Display and de-clutter

When decorating a home, it's always a decision between minimising displays or showing off everything you've ever collected. Sometimes though, a display of well-loved or precious objects can often de-clutter your cupboard space. The best advice is to rotate your displays so that not everything is out at once. And this way, you get to enjoy everything! 

I have a circa 1930s Kodak Brownie camera usually on display by itself, but I pulled out a very cool 1950s Braun camera that used to belong to my grandfather and a 2000 film SLR of my dad's. Together the three cameras represent three generations of keen photographers (not that I've ever actually taken photos with the Brownie). 

Likewise the old bubble bath bottles could just gather dust in the cupboard but together make a pretty display.

Notice the difference

In this age of consumerism, it's lovely to be able to breathe new life into an old piece of furniture. At most garage sales and bric-a-brac markets, there's frames to buy. I picked up this pressed tin one in the photo for $10. It didn't have any backing or glass in it, but I attached a piece of corkboard to it and now I have a lovely noticeboard to display postcards. I also bought a much larger black frame and did the same thing. It now has black and white photos in it and looks really striking. 

So, before your next trip to the shops, poke around your local garage sales and see what treasures you can find to change and make your own.

A watery perspective

It's a watery kind of day today. Rain and hail have been downpouring almost all of last night and this morning. Every time I look out a window I see streaks of rain. The weather made me think of these watery reflection photos so I thought I'd share them with you. For those of you looking to improve your photography skills, these types of photos are a great way to have a fresh and unusual perspective. Reflections can be beautiful, moody and even scary. 

The top image was taken in France and I love its vivid colours. It's happy and bright and makes me think of summer and a dip in the sea (although ironically it was actually taken in December in the Northern Hemisphere winter); the middle image was taken in Venice and evokes an eerie feeling in me; the last image was taken just a few months ago at Ercildoune Homestead outside of Ballarat. It reminds me of the dappled light and pointillism of an Impressionist (Georges Seurat) painting.

I nearly forgot to show you these brilliant old Egypt swap cards

See posts below for more on swap cards

Continuing with last week's tradition . . .

Some pretty flowers to wish you a happy weekend. The ones in the vase were picked by my husband from our garden for mother's day last month.

More swap cards

Stunning vintage travel swap cards

Swap cards

There is a gorgeous shop in Daylesford called Lark. It sells all manner of goods that could (and do) do damage to my credit card. We're talking about beautiful baby ware, prints, vintage-inspired niceties, and lately the icing on the cake: Cath Kidston designs. Anyway, that all aside, the Lark blog (http://www.the-lark.blogspot.com/) recently wrote about swap cards. It reminded me of my own swap cards, a very special and treasured collection largely passed down from my Grandma and Mum, both of whom collected swap cards as girls. As a child, I too collected them and now I have 3 beautiful albums and a box full of vintage and retro cards from the 1940s, 1960s, and 1980s. The swap cards speak for themselves so I'm going to do a few blog posts just showing them. My Grandma and Mum grouped their albums in categories such as animals or sailing ships or travel images. I'm doing the same here and featuring some of my favourite cards. I'll likely frame some of these children's pictures for my daughter's room.

Baby, it's cold outside

Winter has descended and the streets are covered in fallen autumn leaves. The branches are suddenly bare and there's a frost in the air. To be outside before 9 a.m. or after 4 p.m. now is to feel the chill. The sky is luminous grey, as if snow will fall; or, it's bright blue and sunny, deceiving that it's warm but actually it's crisp.

Time to don the coats and beanies and leather gloves. Wrap a quilt around you, cup your hands around a mug of hot chocolate, warm your hands in front of a fire (or maybe the heating vent!). Light some candles, have a bubble bath, cook roast vegetables or a chocolate pudding.