Painting on Leaves - Inspiration for the Table



Happy Easter Weekend!

I have seen someone paint on dried leaves in Italy very intricately and just gorgeous.  Today I thought it would be inspirational to show how I painted on these fresh citrus leaves very simply, to use as a little touch of creativity for your table setting or just as a vase of leaves and bloosoms.

Hope





It is raining out and I’m drinking peppermint tea and I have just turned on the white lights that are strung high above the garden courtyard.

Sometimes when I’m feeling blue, it is so silly (or desperate?) how one inkling of hope can give me that jolt to the heart.  It is enough to wake me up, at least for that moment and I become utterly certain that-- to quote Prince “joy lives round the corner”.

Embellishment at Sette Design




The Simple Life
Embellish
Verb (used with object)

1.  To beautify, by or as if by ornamentation; ornament; adorn.

2.  To enhance, (a statement or narrative) with fictitious additions.

Rise Early Quotes and Mustard Fields



 
Good Morning Everyone

I’m on a new plan to try to wake up early and start to work on my business before my girls or the sun has risen. This morning for me the sun rose at 6:56 am so each day there will be a little bit more light in the sky.  Does anyone want to join me and give it a try? I already feel kick-ass and I only began this morning.  Laugh with me not at me o.k.

DIY Wire Heart




Hello my beloved readers
Buon San Valentino

Today I have a quick DIY heart.

Red Walls





Probably all of you at some point have considered painting a room in your home RED.  Maybe you already have… congratulations!  I have not, shameful as it may be.  Right now I’m obsessed with the right shade of blue.

I believe that there are many ways to make a red room work.  Here is what made it work in my opinion in this space that I painted in San Francisco.

Winter Bouquet Inspiration




I’m back in California and the rain won’t quit.  We have little breaks and the sun tries to come out, but the air and ground are always.  We are all thrilled, after 4 years of draught, the rain is a big celebration.  I like to go for long walks and then scavenge for a winter bouquet.  It is easy just to pick up Lichen, branches of Rosehips or fallen Camellia blossoms.  They are often covered in dirt or mud.  At home I rinse them off and put them in a crystal bowl and an old olive oil bottle.  Even if they faded or browned at the edges the effect is still stunning.

Guess the Photo - Italy or California



It is a rainy day somewhere in the world, now since you don’t really know for sure if I am in Umbria or California today we are NOT going to play a little game, NOR are we going to take a test.  I don’t like to do either of the above, in fact my friends and family think I should begin to like to play games.  I would rather read a book or go for a run, than play a game.

Design View Modern and Antique




I love this photo for its beauty and feeling of solitude.  It may be just that January feeling.  This is a palazzo in our main Piazza in Foligno, Italy. I know the view well.  I like the contrast of the modernity of white lights with the antique façade behind.  It warms my heart.