Christmas is almost here

The stockings are hung and Christmas is only 1 sleep away!

I thought I had better share my Christmas decorations with you :)

This year the mantelpiece has gone with a white, silver and red theme. I am really happy with it.

The tree took me almost a full day to set up. There are some pressies under it now, which finishes it off :)

More shots of the mantel... including our stockings, one for each of us.  

Molly's is empty as she sniffs it out and won't leave us alone.

A stunning hippeastrum decided to bloom on cue this year.

And Harry horse is also feeling festive.

I made a Christmas cupcake tree/painted stick scenario in the hallway. Neon pink and turquoise. A bit kooky but I am enjoying it.

My big glass dome has become a little Christmassy with the addition of candles, holly, mushrooms, pinecones and mossy greenery.

And the pressies are wrapped!

This year I went for neutral, white and hand painted neon and really like it.

So now is the time to wish you all a lovely Christmas. I hope it is everything you wish it to be.

Take care when driving, ok?

Hugs to you all xx

MOD mantelpiece

Hi friends, a good morning to you all.

Whilst I was in Melbourne the other week I was very excited to be attending the Finder Keepers Markets where I knew I'd be able to see ceramics by The Mod Collective.

I'd seen their beautiful porcelain pieces online and thought they were beautiful. It was overwhelming to see all those beautiful colours and textures in the flesh.

How on earth I managed to decide on these two, goodness only knows.

Aren't they pretty?

The insides are glazed clear and the outside surface is matte in finish, but shows off the amazing textures well.

I'm very pleased with them and they now adorn the mantelpiece. I think they look lovely near my painting.

By the way, see that cute blue milk bottle in the top image? That's another coloured porcelain piece I discovered at Rose Street Markets. It had to come home with me :)

It's difficult resisting adding a few more colours to this small collection, but you really only need so many knick knacks, don't you think?

Well, I best get on with my day. This would have happened a LOT sooner if Blogger wasn't such a pain in the butt and posted this post back in time when I fist drafted it (last week). What use is that? Then when I tried to fix it, it deleted all content and posted it blank. Again, very useful and just the 'look' I was after Blogger, thank you.

Arrggh, so I have retyped and fingers crossed the darn thing works this time!

I hope you all are having better luck :)

xx

Summer mantel

After the mammoth task of packing away the Christmas decorations I decided to freshen up the loungeroom with a bit of bright colour.

I love decorating the mantelpiece and try to create different looks each time I do it.

This time I have gone for a fresh blue, yellow and white theme with a collection of bottles, Mozi fruit tea lights and flowers from the garden. Loving the dahlias.

I'm also clearly still loving "the stick".

And of course some iceberg roses.

The garden is in between blooms at the moment so there's not a lot out. I love the yellow with the blues though. Must plant more dahlias :)
Well, did you guys have a lovely weekend? I have to say I did. After some pottering in the garden the lovely Kerry and her partner Richard came to visit. That means Kerry is now privy to all the dodgy, fallen down bits at Molly's Maison. We had a great time! On Sunday I went to the farmers market and came home with some lovely flowers, a plant and some fantastic French pastries. Boy, the pastries didn't last long. Lyndon was lucky I didn't eat his!
Have a great week bloggies. Looks like being a warm one here :)

xx

Posies

With so many pretty roses blooming in the garden at the moment I am enjoying picking blooms for the mantelpiece. Every time I find a broken stem or a windblown bloom in the garden I bring it in and add it to the collection.

The first image shows (left to right) Iceberg and Benjamin Britton, then Lady of Megginch, Iceberg again and then another Lady of Megginch.

Images using Instagram :)
Have a lovely day friends.

xx

Friday flowers ... Early Peonies

Mum brought over these stunning pink peonies from her garden,

I think the variety is Sarah Bernhart.

I love the colour against the blue and white bits I have displayed on the mantel at the moment. I love my old French street number and Spode china.

What pretty shades of pink.

There's those little juice bottles again. These ones I've decorated with some stickers.

The little bottle above is a recent Etsy treat. It's an antique French perfume bottle. You can't see the details thanks to Hipstamatic, but it has gold text on the front. Lovely.
Have a lovely Friday bloggies. It looks all grey outside here but hopefully that improves. Take care!

xx

A mantel update - nice and neutral

I recently made fresh display for the mantelpiece in the loungeroom.

This time I went all neutral which is a little unlike me ( I love my colour), but I am liking this display.

My lace tealight holder has had babies, or rather, I smashed it and glued it back together in such a dodgy fashion that I decided I had better invest in two more. Isn't it funny the week it happened I looked up the artist to discover she was having a stall at the craft market that is held where I work. So easy!

I love old printing blocks.

A little bit of mercury glass doesn't go astray either :)

I did have a nice hurricane lamp full of pinecones up there as well, but the ants found it very appealing, so it had to go. Pesky ants...

Thanks for looking!

xx

A mantel re-style

To amuse myself while I patiently wait to get on with renovations, I revamped the mantelpiece in the lounge room again.

This is a new photo that I took and had printed up nice and large on a beautiful thick cotton rag paper. I do plan on having it framed but in the meantime it's hanging off some painted dowel by a couple of bulldog clips.

The photograph dictated my colours for the mantel. One on my little treats when I was in Sydney a few weeks ago was this brilliant cobalt blue Dinosaur Designs resin vase. The colour is stunning and needless to say, I am dreaming of a mate for it. That gorgeous rose is David Austin's Jubilee Celebration.

The other end of the mantel has some pretty red sweet pea flowers, geraniums and a cute tea light. You can see a hint of the vase that's featured in the photo artwork.

As soon as I've decorated my mantel I am thinking of my new 'theme' for the next time I do it.

Oh, by the way, have any of you been to the Dinosaur Designs Extinct seconds and sale store in Sydney? I am wondering if it's worth a visit? Do they have much to choose from? I'd love to know :)

xx

Fresh mantelpiece

I have been a bit slow to post my post-Christmas mantelpiece. I decided to go with fresh, clean colours.

A very quirky raku-fired ceramic bird by Valerie Willy. Hasn't she got character?

A beautiful hand-printed paper dress by my talented friend, Leonie Oakes, flanked by some cute white bits and pieces.

A close-up of my gorgeous dress :)

A pretty Tord Boontje vase with a couple of candles, both too pretty to burn. The jar is a Voluspa candle and the other is from Vintage by Lou Lou and smells divine with its French Pear fragrance.

I am still working on some art for over the mantel. I have printed a couple of images which I'll show you soon.

xx

A pink and blue mantel

My latest colour addiction is a mixture of blue and white with a splash of pale and hot pink. So in the middle of winter which I must say has been very sunny and nice really, I thought I'd freshen up the mantelpiece.

A couple of pretty paperweights with a super sweet Voluspa candle.

I enjoy mixing up new with old, contemporary with decorative, unique with mainstream....hence a mixture of Spode china, Freedom vase, Target dish and market finds.

I still need a nice piece of art for over the mantel. Hopefully that might happen soonish but I am learning not to hold my breath!