Ashi pretty ballarina

Deanna Jayasuriya

Our daughter received her first 'pin up' medal to mark the passing of her ballet examination at a simple awards ceremony held today at the Academy. She was also issued a certificate from the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD, UK). These are the pictures from the proud moments.

xoxoxoxoxoxo

Candice

Before and After: This and That

I cannot get enough of before and after shots of real makeovers, why because I love to see the end result of a once shabby, dull, boring room. I believe that every room in our homes have star appeal, if we care to adjust and give it the star quality it deserves. Try grouping of collectibles, or dust that rug up and make it a focal point in a room (with weather conditions and the dust to deal with in sri lankan homes, large and cumbersome rugs may not be practical, but try using the smaller ones where a weekly shot in the sun is all the treatment it requires), hang up pictures in groups, create a focal point of family photos, add at least one hardy house friendly plant, add an antique or simply give it a new coat of paint.

Before

After (view 1)

After (view 2)

I am in love with these before and after makeovers on http://www.housebeautiful.com/

Before view of a room

After view of the room

There are so many ideas to get inspiration from, so many do along the way tips that you simply have to go and check for yourself. See for yourself all the little details that have undergone the makeover, from the rugs, to the scones to the flowers, and to everything else.

Before view of the hall

After view of the hall (view 1)

After view of the hall (view 2)

What are your inspirations? 

xoxoxoxoxo

Candice

Oh that stand

Remember the cake stand that I created from an odd candle stand and a side plate.

Here are some other ones using different bits and pieces. How pretty are these?

IMAGE
http://www.craftynest.com/2008/10/repurposed-cake-stands/

A doing weekend

With the weekend just around the corner, I have found some lovely stuff that anyone can do in a matters of hours, perhaps in under half a day the most. Let me know how it turned out. Dash for the stores if you wish, or simply make do with whatever you have on hand.

"Small items can easily get lost and cluttered inside of a large cabinet. To prevent this, search for inexpensive containers you can use to keep things organized and neat. Here, an open tin is perfect for storing markers, and an old restaurant serving basket keeps school supplies in place"

"Use a toothbrush holder to artfully store paintbrushes, pens, and pencils. Use a matching soap dish to house business cards and other small items. These clever containers will keep your drawers and desktop free of clutter"

"Control clutter in a junk drawer with this low-cost solution. Here silicone cupcake liners hold small, loose items. An egg carton stashes items such as thumb tacks and staples in the egg cups and larger items such as pencils, a calculator, and a pair of scissors on the other side"

ALL IMAGES and descriptive text above from
http://www.bhg.com

A well co-ordinated laundry room

Don't throw away your odd candle stand, glue them on a silver tray and light up those candles!!!

Got some old picture frames, paint them and hang the odd work of art

Beautiful things come together to make this sit space cozy

Add some christmas lights into large bottle for an instant statement



Bring out all those colourful bottles and display them on your window sill or dresser

All Images Above from http://www.countryliving.com/



Princess for me

Fourteen years after her tragic death Princess Diana is still an icon to me. Her sense of fashion, the love for her boys, her family values and wife of the future heir to the throne, made Diana a true beauty in every sense.  I loved her innocence, she oozed with love and a peaceful spirit and an aura of calmness...and I love her. She brought the world to tears on her death in 1997 and I was a 20s something when the news hit Sri Lanka. 

I love to see her over and over again and as today is a holiday for us in Sri Lanka, I took time out and googled some images of her for another peek, her image and memory will never go away. She lives on in our hearts....forever.

Grow old with me-a sweet Valentine's Day Message

My hubby and I cozed up at Margarita Blue, a retro pub of the Galadari Hotel http://dining.galadari.lk/ last night for a little Valentine's Day special.  The music by Mirage was fabulous and the atmosphere very very nice.  With the rush of adrenaline, I forget to take my camera and missed out on some good photos for you to see.  We received some exciting gift vouchers for lingerie and a yummy chocolate heart cake, courtesy of the Hotel.

.........and then my hubby whispered in my ear " grow old with me, the best is yet to be".

Bag it

I have told you more than once about my love for bags. I am in love with them in whatever form they take.  These cute little bags or pouches, {Oh I love the colours} called the GOD BAG was given to our children from the Sunday School they attend, with little inspirational notes inside.  The idea of the GOD BAG is that children will caste their little prayers, requests and pennies and God will see it and bless them.

Use these ideas anytime you want them but quote the source. These pouches will look nice for pretty little favour gifts as well.

Chow

candice

Re-decorate with the unusual

Here in Sri Lanka it is not unusual to live in a flat. With the advent on the mushrooming condominiums dotting the face of the city, more celebrities are opting to buy themselves a good decent flat in the city. As for me, I can never live in one. I need the fresh air to breathe, the green grass, the occasional grasshopper and butterfly and the smell of fresh dug earth. What about you.  I need doors that open to a side garden, I need windows to close when a thunder storm is threatening and I need to have wet messy feet to scrub and dry after a good session of re-potting.

With that said, I believe though that there is some form of art to in living in a flat.  I remember a song taught by my great grand-father, which went something like this..."our old tom cat died last night, the wife said bury him out of sight, we had no garden, cos we are living in a flat, so what were we to do with the body of a cat". My point exactly.  But whatever your abode is, I am a true believer that you make the most of it.
xoxoxoxoxoxo

Candice

Bookshelves dont have to be with books-use your imagination and fill it up with pretty and unusual items

Side tables need not be high polished and glossy

For the flat dweller

Book cupboards and racks dont have to be conventional, stack some odd shaped boxes and store your books

cane and wicker go hand in hand

Great for your indoor or outdoor table, stacked up pots

IMAGES:

Lonnymag.com 

Paper Quills

The old fashioned paper craft known as quilling is used to make these distinctive cards and all sorts of wonderful other crafts, ranging from invitation cards, greeting cards, pictures to mount etc.  In paper quilling you will need an assorted number of coloured A4 papers, strong clear glue, cardboard in contrasting colours and of course your imagination, lots of it.  Paper quilling takes long hours even for the seasoned quiller since each quill requires that you cut long narrow strips of various shades of the coloured paper you will be using. Then you need to curl one end of each strip with the blunt edge of a pair of scissors and then roll the strip into a tight coil.  You need to have very nimble fingers for this very tidy job and loads of patience.  My friend Yogika is a master of her profession and here below are her masterpieces.

Yogika Soysa

Image: YS

Image: YS

Image: Image idea from the web

Image: YS

Easy bread and butter pudding

I have said this before and I will say it again, Nigella Lawson, is double dose of goodness.  I happened to switch channels to TLC and there she was getting ready for another showstopping dessert.  I always believed that bread and butter, stayed bread and butter, but after watching Nigella effortlessly churn out the dish, I had my serious doubts.  The recipe calls for croissants, but in our part of the world the simple kimbula buns would do or better still, day old bread, works exceptionally well.

Pre-oven stage

 What you will need

2 kimbula buns or half a loaf of stale bread
1/2 cup sugar (make the granules as fine as possible)
2 tbsps water
1/2 heavy cream ( I used 1 small can of condensed milk)
2 tbsps bourbon ( I used brandy)
1/2 cup whole milk (pasterurise milk or hand made milk is also ok)
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 tea spoon vanilla

How you will do it

1. Preheat the oven to 176 degrees celsius ( I put mine to 180, since I wanted the crusts to be slightly brown on top, leaving the rest of the pudding a lovely and creamy off white)

2. Tear the croissants into pieces and put in a small dish. (Do the same with the kimbula buns or stale bread)

3. Caramelize the sugar and water for about 4-5 minutes until the bubbles start and takes on a amber hue

4. Take the pan off the heat and add the cream or condensed milk following up with the brandy and milk. Add the beaten eggs and vanilla. Pour faily quickly over the mixture and let it stand.  Whisk it to the oven and violla after 20 minutes you have your utterly delicious bread and butter pudding.

The above portion will serve 2-3, but believe me my kids swamped it all with hubby getting a small left over portion.

The bread and butter pudding works well with a drizzle of honey or a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream !!

Jazzy repurpose

Over the years I have had some amazing insights to beautiful homes, via the internet and that of family and friends.  When you look at a beautiful picture of an even beautiful home, you want to go straight ahead and recreate the image.  Many of us would like to do this as a new year resolution or perhaps before a family function at home, but for me, as my husband puts it, I take redecoration and recreation very seriously and to the extreme. I cant help it.  If you know me in person, you will know what I mean.  All images are from http://www.bhg.com/ and how I recreated it for myself in my home. Hope you are inspired......

Cheers

Candice

Concept: A catchall for little trinkets, while being a showy display

My version



Concept: catchall for toiletries in pretty containers

 

My version



Concept: Portable

My version

Concept:  Catchall rack in bath area

My version

The concept here is to group family photos together creating





Recreated focal point for family photos

I turned an old TV stand into a closed shoe rack and when buying shoes asked for the boxes as well. Each box is thereafter marked with the appropriate show inside.