DIY PAGE BUNTING

IMG_7504A few months ago, I attended an event at Centrale Culinaire, and couldn’t take my eyes off the incredibly simple-yet-striking buntings that hung across the room. I decided to steal the idea and recreate them in my own home. I’ve always loved old books and how they draw in all the senses- the faded yellow pages, that sweet vanilla-tobacco scent, the feel of the paper wearing thin… so using them as decor was really appealing to me. Tearing pages out of a book might seem sacrilegious to some, but rest assured, I found this book in the trash and I’m pretty sure no one was really dying to read it anyway (sorry to all the Emile Zola fans out there!).
IMG_7589The materials needed are pretty basic: old book, string, craft glue. The process is super easy and you’ll have a cool wall decoration in no time!

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I tried it out on both our grey bedroom wall and my pink office/boudoir/studio. Which do you prefer?

IMG_7554IMG_7608PS: can someone in the candle industry please make a candle that smells like old books? Or is that gross? Think about it: Dyptique, Vieux Livres.

Mantras lately

I’ve been reading some inspirational books recently, and decided to make a few desktop backgrounds with positive messages to keep me motivated. I’m at a turning point in my life and sometimes it’s easy to get discouraged by obstacles or realizing how much work is ahead before I get to where I want to be. I can easily slip into a negative mindset where I think of what my life could have been if things had been different, and that kind of thinking is sooo counter productive. I sometimes need a reminder that says, “hey! stop that!”
This post is dedicated to my friend Christina in Berlin! We’ve been having a lot of long talks about our common need to stay creative, despite whatever setbacks we may have. It’s a good time to surround ourselves with a team of cheerleaders and just plow forward with our passions. So, thanks, lady, and keep at it!
All images made with photoshop and pictures I have taken.
made by littlekokomo.com made by littlekokomo.comAbove quote taken from the book “What color is your parachute?

made by littlekokomo.comNot sure who the original author of this last quote is, but I recently read it in “Big Magic” by Elizabeth Gilbert.
Feel free to use these as your own desktop backgrounds if they are helpful to you! If you repost them, please link back to my site. Thanks and Happy Friday! xo.

Turning your photographs into canvas artwork with 44 Wide

I often get questions about this picture hanging in my living room, which is also my blog header at the moment. It looks a little abstract and mysterious, and It’s actually a photograph I took of a sunrise one morning in my old apartment. It was a cold (-30 celsius) Montreal winter day, and I was up at 6am getting ready for work, somewhat begrudgingly. It was so cold that there was a layer of ice on the windows. I’m not talking about cute little frosty ice, I mean thick sheets of ice that refused to melt for weeks. As I walked past the dining room, I couldn’t help but notice a golden shimmer coming through the window and just had to get my camera to capture it. I took it as an omen to stay positive during the dead of winter.
printing photos onto canvas Littlekokomo.com44 Wide is a Canadian company that creates high quality prints with your photographs, and produces them onto large custom canvases. I cropped the picture I took, rotated it horizontally, and uploaded it directly to their website, custom choosing my frame size, canvas texture and border. The final product, a 30X40 inch canvas, was delivered to my doorstep less than 3 weeks later. I’m pretty happy with the result; it ties the room together and more importantly, I feel like I was involved in the creative process. Rather than getting something generic that you’ll see in a ton of other homes, why not go for something more personal and unique?
printing photos onto canvas Littlekokomo.comprinting photos onto canvas Littlekokomo.comIf you subscribe to their mailing list, they notify you about frequent sales. I happened to take advantage of one that was 40% off!

printing photos onto canvas Littlekokomo.com
Canvas texture up close

All links are non-affiliate and genuine appreciation. For more info on this company, please visit 44 Wide’s website.
PS: for gallery wall ideas, see here.
PPS: take a boring Ikea bookcase to the next level here.

Tips for a gallery wall you’ll love

gallery wall littlekokomo.com

It took a little more effort than expected, but our gallery wall is finally complete. I love how it makes the living room feel so much more cozy and colourful, and an extension of ourselves (Josh and I) in a way. Here are 8 pointers I’m sharing from my own experience:
1) Select the right spot: Preferably somewhere well-lit, but not in direct sunlight as the colours in the artwork can fade and the reflection will bounce off the glass. It will have more of an impact if it’s the central focus of a room, so the wall that is most visible when entering the room is usually a good choice.
gallery wall littlekokomo.com2) Choose art or pieces that are meaningful to you: signed autograph, concert tickets, a child’s doodle, inside jokes… pieces that hold happy memories will conjure up good feelings when you look at them. I’m pretty fond of my Mick Jagger autograph from 1979, passed down from Josh’s mom. I also love objects that were collected during our travels, such as the alligator head from New Orleans.  Continue reading “Tips for a gallery wall you’ll love”

DIY Painted Billy Bookcase

One day, I’d love to go to a beautiful furniture store like West Elm, Montauk Sofa, or Crate and Barrel, hand them an entire paycheck, and say “One bookcase, please”. Until then, I’ll keep taking old pieces of furniture and doing my best to transform them into something decent. This Ikea Billy bookcase was in our storage room long enough for the colour to fade in the sun to an unfortunate shade of off-white. We nicknamed it “Pit Stain”, since it looks like that white shirt you give up on for the same reasons. But with just a bit of work, it looks like new! So long, Pit Stain.
bookshelfbeforeGetting rid of the holes for the adjustable shelves made it look a little higher end right away. I used a spackle tool and Polyfilla to cover them up. It dried pretty fast, then I wiped any excess off with a damp cloth till the surface was smooth.
billy bookcase painted little kokomoI used basic latex eggshell paint by Benjamin Moore that I had leftover from a previous project, nothing fancy. I removed all the shelves and did 2 coats of white paint with a roller. I didn’t remove the back because it didn’t look sturdy enough to survive any pulling, so I just taped the inner edges and painted 2 coats of turquoise with a brush.  It seems to be holding up! I’d mention the paint colour, but I actually mixed 2 leftover colours had lying around (Pelican Grey and Mermaid Green).
billy bookcase painted little kokomo P.S: I have more books, I just kept it empty for show here.
 Have a lovely long weekend, all my Canadian friends!

DIY gift idea: baking mix in a jar

As promised, here is the DIY gift based on yesterday’s recipe. Whether you need a gift for a host, a friend who loves baked goods, or a person who is always on the run, I’m sure you know someone who would appreciate this.

You will need:
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup unrefined light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 cup dried, unsweetened, shredded coconut
1/2 cup bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips Continue reading “DIY gift idea: baking mix in a jar”