Seeing Flowers

One day, whilst out and about in a book shop.......

He (a 'flora-phile') said, whilst poring over a most beautiful photography book on all things flowers, "isn't this a gorgeous coffee table book; wouldn't it look great on our coffee table?" (he did, he really, really did).

She (a totally obsessed eccentric) said "It is, isn't it; but just imagine how beautiful this book (times five), page by page, would look as a feature wall, in our boudoir???

So who do you think triumphed........he.......or she??

You are all a wee bit clever; of course she was the victor!!

It's not the first time I have totally destroyed a book, page by page......a sacred published document which should ever remain in it's binding.......and paste it to a wall. I love my bright and happy botanical hallway so much I thought I  might commit the iniquitous deed of ripping out carefully tearing out each page once again, but this time for my boudoir.

I have been searching for what seems forever, vintage wallpaper or perhaps a lovely chinoiserie wall paper for a feature wall, but could never find what I wanted for a reasonable price. When eventually I did find a lovely one, alas it would have cost me the proverbial arm and leg. Besides, when thinking about the colour schemes, I really didn't want to limit myself to one or two colour palettes. I wanted the full colour spectrum to be dancing on my wall, so I could change quilts for my bed at my whim. So.....happening upon this beautiful book written by Teri Dunn Chace and exquisitely photographed by Robert Llewellyn is a gift from Heaven. =)

For two weeks I was up the ladder adhhering page by page, the most beautiful flower photographs to my 11' high wall.....in total 204 pages. It was a snail-like process as the back of each page had to be covered with Mod Podge and then carefully pasted to a pre-pasted wall, ever so carefully smoothing out each crinkle, ensuring there were no air bubbles. It truly was the most laborious process. Upon completion of the entire wall, I then gave it three coats of Mod Podge.

I now have the bearing of Quasimodo, hunched over, unable to straighten, feeling pain in places I have never really been aware of before!!

BUT......I am delighted, absolutely ecstatic with the results. I LOVE the new feature wall, as does I might add, my husband. A wall that will bloom forevermore with pretty flower after pretty flower.

Just in case you are in need of a little more hydrangea love and didn't get enough last week!!

Oh......did I tell you......the Dahlias are doing their thing this year and beautifully so.....even better than last year, if that is at all possible. They can't let the Hydrangeas have all the limelight, they have to try to upstage the Hydrangeas and be the centre of attention. Just between you and me though, I don't think there is any plant, en masse, that can overshadow the Hydrangeas, but hey that's just me. =)

One of the things I wanted to achieve these Summer holidays was to create a feature wall and tart up our boudoir. Actually it eventuated into a complete makeover! The carpet has been ripped up and sent to carpet hell, damned forevermore, the floor has been given many coats of white paint and the walls painted a crisp white. Now to make some pretty curtains from lovely, embroidered linens and to finish my scrappy fabric/embroidered linen quilt.

I am so happy the boudoir is well on it's way to becoming a most beautiful place to rest and refresh a troubled or tired mind. It is a place to escape to, pull up a quilt or two and get lost in a good book for an hour or so, or even enjoy a nanny nap (not that I am a nanny.....pity). For now this hunchback gal, who really should know better than traipse up and down ladders for days on end, is intending to relax a little and enjoy a little quilting; who knows, perhaps this week all the quilting will be finished. 

Mmm......perhaps the dazzling Dahlias have a point...........

I, like Quasimodo in that tale of long ago, rather feel like swinging from bell to bell, ringing those tintinnabula in unison, joyously celebrating my beautiful flower wall......I'm off to find me a cathedral. =)

Until the next time...

Hydrangeas and endless Summer Days

Hydrangeas are reminders of endless Summer days that seem to go on forever. Summer images of these beautiful lacy, star-shaped flowers packed together in delightful plate-sized pompoms, always delight me. I would have to say without equivocation Hydrangeas are my favourite flowers. They never fail to delight with a beautiful show for months in the garden and as cut flowers they last for weeks, gradually fading to lovely dried flowers in the softest of autumnal hues.

Before I take you on a virtual stroll of our Hydrangeas in the garden, a cautionary word.......I got a little carried away with my little camera.......again! Alas, there are a gazillion happy snaps of my favourite flower. You might want to pull up a comfy chair and pour yourself a bottomless cup of tea. I humbly apologise from the outset, for the overload of Hydrangea gorgeousness, but I am guessing all you lovelies way up there in your frigid, wintry wonderland could do with a little sprinkling of pretty colour in your snow-filled day. AND....those of you fellow Aussies who live on the mainland....well your Hydrangeas (if indeed you have any) would be frizzled to an to an inch of their botanical lives with all the sweltering, blistering Summer days you have been experiencing!

Upon entering the front gate, I can't help but feel a sense of cheeriness as I amble through.

Our garden plays host to many different cultivars in colours of whites, pinks, mauves, purples, crimsons and blues. I think at last count we have 45 of these gorgeous shrubs and yes, there is still room for some more.

One could say Hydrangeas bestow oodles of WOW....NOW!!

Now you know I couldn't stop at photographing the Hydrangeas in the garden. I had to.....had to capture a little sense of theatre.....a little drama. It wouldn't be me if I didn't add a prop or two. =)

This beautiful vintage kimono was gifted to me by my two daughters for a birthday a couple of years ago. Isn't it beautiful. My girls know their mother  so very well. I guess it is all those Sunday afternoon drives when they were young, which usually ended up a shop or two filled with antiques, vintage pretties, bric-a-brac......which was always followed by a debriefing at a cafe where a coffee, iced chocolates and a slice or two of chocolate mud cake were enjoyed. Yes indeed, those Sunday drives of yesteryear are what fun, familial memories are made of.

My vintage kimono, swatches of kimono silks and a gorgeous ginger jar summate a wonderful sense of Asian exotic-ness.

A lace curtain, a candelabra and Hydrangeas in a pretty, iron basket.......al fresco, can be an excellent thing..............

........as can a gold frame!

Of course, Miss Maisie had to join in the fun. Miss Maisie has lost all her fuzziness. She has taken off her fur coat for the Summer. I rather miss her fuzzy, bad hair days.

I could earn a fortune hiring out Miss Maisie for photo shoots. All I say is "stay" and she does. No growling at her.....no doggy treats as bribes......she just loves to smile at the camera.

And.......what is a sweet puppy dog without her loving Lord and Master to sit with her!

I love this photo. It is very Downton Abbey-esque, isn't it. When I arose at 5.00am  to set up this photo shoot, (all the photography had to be accomplished before the sun rose) I didn't intend to take a photo of either my good husband or indeed Miss Maisie. As is always the case with these things, it just was one of those on-the-spur-of-the-moment kinda things. My good husband was gardening nearby dressed in his dirty gardening garb, when I thought what a wonderful photo it would be if he was sitting 'on set', in more formal attire, on a rather royal looking chair (which I tarted up ages ago) partaking in a cup of tea. He scrubs up pretty well for an old fella. He certainly looks very dapper and suave and as for Miss Maisie, well she looks rather adorable, too!

Aah yes......a cup of tea. How is your cuppa going?? Do you need a refill yet?? Not to worry, you may get up from that comfy sofa now and go about your day. Thank you for 'sitting out' the distance with me. Sometimes, just sometimes............I do tend to get a little carried away.

Oh well........until the next time.

Roses for Thee

Hello everyone. I have always wanted to link up to Soma's, Wandering Camera linky party so this month I thought I might just throw caution to the wind and join in the fun. No wandering around the countryside taking photos....sorry.....just picking a bunch of the most frangance-filled bunch of roses and playing with them.

So.....I thought perhaps I would pick some "roses for thee". =)

I have discovered I love taking photographs, something I didn't realise till I started my little blog. I also love to style photos. I suppose, ever since I was a li'l wee girl I have been styling this and that. It has always been an intrinsic part of me to think of  a way to present something in a fresh and unique way, always imagining......"how can I make this a little different, a little more creative??"

I love mixing things up. I love the unexpected. I love the happy accidents that happen when one plays with the camera and subject. For every hundred happy snaps I capture, there is usually one or two which really pleases my beady li'l eye.

Though a bunch of roses always dance in a simple vase, how gorgeous they look peeking from within swirls and swirls of sumptuous, Italian coverlets and some pretty French lace.

Of course, sometimes it is a bit tricky to choose just one or two photos!! =)

A bunch of ephemeral and pretty pastel roses, in all their simplicity, ever so gently evoking a sense of beauty. Whether sitting in a pretty vase or peeking from folds and folds of puckering, gorgeous fabric and lace, the rose speaks in a language all it's own. Indeed, the rose speaks in the sweetest and softest words, never failing to make the heart smile.

This year I have decided I want to improve my photography skills, even buy a new little camera. Funnily enough I went to a camera store the other day and the fellow inferred that my camera was a touristy one....not one for the 'real' shutter bug!! Oh well....it looks as if I have been doing it all wrong these past couple of years. I must admit I am a bit bamboozled by all the cameras out there. So much information for a novice such as me to digest. I came home without a new 'real' camera in my kit bag! For now me and my little touristy camera will just have to do....at least for a little while.

Until the next time, have the loveliest of days, perhaps even drink in the fragrance of a rose or two.

Linking up to the lovely Soma's Wandering Camera  party over at her beautiful blog, Whims and Fancies. I am always captivated by the beauty Soma captures with her magic camera and she very generously always passes on helpful information to those, such as me, whom need a lot of help with their photography.  I know some of you lovely ladies capture the most amazing photos of your everyday life, so why not pop over to Soma's place and join in the fun.