ranunculus

I've never heard the name of these flowers before, and it sounds almost like something made up!

Image from here. Found on Pinterest.

So pretty.
Happy Saturday everyone... I'm off to a wedding! (I love weddings.)

wise words of the week

"If you're not failing ever now and again,
it's a sign you're not doing anything very innovative."

Woody Allen

Image from here.



here comes the sun...

Or, more accurately, here comes a big freakin' thunderstorm... but where did accuracy ever get anyone anyway?

However, in anticipation of the sun someday returning, I wanted to share a project that I have been really excited about for a while now (I just haven't gotten around to it yet)... some diy cyanotype art!

After seeing this blog post over at House&Home, and this one at Apartment Therapy... I have been dying to try something like this at home. Basically it is as simple as lightly spray-painting (or spray-paint-misting) a cyanotype blue colour over some leaves or flowers, or anything you want really (I am planning to use some herbs - rosemary, thyme and sage would make such lovely silhouettes, especially to hang in the kitchen) on white bristol board, and then framing your prints with the old go-to white Ikea frames. I love projects like this, that are so inspiring and so SIMPLE, that it might actually provide me with some confidence and motivation to tackle one of those other diy ideas that I am accumulating at an alarming rate. (Thank you for that, Pinterest.) Also, if you clicked on the link to the Apartment Therapy post, you will have seen those gorgeous chairs. You will have also noticed that there is a company selling cyanotype fabric (now available in a beautiful array of colours). It is called bluesunprints, and their white cyanotype fabric is selling for $20/yard... maybe it's just me, but that seems like an awesome deal! I have a chair that I picked up at a thrift store a while back, I am planning to spray paint it white, and I have been trying to find the perfect fabric to cover the seat... well this is definitely it! (I have had these pages bookmarked for ages, I don't know what took me so long!) All I can say is, those Sunprint kits of my youth have come a loooong way.

On a related note - I just spotted these plates over at West Elm... just beautiful. I would love to get a set for my Mom, I know she would love them.

My favourites are the wild grass and the clovers

west elm - nature sun print dessert plates, $8 each

Well my friends, I hope this has provided a little bit of summer inspiration for you! I am quite excited (she says as the first crack of thunder rolls in) and I hope to have some photos of my own cyanotype artwork to share with you sometime very soon. Have a lovely weekend!

who knew

Courtney Cox has incredible taste. And I mean, seriously incredible. I just saw these photos of her Malibu beach home, and I am in. love. with it. Not that I thought she didn't have good taste... but, you know, I don't know... I suppose I just didn't expect we would have such similar taste. At least in terms of housey stuff. (Yes, housey.) Having said that, I don't know if there are too many people who wouldn't love this place - it's just breathtaking.
{Elle Decor via poppytalk}


Love that painting.



  

Okay so I had to catch my breath after I saw this photo. It couldn't be more perfect.

p.s. I want you to know that I tried really, really hard to narrow down the photos I posted here, but I couldn't help myself. I am in awe of this house.

wise words of the week

Due to my absence for the past little while, I am sort of rolling some artist love into the wise words this week. I found these three prints on Daisy Janie, and I love the quotes as much as I love the colours and the
beautiful fabric they're printed on.

"Why push the envelope when you can shove it the hell through?"

  

"Make time don't kill time"

"Talent may start it but attitude will finish it"

{All images from Daisy Janie}

seriously cheesy

This is actually making me half reconsider my longtime sentiment of not-so-interested-in-having-a-wedding (not that one is on the horizon, at all, just to be clear). I think you can understand why.

That's right, these are cheese wedding cakes. I'm sorry, did you catch that? One more time, for the people in the cheap seats... CHEESE wedding cakes.

Sophia, maybe you should reconsider Hilton Head and just get married in the UK, with one of these beauties? Just sayin'...

On second thought, who needs a wedding to have a multi-tiered cheese cake?! Maybe I'll just have a wicked wine and cheese party... so much simpler. I'm sure my diy version won't be anywhere near as spectacular, but hey, I'll still have four or five wheels of cheese on my table, won't I.

Cheese wedding cake images from The Cheese Shed. First seen on A Cup of Jo.

artist love

This week's artist is amber alexander.

First of all, I have to take a moment to say, wholeheartedly: Thank you Dooce! I am SO thrilled to have been led to this incredibly talented artist's etsy shop. I saw these two prints on Dooce back in April, and the rest, as they say, is history. At this point I think I've said enough, I will let her amazing work speak for itself.

I. love. her. I want to buy every single one of these prints. And maybe I will do just that.

these are a few of my favourite things

Since I seem to have developed a serious online-window-shopping problem (I know, I know, who doesn't have that problem) I thought it might be therapeutic (or maybe just fun!) to share a few of the things I've been "visiting" a lot recently. Seriously, every single day I find at least twenty new things that I absolutely cannot live without. I guess it's a curse of having access to all the amazing blogs out there, not to mention Pinterest - an eternal fountain of inspiration... holy moly. It never stops! So here are few of today's favourite things, hope you enjoy them too.

This crocheted dachshund from Le Souk.

In. Love.

This blanket - first seen on Sophia's Pinterest board.

These vintage maple syrup bucket planters - found on Hindsvik's Etsy shop.

This pillow cover from West Elm.







This six-pack bicycle frame cinch (which doubles as a polo mallet holder, naturally)... along with all of the other gorgeous leather bicycle accessories from the Walnut Studio shop on Etsy.

These perfect pre-fab cottages from Modern Cabana - photos from Sunset.

 

These solar-powered illuminated planters from the new President's Choice Lawn & Garden Insider's Report.

PC can do no wrong in my eyes.

 

{Had to take a screen capture, hence the weird image quality}

 This perfect-for-my-bedroom sheet set from Anthropologie (oh, and every single other thing they sell, but that goes without saying).

So, there you have it, that's my wishlist of the day...

What's on yours?

artist love

Every week on maison d'hibou, I will be featuring a different artist whose work I have somehow come across, and fallen in love with. It could be anyone at all, from Van Gogh, to a new Etsy discovery, and everyone in between. I have a passion for collecting art and finding new inspiration, and I am so excited to share this with you every week!

Although it's only the first edition of artist love... I have to ask a favour:

I am desperately seeking Susan a print of this George Grosz painting; Matrose Im Nachtlokal. It is one of my mother's favourites, and I would love to get her a framed print as a {most likely somewhat belated} mother's day gift. The thing is, I can't believe how difficult it is to find one. If there are any art experts out there who have any unusual suggestions for me, I would really love to hear from you.

the little guy who started it all...

The inspiration behind maison d'hibou. He lives in my master bedroom as my bedside lamp.
He's just lovely.

from here

the coolest t-shirt

Why does it seem like children's clothes are so much cooler than ours sometimes? I love this lightning long-sleeved children's tee from Areaware... so striking! (yes, I did.)

And it's 100% organic cotton! Like I said, sometimes I wish I was a kid again. It says size eight is currently on sale... I wonder if that would fit?

Another great find from Areaware is the My Brother's Frame by Harry Allen. I really enjoy how it makes such a big statement, yet in a relatively compact size. I'm also really digging the completely monochromatic layered frame and matting. Check out the fun colors!

 

This is some great inspiration to hunt down some ornate frames at a thrift store and give them a spray paint makeover, matting and all! Another thing to add to my growing list of DIY ideas. Now if spring would just get here...