Star struck...again!

If I were to put every single star thing in our house (with a star shape or star pattern) in one pile, I would beat Jack and his weedy little Beanstalk in one swift starry swoop. I do not know what it is about stars, but I find them irresistibly yummy!

In this picture, I have gathered a few of the star cushions I have made in recent years for the Swenglish home. (The picnic blanket is a bargain find from - I think - Rusta in Sweden a few years ago.) Oh, and a LOVE cushion snuck into the picture as well, entrance granted because of its matching colours... The cushions are all made with a mix of new fabrics and recycled ones, for example my old denim skirt, a red/beige-stripy top my son grew out of, a checked dress, etc.

Like some of the old fabrics above, I hope today you will feel invigorated with new life, and that the day leaves you with a sprinkling of star dust!

Up, up we go...

... even if only to the first floor, where a very young man resides in a very tiny room.

When I put up the dandelion wallpaper on the feature wall, the man in house muttered something about it not being very boy-ish.

Alright, so he might have had a point there.

Not the most macho of blokey boy rooms, but my guess is that it won't be long before the walls are covered in posters of unpronounceable music bands not yet invented, and yours truly - the only female in a house lopsided by testosterone - will be fighting for a hint of a feminine touch to the decor anywhere in the Swenglish home. I will probably have to erect a bloke-free zone, where my hearts and I can curl up together and look at pink pictures in magazines. Just to yin-and-yangify the place a little. Even out the forces. The battle of the sexes, in a small, decorative-driven way.

So for now, this little man lives with a not-so-blokey wall. And guess what, he doesn't mind one bit. And I continue to blow little puffs of pink girliness wherever I can. I know my days are counted.

Starlight Express...

Well, at least quick and easy access to lots of tea lights in a home-made box with a star... In a home where lots of tea lights are used and where stars are a favourite theme.

So to all of you blog stars out there, light-filled Tuesday greetings!

Scandinavia calling...

You have seen it all before, and it is likely you will see it all again. Our kitchen, born out of a dusty renovation and extension last year. In it, some whispers of Scandinavia: the basket on the floor from IKEA, the flat cushions on top from JYSK, the linen cushion on top from H&M, the tea towel from ICA Maxi, and of course my half-price find, the zinc lantern from Danish Walter & Co.
Homesick - who, me? I don't know what you are talking about....

5-4-3-2-1...

... blast off... into a young boy's bedroom...

Going a little overboard with the star-struck theme in my six-year-old son's room proved to be one of the easiest negotiations ever. He has been on a mental space odyssée for a few years now and a happy mum was given free rein to add as many celestial bodies as the room could hold. Being a small room, it would not welcome too many, but one particular detail was loved by son and mum in equal measure: the ceiling light. I boast very few designer items in my possession, but this fabulous moon lamp, "Moon Buzz" was designed by Buzz Aldrin himself and is supposedly an exact replica of the moon, bump by bump. Except it is a ceiling light. And its orbiting skills leave a lot to be desired.

The story about how Moon Buzz was put up would take too long to share here. For now, let's just say that I came home to a frothing, seething, sweaty and topless man, with a crowbar in one hand and some equally aggressive-looking tools in the other, a room covered in debris and dirt and a ceiling light that was very far from any ceiling. Oh, and in the attic room above my son's room was - mysteriously - a torn and ripped carpet, curled in an uncomfortable position on top of the moved guest bed, and a hole in the floor. My otherwise very handy man had apparently had a rather unhandymanny day, with a short circuit as the icing on the irritable cake.
But it is up now. And we don't talk about that day in our house. Except I believe I just did. Oups.





Is there a harbour at The Sea of Tranquility...?

Some scrap bits of wood, a little paint, a big dose of imagination - as Corsham is about 1,5 h drive from any decent water - and voilà, handmade New England in a jiffy. Inspired by www.oceanhouse.se.
Two of my charity shop finds, the boat shelves above, were swiftly turned into suitable space ships with a bit of paint and some plastic pipes. Did I mention how much I love hardware stores?

Think calm. Be calm.


Well, that's the idea. I think that in a house where testosterone, noise and the occasional paper aeroplane bounce off the walls on a daily basis, the need for a serene and calming canvas is essential for, well if not survival then at least to prevent a mum from bouncing off those same walls...

So, there I was, with some leftover floor boards and my precious band-saw. Before I had had a chance to say chocolate biscuit, my subconscious had guided my hands to form the letters that symbolise my needs. Luckily there were enough floorboards left to also make the table below, but only after some serious paint-stripping and the not-so-natural-high that comes with the fumes of the paint stripper... Who would come up with the idea of painting a lovely old dolly tub, anyway? Well, I do confess that the rough surface just adds character, and recycling an old Victorian wash-tub... me like!

And am I calmer? Well, time will tell...