Spare time daydreams

So, this last week i've found myself with more spare time than usual, and the cogs started turning in my head. I went trough everything from buying a house to opening a shop, ad started catching up on my internet browsing for cool things.
Have hundreds of ideas for products i think i'm going to buy a sketchbook and put it all down for when i'll be able to put it in practice.
small issue is going back to do the Hons in college, so no practical work can commence till spring 2014!!
but the say the devil is in the details, and i have plenty of time for planning..

catching up

ok, it has been forever!
i finished all my exams and spent pretty much the whole summer working, can't wait for the well deserved upcoming break..Greece and Italy, hoping for a bit of september sun.
baby Emma was born on 15th June and the finished owls mobile is hanging proudly on her window

as always this time of year (the ikea catalogue publication) i get a burst of inspiration, and more precisely i start fantasizing about doing up my "taverna", that is my studio flat back home.
The main thing it needs is a kitchen (small thing ha?) and after years of drawing plans i think i cracked it. only doubt is island or table? atm there is a generous square table, that fits in whit the ye'old house style of the place, but as we also have a massive dining table (sits 12/14) so it would make sense to do an island/breakfast bar combo. but than again, one would not use the oversized dining table on a daily basis, or rather, it gets more use as a work desk and gets dressed up for parties.. i think i need to go back and stare at the room until i get my answer.
will take pics when i go back in a few weeks 

Almost there

The owls are finished! Now I have to go find the "bit that holds it up" as my attempts at finding a re-usable motor have been futile, I think I'll construct a simple frame of timber rods and ribbons.
also in the last week: I have added to the "family" with a few new plants, I put together thyme lavender and mint in a wooden bucket, that hopefully will help in keeping the flies out of the room. The tomatoes and wild rocked have sprouted, but still waiting on the peppers.
I have cleaned the house, that is a little miracle in itself, and doing a lot of homework :(
Exam dates have been set for what could be the last time in my life, as still considering if I wanna continue on after graduating, and flights have been booked for a short trip to Italy for Giaky's first communion

Owlets away!

progress on the owls is going pretty well, although the same cannot be said for college work..haha..oh well! this is a picture of the work in progress. I've finished the green owl u see here (the circle with melly's owls is the back piece) and started on owlet n.4 in red/orange. I plan to make a few stars and a moon to go along with them. Still have to figure out what to make the actual structure of the mobile out of, was hoping to find a discarded mechanism with a carillon, no luck so far..

Vikings & Owls

I am pretty busy this week with college work, doing research into dublin castle's history. kinda fun if i hadnt (as usual) left it till the last minute. the stuff i ordered arrived monday, and i have managed to make a sample owl with the less liked colours, i see a lot that can be improved but not bad for a first attemp, i'll try and post a picture when i get a sec. going back to the books!

recycled timber ceiling? sure!

Maple Leaves & Sycamore Trees: Our Refined Pallet (Ceiling)
this is just so awesome, had to re-post it. first saw it on Design*sponge and it was love at first sight. wish i was allowed to do something like that, but as long as we are renting it wont be possible. still a girl can dream.

in the new house :)

first weekend I'm spending in the new Killarney flat. we have fantastic views from here to the lakes and mountains, and lots of light when the sun bothers to show up. the picture is taken with my mobile, will have to bring up the camera at the next trip for nice shots. As we have two south facing (and hopefully sunny) balconies, I intend to have veg growing in nice big pots by the summer; today planted the first seeds, tomatoes and peppers, and they will sit cosy in the livingroom for the first few weeks

Children Art

..or i should rather say Art for Children, i have always been fond of. I am one of those people who goes trough the picture books in the kids section of the bookstore even tho i dont have a child to buy for. today was doing just that, and came across a few books by Oliver Jeffers that apparently have been around a few years and i had never noticed (tut-tut) and him being from Northern Ireland (basically a neighbour!) really convinced me to give him a mention

here is a funny but useful draw a penguin tutorial courtesy of the author on TheGuardian website
If I ever had the courage to cut apart a book, some of the pages, framed, would have made great pictures for a kid's room. this started me thinking even more about art made for kids, and wile looking for inspiration found this v cute prints that both me and Stacey would love to see on Emma's walls. they are by Kit Chase

That's all for today, felt has been ordered so will soon start production on the mobile, cant wait!

A room for Emma..

i think this will be a recurring theme. My lovely (read crazy) friend Stacey is having a baby girl, and my present to her was to be taking over all the shabang of decorating the nursery; my brushes were all lined up and ready but i was forbidden to put paint to wall in the new house.
I'm not going to be defeated in the attempt of creating a perfect un-girly room ( I wonder how nourishing it is for a child to be surrounded by a monochromy of pinks) so I'm planning to be the accessories' fairy godmother
My first self-appointed task is to provide a handmade mobile, and looking for inspiration i came across this beautiful ones on Etsy, by Hingmade and A Continual Feast. I'm really into the owl theme so think that's what I'll make, I'm off shopping on Ebay for felt! hopefully I'll soon be able to show you my results

Once upon a time...

..so all good stories start. I'm not sure if this is the result of a caffeine filled morning or am I finally gonna go trough with starting a blog that will have a profitable future. the idea here is to kick start the background to a shop that will in the future exist, in a quirky courtyard were "we design anything" will be the motto, to a straw bale house with a watermill, to new places to see and old friends to meet.