Operation Move - Step Three

Part Three has involved quite a few purchases. Hmm. Not really good considering I have no money. But hey, I am selling old stuff and using the money from that to buy new stuff. Isn't that the responsible way to do it? It is in my book!

My lovely cousin, Sabrina, has been helping me loads with getting ready for the move. We love hanging out and have so many things in common. She recently moved back home after having lived in Copenhagen for a few years. It's great to have her close by again. As you can see we heart hanging out! She helps carry moving boxes, she helps clean and drives me all over town. Well, today was a longer drive to get to a destination we both love so dearly: IKEA!


Ikea is my best friend! At least when I have money to spend there. Otherwise I hate the cheap cheating slag waving all the cheap furniture and great deals in my face! Uh, easy now... Ikea is a good place, don't taint it!

Anyway, getting away from the point. We went to Ikea today, and I think my husband, Martin, was really glad that we chose to go alone and not insisting he came with us. He, like any other man on the planet I guess, hates Ikea. So off we went in Sabrina's massive Ford station car, ready to load it to the max. In my attempt to be responsible and cost effective, I had written a list of things I needed and done calculations of how much money I would need to spend. Needless to say, the list didn't resurface from my bag until the ride home. I actually didn't buy a whole lot of stuff I didn't need. Sure?! No, really!

The things I had to buy were shelves for DVD's - which we have loads of, another carpet, bed sheets, a bath curtain and cheap boxes for my closet for all my delicates :) I got all of that, being the list follower that I am. What I didn't need to buy I bought as well. I bought extra shelves for DVD's - one would never be enough. Also, my earlier mentioned Shepard Fairey posters needed frames as well. They were hella expensive, because the posters are so big. But it will look absolutely amazing! And it is the one thing my husband would really like to put up on the walls of our apartment, so of course they need proper fitting and they can be put up. Then I bought new umbrellas, because we walk quite a lot since we sold our car, and there is "no such thing as bad weather", apparently. Inspired by the ever cool Jessica Jones of howaboutorange.blogspot.com, I chose the orange ones. Then I bought small things like gift wrapping supplies, stickers, toilet brush - you know, the essentials!

Our local Ikea closed down its gift wrapping department quite a while ago. It has been impossible to find any cool gift paper, ribbon or anything, really. But now they have reopened that "department" with a small, but cool and essential collection. Last time I bought these green delights! Gift paper, ribbon, silk paper, masking tape, a book and gift tags. Such a cool design. On my visit to Ikea today I went with the pink version. Green and pink look cool together, so I can mix and match, and the colours are for boys and girls.

I feel like I have done a great job and that we really needed these things in order for us to make the apartment extra cool. All the black frames with cool posters, the green carpets under the dining table and the sofa table will look absolutely amazing. I wish we could afford a new couch that would fit the style a bit better, but money doesn't grow on trees! Who knew?!

Also buying the stuff to fill your apartment with is such a cool process. Before you can decorate a place, you need to buy the stuff to decorate with. Mission accomplished!

Now bring on the pasta and the oatmeal for the rest of the month!

Love VS. Design - free printable heaven!

This blog is so creative. If you do not know it, please visit their site!

The primary areas of focus on this website are weddings and parties, to put it simple. But they also offer gift tags and greeting cards for different occasions.

They offer the most beautiful design pieces that I have seen in a long time. This is exactly how I wanted my wedding invitations, programs, menus and place cards to look! I am sure my wedding would have been much more perfect if I had known this website existed then. Oh, who am I kidding? My - well, our - wedding party was perfect down to the last raindrop and I have never had a more wonderful day! It was off the chain, so to speak :) Also, I would have never been able to pick one single design out of this huge range of lovely and creative designs.

But the thing we are interested in is the freebies! So check out some of the cool free stuff they offer.

First up: The Ticket Line. I really like this concept. There is something very vintage about this. There is an invitation and place cards as a free download on the website. The third picture is a Valentines Day Coupon set that is also available at www.lovevsdesign.com. I thought that they complemented each other quite well. Personally, I absolutely adore the Valentines Day Coupon set, and it makes me hate that Valentines isn't such a big thing here in Denmark. At least not in our family -.- ! I am definitely making this for next years valentine, and then my husband will just have to put up with it! Oh my god, I have already found so many wonderful Valentines Day free downloads.. I'll have to start preparing them now if I want to get them in some kind of order for next year. There are so many!

Next: Mad Libs. I did not know what this was - Mad Libs. But of course I know the concept and these pre-printed templates are so cool and can be used in so many ways. Most of these are occasion specific, but who cares, right? The first photo is an Activity Sheet that matches the Confetti Line of the Bride&Groom Mad Libs in the second photo. The third photo is the Teepee Mad Libs part of love vs. designs children's line designed for baby showers and announcements. This is so cool and what a great thing to have from a baby shower to look back on. The same goes for the wedding edition, of course! Some of our family friends actually did something similar for us at our wedding. They had brought little pieces of paper, and told every guest to write something for us, and then they collected them in a lovely box and sealed it. We were then told to wait till our first anniversary to break the seal and read all the lovely notes from our friends and family. What a great idea, and let me tell you, someone was crying her eyes out! Not telling you who, though!

Now: Gift Tags. I am sucker for gift tags. There is nothing more satisfying for me than to wrap a gorgeous looking gift and give it to someone. The wrapping is half the gift, sometimes! This also means that I fall in love with everything gifty! Like these gift tags. Obviously, most of the gift tags in the world are designed for Christmas. The coolest of love vs. design's gift tags are also for Christmas. The first photo here is a children's one, which I will use on every gift the next couple of months, because they are not season specific. I love it, it's too cute. The second photo is of feather holiday gift tags. These are some of the coolest gift tags I have seen in forever. I love them. So different and cool. The third picture is also such a clever design. I mean, who hasn't at one point gotten a horrible sweater for Christmas that they hated? I know I have! And they make me think of the sweaters Ron and Harry got from Ron's mom in the first Harry Potter movie.
There are a few more gift tags in the free printable section, like the Simple Sweet Gift Tags, Holiday Gift Tags, Kraft Gift Tags, New Baby Gift Tags, and finally the Bright Holiday Gift Tags. Download them all and use them well!

Last: Recipe Cards. Last year I bought a traditional American recipe box with a few recipe cards and dividers for Baking, Salads, Meats, and so on. I'd post a photo if it wasn't packed away in moving-box-hell! I never cook. So I don't know why I wanted a recipe box, because I'll never use it. But it was just so cute and fits so well into my wannabe-vintage style home, and it had lovely colours and there is a singing bird on it and it has dots and the font is just right and the font is turquoise and, and, and... I am dumb! But! Me having a recipe box has made me look for recipe cards, and my, do I love them. The ones that love vs. design offer are great, and they recently added another one. Green. I love green! The first photo is of the green classic recipe cards and they are just lovely, and even feature a backside for further instructions. The second photo shows matching recipe cards and dividers. There is another version of these here. The last one is another cool favourite with a classic vintage font and a cool backside print that completes the vintage look. Had it been in a more vibrant colour, I would have been ecstatic. Still cool, though!

That was what I wanted to share today from the lovely website of www.lovevsdesign.com. Go there, buy stuff, support them, and print all the free downloads! There are many other free downloads, so go check them out!

Cheers!

All the art and all the cousins!

Somehow this went from being a blog about crafts and hobbies, to the last two posts - and this - being about art!

My family has always been very excited about art. As a child I was dragged around museums and galleries and I HATED it! With every fiber of my being - I hated it! I would cry, stomp my feet, resist going, stay in the car, cry some more - and this was just last summer! Imagine me as a child..
My parents have a very varied taste in art. They don't go by any rule book or specific style, which I really commend them for. Art should be about what appeals to you and catches your eye, not about it being by some specific artist whether or not you actually like the piece. When I was younger, and being dragged to the museums, my parents mostly bought poster art. Some of the poster prints my parents would buy I really did like. But most of them were kind of obscure and some were even erotic and sexual. That was quite hard to agree with as a shy child - I still don't understand it!

But now I am kind of getting all excited about art as well in many shapes, forms and sizes. Maybe it's something to do with age?! I am especially in love with all that is vintage. Old advertisement posters from old Danish or English companies, old fan posters of legendary music artists. Anything old, really, as long as it is in a cool, graphic style. It needs bold colors and cool lines. I could plaster all my walls over with posters I love. There are so many styles and I can't decide which is best, prettiest, coolest or just right. This does lead to some confusion in my "art collection". Just look at the last two posts on the blog. One about vintage black&white camera poster prints, the other about graphic, in-your-face-messages, bold colored posters. Today I add another style to the mix. Granted, all three posts are about posters, so I guess there is some cohesion.

I am lucky to have an artist in my family. My cousin is so talented! She paints abstract paintings and her latest series is filled with colors inspired by her travels to Asia and it's called The World In Colour. Check out her website at bjerker.com.
The other day my cousin posted on Facebook looking for someone to help her with some English editing. Of course I offered my assistance to her, being the ever-helpful English-wiz that I am -.-

She offered me two of her art prints in lovely black frames as a "thank you". Naturally, I jumped at the opportunity and two days ago a lovely package arrived at my door step. I was so happy to get these prints, because I just can't afford those kinds of indulgences right now, and I really wanted to buy some to support Vibeke, but I also just wanted them. So to get these as a gift was just perfect - not much support for Vibeke's business, but still. As I promised my cousin, these two lovely frames will be the first things I hang on the wall in our new flat. I already know where to hang them. Just take a look at these beauties!

The frames are 30x30 cm, so they fit perfectly right between the two living room windows. That is also a great place in order to keep the prints well-preserved as the sun will at some point have an effect on them. So that is my plan! Man, I am so lucky to be surrounded by great family members who aren't afraid to share their "talents" with other people. The "artist" cousin is my dad's brother's middle daughter. She is about the same age as my older brother, so we never really connected when I was younger because of the age difference. But now I am feeling the connection! I am discovering the creative sides of myself and I get so much inspiration from Vibeke's paintings. They are just as lovely as she is! It is great to see how someone else in your family has been so successful with her creative endeavors. Plus, I just learned that she lived 6 months in London, which is my absolute favorite city in the WORLD! Anything connected to London and I instantly love it.

One of my other cousins - my mother's youngest sister's eldest daughter (wow!) - is also providing us with her legal expertise, being a cand.merc.jur.. Just because she wanted to! Just because she loves digging in problems and finding reasons and solutions, I guess. She offered to look at our problematic situation with the municipality - looooong story - and she just wanted to help. I love my family! I truly do!

Decorating a new place - the real reason for moving!

We are moving. Up until now we have lived in my aunt's house while she has been working in Norway as a nurse. Now she has announced her "home-coming" and we have to find a new place to stay.

Luckily, we found a lovely little flat not far from both of our parents and some of our friends. The only reason I say "luckily" is because we have sold our car (!). If we live close to either of our parents we have easy access to a car whenever we feel too bound down and bored of things within "walking distance". Of course, it is not the only reason!! It also means that my mum won't have to walk that far to come and do the cleaning and general house keeping while we are out driving in her car... haha, I only write this because I know my mum isn't reading this :) :)

One of the absolute pleasures of moving into a new place is the chance to decorate completely empty rooms! Over the past few months we have changed our interior decorating style. We have always had second-hand furniture, mix-matched tree sorts, all kinds of colours and it has all been a bit messy and old-fashioned. Now we are streamlining the style to being more of the same basic colours which I can then spruce up by adding cool, homemade pillows or hanging colourful posters in my black frames.

I can't wait to get a more classic look in my home. Lots of white furniture, preferably old, quirky drawers or cabinets with cool designer items on top with magnificent colours. This also means that I get to go antiquing so I can look for a new cabinet for my dinnerware and Royal Copenhagen collection. Yes!

One of my ideas is also to get some vintage looking art on the walls. I found these free printables via howaboutorange.blogspot.com - originally from designeditor.typepad.com, and I just love them!

Cool, vintage cameras put in a classic, black frame. It doesn't get much better than that! All you have to do is download the files, take them to your local copy-store and they can make it any size you want. I still need to get my copies printed, but it will be done! I'll be sure to post pictures of the finished results in the new flat.


I have also been on the look-out for pillows, so I have an actual excuse/reason to make new pillows cases. I have so much cool fabric tucked away in my craft boxes and it need to be used! Well, I might forget about the fabric I already have and then pay fabricrehab.co.uk another visit to order some of their cool, vintage fabrics. There are some of the retro fabrics they stock that I find it hard to live without - especially the Geekly Chic line. They got me hooked and I am a true fabric addict. Oh my goodness, I am getting extra excited about the prospect of all this work!

It is going to be so great to live a place, where we are not living there on borrowed time. Don't get me wrong, it has been absolutely lovely living in my aunt's house, but there has always been a deadline over our heads. It will be great to not have that. Even if Lady Luck blesses us with a child at some point we can still stay in the flat if we need to. It is big enough for that. So we are set for the next couple of years!

I'll post pictures of the sewing projects I will embark on when we move. And most likely, I'll also post updates on the interior decoration, because I am getting oddly excited by that prospect right now. Maybe because we have been living in someone else's furniture for a 1½, and it is going to be so great to see our own stuff again outside of a storage box!

July 1st, please come now!