Inspired by the Danish

Those great Danes are always coming up with innovative modern, yet livable, design. The following pictures are out of a Danish magazine called 'Bo Bedre' (Live Better); I picked it up in Norway in December 2007. They are currently hanging above my desk in my Inspiration Space. Loving the mix of textures and colors - if I could 'teleport' these living spaces into my home I would! I'm a sucker for Scandinavian design.

Back to the drawing board - Literally

I'm a visual person and I often run ideas through my mind and visualize them in their entirety before I put them into practice. Sometimes I get a minute to jot down the ideas or draw them. This week I'm visualizing the table setting for a birthday party.

Here are my sketches:

'Thank you' bags full of goodies on cork-board - Amy Atlas style
Food table setting

Watch this Space

With the sewing machine in the shop and sewing projects on hold, I thought I'd take advantage of the time and space to rearrange my workspace. I got a new desk, lamp, and chair to make this space more conducive to my craft. Previously I had the sewing machine on top of a chest of drawers and I would take my swivel chair to one room to work on the sewing machine and take it back to the other room to work on the computer.

I love this space! It's still a work in progress but I've outfitted it with some inspirational things. I've been keeping clippings of inspirational pictures or designers from magazines that I've been collecting from places like Russia, Denmark, Estonia, Hungary, Norway and America. I brought back some a kindergarten art project of my handprints back with me from the States - I framed them and put them on my desk to remind me of what I used to be like.

Until I get the sewing machine back I'll be trawling resources for inspiration, so watch this space!

Out of Order

I took in my husband's grandma's old Singer sewing machine in for a service today (see picture below). I love using this old machine and I'm already going through withdrawals since I won't be able to sew for 3 weeks! I found some great free patterns on Amy Butler's awesome website that I would love to try out, but alas I'll have to wait. *sigh*

Birthday wish-list

It's my birthday in a couple of weeks and I'm really looking forward to it this year. It's my first birthday in Australia and with a whole new group of friends and I have a winter birthday instead of a summer birthday. Growing up I used to have big pool parties and then lunch in the park and pony rides but now we'll be huddling around a hot meal and playing some fun games inside.

I've created a wish-list for my husband because he asked what I want for my birthday. For some reason I don't think I'll get anything on the list (I usually dont) but he'll think of something special :o) On the list I have some practical and impractical things.

via Amazon.com here
via Amazon.com here

via Amazon.com here. I've wanted this ring for a couple years now. Doubt I'll get it :o)

Fun Quiz

Found this quiz featured on of my favorite blogs and I had to try it. Don't know if it entirely accurate but it might have captured the kind of decor style that I aspire to have.

At the end it features your name on a Magazine cover!

Click here to take the quiz.

Filling a void

Upstairs near our bathroom we have a big wall in the hallway that I could never get quite right. We are renting and we don't want to create any holes on the wall if we don't have to so I am using the existing nails where the owner's pictures used to hang. I had some art work in frames in this spot previously but it didn't look right. So I got some cheap canvases and decorated them with some figures that I cut out of scrap-booking paper. I think they're cute, my husband thinks they look amateur, but I like them - simple, pops of color, and a little cheeky.

Found on Ibu Trading

I'm loving the latest website that I found called Ibu. It has lots of options for eco, sustainable, original things for everyday life. I LOVE this table/bench from Zaishu found through Ibu Trading. The antique kimono design is gorgeous but the price tag is a little steep - that's what you pay for quality sustainable products, but my pocket book says Ouch!

Eco Living

Found this company called Oiko on Ibu Trading which prides itself in selling original, ethical, and eco-logical goods. Oiko makes handmade hemp fabrics in different colorways and creates really cool things for home and for everyday living. Love the colors!

1 Year old today!!

It completely slipped my mind but today this Revision Design blog is celebrating its 1st birthday. I was browsing other blogs today and I came one that was announcing their blog's anniversary and I thought I better check to see when I started mine and lo' and behold it was one year ago today! I was sitting next to a window in a little apartment in St. Peterburg Russia making cards and taking pictures of them and decided to create a blog to report my crafty happenings. One year and a whole lot of projects later I am still bloggin' and loving it.

Thanks to all my readers!! I'm having one of these is your honor :o)

Here's a picture from my original post on July 16, 2008

click here to see where it all began. Cheers!

Prototype 1 - Deer Pillow

I mentioned before that this week I'm working on patterns and prototypes for new pillows and homewares. I made a pillow out of organic cotton that I bought in the States and some fabric that I found in a local thrift store. The decal I made from fabric that I bought here at a craft market. Fun stuff!

On the prowl

I'm looking for suppliers of certified organic and eco friendly fabrics here in Australia. I recently saw a commercial for a repository of 'Green' businesses it's called thegreenpages.com.au. I had a look through the businesses and was very excited but realized that we still have a long way to go in making sustainable and eco friendly goods.


As I looked through the green pages I found a company called Cloth. They screen print their graphics onto natural fiber fabrics such as cotton and hemp. I really like this fabric below called 'Looking for Water' - it's in 4 different colorways.

Rain beau!

I come from the wet and wild city of Seattle and I love a little rain (ok, a lot of rain), but rain is mostly associated with dark and gloomy weather, but I think it is refreshing and wonderful. I love when the sun is shining through the clouds and the rain is dripping from a leafy tree above. That's where I got the inspiration for my 'Rain beau' pillow - made from woven wool fabric and leather cloud and raindrops.

Also featured in the pictures below is our new little sock elephant named Tickles.

Breaking News :: Visa Update!

Just got an email this morning saying that my visa processing is completed in Russia, now they'll send the application on to the next Australian embassy for the final decision on my residency visa for Australia!

I am very excited about this because I have been waiting for 10 months already. Hopefully I won't have to wait too much longer to live long-term in this beautiful country. I'm feeling a little patriotic for my new found home Australia so I'll leave you with the national Coat of Arms for Australia. Don't let it bother you that we sometimes have part of the emblem for dinner, Kangaroo and Emu taste yummy!

this week I'm actually working

I can't legally work here in Australia - I'm still waiting on my residency visa (not very patiently); while I wait I'm trying to make a decision about starting a small business and opening up an online retail store with my wares. I'm researching small business in Australia, taxes, business plans, marketing, competition, wholesale suppliers, etc. But this week I'm taking a break from the "paperwork" and I'm going back to the drawing board and creating some designs of things that I would like to sell IF I start this business.

This week I'm working on graphics for pillows - here's a sneak peak. Here's what I do. I draw out the graphic on a regular piece of lined paper, then I tweak it to my liking, cut it out and if I end up wanting to keep it for a long time I'll transfer it to card-stock so the pattern lasts longer. I'll use these patterns to trace graphics onto fabric and then I'll iron on that graphic to a pillow or other project. Fun stuff!

He's been caught in the act

This is George Gibbons, our new little sock 'gibbon' (our variation of the sock monkey) has been cited for indecent exposure. So that this won't happen again I'll make our little gibbon something to wear. Here are the incriminating shots.

Freebie!

My sister is the Queen of all things thrifty and nifty and she found this bar cart that the previous owners left in the back of their new house. She scrubbed it up and gave it a face-lift and it's now being used as a caddy near the bbq (which was also free).

Way to go Sally! Now with all the money you saved you can buy a ticket to Australia to come visit me!!

Native Australian Flowers

I went down to our local flower shop called Scents of Occasion - they are under new management and have changed things around a little including putting all sorts of flowers on display outside on the sidewalk. I had my wedding bouquet done here 2.5 years ago when we had our 'Australian wedding celebration'. Some native Australian flowers caught my eye and I got a couple bunches for the dining room table and the guest room. I do have to admit that the pink flower (below) is actually a South African native, but it is grown in the masses here in Australia, so they've adopted it as one of their own.


These are actually flowers from trees so the stems are quite tough. Tip! Flowers from trees have troubles soaking up water after they've been cut, so hit the end of the stem with a hammer a few times to break it up and it will soak up water a lot better.

The New and Improved Austin Chase Coffee shop

While I was back in the States I helped do a small redecorating project to the coffee shop that I used to work at. It is located at the front of a major department store so we had to get all kinds of clearance to paint. I, unfortunately, didn't get a 'before photo' of the feature wall that we ended up painting, but it probably wouldn't have turned out anyway because we were painting in the dark (someone forgot to turn the lights on before the store opened like we asked). The feature was was a faux finish sponge painted green, gray, and taupe wall that had been that way for 15 years. It was time for a spruce-up.

My new Bike

My dear husband was tired of me complaining about how my butt hurt after our bike rides and how my gears wouldn't change properly so he finally got me a new bike! I love it. I got fitted for the bike (very important) - and I confirmed that I have freakishly long arms, and I test rode about 6 bikes. I finally narrowed it down to this sleek hybrid lightweight Apollo bike.
Now I'm looking for accessories - a basket and saddle bags (as if I don't have those already, if you know what I mean)
My absolute favorite is the lace basket (shown in green) - it's a bit pricey compared the rest of them. Now I have to decide if I go with lacy, vintage, or industrial/practical

Here are some options for saddle bags - picnic ready or everyday. What do you think?
All photos from Amazon.com.