Beach House Mood Board

I spent last weekend at a friend's bach (traditional small Kiwi beach house) at Ngawi - a tiny fishing town - which is my excuse for creating this moodboard even tho it's clearly not summer here!

The walls are a neutral chalk colour that doesn't show stains as much as white, and the carpet is Sisal as it is so tough.

I've tried to keep this look achievable and relaxing - and something that can withstand hoards of reletives and guests! The aesthetic is kept simple and neutral, with accents coming from paintings and cushions so it can be easily changed.

I love the New Zealand paintings and the uneveness of the recycled glass vase. Sources below;

   - Amyshka



Sources:

1. "Fantail on Pohutukawa" painting
2. "Pohutukawa Coast" painting
3. Rattan pendant lamp
4. IKEA Poang chair
5. Recycled Spanish Glass vase
6. Basket cabinet
7. Turquoise cushion
8. White and beige cushion
9. Missoni Kew Cushion
10. Moroccan Pouff

A colourful Wellington find

Today I was pleased to pass a little homewares shop that looked colourful and artsy, on my own stamping ground in Wellington, New Zealand.

It really stood out from other expensive homewares stores here, and their motto explained why:
 "We believe interiors should contain some element of quirky & have some sense of fun".
Sounds like me!

I love love love this fabric called "After the Morning Rain" by Robert le Heros, and the bright happy cushions and wooden letters.

How refreshing.

   - Amyshka

Cupcakes with 3 frostings

What do I do when I'm supposed to be studying? I make cupcakes.

Today, I had an actual excuse, as I was making them as practice for my cousin's Hen's Night coming up in a month or two.

When I say "make cupcakes" what I really mean is... experiment with cupcakes.

I made 2 batches of batter from a recipe I adapted. Many people find the taste and texture of cupcakes is not a good as you would expect based on the pretty appearance, so I eventually came up with a moist, light recipe that tastes good. (Even Big C loves them, and he's definitely not a cupcake man!)

The batter was looking suspiciously goopey, but it turned out fine after cooking.

The first icing I tried was a simple glaze, made of little more than icing sugar and water:

The red thing on top is... a peice of my GIANT gummi bear! Yep, some friends gave it to me for my birthday a few months back, (ordered from the States) and it's still going...

I liked the look of the glaze, but it was pretty thin and you could start to see the cake underneath, especially over the chocolate cupcakes.

I don't know what it's officially called, but I whipped up some egg white and made a new, thicker glaze with that (plus icing sugar). It needs a squirt of lemon or lime juice to counteract the sickly-sweetness, but the effect is cute!

I like how it's thick enough to stop the chocolate showing through, but still wet enough to spread itself out into a smooth shiny glaze. It's so sweet that just a tiny blob of icing in the middle is enough anyway.

Next up, I took the egg white mixture and pummeled it with some cocoa...

I love the shiny, rich look! However I found that taste a little too sweet. Next time, I'll use real chocolate and maybe make a ganache with cream, then pipe it on. That way you get the full chocolate flavour and creaminess, rather than just sweetness.

The icing was so pale pink it barely photographed, but I love it against the dark cupcake, especially with a piece of broken dark chocolate on top. (It was partly inspired by Sweetapolita's rosewater frosting chiffon cake. She is amazing!) Cupcakes in this colour would work perfectly with the Hen's Night colour scheme - and they would probably have black and white wrappers.

 NOM NOM NOM.

        - Amyshka

Hen's Night part 1: Tea Party - mood board

My cousin asked myself and a friend to be bridesmaids at her upcoming wedding. None of us (including the bride) were particularly certain of what our exact roles entailed, but one thing we knew for sure: the Hen's Party was ours!

We began scheming about all sorts of naughty and nice surprises to fill a day, or whole weekend, for the party.

We came up with a day and night broken into 4 parts - mini-events if you will.
Part 1 will be... A tea-party, with cupcakes.

 I made this mood board for it today:

The task of making all the cupcakes has been delegated to me - I've spotted those cupcake wrappers at Stevens and hope to grab some on sale.

The chocolate chiffon cake with rosewater frosting is by Sweetapolita and I found the contrast of dark cake and fluffy icing so inspiring!

We're sticking to a basic colourscheme of pale pink, black and white as that matches the invites and is a little sophisticated and feminine. (Trust me - the rest of the afternoon and activites we have planned, will be far from sophisticated!)

I also made some cupcakes today as practice, which are in this post.


    - Amyshka

A Josh Goot inspired mood board

Josh Goot has always been one of my favourite designers. He is Australian and I have huge respect for his bold use of colour and confident structuring. His designs look sporty and sleek while still being beautiful.

This mood board is inspired by one of his older collections - Spring 2010 RTW.

The moroccan pouff is a colour I would call "Acid" which is just rebellious enough against the black and white New Zealand Toi Toi cushion and tangerine IKEA lamp.

Josh Goot has mastered the use of harmonious-clash in this collection.

    - Amyshka

Finnish Artist's Home

The first time Finland crossed my mind was when I watched this funny ad on TV here in NZ, ages ago. The accent make me chuckle every time.
The second time that Finland crossed my mind was when I was studying in Sweden a few years ago, and one of the new exchange students was a Finnish girl. (I was stoked to hear hints of "Otto Otto I find Feenesh Sorce!"- like in the ad - in her accent.)


And then, not long ago, I found one of my new favourite blogs - and the artistic home of the Finnish illustrator Jutta Rikola.

Here's the thing: I am not normally into bunnies, or gumboots. But I AM into this picture. So she must be good. The wallpaper is awesome.



 I enjoy seeing the ways she has thought outside the box. The kitchen cupboards are very daring, but also easy to change.

She decorates with painted branches and paper cranes.

And the fairy lights make me happy.

There is nothing pompous or "posh designer" about this home - it's beautiful, simple, personalised and artistic and that makes it truly chic.

Next time I am in Europe a trip to Finland is definitely in order! I'm curious now about the "other side" of Scandinavia. Can't wait to experience their style.

All images from her Flickr photostream if you want to take a peek.

Yay for Finland,


           - Amyshka

Big Ups to Free stuff!

Months ago when I just discovering the world of blogging and realising how much cool online stuff existed outside of my little sphere (also known as New Zealand), I came across this picture:

I really, really liked those floral tags. Yes they are simple, but I just had never seen something like that being used. They were pretty and old-fashioned and I just liked them.

I wondered how much they would cost.
I mourned the fact that New Zealand is too far away from... anywhere, meaning that most companies were not prepared to mails purchases here.

And then, by some fluke several weeks later, I saw the picture in context. And I realised, wide-eyed, that they were called "Printables" and that they could be downloaded and were officially, legally FREE.



via Eat Drink Chic



I also love that fact that the Australian designer, Amy Moss, is just across the ditch.

If you happen to know of any similar ventures by New Zealanders, I would be really keen to hear about it. Drop a comment!

Cheers - to free stuff. :)

   - Amyshka