Design Inspiration. Planet Stencil Library.

A big butterfly stencil

Introducing CO13 butterfly stencil and some ways to decorate with it

I made floor mats by stencilling the butterfly shapes onto onto Roc-Lon fray proof canvas then cut around the stenciled butterflies with scissors, varnished them and placed them on the floor in a guest bedroom. 

They have been at home for many years

but now I am reworking the room so I expect that I will sell the butterfly floor cloths in our next pop up sale.  The same design was used to decorate a tree for the diamond jubilee of our Queen Elizabeth.

This time the butterfly design was stencilled onto drafting film then the shapes were cut around. 

Another way to use the stencil is to create a spot motif upon a feature wall....actually,  it may have worked well onto the back of the leather jacket too.

Helen

 

Spring has Sprung?

Here I sit at my computer, staring out the window at the rain and intermittent snow (yes, snow!) falling and wondering when, oh when is spring finally going to arrive.  Well, it has in London.  Inside Liberty's.  At the RE concession.

Honestly, it is extraordinary.  You can hardly even see a bud on the trees to tell us that they will soon be in leaf.  As yet, no blossom had yet to make an appearance.  If you look at our post from March 30th last year, you will see photos of the magnolia, cherry blossom and winter jasmine all out and in full bloom and bees buzzing about their business.  So far this year, nothing has appeared.  Blossom, leaf and bee is quite sensibly staying in hibernation for now.  I don't blame them. However, the good folk of RE in Corbridge who have a concession in the fab department store Liberty's on Regent Street in London have put together a spring display to remind us that spring will eventually arrive.  They used our TP15 Leaves stencil in two different sizes, stencilled in bright greens on old pages of the Gardener's Chronicle paper from the 30's and 40's.  These in turn were tacked onto the wall behind various garden themed wares. 

 

What a fun idea.  And it is temporary.  Once could do something similar at home for a pop-up decorating scheme.  I quite like that idea.  If you fancy a short lived change for your decor whether it is for a party or event or simply to put a different spin on something for a short period of time, stencil some interesting paper with your chosen design and tack it to your wall using something temporary that won't mark the surface.

Rachel

Rachel's Living Room Preview

Whilst I work on the full post, I thought I would give you a bit of a preview of my living room showcasing the wall where Chips' lastest painting hangs because it is the feature of this room. 

Photo by Stephen Egglestone
You will have read in previous posts that Chippendale-Morris have a new range of paintings.  Chips takes well known art and reinterprets it by meticulously separating the image into thousands of coloured dots which he paints onto large canvases.  Up close, the image will look like a colourful abstract image, but the farther you move away from it, the more clear the image will become.  It is very, very clever as the colours have to be just right and takes ages to paint.  I have always loved anything that puts a modern twist on something traditional so couldn't wait to have a Chippendale-Morris for my own walls.  I chose "Girl in a Green Dress" as it is so very art deco (the main theme of the room).  I saved the chimney breast space for this masterpiece and it was a thrill to bring it home and hang it in place.  We were then able to call the room "finished" (bar a few minor details) and photograph it to share.  The full post will be along shortly but in the meantime, "Girl in a Green Dress" as seen by Chippendale-Morris deserves a post of her own.  I have yet to research this painting and I do not know if the model is known, but in the meantime Stephen and I have named her "Tallulah".  You can see the hint of the stencilling in this room: stencil VN7 Chain Lightening from our Vintage range, stencilled in Sunset Gold paint, on a wall painted with Farrow & Ball's Blue Black estate emulsion.

Happy Monday and a heart shaped cake.

It is Monday morning and to start a new week with cheer I bring you virtual cake.

Recipe for delicious, clementine cake courtesy of Nigella Lawson, Maya Gold chocolate from Green and Blacks, dusted with edible gold, baked by me.  Heart shaped cake mold and glass cake stand from IKEA, lace stencil on table from The Stencil Library.

Enjoy. I'll be back in a couple of hours to tell you about a new magazine.

The next batch of magazines requiring a new home: Vogue Living Australia

I have 8 issues of Vogue Living Australia to give away.  One from 1994, one from 2010 and the rest from 2000-2002. 

This is a great interiors magazine and was not always easy for me to get hold of, but I used to come across it occasionally when travelling (usually at Amsterdam airport) or when a newsagents in Newcastle occasionally got some international issues in.  There is a wide variety of interior styles to inspire.  They are mostly complete, but there may be a page missing from the occasional issue.

Should anyone want them, they can have them free if they pay the postage (they weigh 5 kg) on a first come, first serve basis.  Local pickup would be free, UK post is estimated at 12.60 GBP, Europe around 35.00 GBP, the rest of the world from about 65.00 GBP.  I will be able to confirm an exact charge depending on where you are and how quickly you want them.  If you would like them, please contact us.  I will amend this post as soon as they have been claimed.  And there is more still to come.

Possibly the best moving aid ever

Aside from a team of burly men to pack, move, and unpack it all for you whilst you lounge on a beach in the Caribbean....yes, it is the humble Ikea Blue Bag. 

What a little (large) gem.  Stephen and I have almost moved all of my stuff to our house and we did it by reusing 40 Ikea Blue Bags.  To date, they have moved 16 bags of large books, 40 bags of magazines (see yesterday's post), 20+ bags of clothes, 4 bags of shoes, 4 bags of hats, 2 bags of kitchen paraphernalia...the list could go on.  They only thing that didn't go into them was the furniture. The damage? One of the 4 handles on one bag has broken, and another has a small hole in it.  Otherwise, they are still going strong.  They will be great for storing things as well.

The best bit?  They cost 40p each (total outlay 16.00 GBP).  We used exactly 2 cardboard boxes to move some more fragile items, otherwise, it all went into Ikea Blue Bags.  I never want to move again.  It was a crippling experience that had me sitting on the stairs late one Sunday after having spent all weekend moving stuff with my legs trembling so badly, it took 10 minutes before I could stand again.  But we couldn't have done it at all without our Ikea bags.  All hail the Ikea Blue Bag.

Rachel

Old House Beautiful (US) magazines require new home

As you know, I have recently moved home.  I am still moving the last few bits and pieces.  Many of you also know I have a rather large magazine collection.  I have moved somewhere in the region of 40 large Ikea blue bags full so far and am not quite finished (see next post).  One advantage of moving is that it gives you an opportunity to sort, assess and jettison (if necessary).  As I struggle to fit everything into my small house, I realised that it is time to part with some of my possessions.  First up, some magazines.  Yes, I could just chuck them in the recycling bin, but before I do, I thought I would give someone the opportunity to take them off my hands.  This batch includes 29 US version House Beautiful magazines from the 1990's.  They are mostly complete, but the odd issue may be missing the odd page.  This is a little gem of an interiors magazine.  Each one is very thin, but packed with information and inspiration.  You never know what you will get in each issue, such is the variety of themes and styles.  I flicked through them recently to be reminded of why I kept them in the first place: they are full of interior (and garden) ideas and would be a great source of creativity.  Whilst the ads may look a bit dated, the features themselves are timeless (aside from any prices I hasten to add).  So if you are an interior decorator or decorative painter or just a lover of magazines and would like these issues to add to your library, please let me know.  You can have them free, but pay for the postage.  And here lies the catch.  They weigh 10kg.  Local people can collect from Stocksfield Hall, but I have had an initial look at postage prices and within the UK they would cost 18.80 GBP to send, within Europe around 44.00 GBP (maybe less depending on your country), to the US and Canada, around 84.00 GBP.  I can do better if I send them surface and the cost will be about 74.00 GBP.  This may put you off and I do understand, but the offer is there if anyone wants to take me up on it.  Please contact me  if you would like them. When they have gone I will amend this post. 

A bouquet for Valentine's Day..

In celebration of St Valentine's day (nearly) I bring you a wall of roses, stencilled roses of course. 

 

They can be enjoyed at any time of the year.

 Photo from Stencil It by Helen Morris published by Jacqui Small.

Raskl Furniture, Deco Home and a girl with a pearl earring

An email from the fab designers at Raskl reached me yesterday. It carried an attachment from Deco Home magazine in Germany asking where to buy the modern Girl with Pearl Earring painting in the photo. The press cutting and enquiry was a nice surprise, my husband Chips painted the picture though the page has nothing to do with him.  The text in February's Deco Home featured the aforementioned fab, Newcastle based Raskl Design. The picture shows their Agranda Bench which is telescopic...

Isn't that handsome?

The Raskl photo shoot was at the beautiful home of one of the North East's brightest artists. I am surprised that this home has not appeared in more shoots it is very lovely. The owner used to be an editor at Conde Nast, she is extremely stylish and creative and just happened to have bought one of my husband's dot paintings. You may remember me blogging about his progress and the sale of this piece when I visited the house to hang it.  So in a roundabout, abstract way. Chips has had a piece of international press exposure this month.

He is working on a collection of smaller paintings at the moment for Chippendale and Morris and I'll look forward to showing you, when he lets me. Now that Deco Home Magazine has details of the painting you never know he might make another sale.

www.facebook.com/decomagazin and www.decohome.de

Helen.

 

My new favourite thing

It is dangerous trawling the internet.  I was investigating alternative headboard ideas last night and came across this on Skylon Interiors:

Have you ever seen anything so fantastic and fantastical?  Sadly it is sold or I would have to have it, even if I am not entirely sure what I would have done with it.  It is a painted canvas and wood backdrop used by a touring theatrical company in the 40's and 50's.  It is beautifully painted and I love it's faded shabby glory.  I sent a photo to my intended saying, "You should thank your lucky stars this is sold or I'd be saying, 'You'll never guess what I bought today!'" and a total replan of the intended dining room scheme.  He pointed out that at 3 metres tall, it never would have fit into our dining room, but I wouldn't let such practical details get in the way of an amazing decorative detail. Funny how recently during our DIY trials, my partner has been very quick to offer up the services of his new multi-tool with saw attachment (to my slight worry) at any opportunity, but as soon as I mentioned this work of art, he was mysteriously silent with regards to using the multi-tool to get it to fit.  All of this means nothing of course, because some other lucky person is in possession of this unique piece.  If you like the idea of willow pattern, standard size or giant, we do quite a large range of willow pattern stencils be it motifs from the china or stencils of the china itself e.g. plates, cups, teapots.  Check out our Blue & White range or put willow pattern into the search on our site.

Rachel