Affordable Photography Lighting for your Home

My lovely brothers gave me a Building Site Tripod Light for Christmas. This may sound like an unwanted gift, but it was actually something I've wanted for a while. Th windows in our house don't let in enough light to take pictures inside. This lamp will allow me to take pictures inside without having to drag every other lamp into the same room.

I just assembled it (on my own!), and did a little test run. The lamp is more suited to close up shots, where it will provide fantastic lighting, but it didn't do badly in this setting either. (Considering it's getting dark outside already).


Now I don't have any excuse for not taking pictures of things I've made/done, and blogging about them. (Normally I wouldn't post any pictures of the house without cleaning and tidying excessively, and staging the whole thing, but as a new years resolution I've decided to be less uptight)


Some pictures I finally got around to hanging. As you can see the power of the 2x 500w bulbs bleached the photo out a little. This could be avoided by using something to reflect the light onto the wall, rather than pointing it directly. As soon as I've used the lights to take some proper photos I'll post them for your inspection.

Budget friendly design

When we first moved I spent a lot of time bargain hunting. My all time favourite bargain was 2 bedside tables and two lamps for £20 total Sadly, now the house is slowly becoming full, and I'm not allowed to buy any more home accessories (official embargo). But that doesn't stop me keeping an eye out for nice design at a bargain price. Here are a few things I've spotted out and about.


1. Spiral Cushion in Pewter £5.00 (Wilkinsons)
2. Allium Cushion £5.00 (Wilkinsons) (I looked at 1 & 2 in store, and the fabric looks perfectly acceptable to me - Several other colour combos available)
3. Rustic Photo Frame from £2.50 (Wilkinsons) These frames looks stunning, much better than in the photo. The colour of the wood is really rich.
4. Breeze Pendant £6.00 (Wilkinsons)

5. Iggy Retro Task Lamp £22.98 (B&Q) Also in cream and red.
6. Felt Loop Cushion £9.98 (B&Q)


Have you bought anything for your home at a bargain price recently?


All images from the respective websites.

Lili Lite

I've been pondering the (life changing) decision what art to hang above the bed for a while now (11 months-ish). Recently I've considered painting some bird silhouettes onto the wall instead of hanging art, but perhaps this would be an even better solution:

'Lili Lite is a reading light, a bookmark and a bookshelf combines into one smart product. A sensor turns off the light when an open book is placed on the shelf. When the book is picked up again, the light automatically turns on. Lili Lite also has a switch to turn the light on and off manually.'

This would also solve the problem of how to keep the pile of books next to the bed tidy. These lights are available here for 99 Euros. (I have a lovely fancy keyboard, which is backlit, and provides 'extra typing satisfaction', but it has no Euro key!)



Images and info from www.lililite.com

I love you more than _________.

Laureen and Yuliya from paperwhite studio have a lovely valentine themed project going. From iloveyoumorehtanblank.blogspot.com:


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Before you know it Valentines day will be here…
Cupcakes and rainbows will envelop all, and your heart will begin to beat with the rhythm of love.

This year paperwhite would like to get in the spirit with you
in the form of a little project…

Please help us fill in the blank “i love you more than________”

Some of our personal loves:
- i love you more than guacamole
- i love you more than a coconut popsicles on a hot summer day
- i love you more than the G train when it’s on time (or the L when it’s not stopping every 5 min!)
- i love you more than a good hair day
- i love you more than pms 412 U

We won’t be stingy and will share all the answers with you by posting them
on http://iloveyoumorethanblank.blogspot.com/ as they come in.
In the meantime, we will take the responses and graphically design them into something lovely.

So please please share the love by sending us one, or more, things you would put in second place to that special someone (love@paperwhite-studio.com), and spread the love by forwarding this to everyone you know!

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I've sent my contributions in and they are as follows:

• I love you more than a 250 note streak on Guitar Hero.
• I love you more than a hot chocolate with whipped cream.
• I love you more than finding a long forgotten £20 note in my coat pocket.

I'd love to hear what you love less than your other half. If you leave a comment here I'll forward it on to the ladies at paperwhite studio.


(As seen on Graphic Hug)

When I win the Lottery - Missoni Home

Missoni Irvin Bedding from £74

When I win the Lottery I am going to furnish my summer home entirely from the Missoni Home range. (I haven't quite worked out where this summer home is going to be, perhaps Tuscany?).

These heart shaped, tall poufs are brilliant.

Berlin Tall Heart Pouf £480

Leopard Heart Pouf £400

Missoni's Home Range is fun and colourful, and extensive! There's a huge selection of Ikat inspired towels and bathrobes, and cushions in a wide variety of colours and shapes. Visit Dotmaison to browse the whole range (20 pages of it!). Another of my personal favourites is this rug. This would actually look great in my current living room, and wouldn't need to go to Tuscany.

Missoni Carousel Rug £ 3284

Cate Anevski (aka Bees Knees Industries)

Stripe

Some people's levels of creativity and output really put me to shame. But I don't mind that at all, especially when the said person's work is a wonderful as that of Cate Anevski. I came across her work on Etsy late last year, and only just got round to posting about it.

She has two Etsy shops, Bees Knees Industries, where you will find Cate's 'crafty endeavors', and Cate Anevski, home of her illustrations and fine art. Her style is sandwiched somewhere between ethereal, spooky, playful and beautiful . (There's several references to glorious mythical creatures like Alice, Dorothy and Peter Pan). I recommend browsing her two shops, but here are some of my favourites.

Cross Section of a Cloud


Crammed Organisms No1

Red Horned Plush

You can also visit Cate's blog here. Thanks for sharing your work Cate!

(Writing this post reminded me how much I like her work, and I just ordered two prints. Hoorah!)

Midland Hotel, Morecambe - Restored

A hotel I would like to stay in: Midland Hotel in Morecambe (Lancashire). I haven't been there, so there's not much I can tell you about it, but according to the website it's a 'beautifully, meticulously, lovingly restored, the Midland is an Art Deco-inspired tour de force with 44 modern 30s-inspired rooms, 6 rooftop suites, a top-notch restaurant and ultra-stylish bar.'

Here's some pictures to illustrate the explosion of adjectives in that sentence.



I can see myself enjoying a few cocktails in that booth.


Images and text from www.midlandmorecambe.co.uk