Ella’s Place – Page 4

Posted on April 20, 2016June 6, 2016 by ellajohnston12 — 1 Comment

How I made bedside lanterns in 10 minutes

In my on-going quest to revamp the bedroom I decided we could do with some subtle lighting. I’m a massive fan of candles but they are not always the safest thing to have burning while you’re falling asleep to some night-time reading or Radio 4’s Book at Bedtime (I know, I’m so street). So I’ve opted with some safe bespoke LED lanterns.
I bought a needcraft lantern making kit which enables you to make three little lights using fabric or paper as a covering. They’re a fab little update and would make a great gift.
I’ve used a lot of needcraft kits (the company are not paying me) to give elements of my home the personal touch. From lampshades to bins, the kits have allowed me to make use of my own fabric designs with quick-win, no-sew makes. The instructions are super easy so you really can whip these up in minutes.
I’ve covered the lanterns with my thistle fabric from Spoonflower in keeping with the blue bedroom theme. However they are currently living in the dining room – Dr B loves them and is very keen on using them along with our candles when we have our evening meals (weekends mostly if I’m being honest – we eat on the kitchen or lounge most days).

Posted on April 15, 2016June 6, 2016 by ellajohnston12

Finished Bird of the Fortnight: Black Headed Gull

As I mentioned earlier this week with my black and white drawings, the black headed gull is a constant companion for any Wivenhoe resident.

The gull isn’t a particularly glamorous bird I suppose, however it is quite a handsome creature in my opinion. It has a gorgeous sleek head (this dark colour comes along in the spring and summer for sexy mating times) and rather lovely white and silver feathers. I love these guys and I’m so lucky to have the opportunity to see them everyday!

I didn’t have to overwork this piece for the final illustration. Although the colour looks light, there are actually several layers of washes in a range of silvery, blue, purple, pink and grey watercolours. Because this bird is quite sleek I don’t want to go to town on fine detail on this drawing, so I kept my ink lines gestural and fluid, maybe a little rough and ready like the birds themselves.

Posted on April 11, 2016March 31, 2016 by ellajohnston12

Bird of the Fortnight: Black Headed Gull

This fortnight’s bird may be rather mundane to some but to me it’s rather special.

Essentially we share our home town with the black headed gull, you only have to walk around the corner from our house and you’ll see these critters flying about or picking at the Wivenhoe mud. They make a great racket too, especially if you’re having chips on the quay!

So if you haven’t seen my bird of the fortnight posts before then what I do is start the week with three black and white pen sketches. I then finish the week with a worked up colour watercolour and ink drawing. Join me on Friday to see the final illustration.

Posted on April 8, 2016June 6, 2016 by ellajohnston12

10 Painterly Purchases

Obviously I love this currently trend for all things painterly. I love the range of hues available, the visceral, gestural, almost spontaneous quality of this style.

This painterly effect look is fantastic when you want to perk up a bedroom or give a hallway a quick update. The great thing is you can pick pieces from this trend that suit your home; you can go subtle and select items with soft, fluid watercolour washes or go big and bold with confident bursts of colour – the choice is yours. Check out these ten picks…

10 Painterly Buys ellasplace.co.uk — Personalised Watercolour Word Print from Not On The High Street

10 painterly purchases ellasplace.co.uk — Watercolour Bedlinen from Homesense

Posted on April 6, 2016June 6, 2016 by ellajohnston12

Hack: make your own storage buckets

Okay I’ll come clean, I’m using these as storage buckets but they are actually waste paper bins.

I originally bought two Needcraft bin making kits for our upgraded study (pics coming soon) and our ‘continual work in progress’ bedroom. The kit is really easy to use with simple step by step pictorial instructions, I’m not a particularly neat sewer so I like a no-sew quick fix when I can.

The thing is when I made the bins and I didn’t have the heart to put rubbish in them.

As I’m aiming for a relaxing cool blue vibe in my bedroom and I covered the first ‘bin’ in my storm-grey Scandi leaves fabric from my Spoonflower shop.

I was really happy with the end result, so much so that I really couldn’t face filling it with make-up removing cleansing wipes, laddered tights and other bedroom rubbish stuff. It looked too pretty!

So, inspired by a rather nifty idea from Black Parrots Studio’s Sarah Mitchenall on her first round of The Great Interior Design Challenge my bin turned into a book bucket, which has proved to be very handy, as the one thing our house has got is an abundance of books. So this now lives at the bottom of our bed for all our reading needs.

Now the study REALLY needed a bin so I set about making the next one in my tropical trio design, also available at my Spoonflower shop.

Because the instructions are so easy to follow you can make these bins in minutes with either fabric or paper. I’ve had this tropical design for a while and, although I loved it, I was at a loss as to what to do with it. However the fabric’s subtle hues and graphic design suits our workspace perfectly.

And you see that was the problem – too nice. Once I finished that one I could not face using it as a place to throw receipts and scrap paper for recycling. I do however have lots of gift wrap, large format paper, bookbinding cloth and posters I need to keep in one place so my tropical bloom bucket is being used for precisely that.

Posted on March 31, 2016June 6, 2016 by ellajohnston12

10 Texty Buys

Years and years and years ago I had an Anthony Burrill ‘Work Hard and Be Nice to People’ print in our London flat. I can’t flipping find the print now – it’s been missing since the move. Anyway, at the time the whole slogan print thing wasn’t particularly fashionable and every time we had visitors round we’d spend a good part of the time discussing the words, the print, the notion of having a ‘statement’ on your wall.

Those days are long gone. It seems to me that words and phrases are now an everyday feature of a modern home, so to keep things stylish I think the key is to not go mad on it, the trick is less is more here I reckon, sometimes like words themselves (although no-one would ever accuse me of that). I keep my slogans fairly low-key with little postcards and on my notebooks (see how you can do it by clicking this link).

Anyway here’s my pick of 10 texty buys available right now…

10 texty buys ellasplace.co.uk — Be Brave Banner Secret Holiday & Co from The Calm Gallery

Posted on March 20, 2016June 6, 2016 by ellajohnston12

10 top folky buys

You may have noticed that I’m a bit of an old hippy at heart and as an illustrator I can’t help but be drawn to a folky design. I love its simple, yet rather splendid style plus the sense of symmetry and its decorative hand-crafted look. I also like they way that even if you just use small touches, folky styles can give the most austere and coolest of spaces a relaxed edge and an element of informality and, because this style is steeped in history, it can give your spaces a sense of heritage.

It would appear that I am not alone. There are so many gorgeous folk-inspired designs on the market for you to buy to give your spaces that relaxed vibe. Take a look at my top ten (in no particular order) below…

Folky buys ellasplace.co.uk — From Made.com

Posted on March 13, 2016June 6, 2016 by ellajohnston12

9 Memphis-style home buys

As I mentioned in an earlier post the Memphis Movement has a very big influence on interiors and design at the moment and only looks set to be more prevalent in home shops over the coming months. The style is already emerging in a number of buys, from fridge magnets, trinket boxes and party plates to beanbags, cushions, lights and cot protectors –have a look at my selection of favourite Memphis style ideas that can add a playful on-trend update to your home.

Memphis style buys ellasplace.co.uk — From Sweet Party Day

Posted on February 28, 2016June 6, 2016 by ellajohnston12

Hack: Pimp up a flower display

It’s a week until Mothering Sunday in the UK. If you’re having a little celebration or gathering with your mum (or indeed anyone – an aunt, a friend, a neighbour) it’s worth making an effort to make the get together more special. Having a lovely little flower display is an easy way to make someone smile and feel like you’ve gone the extra mile.

So this is a really easy and more importantly really cheap way to pimp up a floral display. I used few flower heads, some little shot glasses and sturdy paper featuring my love heart design. I made cute carton style boxes, popped the shot glass in (with around 2cm of water) and snuck the flower bud in to peak above the top of the paper. This method means you can display a single bloom without blowing your budget on a big bouquet.

I used a die-cutting machine (Sizzix Big Shot Machine #660200) with a carton box die (Sizzix Thinlits Die – Box, Milk Carton) to make my boxes but you can make a simple paper cover by simply scoring a paper rectangle so it wraps around the shot glass like a sleeve. So, it’s not just for Mother’s Day, I like to do this for parties and get-togethers when I want an easy decorative touch that I can theme with different paper designs and blooms.

Posted on February 25, 2016June 6, 2016 by ellajohnston12

Hack: An Easy Way to Embrace Pastels

As part of my on-going efforts to revamp my bedroom I’ve been looking to add a sense of calm and tranquility to the space. If you saw my previous post on the pastel trend you’ll see these tones are being touted as perfect for providing as sense of calm and relaxation and are currently dominating the high street.

I wanted an easy way to embrace pastels while giving my boudoir an handmade artisan touch. I also don’t want to commit myself to one colour or style yet as I’m still undecided as to how I want the room just yet. I needed a flexible update that I could change, so I got out my paints…

First I painted a small canvas with a very simple layers of light, rose and dusky pinks to create a pop of gentle colour to brighten up my side tables.

I liked my quick canvas but I wanted something to tie things together. I then remembered a project I did last year for Homemaker magazine. It was really simple but incredibly effective and all it involved was a set of acrylic paints and some filled glass candle votives.

My house always has scented candle glass votives – I pick them up when I’m doing my grocery shopping and, if you don’t pick a pungent fragrance (give them a sniff) and don’t mind a shorter life span, you can buy them for about £1.50. I’ve used a rough, coarse brush to apply lilac and serenity blue paint on the base of the glass as I want a tactile, painterly feel to these pieces.

They look fab on my bedside cabinets and I love the way they look when they are lit after I take a bath (I love a little spa feel) and when I’m reading in the evening or when unlit as a colourful ornament during the day. They also make great gifts for people too – I’ve done a couple of these for friends as part of a ‘relaxation box’ (more on that later) and they have loved them.