crafty kids

 Janette at My Sweet Prints recently did a post about this fabulous blog called Filth Wizardry

Lindsey, over at Filth Wizardry is a mum to two little girls & her blog is all about  art & crafts for preschoolers & she really has some fabulous activities to keep messy little cherubs occupied.

My little girl is a 3yr old craft obsessed, mess maker & we are constantly on the look out for new things to entertain her & feed her thirst for all things creative!!

She also likes to play dress ups, dance &  she sings the whole time she is doing something crafty...possibly the happiest girl on the planet!!!

Over at Filth Wizardry  Lindsey showed us how she made a fantastic bath time craft, by cutting shapes from sheets of thin foam. I was able to purchase a pack of 6 sheets for $2 at the supermarket & we have just started out with some very basic shapes & ideas. Lindsey has an awesome range for her kids to decorate with. All you need to do is wet the foam & it  temporarily adheres to the tiles.

We didn't just reserve it for bath time, it saved me from pulling out the paint box today, which means it saved me from a messy clean up as well..Thank you Lindsey!!!

My kids had a fantastic time...

They thought I was the cleverest mum on the planet!!!

The best part is that there is no major mess to clean up...YAY!!!!

My dream guy doesn't mind getting in on the act himself & decided to put to use a few Styrofoam boxes.

He worked with the kids to make a diorama that they could play with.

 Our 7yr old son loves his army style scene & was able to play with his toy soldiers in it, don't you just love the explosion!!!

He helped our 3yr old make this under water scene & added some shells he had collected whilst fishing, she loved helping on this project....

These are an on going play item that have entertained them both many times over the past few weeks!

On the messy side of fun, we have even dabbled in a little paper mache'

We did this one in the garage as it was EXTREMELY messy, but a tonne of fun!!

 Kids craft is a huge part of our world & we are always on the look out for some great new ideas.

Where do you go for crafty fun?

CHEERS

Trish xxx

Dreaming of a Staircase

I am having a staircase in my dream house & I am a little unsure at this point how it will look.

I originally had it all planned but it would appear with the design challenges of a sloping block & the fact we have a budget the stairs have had to change. At this point in time I have no idea how my staircase will look or even if we enter from the family room or the entry.

So I have been stalking staircases online so I have plenty of ideas when I have some insight into that part of the project.

traditional staircase design by Chicago general contractor Stone breaker Builders & Remodelers

I love white painted stairs & the extra storage is a fantastic idea

contemporary family room design by Toronto interior designer Jennifer Brouwer

I'm thinking of a white painted staircase & a carpet, perhaps sisal, stair runner...

traditional staircase design

I just love dark timber floors with a traditional white painted stair rail

Image via Decor Pad

 This staircase is definitely the WOW factor of this home...

Image via Decor Pad

A very creative & unique touch, a hand rail fashioned to look like a tree branch

Image via White Cat Vintage

I just love the white on white, its so restful & clean

image via The Five Year Project
This is a fabulous design for the family home, not to mention the striped stair runner.

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Total glamour

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This actually came from an add for smart technology in the home but I just thought it was a beautiful
 stair case.

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Everything about this stair case & entry is Divine, EXCEPT, the kid on the scooter....Take that thing OUTSIDE!!!!

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I love the storage & mirrors, they bring a little extra glamour to an already beautiful space. I look at an image like this & dream of painted white floors

Image via Sarah Richardson Design
I have to admit Sarah Richardson is definitely one of my favourite designers, everything she presents oozes class. She mixes pattern & texture & colour with such ease, I wish she was an Aussie. I would invite her round for coffee, for sure!!!

Don't you just love a beautiful stair case, do you have stairs at your house!

CHEERS
Trish xxx

Splash back uncertainty!!!

Well my dream kitchen is all on the drawing board & the floor tiles chosen...

eclectic kitchen design

Turns out I have expensive tastes, with Shaker style being in the expensive choice range, Oh well!!!

The kitchen guy was fabulous, the tile guy was extremely helpful & my dream guy was so well behaved, Ive never loved him more xxx

I am hoping to have sea grass or bamboo blinds in my kitchen, something like these ones...

Images via Cotedetexas

My dream guy loved all of my ideas & added a few very good suggestions of his own. We selected tiles for inside & outside, designed a kitchen, laundry & vanities, without one single disagreement.
AMAZING!!!!

The colours aren't so good in this image, but this is a sample of our floor tile, wall colour, kitchen door colour & ceaserstone bench tops.

 I want to paint my walls with

 Dulux-Hogs Bristle in quarter strength

The bench top is

Ceaser Stone-Ivory

The Shaker style Cabinets are a

 Classic White, semi gloss

The floor tiles are a shade darker than the bench top,

a sandy colour

I love the look of a white subway tile in a shaker style kitchen, BUT, I have gone for a 30cm x 60cm rectangular floor tile to be laid in a running bond or brick style pattern, essentially it is a giant subway tile on the floor & I feel it would be overkill to do the same on the back splash.

 I am thinking of perhaps just a plain glossy white square tile 10cm x 10cm, but I am unsure.

What do you think would look awesome. I want to do it in tile rather than a glass panel or matching ceaserstone  so I add some extra texture, hence the choice of a glossy tile. I have such a limited colour scheme I need to add some interest with the different textured finishes.

HELP!!!

Okay my fabulously stylish blog friends, your opinions & ideas are seriously required :0)

CHEERS

Trish xxx

Expensive property doesn't necessarily mean stylish property!!!

I was looking to the local real estate market for inspiration for my post today & thought I might write about a really beautiful home in my area, so I began my search for properties over the million dollar range. Now one would expect to be swooning over every property, well it wasn't the case.

Here in The Hunter Valley of NSW, Australia, there is an incredible amount of property for sale well & truly over the million dollar price bracket, but as they say, Location, Location, Location.

The Hunter is prime farming country, with large areas used for cattle farms, horse studs & vineyards. It is also one of the fastest growing regions in Australia due to the amount of industry, coal mines, vineyards, tourism, horse racing studs & proximity to the ports of Newcastle. Its safe to say we have it all here, which bumps up land values.

This is why I was able to uncover some fairly unflattering decor in my search for the perfect million dollar home...

You judge for yourself!!!!

I would call this style eclectic, perhaps....

I'm not so sure that canopy is safe....

These last 2 pics are from the same house, a very colourful house...

I love a white kitchen myself....

Perhaps The Hunter Valley needs a few stylists to start marketing to the local Real Estates....

A coat of paint, some rearranging of furniture & curtains the correct length for the windows would go a long way.

We all want to create a WOW factor, but most of these images had me saying OMG!!!

What do you think?

Perhaps all of the beautiful images I see in blog land everyday have given me a false sense of reality!!!