One of the first blogs I ever started following was Anna Spiro's Absolutely Beautiful Things. If you know Anna's work, or just take a look through her gorgeous blog, you can see why I love her style - layers of colour, pattern, and interiors with depth and soul. She introduced me to ginger jars, and I fell firmly in love with them, particularly the blue and white ones. They look beautiful filled with bright flowers (especially my favourite peonies), or clustered together in a group.
One of my favourite candle suppliers, Rose in Thorns, asked if I'd like to try their latest product, a soy glass candle. Because I'm of the opinion that you can never have too many beautiful scented candles, I was only too happy to oblige!
Made from natural soy wax, each candle is hand poured, topped with a wooden lid and tied with a soft, natural ribbon. You can rest easy knowing that soy wax is a natural chemical-free, biodegradable and renewable resource. And, when you've finished your candle, you can return the glass to Rose in Thorns to refill. Return four empty soy glass tumblers and receive one free.
The candle comes in two different sizes and a range of delectable fragrances - rose, frangipani, vanilla, mandarin & mimosa, jasmine & honeysuckle, pineapple & coconut, white tea, carnation, passion, sweet lemongrass, and red raspberry. I chose pineapple & coconut, and it is, quite simply, summer in a glass! I had it burning over the weekend and it filled the house with the most delicious summery scent.
One very important tip I'd like to share... the first time you burn a candle sets the stage for the life of that candle. If you burn the candle for a short time and only have a small wax pool, the dry hard wax around the outside will almost never burn - you'll get what is called "candle tunnelling". You want the wax to melt all the way to the edge, which usually means burning your candle for at least 3 hours. I highly recommend trying these gorgeous soy glass candles, and (as we get closer and closer to the festive season) they'd make great gifts for family, friends, or your kids' teachers.
Another of my new series for 2014 is 'decorating on a budget' - tips and ideas for ways to beautify your home without breaking the bank. Today I've got a few different ideas for you to try... Decorate with nature: Mother Nature is the most discerning artist, hands down, so take advantage of her creations. Bringing nature inside adds life, texture, shape, and colour. You don't have to spend a lot of money at a florist, just look to your own backyard. Whether it's a singe flower, a branch, or some glossy leaves, keep it simple, and let nature do the talking.
Even a simple bowl of stones can look stunning. Get the kids to help you find pretty and interesting stones from the beach or river.
Hanging pictures: Art is the quickest way to add style and personality to your home, but framing can be costly. There are several ways that you can display your unframed artwork that will still look really cool. We all know and love washi tape with it's massive range of colours and patterns. Use it to not only stick your pics on the wall, but also frame them.
Wooden pants hangers are a really clever way to hang prints and posters. All you need is a nail or hook to hang them off.
And bulldog clips do an awesome job on larger pieces of art. Just make sure your four nails are in the right place so you don't get a saggy poster.
Lego display: There are so many cool and inexpensive ways to decorate a child's room. Here are a couple of brilliant and simple ideas using Lego. Glue a Lego base sheet onto the top of wall shelf, or a small side table. Use it to display all your child's Lego creations.
I love this idea to display all the cool Lego characters. If little hands are going to be taking the characters on and off, make sure the blocks are securely attached. Otherwise hang it higher, purely as a cool piece of art.
I hope you've found something here that you can use in your own home. I'd love to see photos if you do - email them to me, or post them to Instagram tagging me in (@cushandnooks), and with #cushandnooksdecoratingonabudget.
