Everything Ombre

These ombre walls and curtains add such a lovely softness to the room. There is something about the gradual tonal changes that just feels soft and relaxing. This girl is so totally ombre by doing the ombre dress AND ombre hairstyle.
Interior pic courtesy of Happiness Is
Outfit pic courtesy of Beauty Moves Me

Ombre is a French term meaning “shaded”. The effect is usually achieved by a multicolored stripe, with colors graduating from light to dark. Its a trend that if you Google right now will come up with a lot of hairstyle images from celebs who over the past few years have been rocking the dark roots that slowly get lighter at the ends. Apparently the celebs have now abandoned the two toned hairstyles, but in fashion and interiors; ombre can be a lot more timeless. In fact ombre is a color style that works not just on interiors and fashion, but also on cakes, lips and nails and has even shown up in a lot of wedding styling. The 'dip dye' style is very similar in terms of the visual effect it creates of which there are quite a few DIY tutorials to try out.

Google ombre and you will get hundreds of these sorts of celeb hairstyle pics. From left to right Rachel Bilson, Drew Barrymore and Khloe Kardashian.Images courtesy of theberry.com, andazelenca.com and franaq16.blogspot.co.nz

What I love about ombre is the softness and gentleness. It has a calming feeling to it, from a dark rich color to softer more pastel tones and all the way to white.

These are more subtle gradient ombre examples. They also demonstrate that blue on blue on blue can work, you don't have to be afraid to be too matchy matchy.
Interior pic courtesy of apetycznewnetrze.blogspot.com 
Outfit pic courtesy of weheartit.com

A great example of the sweet softness of ombre. Pale pink and turquoise, too cute.
Interior pic courtesy of blog.jelanieshop.com
Outfit pic courtesy of pose.com

A DIY project you can ombre paint a set of drawers for a fabulous visual effect. Gwen Stefani was stunning in this John Galliano wedding dress way back in 2002 before ombre became a hairstyle sensation.
Interior pic courtesy of creamylife.comombre-desk 
Outfit pic courtesy of wedding-darling.com

Dip dye denim blue, has a chic easiness to it that feels very down to earth.
Interior pic courtesy of etsy.com
Ombre denim shirt courtesy of etsy.com

Orange in your wedding dress is probably even more outrageous than pink, but its cute and it works. This simplistic art piece demonstrates that ombre is beauty and art in itself.
Ombre Sunset Pic courtesy of etsy.com
Orange ombre wedding pic courtesy of beforethebigday.co.uk

There are no limits to this trend, even your lips can have this crazy extra dimension.
Interior pic Courtesy of  Happiness Is
Make-up pic courtesy of  Tumbler.com

Wedding cakes and crazy couture are all ombre friendly
Image courtesy of savvyinteriordesign.com

There is something hippy and cool about both these examples, but I wouldn't try the pink hair unless you were in your early 20s.
Interior pic courtesy of anordinarywoman.net
Pink hair image courtesy of tammyleighsblog.blogspot.com

Sunshine yellow ombre is very easy on the eye and soothing to the soul. Such a cheerful color in such a peaceful tone takes me to my happy place.
Interior pic courtesy of Happiness Is
Outfit pic courtesy of i612.photobucket.com

Check some ombre and dip dyed ideas below for the avid DIYer and a whole lot more ideas here.

Make your own dip dyed napkins via a great tutorial from A Beautiful Mess

Give more interest and beauty to some retro furniture. Image courtesy of budgetdecorating.about.com

Ombre doesn't have to be crazy colorful shades. Grey is a great option for neutral beauty. Image courtesy of countryliving.com 

This is a great tutorial on how to paint an ombre wall, see full instructions here

Finally some ombre fashion examples...

Ombre on the runway. 
Image courtesy of designsbykf.blogspot.com

Ombre on the red carpet. 
Image courtesy of fromthefloor.nordstrom.com

It is true you could ombre just about anything, and with any color so have fun with this trend and get "ombreing".

Painted by hand

Olivia Palermo in a handpainted skirt.  Image by habituallychic.com

There is something so unique and striking about handpainted fabrics for the home or the body.  This week we pay homage to this seasons style must-have by selecting a few inspiring garments and homewares that really showcase this trend.

Handpainted Maxi dresses are truly eye catching: above and below - images by ulugustarstyling.net and prettyportobello.blogspot.com

Who doesn't want to stand out in a crowd and in this day and age individuality is very much in-vogue.  As a lover of crafts and DIY I admire any and all things that have a real 'made with love' feel to them.

Bluebelle Gray creates amazing handpainted fabrics and pieces for the home.  How fresh and inviting is the couch covered in handpainted sunflowers! 

Below are just some handpicked and handpainted furnishings for the home that I hope will inspire your creative juices

Midnight Spirographs painting by Sarah Stockstill

Handpainted desk from Pottery Barn

Marimekko handpainted fabrics like Kotona (above) are great stretched over canvas as art or made into soft furnishings like cushions

I love a good feature wall.  No, not the 90s obsession where one wall in every room was a bright colour - yes Mum I remember when you broke out the burgundy!  I actually really love a wallpapered feature wall, what a great talking point.  

These handprinted wallpapers below and above are by one of my fave designers Porter Teleo, such a bold statement!

In fashion, there is a resurgence for hand-dipped/dyed and hand painted designs.  

Emma Stone pulls off a beautiful handpainted dress by Lanvin

Anne Hathaway wore a pink handpainted Valentino wedding dress recently on her wedding day

And just to show you how passionate I am about this handpainted trend I thought I'd give you a glimpse of my recent Sevens costume (remember the Chandeliers), well this year hubby and I did our best interpretation of Gotye and Kimbra which was inspired by their song Somebody That I used to know below 

The real Gotye and Kimbra

The pretend versions: Yours truly and my husband Joe 

By the way this lovely snap was captured by my homebecomesher compadre Mereana!

And there you have it, I hope you enjoyed my post and have been enlightened by the uniqueness and beauty of handpainted fabrics for the home and your wardrobe. If you're feeling creative and were about to throw out a perfectly good purse I have attached this 'totes amazing' tutorial on how to paint your way to a new one.  Enjoy! x  

To make a handpainted purse click here

Made from scratch

Recycled grain sack chair, seatbelt cushion - pic from livingetc.com, doily dress from etsy.com

I'm a creative soul and so I thought I would celebrate a skill that is dear to my heart.  Some call it upcycling others call it recycling, DIY even and if you were a New Zealander you'd call it good old Kiwi ingenuity.

To turn something that had a life served as something else, be it a seatbelt or a coffee sack or a doily - and then transform it into something that is not only useable but stylish, functional and flattering for the home or for you is a feat to be commended.

I guess it's all about seeing beyond what is

   Suitcase table pic from bywilma.com

And seeing what it could be

Recycled pallet office staircase image from decoist.com

Chalkboard splashback interior pic by camillestyles.com

Pallet daybed image from decoist.com

Decoupage french sidetable image from fitasebabados.blogspot.com

Wakefield chandelier from Pottery Barn - image from indulgy.com

Upcycled summer house made from old windows - image from retromania.co.nz

From a fashion perspective - the term that best describes this type of creative experimentation is upcycling.

The reason behind this can be to give something old a modern touch,  to save some moolah or to be eco-friendly and use what you already have.

Being able to recreate the wheel in the fashion sense gives you creative license to make something uber original and flattering to your shape because you are manipulating it to your style and tastes.

Recreating a Prada trend with spray paint and black pumps - image from psimadethis.com

DIY dip-dyed hair - image from tessted.com

Transformed black dress - image by psimadethis.com

As you can see creativity knows no bounds and I admire the skill and foresight that goes into making something ordinary extraordinary.

I wouldn't be me if I didn't give you a couple of vid tutorials to have a go at at home, one requires long hair and some serious 'mirror time' and the other just requires a rainy day - like it is here today!

Doily lamp - image by blossomvintage.com

To make this amazing lamp at home head here for instructions:

Emily Lizzy's doily lamp tutorial

DIY bow bun by Mr Kate 

Try this bow bun, it's pretty cool and whatsmore Mr Kate is really fun to watch!

Have a good week everyone and next time you're looking at those naff curtains, or that old hideous scarf in your wardrobe think outside the square - it might just need some creative juices to be fabulous once more.

x

It's a tribal thang...

Tribal interior pic from stylebeat.blogspot.com.  Mere wears Nine West boots, tribal print leggings by Supre, yellow sheer top by Backdoor and tribal necklace 

Aztec, bohemian, ethnic you name it, if the pattern is bright and bold and punchy with a strong sense of form and symmetry then it's bound to have a tribal influence.  Whether its the sight of these crazy but cool leggings or this bold feature wall print, these patterns awaken the Aztec in me and suddenly I feel the need to get up and dance....ok ok or perhaps you could just watch Miss B demonstrate tribal fierceness in this amazeballs vid, yep that's right cue Beyonce... (at 2min 50 to be precise)

Beyonce in Deja Vu - turn it up!

Tribal influences are everywhere.  Just check out these 

tribal-esque fashion inspired pieces 

Sass & Bide

Aztec jacket from Thehunt.com

Multiple heavy-set rings by Illtakethatinpurple.com

Finger cuff from Etsy.com

Chevron necklace from Etsy.com

Givenchy 2010 - Woah!

As you can probably tell I am a black and white fiend, but tribal is not merely just black and white, oh no no, in the home tribal prints can be bright bright bright!

Rug by Cocoonhome.com

Moderneve.com

If you are the creative type I thought this amazing yet simple DIY tribal feature wall could be your next home project..tempted?

Learn how at vintagerevivals.com

Can you hear the sound of tribal drums yet?  Perhaps not, nonetheless this little tiki-tour into tribal prints for the home and fashion has really inspired me to inject some more vibrancy and colour into my style choices. I've always loved tribal prints so expect a follow-up blog about my fave tribal fashionistas Sass & Bide in the next couple of weeks.  

If the tribal waters are just luke warm for you, how about starting off by making a itty bitty statement.  Check out this vid - ooh la la!

How to paint Tribal Aztec Nails

Until next time...