Three groovy picks - The stylist's alphabet, graphic art and faux plants

Summer's almost here and the city's floral bounty leaves me smitten as it has every other year!

I am also deeply intrigued by these three finds this week, I hope these will feed your soul too.

(1) The Stylist Alphabet series of blog posts where Sibella Court lets us into the curios, mementos and elements she has gathered over the years, in alphabetical order. The most aesthetically appealing A-to-Z I'd have loved to read as a kid :-)

If you ask me, The Society Inc has one of the BEST designed websites - appeals to me at every single level. And of course, Court's book Gypsy is a coveted coffee table book taking one into a tour of the bohemian interiors in the Galapagos and Ecuador, Indochine, Turkey, Scotland, and Transylvania. 

(2)  The bold, minimal graphic art by London-based Malika Fawre

(3) Abigail Ahern's faux plants

The closest to natural flora as it can get, with that fresh, wild feel to them.

Art Journal Exploits Prompt #6 - LEAF

I think this prompt has endless possibilities. Even as I type, I can picture it being represented in a zillion beautiful ways.

I painted/journaled it this way!

 

She shares secrets with the leaves and the wind.

A happy rest-of-the-week folks!

A Bohemian Home Tour

In one of the residential streets of uptown Colombo, Sri Lanka is a small colonial villa whose facade is shadowed by a wall of creepers surrounding the gate.
Enter,
and a purring cat welcomes you along with Mrs. Padminee Nanayakkara, the charming owner who has traveled far and wide in her heyday.

(This was the first time I walked into a truly Bohemian home, it had only been Pinterest, Blogs and Instagram images of "bohemian homes" in faraway lands, so far.)

The Facade of Plants

A glimpse of the garden. (Doesn't look Boho, not yet!)

The highlight of the villa is the breakfast in the backyard garden, which is dotted with plants, terracota artifacts and masks from different parts of the world.
You can check out Padminee's website here which has pictures from her villa.

Now, we got to spend a day at her colorful apartment (next door) which is tastefully peppered with artwork and collectibles from the world over.

Stylish furniture, Plants, and interesting Fabric take centre stage framed by the Yellow wall

The beauty is that despite the presence of rich musuem-style artefacts, the apartment is casually styled and looks lived-in, as if the owner just stepped outdoors after a cuppa coffee.

Large floor cushions, books and footwear on a dhurrie in the middle of the room

Plants, Earthenware, Green, Paintings - my favourite corner

A corner on the floor for a quiet read, or for playing chess on a wood board 

Zoom in - The wooden chessmen

Another wall... more artefacts, Orange, artwork!

Much more for the eye to devour, the red painting on the left caught my fancy instantly

The home of a well-traveled person always springs up surprises, don't you think?

On a visit to Colombo, you can keep Mrs Padminee Nanayakkara's homestay in mind for a quiet stay in the middle of the city, interrupted just by bursts of color!

Chai-khullad mornings

Good morning with leaves in a chai khullad!

The joy of drinking tea in a mud cup ... tasting raw earth while you sip, makes for moments to savour, truly. And even better, instead of tossing them off, you can reuse them as plant holders at home and office. My whole-hearted vote for earthenware!

Oh, and are you on Instagram? The fun of micro photoblogging... loving it! If you are there let us connect! Find me @asunnyellowindow where I share photos of artwork and DIYs, travel experiences, special corners of homes and gardens.
Fun weekend to you!

Dear Paint, love the way you do that rainbow!

'tis the story of five mud pots that lived in a corner of home, and needed some Color!

Out came my acrylic paints ...

Did a deep blue on two of 'em

With a white twig on one.

Merged blues, white and green on another ...

Popped out one dirty fellow with a yellow...

Gave the fifth a worn out look, as if the blue-green-pink pattern inside was washed away with many years of the dark brown.

Up they perched on my ledge, 

Along with a painting of mine.

Go, Show off yourselves to all, 

The shapes and colours of thine!

What is your critique, and pick-of-the-lot?
Am linking this to The Weekly Story @ Colours Dekor.

Art Journal - Sketch a Plant

I found this an interesting exercise @The Rainforest Garden, you sketch one plant every week ... you get back your sketching habits, and learn to appreciate the curves on your green friends!

I believe it is never possible to re-create the colors or perfection of nature. And this attempt only reinforced that belief. Color pencils usually create pictures which are farthest from an original, and here's an attempt with them.

This is one of my favorite plants from our balcony garden. Happily nods its head when watered, healthy, and most importantly, is not high-maintenance!

Do you know its name? Scientific name, local name, pet name ;-) anything? For now, its Heart-Shaped Burst-o-Green!

So why don't you brush up your drawing skills, join in this weekly rhythm! Try riding your finger through a leaf, feel its shape, try to re-create it, fail (or perhaps you might not), and scrapbook it for memories sake!

DIy Ideas - Retro Repurposed Jug

Time to put some inspirations to action!
Some of you might remember the steel jug which I dished out of my cupboard after it was tucked in there for a very long time. This Saturday gave me the time to hunch up on a bean bag, jug in hand, a design on my mind, paints and brushes strewn all around me - my fingers itching to repurpose this otherwise not-too-useful object at our home.

I love the symmetry of bare brick walls. And flowers peeping out through the bricks. So here goes!

I intended it to be yellow, but it turned out an almost flourescent leaf green. Nevermind!

Let me make it clearer with the writing on the wall <grin> - a name board of wooden pallets at the bottom, claiming "repurposed"

Electric blue for the handle and knob,
and random brushstrokes with generous dollops of paint for the lid ...

Pebbles are the other surface apart from paper and fabric that I have ever experimented with. So inevitably unlearned-learned a couple of things after these few hours of trying to figure out how to paint on steel. A Google search would've been easier, but this was more fun! 
One: To cover a large surface of metal, it is best to spray-paint. Paint brushes leave their bristle-trail throughout.
Two: Not one, not two, but three coats of paint will be enough. Just one will definitely let the steel show through.
Three: Acrylic (fabric) paint is extremely versatile. It apparently can be used on wood, earthenware, and thermocol as well. (Hmmm!! There is a small wooden table lying bare-brown at home, if only S would agree :P)

Done! I dust my hands in satisfaction, stretch my legs out, and head for a cup of tea.

Meanwhile, I'd love to hear if you have painted jugs, or pitchers, or mugs, or the town ;-) Do share a link if any in a comment.
Until then, let the sun shine on your day!

Linking this to SNS @Funky Junk Interiors, Creative Bloggers Party Hop, Colours Dekor and Lovely Crafty Weekend.

Berries, ferns and a dash o' color ...

for a bright n sunny Monday!

Painted windows

Wooden windows are pretty quaint stuff and I found plenty in Sikkim ... this being my third post inspired by the trip to the beautiful place!

I wonder how many of us have wooden shutters at home these days. I guess if I had them, I'd want to paint them up like these too..

Maybe not the top part of this one... but the panes are brilliant!

An apartment complex with columns of windows which looked like these would look stunning I think. (Could be priced at a premium though ;-)

White n blue's a classic.

If they were painted thus, would the air rushing in be colourful too? ;-)

Good day and do share your window joy if you've spotted some too!

Everyday

Linking this one to Mosaic Monday and to Faith Raider's Simplicity.

3 Basic Tips for Every Gardening Beginner

Here are 3 Basic Tips for Every Gardening Beginner, that I have learnt from my mistakes.

- Have faith in plants! They may wither if they aren't given water for a few days, but if they have roots, they spring back to life when the watering - manuring routine continues. So never throw any away if you see them drooping and withered.

- 1/3 white sand + 1/3 red mud + 1/3 manure = pot mix that always works! Add to this some tender loving care and ample water, of course.

- Never ignore pest control. Try going the natural way: boil tobacco leaves and lime paste in water. Strain it and spray the water on the plants every four months.

Do write in if you have found these to work.