In Target not too long ago, I bought a stack of tan notebooks whose cover art imitated old Italian school workbooks. They were part of the John Derian line for Target and they inspired me to check out what else is available at the original shop in New York city. Though I haven't yet been, I will be stopping in the next time I'm nearby to check out the quirky mushroom consoles, decoupage lamps, paper ephemera, pottery from Astier de Villatte, Hugo Guinness' linoleum cut prints in vintage frames, vintage tees from Rogues Gallery and Moroccan poufs (any excuse to use the word "pouf").









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Whenever a new book comes out featuring artists' or writers' work spaces, I dissect the pictures for ideas and insight into the people who spend their days in those rooms. I'm fascinated by the places where creative people do their work. A good work space requires a blend of functionality and inspiration. In my own office, I first need a large desk with lots of leg room underneath. As cute as some vintage desks are, I wouldn't last long at a desk that hemmed me in. Once I have room to spread my mess around, I need items of inspiration nearby--an industrial lamp, a bulletin board to pin photos of my latest obsessions, and a cool container with lots of pens. A globe is also a must for the moments when my mind wanders to places outside of my cocoon.






Images: Recycled Home by Mark and Sally Bailey, published by Ryland, Peters & Small 2009. Maisons de Campagne magazine, July/August 2010 issue. House Beautiful magazine, July/August 2010 issue. Living etc magazine, September 2010 issue.

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I love checking out old books when I'm at auctions and flea markets. Initially, I'm drawn to the cloth covers with intricate designs and cool fonts. I also love turning through the first few pages to see if someone has written their name inside or given some hint about the book's importance to them. (I recently acquired a vintage "See and Say" word-building book in which a child had scribbled "I really hate see and say don't you hate see and say.") Over time, I've come to appreciate the quirky titles I come across--like "The Cheerful Smugglers" above. A search of the etsy shoposphere reveals that I'm not the only one with a penchant for these old gems.



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These are my brandy & ginger biscuit truffles, that have become a bit of a hit with family and friends. I thought I share the recipe with you. I never follow any recipe exactly so I suggest you do the same and adapt amounts and exact ingredients where you feel necessary!

Enjoy - and do let me know how you get on!





For around 25 truffles:


3 x 200g dark chocolate, broken in chunks
50g butter
100g condensed milk
(optional: a few table spoons of double cream)
dash of brandy (armagnac, rum, whisky - anything!)
50g desiccated coconut
4 ginger biscuits - finely crushed into crumbs
chocolate powder to cover the truffles with (I used hot chocolate drink powder). You can also use desiccated coconut or chocolate sprinkles.


1. Melt the butter in a sauce pan on low heat, then add the chocolate bit by bit, stirring until melted and smooth.

2. Add condensed milk and stir. If you are adding cream, add now.

3. Add the coconut and ginger biscuit crumbs and stir it in.

4. Add the brandy, stir until everything is smooth. If the mix is still a bit thick, add a bit of normal milk (or more brandy!), but don't make it too runny.

5. Put in the fridge for around 4 hours or until stiffened up.

6. Once ready, spread chocolate powder on a dinner plate. Take a small amount of chocolate emulsion in your hands and roll into a little ball. Roll into the chocolate powder until fully covered. Truffle done!
Try rolling them into desiccated coconut or chocolate sprinkles to create different versions.

7. Put back in the fridge to let them stiffen up a bit. Done!

8.  Wrap some of them individually and put them in a little box if you are giving them away, like I did (I got the wrappers and box from Hobbycraft).

NB: dip your fingers in a bowl of water every now and then when doing the rolling, to avoid the chocolate sticking too much to your fingers.

+++

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December is an expensive month. It's all about eating that special food, wearing those special clothes, adding that special decoration to your home, let alone buying all those extra special gifts for everyone. It's fun (right?), but it's madness! This blog is all about tastefully saving money by recycling, buying vintage or making stuff yourself, so I thought I do a post about DIY Christmas gifts. I mean, how much better is it to give or receive something that's been lovingly hand-made? Much better than trawling those jam-packed shops looking for....for what actually?

For the drinks & nibbles

I came across this idea on addicted2decorating which I really liked. Stenciling or painting a wooden tray. An ideal blank 'canvas' for any creation.



For the ladies


Jewelery is always a nice idea. A woman can never have too many necklaces, I say. I really like the idea of recycling old buttons (sew them as decoration onto cushions, clothes, etc), and like me, you probably have quite a few of them lying around in boxes and drawers. Hey, why not make a necklace out of them?
 
This example is from www.treehugger.com


 
Here's a helpful How-To on www.craftstylish.com


For the bathroom junkie


Making soap is something I've always wanted to try but somehow it looks like a lot of work...! I love the way hand-made soap looks though, cut into big colourful chunks - and I would be so happy with a gift like this! Have a look on teachsoap.com for all the how-to instructions if you fancy giving it a go. If you think it's all too much hassle - why not buy some off etsy - plenty of people who are happy to do the hard work for you.




For the traveler / explorer


Something very original and highly unusual I came across on a site called Inhabitat Green Gift Guide, is a "personalised walking tour" on Google maps! "Show them your hometown – or even their hometown!" they say. "You can either print it out and make it part of a tour booklet, or, depending on your internet skills, post it on a simple website. Alternately, you could lead them down your streets with a personalized podcast". Sounds very 2011!



For the sweet tooth

And what about making some home-made chocolate truffles and presenting them in cute little boxes? I made truffles for the first time last weekend and they were so easy to make and absolutely delicious. Needless to say they didn't last very long... But as they're so easy to make I think I'll make another batch and bring them home to my family for Christmas (I'd have to put them in my suitcase in hold though, cause I don't think they'd survive the flight otherwise ;-)




Have a creative Christmas!

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Ever seen 'artworks' in department stores? Mass produced prints and ornaments, without any personality and emotion? I guess some people just want something to match their curtains, but there's so much beautiful, affordable art available so why not give your home a little bit more personality?

I just received this portrait of me and my husband tonight:



I've been fortunate to have a talented painter as a colleague, who offered me to paint a portrait of me and my hubby - as a wedding present to us. It's based on one of our wedding photos and I absolutely LOVE it. I am so pleased with it that I will do a bit of word-of-mouth promotion for her in return for this amazing gift: go and visit fionajack.viewbook.com. Fiona is happy to work from photographs and ship overseas - and she's got a special Christmas offer on just now! Prices start from £95 ($150) for A4 size. Go on, treat yourself and your walls ;-)

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Full article on www.dornob.com

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This Christmas has been a bigger surprise then expected. The great news... Reclaimed Wreckage will be making a lot of gift-givers and gift-receivers happy through the holidays. The bad news.... I'm running out of bike tubes. In general, people don't bike as much during the holidays due to the snow and hail and terrible cold overall, so there just aren't as many tubes for the taking. I have enough supplies to get me through the orders I currently have, yet I don't know if I'll be able to meet any close deadlines soon after. If you were thinking about ordering, do it soon because you may not get it by Christmas!

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Working with Haring Woods Associates on WHAT WILL BE at the COP16 event in Cancun, Mexico. We produced a catalogue, posters and invitations all reflecting the Mexican location. This is the second Safe Planet outreach campaign in the arts, and features films, photographs, videos, and installation art. Participating artists include: Marcela Armas (Mexico), Jason deCaires Taylor (UK/Mexico), Gilberto Esparza (Mexico), Gideon Mendel (South Africa/UK) and Chris Jordan (USA).

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