My handmade pussy-willow front door Christmas wreath has just been revamped. I didn’t want to take it down even though I made it for Christmas so I decided to revamp it and make it into a ‘hurry up spring’ wreath. I removed the fairy lights to start with, and then the red velvet ribbon that was holding it to the door frame. The little fluffy white blossoms (not sure I can get away with saying ‘pussies’ here?!) still look fabulous after a few months although some are starting to brown but I quite like them that way. I ‘enhanced’ the wreath with the left over berry buds from my birthday flower arrangement and also added a lovely brown velvet ribbon to replace the red one. I am rather pleased with it, it looks quite striking but what do you think? I have decided to just keep adding to it once things die off – so instead of replacing or removing altogether, I will just add more to it over the coming months and see what transpires. I shall keep you informed on how it looks if you like. For further details on how it was made, see below.

Here is the full view of it:

To see what it looked like for christmas, click here (you will need to scroll down to the bottom of that post).

PS. I just added the direct ‘my heart wanders’ link to the sidebar here for you so you can easily check up on any updates you may have missed on the project. No deadlines have yet been set so don’t panic! But I will be setting one very soon. But before then we will check out some more inspiration for the project. And if I can remember how to do this sidebar thing I might add this little wreath too so you can click on it through the coming months and see how it changes. Ooh I’m having so much fun here in the (blog)house!

How to:

I am not the most patient of creators so you can be assured that whatever I make is super easy and quick. First I had a lightshade metal frame lying around so I cut out the middle bits. Then I cut the hard bottom stems of each pussy willow branch and bunched a few together (for time saving only) and curled them around the frame, securing them in two places with thin copper wire. I did this until I was satisfied with the shape and look of the wreath. Then I simply tied little leftover black and white ribbon in bows around some individual branches. I added little berry-like buds to the wreath and hung it up on the door with a brown velvet ribbon. It took approximately an hour to make in total.

I was a pubescent 14 year old living in a foreign land when this show premiered on my only english-speaking tv channel, the fabulous BBC (nicknamed my ‘sanity savior’). It can be said that after the first episode I was hooked. It encompassed all my passions of life back then – fashion, fabrics, sewing, art, paris, travel, love, boutiques… and all set in my favourite era of the 1920’s, London. This show set the groundwork for much of my inspiration as the essence of it has stayed with me all these years. To my absolute delight, the BBC recently released the entire series on DVD and when my mother read this news she was quick to get hold of it for me, knowing how much this series meant to me some 15 years ago. So what on earth am I talking about you ask?

Why, I speak of the House of Eliott of course!

The House of Eliott is based on the journey of two sisters, Bea and Evie, who embark on opening their very own fashion house amongst the haute couture of London and Paris boutiques, starring the brilliant actress Stella Gonet (as Bea) as well as Louise Lombard (recognise her in CSI?). This classic drama series takes you through all of the ups and downs of running such a boutique, including the scandals that befall them from jealous competitors, and the opportunities that come from the most humble of gestures. All this while giving a fantastic rendition of the political turmoil of England at that time, and post-war life.

These stills give you a very minimal peak at what this series has to offer visually – the sets, props, fashion and style is to-die-for, and for those of you Paris lovers, the series takes you there a number of times, with a complete look at Paris 1920’s fashion. What astounded me the most when I watched the series this many years on, was the resemblance of events within my own life. I remembered exactly how I was feeling when I watched the show at 14 years old, the sketches I started making from being inspired by Evie’s sketches, my imagination was really on an indescribable high. Now, at 30, thinking back to my 14 year old self, little I knew back then that I would have opened my own store only 7 years later and go through all the ups and downs expressed in the House Of Eliott. I was amazed to realise how times haven’t changed for small business, how the struggles are the same, and how all over the world, time after time there are still those people who try to sabotage you, bring you down, make yourself doubt your work and abilities. And then there are those people who stick by you, believe in you and support you through thick and thin. Watching the House of Eliott again brought tears to my eyes regularly and sparked that 14 year old imagination in me again. I won’t be running out and opening another store, but I certainly will not give up on my vision.

Enhance the Everyday review for House of Eliott: 5 outta 5.
I implore you to get hold of this complete series (there are 3 in total, click here for all 3), you will really love it. You will find the first series a little slow but it is essential to understand the whole story and you will not regret it. I just finished watching the whole series at Christmas and I am keen to start it again in a couple of months, I miss it already. Enjoy.

Artist: Peter Callesen

Peter’s work was first introduced to me by Michelle, and then today I spotted some more of his A4 creations on 2 or 3 things I know… which I just discovered to be a pretty cool blog. Who else has poppy love?

A few of you requested my all-australian birthday bash playlist, and as it is rather large instead of writing each artist out I have captured the whole playlist for you below. It is pretty intense, so if you don’t have the patience to scroll the whole list I will just mention here that I highly recommend you add the likes of Sarah Aubrey, Angus and Julia Stone, Karma County, The Waifs and Sia as your beginning aperitif list of songs, and then continue with the likes of Blue King Brown and Sneaky Sound System to get your guest’s feet tappin’.

To add to this authentic collection it is essential to include a few old faves like Midnight Oil, The Bee Gee’s Jive Talkin’ (let’s not get into a debate about whether they are really aussie or not), and even throw in a Paul Kelly. Include a dash of early nullities one-hit wonders with Lino’s Auger Well.

My added splash of didgeridoo with the likes of Xavier Rudd and Ash Dargan really bring the house down.

Enjoy this selection – even for those of you non-australians, I think you will find some artists in here that you will completely fall in love with: for modern-day jazz and blues lovers there is the very awesome DIG and The Badloves, and for alternative rock there is good ol’ Josh Pyke, Alex Lloyd and Pete Murray – I prefer these guys earlier stuff to be honest, I do feel they lost a bit if their individual style in their later work.

And then, the very number one must have song in your collection? YOTHU YINDI, Treaty! You thought I was going to say Men At Work’s Down Under didn’t you?! That is in there too, they’re all gooooood…

Note: most songs mentioned above are available on the fabo itunes and if not, head straight to the artist’s website for purchasing.

Get 27 on the rocks, image courtesy of moi!

Not only is it a glorious sunny day in Amsterdam, but I am being treated like a princess on this special day. So far it has started with a cup of tea in bed (oh, Alfred), and there is the softest warm breeze coming through the windows. Pre-celebrations last night were a hit, my guests loved my all-Australian playlist and I even had requests for a copy of the compilation! It was an international mix of cultures with French, Australian and Dutchies all mingling, and champagne a-flowing. Thank you everyone for your birthday wishes leading up to this wonderful day. I have had a fabulous birthday week here in the (blog)house and I hope you’ve enjoyed it too! I will leave you for a day or so, just to catch my breath. No doubt I will miss you all for the next 48 hours though. If you haven’t had a chance to catch all this week’s posts, please scroll down to view them, they are full of the good stuff of life!

Before I sign off on this post, HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY to all you fellow-aussies! Hope you have a fabulous weekend, I’ll be thinking of all of you celebrating while I indulge in my own birthday celebrations here on the other side of the world. Lots o’ love, pxx