Deceptive dust covers – revisited

This week I’ve been spending some quality time with an old DIY of mine; I had some books that I’ve been meaning to re-cover for ages, and there was no better time than the present to cover them. Especially when one has a head cold and is house bound. 
I first thought of this idea years ago for some of my favourite books which were a bit too colourful or unsightly for my liking, so I came up with a cheap, cheerful and crafty solution – deceptive dust covers. An oldie, but a goodie.

Below – you can see the new covers in action on some of the more colourful books in our ammunition, along with the ‘before’ pic for comparison … 

You of course don’t need to go dark with your dust covers – that’s just my preference. It would be just as easy to do the opposite and cheer up otherwise bland and dark books by using bright construction paper. I’m just partial to old looking books. 

I will be the first to admit my deceptive dust covers idea partly came about to temporarily suppress my dream to have a library full of old books when I grow up. The smell of rich mahogany, leather bound books, ladders, long hours reading on couches and twirling. Basically just becoming Belle from Beauty and the Beast. 

I had to finish with this picture of Toshi – there was a book laying open on the table, the windows were open and the wind was flipping the pages. She looked caught between terrified and amazed. Silly kitty. And of course, you can check out my full dust cover tutorial here if you’re curious. xx A

My Style – House and Home

Is today ever a happy Friday. This week I got my mitts on the new House and Home magazine, which = double excitement all up in here. Back in May my OCD finally paid off when I was asked to not only write but style the feature for the July / August copy of the magazine. Um, hell yes.
I’ve done some styling here and there but this would be my printed styling debut. To say I was bricking it was an understatement, but the moment I met Michelle and Andy, my mind was put at ease. They are the coolest and most down to earth couple, not to mention they’re crazy-talented with their thriving typographical printing business – DesignMyType. I had a great afternoon with them in their quirky, colourful and fun apartment. 

Stylin’ on so many levels. I snapped this cheeky pic of myself on the day, which to my surprise, managed to sneak onto page 8 of the mag! 

You can pick up the July / August copy of House and Home magazine on shelves now and check out the full feature on Michelle and Andy’s home, and of course, the rest of the mag which is full of swoon-worthy design articles, tips and tricks. 
I think tonight we will have a little celebration of my styling debut {any excuse really}. We’re also due to get some cracking weather here in Dublin, and I cannot wait to break out the picnic blanket and have some fun in le sun. It is long overdue. 
Happy Friday, homies! 😉 xx A

Desk days

I’ve been channeling my inner Carrie Bradshaw these past couple of weeks. I’ve been spending a lot of time at my desk writing, creating, researching, and attempting to look sophisticated as I gaze into nothingness while a witty narration of my day plays in the background. Or so I like to think. 
Having sat here so much recently, there was no better time to give my desk a little nip / tuck. I like mixing things up, and as they say, variety is the spice of life …

A couple of weeks ago I treated myself to this adorbs pennant from the Stay Home Club, which suits hubby and I to a T. Yeah we go out, but for the most part, we are home birds cats and take no shame in preferring to stay in with Netflix, a beverage and cuddles. Too legit to quit. 

I also couldn’t resist this whopper of an amethyst which I picked up this week. Seriously, it has to weigh about 3 lbs. At €13 from TK Maxx, I couldn’t not buy it as it was twice the size of my first piece, and for a the same price.
In reality though, the below is more what my desk looks like today. I counted myself lucky for not contracting husband’s man flu, but last night my allergies were so bad, I sneezed my way to a sore throat and today I’m wading in tissues. If you guys can’t see them, then they don’t exist. Right? 

Before I forget, happy 4th of July to my State side readers! I would have organized something much more relevant to blog about today if I wasn’t so gooey. I hope you enjoy the celebrations wherever you are, and chillax to the max 🙂 xx A