My Top 12 of 2012 Ikea Catalog

The Ikea catalog has been out for a while, but I did not get a chance to look at it thoroughly until this past weekend. I had a quick look when the catalog came in the mail, but looking at it carefully not only did I find some amazing little details, but I also found my next diy art project.

On my run to Ikea last week, I came across a couple of newbies which caught my eye, so I figured I would do a top 12 of 2012 Ikea post.  Hope you like them.

1. Ursula pillow*, 2. Sundvik bed, 3. Nyvoll dresser, 4. Ninni Figur curtains, 5. Rosmarie fabric, 

6. Eivor Cirkel rug, 7. Soder wall lamp, 8. Ekenas armchair, 9. Vilmie Rund throw, 10. Bran table lamp, 11. Fabulos glass, 12. Isala side table

* Note. There is also a Ursula throw, which I love, but I couldn't find it online. It is a gorgeous cream colored knit throw. Love it. 

I do have to admit to being addicted to Ikea and I don't know what I would do without them. So, thank you Ikea for another great year!

Have a great weekend everyone! B

Some More Exciting News

A couple of days ago, Barbara over at hodge podge, shared my interview on her So Canadian, eh? series. It was such an honor to be featured on her site. She is such an amazing lady and I absolutely love her projects and ideas.

As a new blogger, I am still getting used to all the ins and outs of what a blog is about. One of the things that I enjoy checking out on my blog is all the people from cool places around the world who visit my blog. It is really really neat to see that. So, imagine my surprise when a little while ago, I saw that I had some visitors from Sweden and discovered a link. I clicked on it and saw my pictures. Oh my goodness!

Featured on: 

Here is a screen photo of the site, featuring my Ikea hack. I was completely in awe, when I saw this. I was thrilled and excited. I saw so many blogs and projects featured, but this time it was my blog and my project.

Even my baby made it on the site. My little munchkin. How cute is that? I really just added the picture to show that he really was interested by the shelf and, of course, the books. 

http://mobler.se/majas/kryddhyllan-blir-smart-liten-bokhylla-till-barnen

One of my favorite blogs, is chezlarsson.com and after commenting for a while, I emailed Benita to ask her a couple of things. She was also so nice and sweet to translate a bit of the article. Here is what it says. Thank you so much Benita. My resolution for next year is to learn Swedish. I am quite excited. 

The spice rack gets turned into a small bookshelf for the kids. Last night as i put my youngest to bed we were choosing a bedtime story as usual. Our bookshelf is filled with beautiful, fun and great books but we usually end up reading the same ones over and over again. The ones at the bottom of the shelf get forgotten. I was looking at an empty spot on the wall and thought to myself that I should hang one of those great plate racks/bookshelves so one can see those forgotten books and switch them out from time to time.

And today I got a great tip on how to use the IKEA Bekväm spice rack for children's books. The rack is only 29 kronor so one can actually splurge and put a couple of them up next to each other without getting ruined. Here the shelf has been painted white. I think I'll get a couple of those spice racks on our next trip to IKEA. I think children's books are often like works of art on their own with their pretty covers.

Thank you so much mobler.se for featuring my little bookshelf. I am very honoured and pleased that you chose to feature my pictures and my little blog. Tack. And thank you to all my readers and followers. I am very grateful for you and thank you so much for stopping by and leaving comments. 

B

Sarah Richardson Fabric Choices Part 2

Here is Part 2 of my Sarah Richardson Fabric Choices. I figured since speaking about fabric, I should do a little research and see what kind of advice Sarah gives when looking for fabric.

Here are a couple of quotes that Sarah has for us amateurs, when we want to reupholster something or how to go about decorating our homes.



"When selecting fabric schemes I prefer to use light, creamy tones for the upholstery and accent with patterned textiles. If you grow tired of the patterns it's easy and inexpensive to introduce an entirely new colour to the room - and everything goes with cream, so you won't need to change the sofa fabric. "
(http://www.sarahrichardsondesign.com/tips/tip/selecting-fabric)


"A traditional chair profile looks clean and classic with a show wood leg instead of a skirt. Light toned woven fabrics with a subtle pattern keep the room feeling light and airy yet help hide the wear and tear of daily use."
(http://www.sarahrichardsondesign.com/tips/tip/family-friendly-fabrics)

"Get a bold start

If you want a fun, vibrant mood, get off on the right foot by using an over-scaled, contemporary floral pattern to set the tone. This printed cotton floral is under $20 a yard, is printed on a linen textured background, and feels anything but fussy. Instead of using your chosen floral in the traditional way on a sofa or drapes, try it on an armchair (or two). A giant print on a smallish chair creates an interesting balance of proportion and accentuates any curvaceous lines the chair might have. In a small space, try to focus on pieces that have height, yet are compact."
(http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/home-and-garden/decor/living-spaces/how-to-create-truly-living-rooms/article1868524/)

So, with a couple of words from Sarah Richardson, I will share with you my other Sarah Richardson fabric finds.

Do you remember this fabric? Sarah used it for her Sarah's House Season 2 office. I remembered it because it was such a beautiful and playful fabric. I loved the colors and the floral print is not too busy and not too large. I would love to see this fabric used for some curtains. I found this fabric at Calico Corners and it is called Flowering Branch. 

The next fabric is one of my favorite floral fabrics. Sarah used it for her Sarah 101 vibrant living room makeover. 

I think I might just have to order me some. I never thought too much about fabric and wasn't a huge fan for florals, but I am really into it now. This floral fabric I think is perfect. The colors are not too bold and the flowers are not too big and not too small. It also adds a lot of interest to the room and layout. The fabric is called Wonderland Pearl and you can find it at Designer Fabrics in Toronto. 

I don't know about you, but I could watch and rewatch Sarah's house. It is so insightful and educational to watch the show, and it gives me so much inspiration and ideas for our own home. One of my favorites was Sarah's farmhouse, where the next fabric comes from. 

Sarah chose a beautiful floral fabric by Schumacher. It is not too large and it is a combination of larger exotic flowers with smaller leaf print. Love it. 

The fabric is called Hot House Flowers and you can read more about it here. 

I never thought about this, but I really have to invest in some floral fabric soon. I also didn't realize what an impact a nice floral fabric does to a furniture piece or to a room altogether. 

Sarah used the fabric above for her accent pillows on the bed. It is called Coconut Grove, Aqua & Tan and comes from Schumacher. 

And last, but not least, a beautiful paisley fabric for the curtains. I love the pattern and the colors in the fabric look gorgeous with the paint that she chose. She has such talent and taste. The fabric is called Rajasthan Paisley and it also comes from Schumacher. 

I hope you enjoyed my Sarah Richardson fabric posts. I have definitely learned more about what to look for in a fabric and also what kind of pattern or floral print it should have. Have a great day everyone! B

Chapter + S Home Decor Finds

This past weekend I did a little shopping and stopped into Chapters to pick up a couple of books, but got side tracked with all the fabulous things they had. They have some amazing home decor items and I wish I could have brought them all home with me. Only one little thing made it home, I will share that with you soon.

So, you might be surprised as I was to see these fabulous things, but they are all available at Chapters. Not Home Sense, but Chapters. I always thought of Chapters as the book store, but lately they have been venturing into more home decor items and doing fantastic. I for one, am loving all these items. I snapped some pictures to share them with you.

In this picture, I want this, this, this, well pretty much everything. But, I am getting sidetracked, as I so usually do. Love the beautiful green and mustard pillows, but the cream colored pillows especially. I might be wrong, but I think I saw some similar looking pillows on a very famous blog not to long ago (ahem, yhl and I even attached the link for you here). They are really lovely. I also love the gold bookends and the lamp on the top shelf. Really great accents.

Here are some more items. Sorry for the pictures, but the iphone was my only companion on this trip. I also love the lettered bookend and these 3D glass boxes are fabulous to display some season items, may it be leaves, rocks, seashells. Perfect for your coffee table, bookcase or even a console table. These golden pencil cup holders are so beautiful. Love that super cute owl. Have I mentioned that my little munchkin can hoo hoo like an owl? So cute. 

Speaking of munchkin, lets talk munchkin stuff. Looking at this section, made me want to have another baby. On second thought, I think I will admire it or get some of my girlfriends some of these. I definitely recommend you hit Chapters if you are looking for a munchkin gift, may it be a book or a blankie. 

Speaking of blankets, they have the absolute cutest blankets. Love them. Another really cute nursery addition is the lion and giraffe animals they have. And again you see the cute little owl. Perfect nursery addition. 

I absolutely adore these wall art cards. One is for numbers and the other for the alphabet. The pictures are gorgeous and the colors are stunning. You could frame these cards (like they did in the picture above on the left) or you could display them on a picture ledge. Kids will love these. 

I hope you liked my little window shopping share. Will you be stopping by Chapters soon? Have you bought any of these items? I will share my purchase with you soon. 

Note: I have not been paid to write about these items or for my opinions. 

Weekend Lighting Adventures

Good morning everyone! In yesterday's post, I wrote that I was going to share some of my weekend adventures and fun with you. Well, here is a little peek. Last week, I shared a mood board I put together, since our little munchkin is growing up. Remember this?

So, I have been on the lookout for the Knappa light fixture for quite a while now. It took me a while to decide what light fixture to put in his room, and finally I decided that this one was going to be it. At the one Ikea store, they were discontinued and the other Ikea store was expecting to get some soon. I was a little worried that they were going to be discontinued at this Ikea store too, but guess what? They got them in last week. Yay!

I raced to Ikea and picked up the new lighting fixture for my little munchkin's room. It looks so much better than before. I am so surprised at how much it changes the room. I love it. 

You can see my canvas artwork in the background. I definitely have to change the pictures above his crib. That will take a while, since I can't decide on what to do. 

I took these pictures this morning, so I apologize for the bad quality. I was hoping that they would be better, but the lighting in our apartment is really crappy. Since, we are working on his room a little at a time, I will be sharing bits and pieces as we go along.  Have a good day everyone!

B

Cork-y Fun

Good morning to you all! I am full of energy and excited to share lots of goodies with you. I had a wonderful birthday and my guys spoiled me. Thank you so much for your birthday wishes. But the best gift was the gorgeous, beautiful, sunny and warm weather that we had. We enjoyed a very nice lunch and just took some time to reconnect as a family.

Not only did I get some very special presents, which I will share with you soon, but I also got some time to finish some projects this weekend. Here it is.

A couple of months ago, while I was browsing the House of Fifty, summer issue,  I saw this corkboard that caught my eye. Doesn't it look great?

Image courtesy of House of Fifty

Since, the regular, plain old corkboard is a staple in most homes, I knew I had to give mine a new upgrade. It was sitting in our kitchen and I was not so happy looking at it. So, over the weekend it underwent surgery. Here is the before:

Here is the in between (painted the wooden frame white):

Here is the after:

I couldn't find any cotton lining, so I used an old t-shirt ( don't tell anyone).

Next was the fabric, which I had laying around and last were the tacks. 

The cost of this surgery was $0. I had everything from the fabric (Ikea), to the paint and the tacks. I had some tacks from a couple of previous projects that you can check out here, here and here.  Hope you like the outcome. It is definitely a big difference from before. :) If you also like tacks, (like me), you can check out some of my other projects with tacks, like my Colette headboard, my navy headboard, my Rast hack and my monogram artwork made with tacks. Gotta love those tacks.

Have a great Monday everyone and a great week ahead!

B

Really exciting news

Today I have some exciting news to share with you. Barbara, over at hodge:podge asked me if I would participate in her So, Canadian, eh? series and I accepted. I was beyond thrilled and honored.

It is always so neat to learn more about my fellow Canadian bloggers. So, if you would like to learn a little more about me, head on over to read more.

I would also, like to say a huge. huge, huge thank you to Barbara, as she has been a huge help, supporter and friend to me and has helped me with my blog immensely. Thank you Barbara.

Have a great Sunday everyone!

Happy Birthday!

September is always a very happening month for us with deadlines, anniversaries and 4 birthdays in my family. It is that time of year again and it's my birthday. But I have to let you in on something. Not only is it my birthday, but my mom's and aunt's as well. Yes, all three of us have our birthdays on the same day. So, a very Happy Birthday goes out to my mom and aunt. But off to business!

So, today I figured I would have some fun and share a little something I put together. I had plans for another post, but I had fun doing this and want to share it with you. I don't have a little corner of my own in the house, so to say, but here are some of the things that I would use to decorate a little nook. Hope you like it.

1. West Elm mirror, 2. Ikea Dagny rug, 3. Dwell Brindle pillow, 4.  Ghost Chair, 5. Kari Herer print, 6. Parsons mirror console, 7. & 8. West Elm Clear Bulb, 9. Moroccan Pouf

I don't know what we are up to today, except that I will be spending some quality, fun time together with my boys. Wishing you a great Thursday everyone!

P.S. I can't wait for tonight's Charlie's Angels and on my birthday. Yay! Will you be watching it?

Big Boy, Big Room

As the days go by or fly by, my baby is not a baby anymore and quite a rambunctious and adventurous toddler. He is so big and he thinks he can do it all by himself. Wow, I wasn't quite prepared for that one. He wants to play more and is curious about pretty much everything, from an exciting toy to a simple picture frame that he wants to check out.

The time has come to think about changing a couple of things in his room. We started to move things around and rearrange his room this past weekend and I figured I should pull a mood board to help me see things clearer of how I want things to look and where I want the room to go. He is very much into cars, trucks etc right now, so I figured I would create a moodboard to suit his interests.

This is what I pulled together so far. Nothing is ever set in stone, so we will see.

Gotta run, since my munchkin is trying to open the front door, but I will be back with a list of all the sources a bit later. Please tell me what do you think of this? Do you like it or not so much?  

Rain Rain Go Away

September is here and with that comes cooler weather and of course some rain. I am not a big fan of rain, but I do like the fact that I get a chance to catch up on some of my housework and finish more things around the house. Some things that we love doing on a rainy day, are bake and read books. As soon as my little munchkin wakes up, we are off reading a couple of books and then the fun begins.

So, I decided to share some of our favorite books with you. My munchkin's absolute favorite book is Are you my mother?, by P.D. Eastman, which I have been reading to him since he was born. He absolutely loves the snort and he actually says snort now, every time he sees a real one.

A definite must read every day is Harry, the Dirty Dog. My munchkin loves following Harry along his travels and cannot wait to get to the "snort" in this book too.

I didn't know about this book, but my hubby recommended it and now my son loves it. It is Good Dog Carl, by Alexandra Day. He loves following Carl and seeing what he and the baby are up to. It is really cute.

I think this book is quite neat. It is Orange, Pear, Apple, Bear by Emily Gravett. It is really neat to see the different drawings and by the end of the book, my son is trying to say apple, pear etc. He sounds so cute trying to say the words.

Here is are two books that one my friends had and when I saw how her daughter liked it so much, I had a closer look. They are quite neat books. One about gas and the other about poop. The pictures are very pretty and my munchkin enjoys reading these book over and over again. You can also see a little foot there, since a certain someone wanted to have the book read.

One other favorite is How to Catch a Star, by Oliver Jeffers. The pictures are beautifully drawn and when we look up to the sky now, he knows where the stars are and tries to say star. So so cute.

Last on the list for now is Grumpy Bird. I think kids love this book, because the colors are beautiful and the drawings are so interesting.  Maybe there is also a lesson for adults about being grumpy.

Have you read any of these books? What do you do with your little ones on rainy days?

Have a great day!

My New BFF

Good morning everyone! Here is another Monday and I am so excited and happy to be back. Last week, was a big bummer as both my munchkin and I were sick and he still is. I was hoping it wouldn't last, but I guess it wants to stick around a little longer. I am so excited about the projects that I will be sharing with you this week and I will also be sharing a couple more diy's with you. Can't wait.

I don't know about you, but Mondays are always a little hard for me, so I want to share something with you, that makes me happy. Looking at this picture brightens my day any time.

This bouquet was given to me by my hubby on our anniversary last week. Isn't it beautiful? I just loved it and it has some of the flowers from my wedding bouquet. How sweet.

To celebrate our wedding anniversary, we give each other the traditional gifts each year. So we started with paper on our first, cotton on the second, leather for third, flowers for fourth and wood for the fifth. I won't bore you with what we gave each other the past four years, but this year was especially exciting. We got our gift early and picked it up in Toronto, when we visited a couple of months ago. Hint Hint. I have been dying to share this with you and now I can. You see, when we visited Toronto, one place I just had to go to was the West Elm store. Loved it. I had never been to the West Elm in Toronto before and it was beautiful. Loved the location and I cannot wait to go back. Thank goodness they ship throughout Canada. Here are a couple of pictures.

Loved this couch! Too bad we didn't have a van!

Love, love, love their bedding!

I snapped these pictures with my Iphone. Not bad, huh? Did I mention that my phone died a couple of minutes later?

But what does all this have to do with my new bff title you ask? Well, you see, I had been admiring the Parsons desk for quite a while now and we were planning on buying one. I was browsing through the store and when I got to the back of the store, I found it. There was a white Parsons desk discounted at the back of the store. I was speechless and beyond thrilled. I checked it to see where the damage was and the only damage I could find was a little chip in one of the drawers. Can you see it? Barely visible. It was a couple of hundred dollars cheaper than the original price. I couldn't believe it. The question was, will it fit in the car? Yikes!

Do you see the damage? I can definitely live with that. And the chair will cover it mostly anyways, won't it? It was one lucky day. Did I mention that we had been there before opening hours and had originally planned on going there that afternoon, but decided to go back after going to designer fabrics? Did I also mention that there were a couple of ladies checking out the desk a couple of minutes later after I told one of the salesclerks that I was going to take it? So my new bff = new best furniture find. Happy dance!

Sometimes you do find amazing deals, and the lesson learned here is to always head for the back of the store first. You'll never know what you will find! Have you found any exciting discounted things at the back of a store lately? 

Have a great week everyone!

Some DIY Yarn Love

Here we are on Tuesday and my little baby and I are still sick. My munchkin has been especially cuddly lately and I just couldn't tear myself away from him yesterday to write another post. It hurts so much to see your kids sick and feel hopeless at times, but I just hope that this cold won't stick around for too long.

Last week I shared a DIY light pendant that I made for our place and here I am today sharing yet another one. I do have to tell you a short story though. We live in a pretty old apartment building and there is one more floor above us. Have I mentioned that the building is old? Creaky floors feel like trampolines.  The upside to that is that the rooms are quite large and the apartment all together is quite spacious. That's the price you have to pay for a good location, I guess. The down side is that we don't have storage, which makes it a real pain when you have a baby and accumulate a ton of stuff along the years. I would turn to the old Carrie from SATC trick, (putting sweaters in the oven), except I unfortunately use it. Getting side tracked here. Light!

As I was sitting in the living room one afternoon, I heard this loud noise. What happened you ask? Well, the old glass light fixture fell on the floor and shattered into pieces. Have I mentioned that a similar light fixture fell in the kitchen on one of the chairs. And one with the previous tenant. We decided we would remove all the glass light fixtures, since we don't want to have one of those things fall on us or our baby. And I knew exactly what to put up there instead.

After reading Carol's post, from Design Pages and seeing her light pendant, I knew I wanted to try one. I also remembered one that Jen from Made by Girl made. Carol used mod podge and Jen used fabric stiffener. I chose to use fabric stiffener, since I didn't have enough mod podge and the store near our house had fabric stiffener.

Here is what you need:

- exercise ball (or a regular ball), yarn, fabric stiffener, vaseline and an extra pair of hands, (pair of gloves?)

First off, you make sure that the ball is covered with vaseline (don't use too much). This step is not essential, I did it, but the first time I did, I added too much and then had to clean it after with a little brush. The second time it was much better. 

My ball is ready to be prettied up. Yes, I was watching The Proposal (with Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds) while doing this, which lasted about two hours, give or take. And my hubby watched it too, while he was helping me. Love that guy!

Get your extra pair of hands ready. Maybe you want to use some gloves as it can get really messy. And I mean really really messy.  Essentially, you soak the yarn in fabric stiffiner, massage the yarn so that it is completely wet, and then wrap it around the ball. One person wraps, the other person holds the ball.

Here it is:

We tied the yarn around the ball and then tried to go a couple of times in each direction (alternating). Keep wrapping until most areas have some coverage. We had so much fun making it and watching the movie. Better than going out I tell you. 

I left the ball to dry and the next morning it was ready to put up. It should be really stiff. I just cut a small hole with scissors where I could put my hand in and deflate the ball. Try to pick a spot that is either a little soft or does not have enough yarn (this way it gets hidden). Then I hung it. Because we are renting, we just found a very primitive way of hanging it (too embarrassed to show you), but you could use a Hemma cord set from Ikea to hang it with a lamp inside. 

Here they are in the entryway (there are two, since I had an extra ball and figured it might look good this way). I have to do some painting in our hallway, but it won't happen for another couple of weeks, so I apologize for the pictures. Also, have I mentioned that our apartment has the worst lighting ever. 

Close up picture.

I have seen this type of light pendant in several stores, but this was very inexpensive to make, so the DIY way worked for me. Would you try making one of these or would you go the store bought route?

Hope you like it and have a great Tuesday everyone!