Pink Thoughts

Yesterday I picked up this beautiful Sari from a local thrift shop. I just had to have it. I don't know what I will do with it yet - but maybe I could use it to make some soft squishy pleated bags, or some cushion covers, or some Furoshiki wrapping cloths. It was made in Japan after all!

It made me think about how much pink I used to have in my life - from cerise pink lipstick all the way down to my cerise pink shoes. I wear no pink now at all!

It also made me think pattern - and how my appreciation for pattern has grown in the last year. I love the simplicity yet cleverness of this mostly geometric design.

There's a little bit of pink to be found out there at the moment -

IAFR - Interior Adventures for Real were also thinking pink when they designed this cabinet engraved with grafitti!

Wallpaper designer PvanB 's pink thoughts:

Pink need not be pretty - it can be classy too!

Limoges Scarf Cushion

I have been doing a bit of research into one of the cushion covers I recently added to my etsy shop.

It is made from a silk[?] scarf, which is decorated with trinket boxes. The research has revealed that these are probably what is known as Limoges Boxes - small hand-painted Porcelain boxes made in Limoges France. Most Limoges are hand painted and always have hinged lids. Quite a few different boxes are illustrated on the scarf -

Limoges boxes are still manufactured today. Read about this interesting porcelain art here. I have learnt a lot, but there is still more I would love to know about the scarf itself.

Black is Also Beautiful

I LOVE to paint things white. But there are exceptions to every rule. I decided to paint this cute number black. It does show off my white things quite nicely! I decorated it with a white pot. Instead of filling the pot with fresh flowers, I filled it with a freshly found vintage floral scarf! I added 2 pink chinese bowls and 1 [painted] white protea for company! The white lamp base is a brass one, which I painted a while ago.
By the way, this is what the table looked like before:

1 Year Old, so I am Giving Something Away!!!

Freshly Found is One Year Old! It's a year ago that I started blogging! To celebrate, I am going to give a surprise gift away! To qualify, please just leave a comment telling me about your favourite Pillow or Cushion Cover!
Closing time will be 15h00 Sunday 21st ,South African time, after which I will put the names in a hat and choose a winner!

I will send the winner a Cushion Cover.
This is what I can tell you about the prize for now...
It is not part of my range yet.
You probably don't have one like it!
It is not vintage, but it does have a Freshly 'Found' aspect to it!
It is 100% cotton and made in South Africa.

Clothing, Decor and Me

Debi Treloar is an ex-Zimbabwean-now-Londoner photographer whose work has appeared in many Decor Magazines and books.I am really happy to see these particular pics of hers, where items of clothing make the rooms look so good! I have quite a big collection of vintage clothes, which I have sourcerd on my 'travels' to thrift shops. Unless I make them into other things like this and this, I always have in mind that they will hang outside the cupboard to beautify the room! [Although I must confess that a Lime Green Jacket and funky floral brown shirt have found there way into my cupboard!]I have started photographing my collection and hope to sell some of my stash through my second etsy shop soon! I hope these wearable works of art will beautify rooms [and maybe also people] around the world!
Do pop over to Debi for more wow interiors!

More Side Tables!

I am pleased to say that I have seen two copies of the Magazine Side Table that I wrote about last Friday.
Anairam of Fra[a]ing made this lovely version along with some other pretty paper projects the other day: If your Spanish is good [or you use Google Translate], you can read about how Immanualidades made this version!

Thanks to you both for the mention and the even bigger compliment of actually trying it out!

I'd love to hear from anyone else who has given it a go!

Glove Cushion Covers!

Finally I have my series of hand-stitched Cushion Covers in my etsy shop! Each one has a vintage pair of gloves appliqued with a short comment stitched on too!I'd like to introduce them to you:
"Home at Last" "Round and Round the Garden to..." "I Could have Danced all Night" And "Turquoisery"!I have my own Glove Cushion Cover in my lounge and it still fills me with joy! Hand shapes are pleasing and lively!

New Series

Thanks To Jesse of Jezzeblog for commenting on my Elle Deco Guest Post yesterday and telling me about the work of Laura Cahill featured on Dezeen Design Magazine. This lampstand is made from recycled books and I just love her "Heavy Read" chair! Pop over to see her beautiful book vases which can hold water too!

I have just finished a series of 4 hand stitched cushion covers [with more to come!] I was looking forward to showing them to you today, but my pics really did not do them justice. So if the light is good today, I will snap them again and show them to you tomorrow.

Elle Deco!

I am a guest blogger on Elle Deco today! Pop over there and have a look at all sorts of inspirational stuff!

In particular I enjoyed the recent article on South African Award Winning Designer Haldane Martin.

Read the interview with him and so much more.

Table Tut!

I decided to try my hand at making my own Folded Magazine Side Table after showing this one last week. It is quite delightful and adds a dose of colour and humour to my living room! I topped it with a display of vintage silver dishes.
I love it when my home evokes reaction from visitors, and this 'table' certainly has! ...What is it? ...How did you make it?
This is how you can make one too: You will need 4 magazines with good quality pages.
Open the magazine and take 6 pages at a time. Roll the outside edge of the pages to the centre of the magazine. Keep going round until all the pages have been 'folded' in this way. Do not make a sharp creased fold, just a gentle roll fold. There is no need to glue or stick - the pressure of the folds keeps everything in place.
Finally take the 2 cover pages and fold them in half - outwards. This must be a sharp fold.
Repeat with the next magazine - then position these 2 semi-circles back to back. Staple the 2 covers together, close to the spines of the mags to join into 1 circle. Repeat with the other 2 magazines and then stack the 2 cylinders on top of each other. I separated the layers with a tray, but they can be stacked directly on top of one another. Enjoy! And when you are over your table - recycle responsibly!