Forever and a day ago I provided Emily of From China Village the above image after she asked me for a small snapshot into what is inspiring me about Copenhagen for a newsletter for The Hive Conference late last year. This is what I said in the newsletter;

I'm inspired by the all the water that runs through Copenhagen and how the blue colour of this year's colours is the same colour as the water and the sky. I love all the boats with their little flags that line the foreshore and the multicoloured houses are just beautiful. I know my biggest challenge will be to use the colours together without them saying "4th July!"/ "Bastille Day!"/ "Team GB!" I should receive images of the venue at any moment, which I'm so very excited about as the venue is so important when designing decorations! And they may just inspire me in a whole other direction!

Since I have been supplied images of the stunning Scandic Sydhavnen, where the conference will take place, but my thoughts are still running along the lines of the sea, the harbour and maritime life, which I am SO excited about because I believe life should be lived like you are on a boat, always - cue a conference wardrobe FULL of stripy sweaters, calling it now.

I also told her that I would post credits to the images I sourced via Google Images in a post, well, because, the images aren’t mine and that’s how the internet should work. Running clockwise; bunting :: garland :: badges :: canal :: girl in street :: coloured houses :: map and bunting. Image created on the iPad via Procreate.

Tickets for The Hive 2014 are not yet sold out, head here for more info and to buy tickets. For my round up post on last year’s The Hive to hear more about it head - -> here.

xx

Easiest Valentine's deco ever, ever

Each year you can buy these...

And you can stick them anywhere...

I like to carry them around with me all day and stick them where people will see them. Today I had some little helpers...

Hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day!
xx

Decoing The Hive

#decoingthehive photos from Instagram, via Tagboard

Around this time last year I came across reports of the inaugural The Hive conference on two of my all-time favourite blogs, Pret-a-Voyager and The House that Lars Built. At this stage I didn't have a blog, I was just a 'lurker' - you know, one of those people that are obsessed with reading blogs, will start one "one day", never comments but always wants to (are YOU a lurker?! Don't be shy, come say hi!!). I then went on a Googling-spree to absorb as much information as I could about this wonderful weekend in Berlin and thought maybe, one day, I'd perhaps attend something like that, that maybe it could be fun. 

Fast-track to January, my baby of a blog still finding its footing, and the news of a second The Hive conference is announced. After weeks of "Oh, I really want to goooo!" Mr M flung his bank card at my forehead and told me that if I didn't buy the ticket then and there and shut up about it he'd just do it for me and I'd have no choice. So I did.

Two weeks later I was emailing Yvonne to ask if I could supply The Hive with decorations.

Yvonne and Peggy were not only so enthusiastic about what I had proposed they also asked me to create for them and The Hive a map of Europe for everyone to place their business card on, after seeing something similar at Mecca-of-all-blog-conferences Alt Summit.
Crafting the deco I had in mind for the conference, while extremely time consuming, was a no-brainer as I had proposed something that was within my realm of capabilities (read: comfort-zone!) The hundreds and hundreds - for fear of loosing my mind I never counted how many - little squares I had cut at the copy shop at the end of my street (angels on Earth, those Office Depot girls... The things I ask of them!) which I then hand-cut into hexagons using a template were sewed together to bring The Hive's 2013 motif to life and took over the Betahaus as the 200 odd bloggers did that weekend. Being the 'Hive' a few honeycomb balls had to be put into use also.

Image: The Hive Flickr

Image: The Hive Flickr

"The Map" on the other hand, went through several reincarnations in my head, all the while keeping to the brief that it had to be plain, so as to be able to be reused for future conferences, and be able to fit in my suitcase to be able to take it from Paris to Berlin. I wanted to make it really beautiful and give it a traditional European crafted feel, so, in the end, I went with what I know best - sewing - and bought some rustic French linen and created the borders with a cross-stitched effect in paint.

Because I have some geniuses for friends, one suggested that I film the process - so I did (the other is in the footage helping me).

(I wasn't quick enough to capture the map without any cards on it, so the lonely two at the end of the montage are my own and Elisa's! Thanks for being the first card on the map, lovely!!)

Thank you to Peggy and Yvonne for having me decorate The Hive. It was a blast. And thank you to everyone that said nice things about the map and the deco, you made me and my little hexagons blush bright magenta!

xx

Le Mary Celeste, a jolly jumble sale followed by oysters and beer

It may have snowed all day but inside Le Mary Celeste on Sunday the sun shone brightly. The crazy-talented young ladies from art collective The House That Jack Built held their fourth Jumble Sale just in time for fashion week, which starts today, and invited their friends along to spruce their wares and share their talents. Newly indigo-tressed Rubi Jones cut hair; in the opposite corner Kim Laidlaw-Adrey painted customers' digits with her fancy nail-art; David Lebovitz chatted all things yummy while signing copies of his books and The Sporting Project kept everyone hydrated with Bob's super-healthy cold-pressed juices.

I arrived just as things were kicking off as I had an early appointment with Rubi, and lucky I did; as I waited for my turn I nabbed an excellent pair of boatshoe-motif embroidered khaki pants for Mr M and a slice of caramel and honey salted pie - the yummiest thing I've eaten in a very long time - for both of us to share later. As I wandered around the stalls and happy people I easily fell in love with Le Mary Celeste.

Named for a ship mysteriously found abandoned off the coast of Portugal in 1872, Mary Celeste is the third opening from the wonder-team that bestowed Paris Calandria then Glass, and nautically-decorated by the inspiring husband-wife team of David Rager and Cheri Messerli. Situated in the fork of two close-meeting streets, Le Mary Celeste is blessed with natural light on three sides, making it a beautiful light and bright space, rare for a bar in Paris which are normally shrouded in curtains and terrasse awnings. Allegedly plans are in the works for the bar to open up earlier than their start time of 5pm, and I'm anxious for it to happen - it would be the perfect place to while away the afternoon with a coffee (or early cocktail, or three). Once my cut was done and Rubi graciously worked my hair into one of her amazing braids - lucky me! - I ducked out of there to meet Mr M for a puppy play date, not before bidding the girls a "see you soon!"; I was definitely heading back once the bar opened at five pm.

Dragging my bestie along with me we settled into a just-vacated nook under one of the big windows and we watched as the slick staff transformed the place from a hipster bazaar into an oyster and cocktail bar. As soon as we could we ordered ourselves a wine and pint of Brooklyn Brewery beer on draught and four of the 1€ happy-hour oysters. There's nothing quite like freshly shucked oysters. These were divine. The chili jus, surprisingly served alongside complimentary, was the perfect accompaniment to give some heat to the chilled oysters. Of course, as quickly as we consumed the first a second round was ordered and devoured. It was the perfect thing to do on a cold Sunday afternoon and on more than one occasion I completely forgot it was snowing outside.

While the original Mary Celeste was found completely abandoned, this Mary Celeste will most definitely not encounter the same fate. Instead, this bricks-and-mortar Mary Celeste will be a bright beacon in Paris' burgeoning bar scene and punters are sure to flock to jump on board.

Le Mary Celeste
1, rue Commines, 3e
Open everyday 17h-2h
Oyster happy hour 17h - 19h
Kitchen open Wed-Sun, 19h-23h30
Reservations by email only: info{at}lemaryceleste{dot}com
Facebook
**For a great review on the servings on offer once the kitchen opens after the 5-7pm happy hour ends head over to Paris by Mouth for their review posted today.

The House that Jack Built styling + art direction
Website
Facebook

xx

Chinese New Year Lanterns DIY

I'm quite a superstitious person. I refuse to walk under ladders. I would wear the same pair of socks for each sporting match I played in high school (freshly washed, of course). And black cats creep me right out. So towards the end of last year when I felt a sense of foreboding anxiety starting to grow within me, I knew I could only attribute it to one thing - 2013 was almost upon us. I was dreading this year terribly. I wanted to spend all 365 days under the doona and not come out. But then I thought that Mr M might get a bit cranky at that and my mum might try ship me home, so I started to think of how I was going to cope with the number thirteen in the date, every day.

I turned to the Chinese. From what I can gather Chinese numerology dictates that the way a number sounds when it is spoken indicates its power of luckiness, or unluckiness, depending on what other words it sounds like. For example, 8 is the most lucky because when spoken in Mandarin sounds like the word for 'wealth' or 'fortune'. 4 on the other hand sounds like 'death' and is avoided at all costs. 1 and 3, when said together to make thirteen, sound like 'certain growth' or 'assured life'. Mr M's father actually lives in Singapore and I know shortly I'm going to receive a rather long email outlining how this works with the Chinese population that live there.
However, it is enough to go off to make me want to flip my negative, Western thoughts on the number 13 on its head and decide that this year was will be the year for growth, vibrancy and life.

This Sunday is the Chinese Lantern (Shangyuan) Festival which marks the official end of the Chinese New Year celebrations that sweep across the world every year. Letting go of a lit lantern on the 15th day of the new year is meant to symbolise letting go of one's past to make way for a fresh start. I, however, made some lanterns to keep as a reminder of the good fortune I'm hoping 2013 will bring.

Chinese New Year Lanterns

You'll need

+ 2013 template, downloadable here, printed on card stock (I used 190 gsm white mat cardstock)
+ 4 x A4 pieces of red card (I bought an A2 sized sheet at 160 gsm and cut it into four)
+ Hole punch
+ 8 x Split pins/ paper fasteners
+ Fishing line/ nylon cord
+ Gold foil/ tissue paper
+ 4 x Freezer bag twist ties
+ Paper knife
+ Cutting mat
+ Ruler (and a Fringing guide if you have one)
+ Scissors
+ Craft glue that dries clear
+ Gold glitter (the craft glue and gold glitter can be substituted for gold spray paint or acrylic paint)
+ 1 Tea light candle and the metal cases of 3 others (I used previously melted down ones and popped the wick base out)
+ 4 x Bamboo skewers
+ 1 Polystyrene dome (or any other item that will support the bamboo skewers)
+ Paint brush
+ Washi tape (not pictured)

Prepare the tea light candle bases (the tops of the lanterns).
1. Take the unmelted candle out of its case and remove the wick's metal support. Put the candle back in the case and using the sharp point of one bamboo skewer pierce a small hole in the middle of the metal case. Then remove from the candle and pierce all the way through. Push the skewer holding the metal case into an area of the polystyrene dome and repeat with the other three cases.
2. Pour a small amount of craft glue onto a smooth, non porous surface (I like to use a folded up piece of cling film) and tap a little glitter on top. Mix into a paste. One by one paint the glue mix onto each case, letting it dry a little before putting more on to coat properly. Leave to dry.

Prepare the gold tassels
3. Cut two 10cm strips from the roll and then fold lengthwise and cut in half again. Prepare the tassels as per the tutorial I've previously posted here (note, these gold tassels will turn out smaller). Leave aside to use later.

Prepare the letters
4. Cut the letters out, in circles, squares, outlined, as you wish. I traced around a yoghurt pot to get circles and then left them plain but they can be cut out and decorated as you like.
5. Using small strips of washi tape secure the numbers to the gold tassels as per the pic.

Prepare the red lanterns*
6. Cut 20 one and a half centimetre wide strips of card from along the width of one sheet - they should be approximately 22 centimetres long. Make a small hole at the end of each strip using the hole punch. Take the fishing line and cut two 20 cm lengths. Thread one piece of the fishing line just a little way through through the prongs of the split pin, under the head, and then push the pin through the holes at one end of the paper strips to connect together. This will be the top. Do the same to the other side, but make sure the fishing line is thread halfway through - this will be the bottom. The two split pins must be going in the same direction.
7. Very carefully start separating each strip, twisting at both top and bottom, until they spread out to form a ball. Repeat with the remaining three sheets of paper and split pins to make four balls.

Assemble the lanterns
8. Measure out and secure a length of fishing line between two points where you want the lanterns to hang.
9. Tie the fishing line at the 'bottom end' of one red ball to a tassel, making sure the number is displayed flat when hanging. Take the longer end and thread a glittered metal case on upside down.

Tie securely to the supporting fishing line. Repeat with each until all four are hanging to spell out '2013'.

Wishing you all good fortune and prosperous growth for 2013.

xx

(*This paper strip ball DIY was adapted from good ol' Martha's.)