You're my wonder wallflower

What a weekend! It started out simple enough with a few projects, throw some friends, a French themed dessert party and a hint of jazz and I'm on board! This weekend, I wanted to challenge myself I looked all over the internet for creative ideas to do with either recyclable paper, or any easy DIY fun project for a weekend. It was one that I found in passing made from old books that I loved.... it was a wallflower. -- now this large flower on the wall obsession happened about a year ago, there were these circular fabric (yarn almost) flowers that were really popular... sad part I can't remember what they are called (a true sign I'm aging) But this comes in close second! So what do you do? Well you make a million cone shapes out of paper and build on them. The tools I used for this are:

- Glue
- Double sided tape
- Glue gun
- Cardboard
- Lots of Paper

So you just start out with the primary layers, like this:

Between each piece I used double sided tape to hold them together really well. The first few layers I did the cones a bit tighter, and then I loosened them as I got closer to the front

Now, this looks easy, but it actually took me about 45 minutes (watching devil wears prada I might add) to get the first circle completed, the good news is as you get closer to the center and build more layers you have less to cone.





I used double sided tape and glue to gold the layers together, to get that extra strong hold (can you see how large this flower is ? It's the size of a table -- WOWA!

You can see here that I got a thick piece of white cardboard and glued it to the back of the flower, to give it that extra strength when it would be up against the wall. No word of a lie, as I started to make it, and it got bigger and bigger, I was terrified that it would all fall apart after I put it on the wall. But so far so good, it's been up for a few days now. So a little further into the project:



Success! It's complete! -- And yes those are my happy feet! So, the center part I just accordion folded some paper, and I hair sprayed that bad boy into place. I let it sit for a few hours before I put it up... after all I was having friends over -- so naturally I needed to unveil the finished product.

Before:

After:



Pretty Cute right? It has sculptural properties, fills a HUGE part of the wall and cost 6 bucks. I mean does it really get any better than that? Paper to the rescue!

Guy on the move gets updated every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. -- Why? It's because we are in absolute love with these days! We are perhaps having a dance party every time we load a post.... true story.

Bathroom Inspiration

One of the hardest parts I find of coming up with functioning ideas for apartment dwellers isn't so much the ideas part, as the how to use them without ruining anything, or doing anything that your lease prohibits. Painting, altering walls, replacing lights... well you get the idea. So I've been brain storming for the bathroom. What do we want it to look like, how could we be creative to really give that space a sense of personality without doing anything we aren't allowed too.

So let me share a few of the spaces we are inspired by and what we like about them:

Love: The white on dark combo, the rugged meets clean lines, and I love the full window, I'm even more in love with how large that is... I would love to carry a faux window like that maybe into our bathroom space.



Love: The modern meets organic feel to this room, yes there is lots of white, but it has a home like feeling that I think is something I'd like to carry over to our space.

Love: The classic feeling to this bathroom, it's not modern but it's a clean look. It gives me that oouuu I want to have a bath and drink wine kinda feeling!

Love: The Brazilian feel this room has, it's clean lines still but more colourful than the other spaces for sure. I like the use of green, yellow and white.

So! I'm sure most of you have figured out what the purpose of this little rant was... I always love to look over spaces before I start to really get into that -- what do I need to get/do -- because then we can have a more clear idea. SO we want colour, green, yellow and white.... we want a cozy warm cultural feel (that place you need to be your sanctuary after a hard days work).

And now we shop!



The Dark side of the Moon- Poster

I've been bad! --- Let me explain... a few months ago it had been decided (at quite a random moment) for a close friend and myself to go to Germany and the Czechs Republic on a trip on may 18th. So I've been on a "budget" trying to save. The hard part about loving to decorate (even when you are thrifty) is that when you find something you really love... sometimes it's not mind over matter.

A while back when I was searching spaces I had seen an amazing picture (screen print style) in one of the space I just loved. Well naturally, I've been searching high and low for it ever since. That was until today...

I tried to resist it I did.... Honest... But at 60 euros, it was a bargain for something I had hunted for. So naturally I placed my order and a way we went. But I promise, I won't do this again until after my trip so I don't have to live off of crackers my entire trip.

Some more excitement has happened in the world of Bath (does that sound better than bathroom? I think so!) We have purchased a Bath Mat! Nothing over the top for now, but still a little something to make our bathroom a little cleaner.

It's nice to have a bathmat, and even nicer now that the floor won't be so wet when we get out. Of course this is just a simple IKEA bath mat so, we'll see how it holds up and let you guys know! Hopefully we don't have to replace it right away, but we are looking to get something maybe a bit fancier once we have more direction with the bathroom. Until them, our feet shall be a little less wet, and our room a bit more matching!



Operation Hide the Mess: Part 1

So we went to Crate And Barrel this weekend, it was an amazing revelation of white dishware! Considering my new found love for white, off white, cream... did I mention white? I've always found white mixed with lights woods to be such a refreshing look. But yes, we went to Crate and Barrel and it took everything in my being not to spend an obscene amount of money on dishes I would never need (or at least not need presently).

Naturally, all weekend I was thinking what I could use in the bathroom... now I don't know if it's just me (hopefully its not.. that's always a bad sign) but I always feel that whenever I try to narrow down buying things for a room.. well I find things for every room but the one I'm trying to decorate.

Regardless! I shopped and I shopped (confessions of a shopaholic?) And I found some fabulous finds! Let me introduce to you.

Before:

 

 

After:

 



Naturally I'm not usually pro-bringing in the walls but in this case it was either... make more space to hide the disgrace (yes.. I just used a hockey song!) or embrace the thrifty find that is our new cabinet. I love the shaker style doors. Not so into the rest of the piece, it seems a bit boring. But we'll brain storm that later.

We also added that new white material shower curtain which we both LOVE. So what's gotta be done? Well we are in desperate need of some art... a bath mat.. and some interesting personality pieces to bring the space together. -- But I'll have to be patient.

Guy on the move gets updated every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. -- Why? It's because we are in absolute love with these days! We are perhaps having a dance party every time we load a post.... true story.

Dananananannana Bathroooom (or Batman!)

Well the past few days have been quite busy here! Between bottling a wine, looking for the perfect decorative bowl and seeing a few friends I almost completely ran out of time to write a post! Do not fear! Designer Michael is here!

You're probably asking what's next... (I know I have been for quite some time) I have three projects that I would like to do over the next few months.... What are the projects?

The Bathroom is overdue for a spick and span update!

The Patio is destined to get some more pots along the railing!

The hallway is in need of that fabric board I've been telling you about (still waiting patiently for that fabric)!

The hallway could use a new shelf...

Kitchen could use a little bit of colour and organization.

And Art art art art art... Most of the walls in this house could not be more naked then they are right now!

So what's the plan stan? Well I suggest we start off with the first item on the list! -- The Bathroom (say it like you dread it!) -- I know that its the first place I see in the morning and usually the last place I go to at night So it's important, of course the colours are pre chosen so what do we do?.... well mother always taught us to work with what we have. So off yellow it is!

The view from the door (the blue box isn't in the room.. I'm just sparing you from our laundry details!) So of course, we have a lot of clutter... why? Because we are really clean people... almost TOOO CLEAN! -- Just kidding. The storage space under the sink is already full.. so that's a bummer!

And this is a view from our tub... I promise I was not having a bath in the making of these pictures! So speaking of what mother has taught me, I also know that the best way to make the most of a small (and boy do I mean SMALL) space is to decorate smart and large. So being busy..... I still had time to pop over to a few stores and what did I buy!

 

 

That's right! A random vase! Wooopppeee!!! OF course its not much to the bathroom but its a start! So with our weekends starting... well.. now. We are off to come up with some fabulous ideas to tidy the bathroom!

 

 

Guy on the move gets updated every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. -- Why? It's because we are in absolute love with these days! We are perhaps having a dance party every time we load a post.... true story.



How to style a shelf

Happy Wednesday! -- Why am I so excited? Because it's the middle of the week, which means in only a few more short days we will be back on a weekend relaxing.

Today I wanted to share with you some really important tips about how to style a shelf. I know when I was searching online so much information came up that it actually was a bit confusing. So I wanted to help everyone out but adding a few tips on how to make that shelf stand out!

Step One: Buy Big. I love cute nick nacks as much as the next person but too much of a tiny thing can make clutter the main goal of your self.

Step Two: Try to have things that "Echo" each other -- in simple terms things of similar style go better together, I love white dishes so I place them on my shelves at different areas so it goes through the whole design.

Step Three: This third step on to how to style a shelf I think gives us a chance to be really creative -- Hide the clutter! I have magazines -- a lot of magazines (almost sad really) so I found some lovely magazine holders at IKEA to give a cleaner look. You can use decorative boxes, or suitcases maybe even a nice basket to hide some of the less attractive things that we use on a daily basis.



Step Four: Think outside of the box! I picked up a lovely pumpkin ornament at the Pottery Barn, regular 45$ and on sale for 5.95! It's not really in season but it adds a unique drama to the shelf and it keeps the shelf interesting. If you see something you love you can always make room for it on the shelf!

I also grabbed just a regular salad bowl and filled it with white fruit to give it a sculptural quality, this is where you can see the "Echoing" take place between that as well as the white magazine holders and the clam. The great thing is that you can use this later at dinner parties or for supper so it has multiple purposes, which is great when you're in an apartment and space is everything!

As well as these wonderful cups that still follow a unique milkshake shop look. -- I love to dress my selves with things you can use later, for when guests are over. It makes smart use of the space that you have while still serving a purpose to style your shelf.



These few simple steps hopefully help you in styling your shelf! Lets take a look at the before and after to the wall and the steps to design and how it turned out shall we?

BEFORE:





PROGRESS:

We are still waiting for the fabric to complete the large picture frame :(

PROGRESS -- adding larger items, and echoing items (Step 1-2)

It's still a bit hard to believe they are the same shelves! Well I hope these few tips and tricks I've picked up have helped you style your shelves as well! I know we are as happy as a clam (that's right.. I made a clam joke!!) with our shell-ves I'm sure you will be too!

Guy on the move gets updated every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. -- Why? It's because we are in absolute love with these days! We are perhaps having a dance party every time we load a post.... true story.  



Pictures and Pie

With the weekend gone, and a new week here (and some fabulous finds if I do say so myself!) we'll be putting one lively step into the week.

The shelf has been completed --- That being said of course the first thing I did was rush out to fill those shelves with everything I could find --- Pottery Barn, IKEA, Homesense and Target here I come!

Lets talk about Art shall we? I'm in love with nostalgia and memories, as I'm sure are most people, that family reunion 4 years ago, or the trip we took to Europe... maybe it's that rainy day at home. We want our spaces to reflect the things that make us happy... which is why I chose this first piece of art (Not so much art as a postcard). We were about to take a train to the UK and we had the morning to spend sipping cafe's and taking in the city. We decided we had a bit more time on our hands than we realized so we went out and about to stumble across this gem. The French Opera House, I remember looking up at it, the copper roofs gleaming, the scent of a newly fallen rain and to me that was Paris -- so naturally we went inside and explored the grand staircases, the dark mood lite hallways. And this ladies and gentlemen is my first piece of art on our wall.

The week before I had come across a print design that I just loved! This was so simple to do, I used Microsoft Word used a colourful back round and typed in words that I felt described our home. The cool thing is that you can change it out... for every season if you wanted! It's frugal, and fabulous!

I'm not sure if it was everyone's mom (or just mine!) that had bird paintings... but I decided to indulge myself in a little nostalgia from EBAY. When I was younger my mother had this beautiful mirror with two soft coloured bird paintings on each side, I just loved it. Of course finding something like that I'm sure would be impossible, but I went searching for a touch of spring and found "Indigo Bunting" -- It was love at first sight --

Which brings me to my last photo that I will share with you.... I've always placed a picture of my parents somewhere. It's hard to believe that they had children at my age (but beyond that scary fact) it reminds me how important they are and every time I see them I cannot help but smile.







With all the hustle and bustle of the weekend I did have time to do one delightful event with one of my dear friends -- something that reminds me of home -- and that was to make a delicious apple tart. So off we go into our work weeks! I'm excited to share some wonderful finds with you on Wednesday! Until then, lets all have a slice of pie :)

 

 

Guy on the move gets updated every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. -- Why? It's because we are in absolute love with these days! We are perhaps having a dance party every time we load a post.... true story.



Operation Painting Shelves Completed!

It's Friday! Nothing says happy weekend like a good few days off -- or if you're like me you will probably be working on your "love shack" -- insert B-52 Music here.

After many layers of paint, on both the shelves and my hair/clothes (I'm not a gifted painter), we are about to do the big reveal on the project that could have been done in a few days - or if you like to spread it out a bit -- a week. One thing to keep in mind that I have not mentioned yet.... while our newly painted surface rocks (hug yourself you did a great job!) we need to let it set... now... I'm impatient, I know this because growing up my mother told me I was and it's trickled into my adult life. For the best results and the strongest finish you should let it sit for 30 days. If you are like me and impatient you can place a fan directly at it, and then use it in a week.... at your own risk of course.

So lets take a look some of the before pictures:

Some Progress:

And finally.... the wonderful after pictures (The seven days aren't over yet... so I must be patient-- even though I really really really want to style them bad boys)





So there we are, one step in the right direction? I think so! The baseboards really added that something special look! Now we are waiting for the fabric... not to oversell it but it's possibly the most amazing fabric ever! I'm not overly good with photo shop but I wanted to show you all the vision I have for this wall and it's something you can do too... and I want to show you. Ready?

Wow, that turned out better than expected.  Probably won't be glowing, because that might not look so good and would make me wonder about the origins of the fabric. As soon as that fabric shows up you can expect to learn how to make a fabric cork board! But until then, I've got some wonderful ideas for next week! -- ta ta for now!

Guy on the move gets updated every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. -- Why? It's because we are in absolute love with these days! We are perhaps having a dance party every time we load a post.... true story.





How to Paint a Shelf: Part Two

So after a few days of rest and relaxation (this isn't a required step but I like to let the paint set a day) Like I said, so back to the painting... you're probably wondering what the next steps are!

Step 4: Paint, paint, paint. I like to use enamel because it's more durable, at first.... it's a bit soft, but it hardens over the coming weeks to give it a truly sturdy finish.

So this is the progression of the past few coats of paint. When you are painting white or any light colour on a dark colour one thing to remember is that it's going to take a few coats of paint... and by few I mean 3-4 and sometimes 5.

One....

Two...

As I was preparing to do the next coat I came up with a brilliant idea. As we are trying to fill that hallway with a long seamless type of shelf I decided that adding some moulding to the base in a few simple steps. Being that we live in an apartment we don't have many tools. So I used a miter box and a tiny saw with some basic finish nails and a hammer.

And some of the third coat of paint....

So with all the hard work done... for the most part! I'm taking the rest of the evening off. One things to be said about painting and a bit of molding, it can brighten up any old object like new!

Guy on the move gets updated every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. -- Why? It's because we are in absolute love with these days! We are perhaps having a dance party every time we load a post.... true story.

Painting Shelves - Holy Paint Fumes Batman!

There is nothing quite like a Monday paint job to start off the week right. So you want to paint your selves and you're kind of wondering "What is the best way to paint these shelves?". Over the next week I'm going to give you some awesome tips on how to make this dream come true.



Step One: Wash those bad boys, Soap and water is great! Make sure you get every nook and cranny because your paint job will remember this!

Step Two: Sand it down! - I am personally a fan of putting on some old school pop to get this done, whatever your groove, sanding down those shelves is an important part of (Say it in a deep voice!) Operation... New Shelf!

 

 

Ok! So you've washed them (Good job!) You've rocked out to some old school music and sanded them (excellent dance moves I might add.) Now the next step.... Oil Based Primer (I'll say it again) Oil Based Primer, it's great at coverage, it won't bleed through and it's durable. You can paint latex overtop of this so it's a sure set deal!

 

Step Three: You got it! Step three is priming that awesome possum of a shelf you have! One tip that I have is make sure you tint the primer with the colour your painting, it will make sure you use a lot less paint in the long run (ie: you want to paint it black, get a grey primer).

 

 

 

 

So now well let them dry, sit back... relax and try not to get too high off the paint fumes. Every time that I smell this I always think to myself... Wow, I can't believe people would paint their entire house with this - I get high off of repainting furniture.

 

 

 

Guy on the move gets updated every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. -- Why? It's because we are in absolute love with these days! We are perhaps having a dance party every time we load a post.... true story.