Uncategorized – Page 12

Posted on October 13, 2015October 19, 2015 by ellajohnston12

5 New Trends for Bedrooms

We’ve been in our Wivenhoe home for four years now and we still haven’t got round to doing up our bedroom properly. So it is my mission to get it revamped for the end of 2015 – or at least the beginning of 2016 (watch this space). I’ve scoured my look-books and magazine moodboards for inspiration and we (it’s a joint decision afterall) have shortlisted five current bedroom trends that would look fab in our little space. From traditional country classics to bright and contemporary, we’re still debating which style to go for – I personally like them all. I promise we’ll make up our minds soon.

Country Classics
I don’t normally go completely traditional in regards to interior design – I’m favour more of what you might call a mash-up look, or should that be eclectic? However, when it comes to bedrooms, there’s something I can’t resist about wicker chairs, white wooden accents, artisan looking quilts and pretty florals. It just screams class and loveliness as well as making me feel grown up – I mean take a look at this lot, I’d feel like a French princess every morning if I woke up to this.

Bright and Beautiful
Accent notes in bold colours and vivid patterns are definitely my go-to when I’m usually looking for homewares. So I’m very taken with the trend for retro motifs, geometric weaves and bright painterly effects, plus the current palette of rich buttercup yellows, mint greens and warm berry shades. This look really suits my preference for mixing and matching styles as you can go to town with it or tone it down when teamed with greys and other more sober shades and organic, rustic materials such as wood or leather.

Calming and Relaxing
A bedroom is a sanctuary and I’m very attracted to the idea of creating a space that is truly calm and restrained. We’re both so busy and I’d like to make a soothing, restful place for us to really wind down in. I’ve recently seen some lovely collections that fit the bill perfectly, combining soft hues, neutral tones and natural textures with elegant, subtle motifs – just gorgeous.

From Mylands paints — From Mylands Paints

Modern Graphic
As you’ll know from my stamped stationery and fabric collections, I’m often drawn to strong pattern in a contemporary blue/grey colourway. Inspired by Shibori dying and Scandi design, this style seems to combine my love of bold graphics with my desire to create a tranquil space. Worth exploring.

Fun and Quirky
Because the boudoir is a private space (behave!), I think you can afford to be a bit playful too. Even if it’s not massively full on, whatever general look I go for, I’ll be sure to inject a fun quirky element to my bedroom scheme – after all we all know how I love a little animal in every room!

Posted on October 1, 2015October 4, 2015 by ellajohnston12

Dining Trends for Autumn Winter 2015

From Sainsbury's Home — From Sainsbury’s Home

Now we’re in October I’m declaring autumn officially open! I can lock up the barbecue (I make a great veggie one by the way) and look forward to inviting people round for some heartwarming indoor dinners. With this in mind I’m thinking of sprucing up my dining room with a few little key pieces and have been checking out the upcoming trends for autumn/winter 2015 that I thought I’d share with you.

ROYAL AND BERRY-STYLE COLOURS
Deep navy blues, vivid purples, soft mulberry and raspberry shades are really popular right now, especially in terms of furniture, table accessories and paints. Much as I love the gothic sub-culture and goths I’m not sure I’m brave enough to go all out on this scheme but I may invest in some richly coloured hydrangeas and the odd cushion.

METALLICS – ESPECIALLY COPPER!
Every single press show I’ve attended this year featured metallics and lots and lots of copper elements. You can go as full-on or as subtle as you like with this trend, grouping lots of lanterns and votives together, or simply choosing glassware with metallic finishes.

PATTERNS ON PLATES AND NAPKINS
While everything else is all about textures and colours, accessories such as plates and napkins are featuring ornate patterns. As someone who works with pattern and illustration I’m quite excited about this trend as I love little touches of illustration in homewares. And, although I’m a fan of big bold graphics, I do like the fact that more intricate designs are making a play this season.

From Wild & Wolf — From Thornback & Peel

Posted on September 24, 2015September 21, 2015 by ellajohnston12

What to do with spare fabric

I’ve been designing fabric patterns and have ordered lots of my handprinted leaf design in blue from my Spoonflower shop to craft with. So, after making cushions, lampshades and using it to revamp some little steps I have (more about that later), I’ve got an excess of little bits and pieces.

So what to do? Well I’ve got a lovely set of wooden boxes from BoxyLady.co.uk and I’ve used my blue and white material to cover these little numbers with. They are really easy to do – simply measure your fabric to fit the box, brush the boxes with PVA and place the fabric so it bonds with the glue, mitring the folds and snipping away any spare bits of fabric as you go.

Here’s the result. These containers are great for those little fiddly household items. I use this box to keep my tea-lights in when I’m not using them and it sits pride of place on my sideboard in the dining room.

Posted on September 11, 2015September 4, 2015 by ellajohnston12

5 Scandi-Style Homewares

Scandinavian inspired design never seems to go out of fashion. I think it’s the fact that this style lends itself to contemporary, grown up and super cool looks while it can also be stylishly whimsical too. My stamped pattern designs have been influenced by the former using simple shapes and a cool colour palette. Here’s five of my favourite homeware buys that reflect this look.

1: Dala Horse in natural concrete, at Cranmore Home: cranmorehome.com.au
2: ‘Green Curve II’ Screenprint by Emma Lawrenson at Etsy: etsy.com
3: Samaki cushion coverat Andshine: andshine.co.uk
4: Jangneus Green Herbs dishcloth, at Berry Red: berryred.co.uk
5: IM015 Swiss Linen in yellow and grey at Milton and King: shop.miltonandking.com

Posted on September 7, 2015September 4, 2015 by ellajohnston12

How to organise your craft materials – Part 1

I’m not a woman who spends loads of money on handbags and shoes. I’m not even that much of a voracious clothes buyer. No, I spend pretty much all my disposable income on art and craft materials. Here’s how I organise mine.

As I have so much equipment, I need to organise it in two ways. One, as general put it away and keep things neat and tidy when I’m not using it (more of that later). Two, the things for ‘live work’ – stuff I need as I’m working.

As I mentioned before, I have an abundance of black Faber Castell India ink PITT artist pens in various nib sizes, plus a load of drawing pencils and probably more scalpels than a woman needs. All of which as an illustrator I need to hand – and all of which I have a habit of mislaying if I don’t have a home for them!

As I’m currently working on my stamped designs as well as my ongoing drawing practice, I have a lot of little fiddly items that I really can’t misplace. There are messy ink pads (in specific colours), scalpel blades and my collection of hand-carved stamps (true one-offs that I really, really don’t want to lose).

These tricky-to-store bits and pieces need a home, and in true crafty fashion I’ve done a bit of upcycling and personalising when it comes to go-to craft room storage.

All the pens and brushes I’ve got on the go, plus my bookbinding tools, are all stored easily to hand in little tins covered with my red heart fabric. Tins make for great storage – they hold so much, I can see what’s in them and access them easily, plus you can line them up in row to look uniform.

My little inky items live in an old chocolate treats tin that is also covered in my red and white fabric. I love using these round containers: you can stack them up for easy organising and you can pop a lid on them to keep everything concealed. I have lots of these in my craft room, either painted or covered in paper and fabric (I’ve been known to colour code these for stamps, floristry stuff, threads and fabric scraps etc).

It’s easy to cover both types of tin too. I love a bit of decoupage. You simply use a tape measure to work out the circumference and the height, then cut your fabric to these dimensions (I’ve used pinking sheers for this). Then simply cover the tin with strong PVA glue and wrap around to cover the side. For the lidded tin I’ve cut out sections of fabric and layered these over the lid. I’ve then covered all the containers with PVA to seal the fabric and act as a varnish.

Posted on August 31, 2015August 30, 2015 by ellajohnston12

Eight Rainy Day Homewares

It’s an August Bank Holiday Monday in Britain – and tradition has it that it’s normally a bit grey and rainy!

As someone with Celtic heritage who is married to a Cumbrian, I actually quite like a drizzly day. I’d have to: family holidays in Ireland, annual visits to the Lake District and much-loved trips to my favourite cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh are often rain-filled affairs. Also, although our part of Essex is generally quite dry, the big, Constablesque skies we have mean that when the weather isn’t so sunny you are often treated to panoramic views of stunning slate grey.

So, let’s celebrate the rain and embrace those cosy grey days with my pick of shower-themed homewares…

1: If Storms Should Come… Print, £35 at Iapetus: iapetus.co.uk
2: Rainy Day Blanket by Donna Wilson, £195 at Rume: rume.co.uk
3: Cloud Felt Coaster Set, £14.50 for four at Etsy: etsy.com
4: Handmade Ceramic Soap Dish, £21.37 at Etsy: .etsy.com
5: Cloud Cushion $199 at Cumulus Living: cumulusliving.com.au
6: Mid Wedgwood No113 Paint, from £20 a litre, Myland Paints: mylands.co.uk
7: Cloud Pencil & Eraser Set, £10 at Red Candy: www.redcandy.co.uk
8: Cloud Kids’ Rug, €135 at KSL Living: ksl-living.fr

Posted on August 27, 2015August 27, 2015 by ellajohnston12

DIY: make your own lampshade

I’m embracing the DIY ethic this month and have just made a really easy lampshade with my own fabric. I have to say I’m very pleased with it – and you can easily make one too.

This summer I’ve been creating new designs using a rubber block print technique. I simply draw, then carve out a motif from a block, ink it up and start making lovely prints with it.

These block prints look great when translated into fabric design so, after ordering a few designs from my Spoonflower shop, I used my red heart fabric to make a lampshade.

To make the shade I used a 20cm Oval Lampshade Making Kit from Needcraft. I’ve worked with the round lampshade kits before and found them really straightforward to make with, so I branched out this time with a slightly more unusual shape. The kits contain two lampshade rings (one with the fitting), one self-adhesive lampshade panel (to adhere your cover onto), self-adhesive tape and a rolled edge tool for finishing – all you need to do is add fabric to cover. It’s as easy as that. As with the other kits the picture instructions and step-by-steps were easy to follow so the shade was made in around 15 minutes.

I didn’t want a pendant shade and, because I wanted my creation to have maximum impact, I chose a small base so my hearts take centre stage. Of course your choice of base is down to you. If you have a lamp base that could do with an upgraded shade, I’d really recommend it.

Posted on August 14, 2015August 12, 2015 by ellajohnston12

How I made a baby blanket from a crochet granny square

A granny square was the first thing I learned to crochet. This was about three years ago. I won’t lie – I did find it a little tricky to get my head around them initially, but now I can do them in my sleep. Well, perhaps not in my sleep but I can make them while watching telly, on the train and while my family are all arguing about the relative merits of George Orwell and Charles Dickens (I kid you not – getting into some crochet was a good way to duck out of the ‘action’).

The thing I love about granny squares is that their easy pattern means that once you get into the rhythm of making one you can make a collection of little ones, joining them up to make a patch-style throw or crocheting one large square to create a blanket. Plus, their classic, regular design allows you to be really creative with your colour combinations and yarn textures.

I made this baby blanket for a very special little person and two lovely big people. My dear friend Ruth Crilly aka A Model Recommends has just had the most adorable little baby girl and I am delighted for Ruth and Mr AMR. Crochet 10

For this blanket I used Debbie Bliss cotton DK in Ecru (cream) and Butter (yellow) for main parts of the cover. I like to play with texture so I also added a grey and orange accent by crocheting a strip of Debbie Bliss Eco Baby in Silver and Burnt Orange. You can get these yarns at Love Crochet.

To make a big blanket I simply crochet a basic granny square and keep on going, working my trebles and chains into the spaces and around the corners.

If you’re new to crochet and unsure about the stitches and the classic granny square design, I suggest you follow a video step by step (I find them a big help when trying something new), visit Top Crochet Patterns – not only is there a granny how-to but it also talks you through basic stitches. The site has lots of additional free crochet patterns –ready for when your talent and crochet confidence grows.

Posted on August 13, 2015August 12, 2015 by ellajohnston12

Creative ways with watercolour… birds

I’m treating you to a sneaky preview of some illustrations I’m working on at the moment. They are not finished by any stretch but I thought you may be interested in seeing them in their ‘raw’ state.

I’ve been trying out some creative ways of adding texture and colour to my avian drawings with watercolour paints for some time now. I feel that this painterly method creates further interest and depth when illustrating the individual bird’s plumage than a line drawing. I also think it imbues a sense of vitality and movement in the composition. It’s also really simple to achieve.

My illustrations are made on non-textured watercolour paper – it has a lovely quality that absorbs water and ink really well. I first draw a light sketch of my subject in pencil, loosely highlighting key areas in pencil. Then I apply layer of watercolour washes to the illustration. Each layer is very watered down and I like to build up the colours gradually – this gives me more interesting colour combinations and a pleasing overall texture. Once I’m happy with the colour, I leave this to dry before applying a detailed ink drawing over the top.

You’ll be able to see the finished drawings in a book of wading birds published by Dunlin Press next year.

Posted on August 7, 2015August 6, 2015 by ellajohnston12

7 lovely things for the weekend

It’s been a busy week here at Ella’s Place – I’ve been sending my Christmas stationery sets to the printers (more of that in good time) and drawing and painting for an upcoming book project (more of that later, too) as well as editing magazines. In the thick of it it’s lovely when little things fall in front of you that inspire you, take you to a different place or simply make you smile. Here are seven things that did just that this week.

Dr B took this photo of the little clump of heleniums and blue agastache growing in our garden. Such colours!
I really like the playfulness of Lorien Stern’s ceramics. You can see more of them at anthologymag.com.
What fun! The Hello House is a new facade on a Victorian house in Melbourne, Australia. It certainly beats a doormat saying ‘welcome’. See more at Design Milk.
Mlle Hipolyte’s paper fresco in relief called Tropical Jungle is amazing. It features exotic birds and a black panther – and it’s really on trend for the coming year. See more at Fubiz.net.
Tori Murphy‘s homewares, all woven and made in Nottingham, are lovely – but I particularly like this shot of cushions all piled in a corner. It’s got more impact than seeing one cushion on a chair – and of course it makes you want to dive right in.
This folky little owl is actually a musical instrument. He seems to have found his way into the middle of this wooden O. O for owl.
It’s been such a busy week I’ve been dreaming of escapes – this thatched and bamboo hideaway in Vietnam looks just the thing. Via Dezeen. Have a great weekend!