Pink Spring Giveaway!

Hello dear friends,

Are you in Spring mood yet? Glad if you are. And if you are not, I have a great way to cheer up one of you and set you in the mood for flower time.

Let's celebrate the new season with a giveaway, shall we? I have been blogging at The Happy Turtle for three years now. I have documented our shop's decoration, new products and client projects, but this blog is not just about me. It is about what I find inspiring. In the press, in other blogs, in the shops, on the net. CSN stores of the online houseware and home decor business have been kind enough to sponsor this giveaway. I have searched hard, and was very tempted by so many items that I think you'd find very appealing.

I finally set my eyes on a table lamp. Cheerful, versatile and so cute! I think it would look great on a side table, in your favorite reading spot, next to the kids beds.

 And it sings Spring.

Sumersault Hannah Lamp with Shade - HN58

How to enter:

1) Leave your first name and the first letter of your last name (ie. Jane A.) in the comments below.

2) Become a follower to enter a second time.

3) Enter a third time by re-posting this giveaway on your own blog and leaving a comment with a link to your post.

4) Follow The Happy Turtle on Twitter.

5) Join me on Facebook.

Make sure to leave a comment each time you enter (ie. one when you leave your name, another when you become a follower...) and do not forget to leave an e-mail address where I may contact you with the good news!

Entry closes April 30th. I'll choose a winner at random and announce the name sometime on the next day. Time zones differ, so make sure you check back on that day. Happy entering and good luck!

Playful chair

I don't particularly like it, but my kids think it's fun. Kind of like it...reminds me of the days they jumped in the ball-pool. Oh, where Time goes...From here.

Home to a Bee

Hello dear creative, crafting, beautiful people,
It's Easter tomorrow for most of the Western World. It's Palm Sunday for us Greek Orthodox Christians. I wish you all the joy, renewal and freedom that Christ brings us every Spring.

Today I want to show you another find of mine, the real life home of a blogger (and shop owner, as I found out). Her blog is one of the most useful, generous and user friendly blogs I've ever visited, which leads me to believe that there is a good person behind it. If you've ever been to her shop, you may confirm my suspicion.
That's what her Brooklyn, New York apartment says to me: sunny, bright, light, warm, feminine, practical.





And here is the facade of one of her shops.

The blog is The Purl Bee, the shop is Purl Soho, and you may view the entire hometour at Martha Stewart.

Thank you for stopping by. Enjoy Life.

Who's the King? Who's the Queen?

I have wanted to have the names of the children put up in their new bedrooms all along while designing their rooms. In our previous houses I used to put wooden letters outside their doors. Not bad, nobody I knew was doing it at the time. But I was tired of the too much color clad clowns and I have decided on something less garish!
I have found some lovely pillow letters at Yvestown (Yvonne calls them box letter cushions). They are made using Cath Kidston fabric and synthetic filling and they retail at 35 US $.

I have ordered from her first an F for my eldest daughter and an E (for my name in its Greek spelling), as she was having a sale and they cost me $28 each, and then a C and an I (for my hubby's name and mine)and a J for our son, which cost me $35 each. I was a little put off because I like to be spoiled and I did mind not to be offered a multiple buy discount. Nevertheless, her work is nice, the fabric combinations work well together and we all like the end result.
Yvonne cannot make a D though, although I asked for a special order, which was frustrating because I didn't want our daughter D to feel left out.
So, I looked for a D elsewhere. I have liked the classic, white wooden lettering that I had found in many shabby chic shops, but they were way too expensive, for no apparent reason. I finally ordered a golden D priced at a reasonable 10 GB pounds and a lovely hanging heart from POSH by Emily Readett-Bayley. I still have not received them, but I hope they will be beautiful!
A little bit late (but who says so?) came to mind Paula Prass who does personalized scripted name canvasses retailing around $100.

A more expensive option but it is lovely, and it is made just for you and your sweet prince or princess. I'll show you some photos from their rooms soon! Take care.

Pirates fabric for J's bedroom

The most beautiful fabric I could expect arrived today for our son's bedroom.
J is 6 and he is very much into pirates. Although I wanted him to be happy with his new space, I didn't want anything terrifying for his bedroom. No skulls and Pirates of the Carribean.
So I searched and searched. Jane Churchill which I stock in our shop used to have a pirate/treasure island fabric, but it is now out of stock and Designers Guild hasn't shown anything remarkably boy-ish lately. So I had to look elsewhere.
I searched over the net and found a Michael Miller fabric that looked quite kitchy, yet in a happy way.
I ordered it from Lucky Kaeru over at Etsy.
It was reasonably priced and it arrived nicely and quickly, no problem whatsoever.

This one I am going to turn into a floor cushion.
And this one is what J chose for his curtains.

I hope to show you the end result soon!

Thank you Lucky Kaeru. Nice job!

Artists-Walter Sallman

When I was a child, pictures like these were part of my everyday life. They'd be in children's bedrooms. They'd hang at doctor's waiting rooms. The priest would offer us one after Sunday school. They'd sweeten the medicine when we were sick, and would rest our fears at night.
With time, they looked so out of fashion that they fell out of favor, and were ignored and dispised or replaced by more sophisticated versions, or dropped altogether in favor of a cartoon character.
Some time ago I felt so nostalgic for them, I began looking for them at second hand bookshops and over the net. I finally sourced them and found out some more about the painter.
You may read about Walter Sallman here , view and purchase copies of his work here. A word of advice if I may: Do not let anyone or anything intimidate you. Just let yourself be drawn closer to beauty, goodness and innocence of a child protected by Jesus' arms.

Books and Bookshelves

Whenever I visit prospective clients' houses, I find that bookcases are usually among the ugliest of places. Planks and stuff, one next to the other, with bits and bobs thrown in. Unlike dressers, for example, where you usually find a woman's microcosm taken care of in the most strictest way.
Especially children's bookcases are a nightmare of junk.
So, I thought I'd do a little research and find some interesting ways to organize books and other related paraphernalia.
I hope you'll enjoy this.

Above: Plain shelves. Items grouped together, e.g. boardgames (with all those little pieces that go astray if opened unattended). Large bins to store toys that are safe and intended for easy reach. Useful also for "sort later" stuff. Notice the matching cheery Hedda curtain from Ikea.

This is a book case with girly play in mind. Feminine, without being over the top. A lovely reading, stitching corner. Check Ikea's Lack bookcase in red.

Dare to use color, unless you use natural, untreated wood. The usual woodsy tones look like fake and are quite boring in a child's room (or any personal space). Look how this beautiful blue/turquoise frames beautifully the grouping of books and toys. Any old bookcase can become interesting again with several coats of vibrant paint.

After the unexpected colors, let us turn to unexpected materials. On a Cath wallpaper, of course!


On the other hand, one may opt for the no color approach. As in these bookcases, where books have been turned around so that the spine does not show. Alternatively, they can be dressed in a white or brown craft paper for a minimalist or Scandinavian look.

And if you don't care that much about content, you can arrange books by colorway!

What little tricks do you use to keep your bookcases interesting and organised?

(Picture credits: Living, Posy, Anna-Maria Horner, Agnes, Yvestown)

Stenciling

I have been looking for stencil patterns for our new home. I have found two interesting places that I would like to share with you.

The first one is Stencils for You, and it stocks some lovely designs, particularly good for kids' rooms. You may get results as elaborate as the one below, mixing all sorts of stencils, like the Americana and Garden.

The same retailer stocks this checks and cherries pattern, that very much reminds me of the famous Mary Engelbreit pattern.
The other retailer, Epoch Designs, does more elaborate Victorian designs, but also stocks this classic Dutch/kids one, that would be equally at home in a playful breakfast corner.
Do you stencil?

Kate Tempest prints

Hello,

I would like to share with you a beautiful website I came across today. It trades in framed vintage children's prints. If you love old prints and are looking to decorate a child's bedroom (or indulge a childhood phantasy of yours) then this is a magic little place.

Excellent taste, too. Not too much sugar, not too pink, if you see what I mean.

Alice in Wonderland, Babar, Winnie the Pooh and many beautiful, heartwarming characters from all along the XXth century are awaiting you.

So why don't you stop by the Kate Tempest website You are in for a treat.

Style on a budget

You have certainly come across the super classy designer cousin of this coat hanger. This one however, costs just a fraction of the price and is equally stylish. Perfect for a child's bedroom or a modern style-conscious hallway. It costs just 8,99 pounds. From Urchin.

Dream Room

Shop deco

Yesterday we redecorated the shop. Although we are having some special offers right now in order to renew our stock in September, I think we did a pretty good job swapping things around.
This is one of my favorite corners. Girly, but not over the top. And the all natural beech wood- no chemicals, no varnish-, is great to the touch!

Happy Summer!