Tadaaaaah! ~ Our brand new bedroom :)

Two years ago this month, J and I got the keys to our current home :) It's an appartment, and it isn't even that big, but it's light and bright and has a huge garden - and therefore feels so spacious!

The previous owner had already placed a brand new floor and kitchen, so after a thorough paint job we could move right in. And now, two years later, we just finished rebuilding our bathroom... and we've finished redecorating our bedroom!!! :)

The last one was - you might have noticed ;) - on my mind a lot these past few weeks, and when you see the following before-shot, you will understand why...



It looks a bit like we just moved in, doesn't it? Well, unfortunately for us, this was taken two weeks ago ;) We just never really bothered to make something of it, but after some very intensive research and thirteen hours of Ikea-related labor... we finally have a new bedroom!!!

TADAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!



And on the other side:



TADAAAAAH! ;)



I cannot tell you how happy I am with the way it turned out. (Check out the little blue lamp!!! :)



Instead of a room hastily filled with a bunch of furniture and other junk, it now looks - and more importantly: feels! - like a home.



It is now a room in which I can read a book before bedtime, without being annoyed or distracted by all the clutter.



So yes, I was obsessed with redecorating our bedroom.



But what can I say? It paid off :)

Etsy Faves: Ashley Percival

My favourite things to buy on Etsy are illustrations. There are so many amazing artists out there, and you can often get the most wonderful illustrations for less then $25! Add your own frame and you have very affordable, yet very amazing art to hang around your home.

My latest 'discovery' is the work of Ashley Percival.



His illustrations are colourful and quirky - just the way I like them ;) As an owlcoholic I am - of course - very delighted by the owls :)









Aren't they amazing? :)

You can get your own Ashley Percival-owl (or other illustration) over at Etsy.

Bakin' time: Caramel Shortbread

Every once in a while I feel like baking a cake! This weekend, I thought I'd try out Caramel Shortbread :)



It's pretty easy to make actually - it just takes a little time because you have to make it in three parts.

Part one is the dough...





Part two is the caramel...





And part three is the chocolate :)







And the result? A cake so incredibly yummy...



... it should be arrested!!! :D

Seriously people. I gained weight just by looking at it ;)

Old shelves - new storage! :)

I finally got my camera cable back! So it's sharing time at last ;)

As I mentioned in my last post, my crafting room is a mess. And since I have no idea what to do with the room, I thought I'd go for a temporary solution.

So in our basement I found two old parts of a bookcase...



... and transformed them into some extra storage :)



Now I finally have a good place to line up my craft books...



... and display Jenny Bird! :)



It's not perfect by a long shot, but at least it gives me some time to figure out what the long term solution is going to be! :)

The Ultimate Cabinet?

Oh shoot!! I forgot the cable of my camera somewhere the other day, so I can't share any of my pics! :( Guess I'll have to share another decorating goodie then! :)

I have been looking for the right cabinet for my crafting/office space for a while now, and I think I may have found something that's very close to being the ultimate crafter's cabinet! :)

I already saw this wonderful cabinet on Decor8...

... and then again on another site...

... and another...

... and another!

(Click pictures for image sources!)

I thought: why do all these people are able to find and buy wonderful cabinets that I will never be able to own???

(...)

Turns out it's from Ikea... ;)



Of course, it's out of stock throughout the Netherlands... So I'll have to think of a temporary solution to store all of my stuff! Will report back on that, as soon as I get my camera cable back! ;)

How Creative Minds Work :)

Procrastination from ism studios.

(Re)decorating the bedroom ~ Part Two

Phew! It's been a busy week over here at my humble abode! Our campsite in the living room was frequently disturbed at night... by two very naughty cats! :) They chose this week to bring home moths, spiders and even a little baby mouse!!! (The last one miraculously survided - completely unharmed!)

Now our bathroom is almost ready (I will write a before/after-post when it's completely done in a few weeks) and we can move back to our bedroom!

Like I said in my last post about redecorating our bedroom, I love the Hemnes-series of Ikea, as pictured above. But all of that white needs a bit of colour... so let's look at the possibilities :)

I really love the yellow :)

The blue lamp and the pretty flowers...

... the blue and green combination...

... and this amzingly colourful bedding by Urban Outfitters!!

You can go to the image sources by clicking on the pictures. I'll be back in a couple of days, hopefully showing off a pillowcase or two I'm working on at the moment :)