Studio Kiekje

Granny Smith Desk

I had long been fantasizing about painting my desk green. It is just a simple Ikea desk - a piece of wood on top of two shelf-things ( a highly technical term). The shelves were untreated wood, and looked pretty cheap. The weekend before last, I just decided to go for it. I was going to PAINT MY DESK. RAWWR.

Well, I am picky about color, so I had bookmarked some images to figure out what I wanted:

 

This green chair from the latest Toast catalogue. (I have to admit that this probably caught my eye because I have a variation of that outfit already in my closet) I love Toast and I flip through their catalogues like picture books. 

Also, this picture:

From the cover of a Paumes book. 

I have been informed that the girl on this cover is dressed in a Kiekje-like way. I am now pondering the effects of cute clothes on my paint choices. Would I have found the green appealing if she had been wearing Juicy Couture and Uggs?

Maybe not.

Moving on...

So, paint! I chose a color called Granny Smith green, which is an excellent name. I don't remember who makes the paint, but the apple appellation did not disappoint.

Just a reminder: this was my desk before:

Yeah. The shelves look like plywood. Also you can't see the stain down one side from when I spilled coffee all over my desk. Coffee + untreated wood = unfortunate

And now:

Sweet little green desk! 

It took about two hours for me to paint the primer, and then another two hours later to paint the Granny Smith color. It was very meditative actually, particularly because I'm a weirdo who likes the smell of paint. I may have killed off a few brain cells on this project.

But I love my new desk, and I think I am already doing better work on it.

If you have been thinking about painting a piece of unsatisfying furniture, I definitely recommend it. It is a relatively cheap way to change how your room feels. And if you can swing it, choose a fun color!

Granny smithly yours,

Angelique

Jan Brett's Home

Are you familiar with the artwork of Jan Brett? Her books were favorites of my younger brothers, and my Mom and I would often look at them too, because we found her illustrations so detailed and charming.

This weekend the NYTimes had an article about the home Jan Brett shares with her husband in the Berkshires, and it is so cute and inspiring. Sean and I agree that we have major house envy (and lifestyle envy too, maybe)

Of course, now I really want to have a hedgehog as a pet. And I've been informed that its illegal in my state. I will just have to look at cute pictures of baby hedgehogs to appease myself.

SO CUTE!

The Uniform Project

[I found out about this via  Clever Nettle (which is a lovely blog full of vintage fashion inspiration, and always makes me want to run off to Portland).]

The Uniform Project is the idea of Sheena Matheiken who will wear the same dress for a year. The dress is a simple black one, made by a friend. (Several copies were made so that they could be cycled.) Sheena describes it as an "exercise in sustainable fashion" and relates it to the school uniforms she grew up wearing in India.

She writes, "Peaking through the sea of uniforms were the idiosyncrasies of teen style and individual flare. I now want to put the same rules to test again, only this time I'm trading in the catholic school fervor for an eBay addiction and relocating the school walls to this wonderful place called the internet."

Sheena is also doing this project to raise awareness about the Akanksha Foundation which is devoted to bringing education to under-privileged children in India.

There are more than ten months left to go in Sheena's project, and I'm looking forward to seeing what she comes up with! Here are a few of my favorites so far:

 

 

The dress can be worn with the buttons either in the front or the back... and the buttons allow it to be worn as a jacket as well. Such a simple, but smart dress!(Apparently it also has large hidden pockets...because Sheena doesn't like to carry a purse.)

Kiki illustrations

 
I think I've mentioned before that I am a very big fan of Hayao Miyazaki's animated films. Kiki's Delivery Service was the first one I saw, and I've seen it several times now (and have it on DVD!). But it was some time before I learnt that the movie was based on a novel by Eiko Kadono. I would love to get my hands on the book and its sequels (I believe that only the first book is translated into English).

The illustrations are fantastic. 

 

 

I always think I like color illustrations, but lately I've really been drawn to simple black and white images. Perhaps I'm becoming minimalist?

(Definitely not!!)

Flickr Monday

I thought it would be a good start to the week to share my Flickr favorites, which I've been looking at all the time.

 

(click on the links below to see the pictures larger on Flickr)

1. untitled, 2. IMG_1536, 3. I Can Fly, 4. DSC_0605.jpg, 5. Crafty Ladies, 6. Untitled, 7. small embroidery book, 8. The Twins paper doll, 9. alabama.chanin.show.2, 10. Half of "Flora and Fauna", 11. child's plate, 12. Dress 20, 13. Little Red, 14. The Shadowed Path, 15. Iso's bedroom, 16. Iso's bedroom, 17. a lot, 18. Photobooth: Anonymous Young Woman With A Great Smile And A Daisy Corsage, 19. buttons & bunnies, 20. finished rose, 21. dress3, 22. Magic For Marigold, 23. evening, 24. today at work, 25. dresses...

Happy Monday!
xoxo
Angelique

(not-so) old photographs

I'm plugging away at my thesis this weekend, and hopefully I will hand it in next week. (Yay!) After that I just have to write a paper for my class and take the m.a. exam (Boo...)

But I am ever so delighted by this website which makes photographs look old and stained. I gave it some pictures from last year's trip to Belgium, and they came out beautifully!

 

 

 

And just to prove that I am an old-fashioned girl at heart:

 

Why can't my driver's license be misty and black and white? (Besides that whole identification thing).

Butterflies in her hair

It bucketed down snow here in Pennsylvania on Sunday and into Monday morning. I don't want to say too often that I'm ready for winter to be over, because I know I should appreciate each season. But still, winter seems to be the one that lingers the longest, right? Especially when it seems everyone is recovering from illnesses.

That's why I had a particular pang for Spring when I saw the new issue of N.E.E.T Magazine this week. N.E.E.T is an online indie fashion mag, which I really like. I find it much more inspiring and creative than the fashion in supermarket magazines.

 

It's the butterfly in the model's hair that is really getting to me. I want to have butterflies in my hair too!

 

And I want to carry tulips in a tote bag too!

Can I make my own hair-butterfly? Maybe if I painted a small one on sturdy paper and attached it to a barette? (Has anyone done this, or seen it done?)

Or am I just letting the snow go to my head?

Pfffft. I don't care. I will wear butterflies in my hair once it's Spring!

Distractions from coughing

Shortly after I wrote my last post Sean came down with a mini-flu bug type illness which I promptly caught as well, making us two very sad sacks this last week. There's something kind of touching though, about two people who are both feeling pretty miserable also trying to take care of each other. We felt cruddy, but at least we were feeling cruddy together.

The internet provided some nice distractions though, while I was feeling so terrible.

First of all, my Dad passed on this image to me, because he thought I'd like it. My Dad is quite the Renaissance man, and has excellent taste. I love it when he sends me pictures.

 

(image from Amazon)

This picture is making me think how cool it would be if I could draw on a thicker card stock, and cut little doors in it to expose another drawing underneath. Kind of like the old school Advent calendar that we had when I was little, which I loved. (I realize that the open door here is an illusion, but it just got my mind wandering). My Dad passed this on as part of his "newfound fascination with Larry Durrell". By the time that I'm writing this he has probably moved on to being fascinated with Peruvian flute bands or something else. This is how my Dad rolls.

Secondly, this music video for Joanna Newsom's "Sprout and the Bean". I really love her music and her style.

I think this video is just beautiful. I especially love the animated chalk drawings on the blackboard. If you aren't familiar with Joanna Newsom's music, I highly recommend it. She plays the harp and sings with an unusual child-like voice, but I love it. I think she's straight out of a fairytale. 

Finally, the new issue of Small magazine came out this past week. (If you're not familiar, Small is an online magazine featuring design meant to appeal to children, and they feature really fantastic artists and designers) 

This issue they featured some beautiful images by Julie Morstad. 

 

I really love her work.

I hope that you too enjoy these distractions, but that they will find you in good health!

Now, where'd I put the DayQuil.....

Image Saturday?

I'm posting this a day late. I've been very derelict towards Studio Kiekje this week! I usually keep school stuff out of the blog, because I like to have the two worlds separate. But, I'll just say that this week I've been hard at work finishing the next chapter of my master's thesis. It's the biggest chapter by far, but also the most interesting. It'll be a relief when it's done! I already have a drawing in mind, that I'm longing to work on, but I will restrain myself until the chapter is over.

Back to the image, I found this one on the More Ways to Waste Time blog via decor8.

 

I like the rustic wintry look of this mobile. I'm especially interested in the process of drying orange slices. Have any of you tried it before? It makes me think of the chapter in Little House in the Big Woods, where Laura Ingalls helps her family get their cabin ready for Christmas.

have a great weekend!

Image Friday

It's after midnight here, so it's a bit of a stretch to call this Image Friday... but I figure as long as it feels like the same day for me, it still counts!

 

It's knitted mittens from "Knitting Little Luxuries: Beautiful Accessories to Knit" by Louisa Harding. This book has the best knitting eye-candy. The mittens are particularly speaking to me because it's starting to feel quite wintry. But what I like best about the photo is that it was styled with colored pencils and a sketchbook. It's reminding me that I really need to draw more! I have a new Autumn drawing which is almost ready and which I will post soon.

Have a lovely weekend!
- Angelique