Side By Side - Week 92 A Double Pot of Gold Perhaps?

Ahhh...what a wonderful sight on your way to work....brings a smile to anyone's face I think. It really does sum up Melbourne's weather, sunny one minute, raining the next! In this case both at the same time! I didn't react to the wonderful sight like this guy though!

Check out the side by side project blog for my shot next to my friend Ross' photo!

Side By Side - Week 91

After a busy week of paper work for my other half and his business I had some time to sit down and do some creating of my own.

Well it has been a busy week or two, its the end of the tax year here and I have been taking care of some things here and there. When I wasn't doing that, I was mostly enjoying my newly renovated studio . Oh and I also bought a tonne of new books, of which these are a few which are waiting for some serious reading! This photo is really summing things up for me at the moment. Lost of ideas on the go - hopefully some that I will be sharing soon! ;-)

Side By Side Weeks 89 - 90

I have done a tad better than of late, as I have managed to only post 2 of my side by side photos this time.

Week 90 - 99 Brunswick Street

I'm cheating a little this week as this is from the previous week, BUT I love everything about it and I couldn't let it slip by unnoticed. Plus with my Mum visiting and overall rubbish weather I never got that chance to get out and take some pics. Anyway, it's a small section from Window 99 Brunswick Street in Fitzroy. Which is an installation space at you guessed it 99 Brunswick St. I love the liitle egg cup figure, the shoes in the picture, the cotton reels and also mostly loving the reflection of the building across the street in the glass of the window.

Week 89 - Hipster Crochet Bike

This was just some of the randomness that Melbourne is famous for. I was in the city over the weekend and we saw this random crochet covered bike in locked up against a lamp post. Not too sure what it was all about but they were doing a 12hr 'Knit In' in Federation Square so I can only presume it had something to do with that. Nonetheless super fun!

Check out the side by side blog here http://sidebysideatoppositeendsoftheworld.blogspot.com/

New space, new projects!

My Side by Side post mentioned the fact that I have been SUPER busy lately, and I have been neglecting my wee Little Letters blog as a result! So the reason for my absence is due to a small renovation that Shane( Mr Little Letters) and I have been working on.

Our house is situated on a sloping block of land and as a result, there is almost a basement like area downstairs from the main part of the house. Up until now it was mostly used for storage and a laundry area. A year or so ago the son of the old owner was in the area and stopped by to wish us well and let us know that he thought what we had done a great job with our renovation of his old home. He also told me that one of the basement rooms was actually his old photography darkroom. I was thrilled that this little room had been a creative haven for someone in the past and I decided it should be my creative haven for the future.

With this in mind,we launched into yet more renovations. This one was small compared to other projects we have tackled but time consuming nonetheless (WAY more than I thought). Our house was built in the mid-50's and the colour scheme and finishes are still evident here and there, we even have some crazy psychedelic wallpaper in our laundry that is so old its almost cool! Paint colour scheme is also questionable, lots of pastels, old fittings which don't match regular modern measurements....you get the idea. Refer to the photos below for a peek at the before.
 
Note the wonderful use of green lino tiles and they also included that in the bench! Coupled with the peach coloured walls...quite the colour combo. As you can see there is little natural light (bummer really but you take what you can get), so I had to try and brighten the space as much as I could. I also HAD to get rid of the work bench and the shocking floor.

Several weeks later my new creative space is finished. Taa-daaa!
 
I will be posting some details and more info on my plans soon! Check back soon.

Side By Side - Week 81 - 88

Hello there,
Well I am back after a bit of hiatus but I have been SUPER busy I promise. Currently, I have my Mum visiting which is great but busy! Before that I was working on a wee bit of home renovation and that has been taking a LOT of my free time on the weekends. In fact ALL my time on the weekends (that and the usual stuff). I also managed some time away over Easter which was ages ago now - and therefore quite embarrasing that it has taken me so long to update the blog.
However a change is about to take place here at Little Letters and I will be spending a LOT more time focusing. Stay tuned for my new update.

Ok on to Side By Side. Here we go....

Week 88 - Blast From The Past.

I went to a vintage market on the weekend and picked up some odds and ends. I have a collection of wooden rulers on the wall and these are more for the collection. Some vintage sizing tape from France, and some other stuff.

Week 87 - Life on the other side.

My cat Missy does not get out onto the street and has to stay behind the gate in our garden (1 part me being a worried owner and 1 part being the law in my area). She often stares out the the gate dreaming of the other side. So I had the idea of showing her staring out and what is on the other side.

Week 86 - By Candle Light

Average week for me. Winter is here with both it's damp yuk weather and its usual colds and flu! I have succumbed to a cold and have done nothing much more than stay warm indoors. So this is just a cozy photo from the week. Simple.

Week 85 - Evil Flower

This is a phone photo but I had to use it. Its a malformed Gerbera flower...with a mutation where one stem has tried to form two heads (they are a single headed flower). It looks Eeeeeviilllll! I thought this was brilliant.


Week 84 - Forever Temporary

The ever changing Hosier Lane in Melbourne is one of my favourite places to go. Something new every time you visit from something small to larger works like this one. Brilliant. Sadly, unlike the what it says it won't be forever and will most likely have developed into something completely different the next time I visit. Love it.

Week 83 - Abstract Glow

I got up early last Saturday and while sitting eating breakfast I saw the wonderful pattern the sun was making as it pushed through the blinds. The colour also just happened all by itself. I like the abstract Bokeh look.....

Week 82 - Sunny Skies and Lazy Days

We had an extra long Easter weekend here with a 5 day weekend. We headed for the hills and explored the mountains up at Falls Creek in Victoria. The cooler climate and mountain air brings the best out of the trees around this area and we saw a lovely array of reds, oranges and yellow. I took a heap of photos but this was my fave of the sun just peaking through the yellow leaves.

Week 81 - Autumnal Art

I was in the city on the weekend at the Melbourne Comedy Festival and while we were waiting to go into the show we saw people sticking stuff to a wall. Intrigued after the show we went over to the wall and could see that people had been picking up the Autumn leaves and sticking them to the wall. How I hear you say! Well the wall has a very thin flow of water running down it and the leaves were sticking to it without being flushed away. I am not sure if this was some sort of intentional installation or it just happened by chance. You never know in Melbourne.

Update complete for your viewing pleasure - bye for now!!

Modernised History.

I have been searching for some new bedside tables for AGES. I have been lusting after some of the wonderful pieces at super cool Retro Modern,who specialise in refurbishing classic furniture pieces so you can bring some retro style into your modern life. Our house is a late 50's weather board house so I wanted this 60's build furniture so that I could keep some of the history of the original house with a 2011 twist.

Sadly, their pieces were WAY above our budget so I set about attempting to get a similar look at a half the price. Step 1 was was to try and find some classic 60's style bedside tables. The Danish style bedsides that I so desperately wanted, were wanted by everyone else too and I was outbid more than a few times on Ebay. After some exhaustive searching I found these two little beauties. Sorry the photo is not the best...these are from the website and I forgot to take a picture of them before I set about refurbishing.


So as this point I am sure you are thinking - Oooooo...kay...they look umm...old and retro! Where is the modern?

Here is where the magic happened....! Step 2 involved sanding the surfaces back, removing the handles and removing the legs and metal feet. The legs and feet were cleaned and polished. Next stop IKEA to pick up some new modern handles to bring a fresh up to date look, as always I found what I was after and picked up these GREJ handles ($10 a pair) with a brushed stainless finish. I removed the drawers, then painstakingly masked off the edges on the body as I planned to leave these with a smooth sanded lightly oiled finish and the rest of would be white. However, it was all down to how well the masking went. You all know that the paint can bleed through sometimes and I had a suspicion that this would be the case here. I was wrong and the masking was successful and I managed to get a really crisp edge. A few coats of regular satin finish oil paint and all done.

The finished product in place in our bedroom, set off rather nicely by my Orla Kiely bedspread if I do say so myself.

Side By Side - Weeks 76 - 80

It's side by side catch up time again...so here we go. Remember you can see our photos side by side at the Side By Side blog...here

Week 76 - Old Man Zak

We got some sad news about our 17year old dog Zak the other day and we don't expect him to be around for too much longer. The vet found a tumour in his abdomen, for now he is all good and eating and jumping around like a fool when its time for a walk. It is to be expected I guess at his age. We are enjoying our time with him and spoiling him rotten for the time being. This week is dedicated to the old boy :-)

Week 77 - Thinking of Japan

I bought this Tokyo cut out postcard this time last year when I visited Japan, and I have been thinking a lot about the place. I really did fall in love with the country and the people and I feel so bad for those who lost their lives and/or homes. Anyway, I googled the Japanese flag and held the postcard up to the screen...ta da...this weeks pic.

Week 78 - Finders Keepers Market

I headed to the wonderful Finders Keepers craft market or should I say Indie craft market. A large shed or warehouse in Melbourne's Docklands crammed full of creative goodness. Needless to say I found and kept plenty of good stuff. Sadly not one of these retro lamps...they are super cool though.

Week 79 - The Beautiful Mundane

I had planned to shoot some photos in the city this weekend passed...alas housework and the like took over and I didn't quite make it. A good housework day is worth the effort, clean bed sheets rock!! You can also see a hint of my refurbished 60s bedside tables in the shot.

Week 80 - Can you see the man on the Moon?

There has been a beautiful crescent moon here for the last week or so and I set up the tripod and shot some pics out the back door of our house. It was a tough choice this week but the simple moon with a couple of stars won.

Until next time.