A matter of coincidence

Humour me for a moment while I share some facts that have slightly boggled my mind recently … 
1. While discussing honeymoon options, fiance and I head-over-heels wanted to go to Russia, more specifically, St. Petersburg. That day I started reading Anna Karenina to get in the Russian mind set. As I began reading, only then did I realize a huge part of the book takes place in St. Petersburg. Not ground breaking, but it was weird at the time.

2. When I first saw the posters, I was so excited to hear there was a new adaptation of Anna Karenina to hit the theaters. When I looked up when it was due in cinemas, my heart stopped. Anna Karenina opens in theaters today {in Ireland}. Today is my birthday. 

3. My mom gave me this water colour painting about 8 years ago. Even though the vibrant colours are not what I typically like, I adore it and it’s my favourite painting. I tried to find out where in Russia the painting was, but I never got very far. I knew it wasn’t the Kremlin, and that was about it.

Fast forward 8 years, after copious researching of what to see and where to go in St. Petersburg for our honeymoon, I was dusting my living room one day, picked up said painting, and nearly screamed in fiance’s face when I realized it’s a painting of the Church of the Savior on Blood in St. Petersburg. I’m going to see my favorite painting.

The above is nothing ground breaking, but these coincidences have been blowing my little mind. As corn-ball as it sounds, I sometimes like to think things are meant to be. Queue ridicule.

Image cred 2 and 5.

Matroyshkas meet kitchen

While sitting at my desk last week, I was e-mailed a press release featuring these M-cups {matroyshka measuring cups by Fred and Friends}, and I needed them. I don’t impulse buy often these days, so this was a rare treat for me. See, I have a thing about all things Russian. Multi-purpose matroyshka dolls you say? A bit cheeky? And they’re measuring cups? It didn’t take much convincing. 

I just think they’re a dangerous mix of adorable and quite clever. Seriously, how cute are they? The top of the largest piece {far right} is 1 cup, followed by 3/4 of a cup on the bottom, followed by half cup etc.

Welcome to my kitchen 🙂

DIY – Seasonal switch plates

This little project has stood the test of time.  So far. Knock on wood. I originally made my seasonal switch plates {or ‘festive flickers’ as fiance calls them – although, I think that sounds dirty} over seven years ago, and year after year, we put them up. It only took me seven years to sit down and photograph them … 
They’re one of the first things I like to put up at Christmas, and we always get compliments on them. So below I’ve written a tutorial on how to make them, so that you too can revel in the glory of everyone saying how much a Suzie Homemaker you are. 

What you’ll need: a cereal box or supermarket pizza box {thin cardboard works best}, paint in a range of festive colors, PVA glue {to glue on glittery things. It also dries clear}, glittery things of your choice like snowflakes or stars, scissors, paint brush, a black pen, pencil, and a ruler.

Step 1: decide on a template for your seasonal switch plates. I  designed a silhouette inspired a little by Russian architecture. I have a secret fascination with Russia. Anyways, I drew my template on a folded piece of paper – when I cut out the design and opened it, it was a perfectly symmetrical template. I also cut out a square the size of my light switches. To make sure the templates fit each switch snugly, I fitted and trimmed the inside square with a pair of scissors {scalpel or exacto knife} where necessary. Step 2: with your pencil, draw a Christmassy scene. I went with a different design for each switch plate, but there’s no harm in doing the same pattern en masse. Step 3: once you’re happy with your design, paint it in. I began with the gold background, which I needed to build up with two layers of paint. Once the gold was dry, I went ahead and painted the remainder of the scene.

Step 4: When your paint has dried, use a  black pen {or fine marker} and draw an outline around your design to really make it popStep 5: attack every boring light switch in your home. 

Tip: use a small amount of blue-tack on the back of each to ensure they don’t fall off the wall, if they’re not super snug.

I’ve also done monogrammed seasonal switch plates for our bedrooms. They’re a lot less fussy/time consuming to make, and make a classier more sophisticated impact.

Happy craft hagging 🙂