Making the Most of Late Summer Rays...

Here is a picture post for you... Some of the pretty things I have been getting my mitts on...

Revamping corset potential...

To do list at the moment (it is still growing...)

Embroidering/darning this stunning fabric I salvaged from an old chair. 

Enjoying the last of the sun on my epically tiny balcony in Paris. Aren't I lucky??

Stitching an antique lace collar on this mustard sweater. Goes perfectly with my DM Mary Janes and vintage bag I found in Le Marais.

I took this a couple of weeks ago... I find the colours very inspiring. I shall be updating my other blog soon so take a peek if you are interested. 

Take a Peek into the Crafty Space of OrchidsHeart...

I spend a lot of time looking on pinterest for inspiration or fantasizing about moving into my own place. Though I strongly believe that dreaming and fantasizing IS healthy, it can become unhealthy when you don't appreciate what you have. So rather than spending ALL my time thinking about the place I don't have, today I am enjoying what I do have (whilst I have it, soon I have to move into a darker and smaller room next door, a minor set-back...).

I am a major thrifter, upcycler and always looking out for things. Whether I find them on the street, my friend digs them up or I find it in a market-- and sometimes just mysteriously acquire. There are not many things I believe in spending money on, maybe my boots, but even then I think I am going to convert to buying vintage second hand DMs on ebay as my shoes were such as success (and massively cheaper).

So here I am going to share with you some ideas of how to decorate a space with virtually no money, a huge dose of creative love and bohemian spirit. 

As well as being a little bit of an oddity hoarder, I also obsessively take pictures on instagram (find me here) which can be printed using a variety of companies to produce faux Polaroids (I used Origrami). I have tons of these dotted all over my room as little tokens of memorable moments from living here in Paris. And yes the Eiffel Tower is not really present... Instead I have a pic of la petite ceinture and a dead bird. 

I also have a few things that I have found along the way, a picture of a boy, a bird skull I made into a mini terrarium from an old ratatouille jar and some old tins. I like old things...

Yes, I also collect glass jars. I have a stash under my bed. They are very handy for candles, flowers, jewelry... etc. Some of them I modge podged with patterned tissue paper as above so that they glow pretty colours when the candles are lit inside. So pretty! You can also spy in the middle one of my glass bottles that art for sale over on my Etsy, a piece of pottery I found on a dig with a dear friend (yes its broken... this is one of my quirks. I love broken pottery), a book full of more "Polaroids" and a pouch I made to store bits n bobs- made from fabric scraps. 

My little birds... And my memory mobile. The bark was from a special tree growing out of the grave of a witch in Pere Lachaise, a gentleman that specializes in vampire folklore gave it to me. The bones I found on a beach whilst I was at uni in England on the beaches of Whistable, the rose I found on a street in Lyon, the key in the French countryside, and the shells were from a fairy grotto in Canterbury. From Pere Lachaise to Lyon to the British Coast...

Crate storage units. I started running out of space a while back and needed some kind of shelves so I found these lying around and brought them home. They are not as good as my friend's brewery crates in England but hey, they work. More than I can say for DAB radios in France!

Absinthe spoon, homemade clay bowls (tutorial here), old French book found abandoned in the street, a glass vase I dug up in Wales. Oh and some camera batteries.

Jam jar storage for tea, another handmade pouch and another DIY tea light.

All of this was found. Both the suitcases I found in the street and upcycled, for the small one see here, and for the larger one see here. The top cushion was an old paisley scarf that was no longer worn and the bottom one was a piece of vintage bunting that I embroidered. Oh and there are some beautiful old bills there too. 

My latest project, my chair. I found him in the trash with a hole in it and totally re-did it for the price of two tester pots of paint, a piece of fabric and the trim. Have a look here if you are curious.

Find an ugly white crochet blanket? Dye it. I got this blanket for a euro, it had ugly stains all over it so I soaked it then dyed it a pale blue. Sorted.

Dream catcher from an embroidery hoop? Here is something else I made using scraps. I found it to be a good way to use odds and ends, whether it be paper based or yarny. 

Now I have a weird confession to make; I sleep upside down. This is the headboard but I don't use it as such. I just realized one night it was easier to sleep the wrong way up and it became a habit- and also quite useful for storing my headscarves.

And yes ALL my mirrors are surrounded by tidbits. Flowers, birthday crown, photos, postcards, tickets etc. I like to surround myself with these things, I find it inspiring.

My bed after a lazy morning. Piles of cushions, handmade and bought, my kantha quilt, my crochet quilt just poking out in the corner (both second hand) and of course the faithful ikea bedding.

I always find fairy lights brighten any room up. The last place I lived in apparently looked like the cross between a cell and a squat, until the lights went up! This door has been painted shut a long time ago...

My jewelry rack: a branch with nails in it. How cheap can you get?

Another mirror. My landlady loves mirrors. Too be honest there are too many for my taste. This is prob why they are all half covered up. Here is my friend too, his name changes depending on my mood. Right now its Timothy. 

Lots of blankets always add to coziness.

Another mirror on my wardrobe... More photos...

A random ticket I pulled out my pocket late the other night.

Creative clutter? A WIP mannequin body, my vintage DM shoes on my H and M rug (good for cheap faux vintage stuff), some ornate table legs I found and painted, my lace petticoat, my handbag with headphones and the contents just left on the floor (bad habit of mine). The notebook is one of my own from my Etsy store, I hand make them, custom order... hint hint. Anything you want! Just sayin'.

My dressing table. Here is a real ton of odds and ends. Books (Lolita is my favorite of all time), thrift store scarf (1E!!), jar lid magnet things, more tins and boxes. 

Covering tins with decoupage paper make great storage. 

Found things, china pigeon, feathers, pine cone, old tile...

And I will finish with this one. See the mayhem!

The "shelf" is just a piece of wood I found balanced on books and tins and edged with washi tape. 

I find that you really do not have to spend lots of money to make your space beautiful if you seek out thrift stores, ebay, gum tree, leboncoin (if in France) etc. |Or just look in skips. Or outside student properties on moving day. A bit of paint and love can fix all sorts. 

And remember, perfection is overrated. I know about the spelling mistake. 

This is going to be nailed up in my future studio, I am keeping it to remind me of my dream.

Up-cycling a Vintage Suitcase Part II

So a few months ago I undertook a suitcase renovation, which you can read about here. I have a HUGE luggage obsession. Back when I lived in the UK and was shuttling between uni and home I had a little collection going- at uni I had a steamer trunk and at home two large suitcases and a small 'un. I was consequently banned from collecting more (so I acquired a vintage leather doctor's bag). It's a sickness!

This suitcase I actually found whilst walking a dog, (I say "a" dog because he is not mine). I dragged it home on a bus, tram AND metro then up the several flights of stairs to get to my apartment. This turned out to be the easiest bit!

Furthermore I decided to make a game of it, lets see how LITTLE I can spend on this project and see what happens- I ended up spending under 2 euro, so I think this was a success.

(The quality of photos vary as some were taken in the middle of the night (!) and some on my phone, some on my camera etc, so I apologize for the inconsistency...)

WHAT YOU NEED

Paint (spray paint or acrylic is what I used)

PVA glue, lots of

A few old brushes

Some paper to cover the outside (I used wrapping paper from ikea but I would recommend something better quality)

Something to decorate the inside, more paper or an old book, or decoupage papers- whatever!

Paper clips are useful

Scissors

Ruler

Pencil

Double sided tape was handy too

Jam jar lid (for putting the glue and paint on)

Protective sheet or covering

Maybe gloves depending on your paint (I had green hands for a while)

Craft knife/stanley knife

So I started with this rather ugly and plasticy suitcase, it had no handles and two holes in the front. It was fairly solid and had no smell (unlike the last one). As it wasn't made of leather I decided it would be perfect for decorating inside AND out. The last one was too pretty on the outside to do anything other than clean up- this one however is just not doing anything for me beauty wise- a perfect DIY basis!

So I knew I would paint the metal bits as no matter what I covered it with, they are the places that will get the most friction and I knew paper would rip and fabric would fray. Plus it would be a pain to cover them and not look as good. Now as I was on a mission to do this on the cheap, I raided my cupboard and found some spray paint...

Now I realize now the colour is TOO much. I had envisioned the bright green metal and some crazy pinky fabric, but when I went to ikea to get the fabric, I didn't like it in person. The spray paint had been hiding in my cupboard for months so I figured WHY NOT?! Oops.

I spray painted all the metal bits (to the horror of the gardienne- the person that maintains the apartment buildings and sorts the mail etc). She made me leave so I had to continue in the "cave" (aka basement). 

As you can see it was kinda messy- especially when you are doing it at top speed to avoid getting caught again... I was still working in shared space- here is actually the exit to the courtyard. Dangerous territory....!

Next step was to take a book I had found and rip it up- I decided that this is what I would use to cover the inside.

I then proceeded to very messily paste the inside with PVA glue and plaster the inside with the book pages, every which way until the whole inside was covered.

Taken from my instagram here.

As you can see once I had covered the inside of the whole thing I took the front cover of the book and stuck that on too. I liked the addition of the red, I think this also influenced my later change of colour.

When glueing the pages down you do have to be a little careful to make sure you smooth out bubbles and that its ALL stuck down. I went over the edges and over the top with the glue to make sure it was thoroughly fixed as I did the whole inside.

I did go over the edges a bit, this is fine because you can just cut it off later.

Before doing the inside front I had to fill in the holes left by the handles. To do this I cut out some card to size and jammed it in the hole and then taped the whole lot up like this.

Then I kept glueing and papering until I had this:

I left it open for a day or two, at which point I went to Ikea to look for fabric, failed and got some wrapping paper instead (for 1.99!). Gah. I also decided that I really did not like the green and decided to beg borrow and steal acrylic paint- I struck gold with some red that a mate kindly lent me.

So I laboriously went back over the whole thing...

I had to do three coats of red and had to do this in stages. Do one side, let it dry, repeat. Repeat. Turn it over and do the whole lot again. Not fun. By this point I was really fed up of the mess. My room had become an obstacle course and getting to my wardrobe was hard work.

So once that was done I set to work covering it. This was NOT easy. I mean really not. It was really really fiddily. I spent a lot of time staring at it thinking "what. how. huh?" and in the end decided to stick it down and then cut around the metal. It almost worked.

I decided fixing the edges with double sided tape to hold it in place as I cut was the best bet. So here  just used double sided tape (two differing widths- this is for no reason, its just what I had).

Then I lay the paper over and smoothed out, pressing on the tape to keep it fixed.

THEN CAME THE FUN. HAHA. NOT....

I was feeling with one hand where the metal ended and with the other cutting the paper away. It was hardly accurate.

As you can see I messed up a lot and so resorted to patching it up.

I wasn't happy I had to do this but as the pattern is so busy you can't tell unless you look for it.

For the sides I did a similar thing.

Except when it came to the hinges at the back.

As you can see I cut slits to get the paper on easier, I then did the same cutting technique as before.

I then turned it upside down and measured the width of the gap between the metal and cut a strip long enough for the sides and bottom.

I lay it over and glued it down.

I was so sick of it at this point...

But I kept going, glueing, cutting etc.

FINALLY. For the inside edges I folded over the paper to that there was a rim all the way around (inside) of the wrapping paper, which you can see if you look carefully.

My chosen method of drying!

I then had to do all the final trimming and touch ups where I had chipped the paint etc.

And then came the mistake. 

I wanted to varnish it, and found this in the cupboard and so varnished the inside bottom. Oh dear....

It is still really patchy... I am not happy... So I don't really know what I will do. I have however, for now, decided to leave it as I am going back to the UK next week and can't leave my room in such a mess whilst I am gone.

I think overall it was a success. It certainly looks good from a distance. But right now it has no protective coating, I think more research is needed. Had it been just fabric I would have left it and called it done. It did take a LOT of time, however I spent virtually nothing as I had or knew someone who had everything I needed. I do think thicker paper would have been better though as it didn't hold up to lots of glue well. It was a battle of sorts but for now its done. And I am content. 

Now to clean up that huge mess...!