Thrifted Lamp

A new trip to my favorite second hand store made me realize I'm a lamp hoarder. But how could I resist this plump beauty? She has such a round head and a happy yellow base! I brought her home and she immediately became the new star of the craft room. Until I update this little beauty, her colors are perfect for these warm September days.

I hope that the lamp will sit on my desk and light my way while I play with crayons and watercolors. Painting and drawing are so soothing - I really think it's great to be able to put on paper whatever goes on your mind. What better way to spend those upcoming loooong winter nights, than guiding your hand and creating little wonders?

To tell the whole truth, there is a small crack in the lamp base. I'm planning to repair that and perhaps to paint the whole thing in a different color. Speaking of color, please note the rusty shades from the Oxalis leaves. Purple, blue and yellow - a beautiful Autumn symphony :)

Happy Weekend!

Happy Weekend, everyone, I hope you are having a wonderful time, wherever you are! I am preparing for a birthday party and I haven't even wrapped the present, so I must hurry now. Perhaps any of you lovely friends could tell me what is that painted wooden item on the right - because it's so beautiful (I got it from a garage sale) but I have no idea what it is supposed to be (?!)

September Light

The complete title for this post should read: September light with sleepy kitty and explosive fern. The weather has been very generous these days. It's the middle of September and we enjoy incredible warm weather, which I can't get enough of. The light is not so destructive as it was in August, and still it lacks that golden glow quality that makes me love Autumn so much. I think this time of the year is just perfect. 

There is an old saying in my country which claims that ferns bring happiness to the homes they live in. My fern usually lives on the small balcony. Only I felt like making it a part of the house and I invited it into the sunny living room. That was a big mistake and I remembered in a second why we only admire this lovely plant from a distance. My feline friends seem to be attracted to the gracious leaves like moths to the light. In conclusion, I don't know how many more days I will be willing to clean the little leaves of the floor (several times a day!) so I guess the fern will spread its good karma from the balcony, just like before.

On the pink coffee table you can spot two of my latest thrifty finds: a cone striped vase and a hand painted wooden stand. Their lovely blues go perfectly with my [still] summery mood and with the lighthouse painting on the wall. This one is...? A candle stand, perhaps (with a bump on the top, ha ha!)?! Never mind, it is very beautiful and the traditional decorations make me imagine it came from a Swedish home. A little bit of Scandinavian design right in my living room :)

Meanwhile, my kitty Anais is dreaming of hunting for some tasty pray, I presume. She left me rambling about Swedish design, as I do every day, and then she changed her sleeping mode with a deep, deep sigh... It's so complicated to be a spoiled pet these days! I leave you now, because this warm light is tingling the corner of my eyes and I am feeling a little sleepy myself. If any of you friends could help me with the other find which looks like a striped cone, I would really appreciate it. I thought it was a vase, but if you look carefully you will see a whole at the bottom (so there's no way it can contain any water). Please tell me what it could be! 

Jungle Kids Art

I am a hopeless thrifter - I admit, so shoot me now! I rarely buy something new, but every once in a while the thrifting fever hits me and I go running around town, hitting every second hand shop that I know of. My storage is full of old lamps in need of some serious TLC, queer tableware, crooked stools and little boxes (which I am gonna restore - someday soon). This time, I went out there and got back with a set of four jungle scenes. There's the giraffe, the puma, the elephant and the black and white zebra.

Until they will get a new use, they are sitting pretty in my craft room. I don't actually like the designs - well, except the elephant family at the water pond, they are darlings and I also love the turbulent reddish color and the composition. Anyway, my grand plan is to use those square canvases for a higher purpose. Maybe a stencil project? Maybe a neon craze? Some mixed media 3D art? We'll see about that.

Meanwhile, I've paired the jungle art with a pink Lucite coffee table and some nesting art albums in complementary colors. Please notice Chagall, my favorite visual artist since childhood <3.... The kids theme works great next to the faux wallpaper. There's something charming about bicycles and giraffes together, I must draw them someday :) And for a complete mix and match, I added a 3D puzzle of the London Bridge (thank you, Roxy!) and a crochet wooden stool made by yours truly. Long live the eclectic decor style!

My Princess

My princess has got this tiny waste line that she wraps in a delicate lace belt. She dresses in pretty voile and her texture is so light, that even the slightest breeze can steal her away, on the wings of the summer wind. She is as white as the snow and as delicate as the sea foam from the Mediterranean. When she walks, her gown caresses the ground with a touch of whimsy songs from the never-ever-land. Can you guess who my new princess might be?

Meet Alba - my little thrifted lamp. Lamp-shade, actually, for she didn't even have a body to go with that wonderful airy head of hers. Notice the little fringes and the intricate design of the lace accent. I think I'm in love! Against the hand-made wallpaper in my study, she looks like she is the queen of the world! Her presence lights up the room and sets the mood for a quiet dream. I dream of a gigantic polar bear named Arr. He lets me ride on his back around the North Pole. We'll go visit his cousin Ulah and we will all have rum and raisin ice-cream treats.

Peekaboo!

Who's that hiding under the yellow tulips? A Russian doll?

Peekaboo! I see you!

Friday at work. I've got the weekend on my mind. Cannot concentrate on anything. I'm looking around the office in search of a downer. Something to bring me back to earth, you know... It is Friday, it's so true. But that doesn't mean I'm free to procrastinate. Not yet! I've got a long To Do list before this Friday is over.

Concentrate, Meeha! Do your job! Look around you, everything is in it's place. All the objects surrounding you are serious and really commited do their jobs. And so should you. I look around and I see funny stuff everywhere. Play is in the air.

So the Russian doll is playing hide and seek. Peekaboo - I see you!

No, wait! What's that?! A mustache?!

Oh Lord, my Russian doll is so old, it grew a mustache.

I must solve this mystery and rescue the poor doll!

Oh wait, that's not a lady. It's a man with a mustache, trapped into a Russian doll frame. Hey there old guy, where are you from? I think he is from Kazakhstan, the land of never-ending longing steppe songs.

He is very sad, because he is lonesome. I discovered him in a thrift shop, last March. He had a wooden wife is an equally enchanting national costume. But I only took him and left his wife there, on the shelf. Someone else took her and played with her. Now the Kazakhstan man and her wife are separated forever. They will never see each other again. Please forgive me, little man! I had no soul. I'm sorry :(

Thrifted lamps

So I discovered a new thrift shop in town! Yay! It's got everything: clothes (a very bad assortment), pins, furniture (a lot), old frames (overpriced), old paintings (too dull for my taste), vintage photos (priceless), toys  (I've got my eye on a Nutcracker...), china, brass, decorative umbrellas and fans (delicately beautiful) and... lamps! 

I snapped the little Moroccan lamp for 3 bucks. It's made from camel skin -  a real beauty! I was in Marrakesh two years ago and these gorgeous luminaries were selling on every street corner, usually in crazy neon colors. I wanted one so bad! But the thought of passing one through the ordeal of the severe Morocco customs and the fear of braking the camel skin refrained me from buying one. And I've been regretting it ever since!

I guess Santa thought I've been a good girl and guided me to this thrift shop:) Of course, there's the dark side of the Marrakesh lamp: 2 horrible cuts that can no longer be mended. Look:

As for the lace suspension lamp, I'm not even sure what it is! Is it a macrame lantern? Is it some sort of dream catcher? A garden accessory, maybe? If you're reading this and know what this thing is, please let me know! As to the ugly side of it, the warp is quite damaged, as you can see below:

Well, nevermind. These beauties have got "DIY updating project" written all over them! I can't wait to find a solution and to fix them:)