to hear this and therefore decided to share some more fabulous kitchen ideas. I've chosen five all white kitchens, each one having it's own unique style. It's made me desperate to do a mini makeover on my tiny kitchen, starting with the most annoying light which hangs over the breakfast bar. This flashy designer light (already in the house), is  down to 2 working bulbs out of 6 because no-one, male or ...

Friends know my dream is to one day have a home in Italy, a little rustic house in the country where I can paint and live the Italian lifestyle, possibly this comes from watching "Under The Tuscan Sun" an embarrassingly huge number of time. It might only be a dream right now, but for me it's a bit like the Pantene hair advert...how does it go? "It quote, "It might not happen overnight, but it will happen!" unquote. So with this in mind, meanwhile I  still enjoy looking for my dream Italian home. This fabulous discovery has wonderful old wooden beams (a must have for me), and ancient terracotta tiled floors.  A lot of old Italian country buildings tend to be a little on the dark side with small rooms and few windows. However, this interior has been opened up and brightly painted accent walls have made this home light and inviting.  If you ask an Italian about renovating old buildings, most will say they prefer a new apartment or newly built house, it's u...

Back to my post, I've decided to make this post a regular affair by posting a medley of new inspiration weekly.  I love reading other blogs and on line magazines, there is such a "world of inspiration" out there, hence my blog changing from Blooming art last year to my new name. So lot's of inspiration to share this week, links to recipe's and instructions are below the images. Who doesn't love blackberries and those of us who love good food know that cheese and fruits are a wonderful and fitting combination...  Fontina & Blackberry Basil smash Sandwiches -  To see the finished dish, other ingredients and recipe,  please visit "How Sweet It Is" Dark chocolate peppermint cookies with milk chocolate centres from a lovely food blog called Trompe Chomp .  Cake stands from Inside Out Magazine via Poppytalk . I've  come up with a unique idea of my own  for some  simple but very stylish cake stands which I plan to share next week.  Another...

A while ago I featured a lovely  bedroom makeover by Becky at Buckets of Burlap , today I'm sharing Becky's Farmhouse kitchen. Becky hasn't yet posted her before and after photos so at this point your seeing the "after" and believe me its really gorgeous. Becky's husband is obviously as talented as Becky when it comes to creativity and between them they've designed and built this gorgeous farmhouse kitchen. Thanks Becky for allowing me to share these images with my readers.  If you want to see more images of her kitchen I have added a link at the end of this post. More images of Becky's kitchen at Buckets of Burlap If your new to my blog you may also enjoy the makeover of my own bedroom in a French country style With Becky's permission, sharing her lovely kitchen this week with: Monday: Lines Across I Should Be Mopping The Floor Wednesday: Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style Ivy and Elephants Faded Charm Cottage Thursday:   Transformation T...

I couldn't resist a little more pastel loving today, tomorrow I'll be posting a fabulous country kitchen makeover, I promised on Facebook it would be Friday, but I had a terrible few days of worry with my little dog who was accidentally poisoned by Tea Tree oil. So please beware if you have a dog or cat, never use tea tree oil on their skin as a flea deterrent, it's highly toxic. Thankfully after "googling" her symptoms I realised what was wrong with her and rushed her to the emergency vet. After two days in intensive care she is finally back home with me and returning to her mischevious self.                             I created the board using "Style Me Pretty"

I love pastel colours, they're so fresh and pretty... French Macarons Marshmallows Basic cupcake recipe and variations from Sweet Living Magazine    (including cola cupcakes with cola frosting) Red Velvet Cupcakes Image 1. my inspiration board from Style Me Pretty. Images 2-5, pretty pastel rooms from  Shelterness , click  "here"  to see 50 more pastel inspired interiors.

Recently I came across this quaint kitchen via House of Locations , I thought it an eclectic mix of quirky and country and couldn't resist sharing with you. I love the idea of papering the back of an old hutch dresser and the pretty T light chandelier. Paper the back of an old dresser with gorgeous shabby chic style papers by Eijffinger and available from Paper Room.   Love these two papers above, think they would look fab at the back of an old hutch dresser.   Paper room  have a wonderful selection of unusual wallpapers. A selection of my favourite wallpapers can be seen on my Pinterest board or you can check out lots more designs  at Paper Room