my baby shower

As promised - here are some photos of my recent baby shower! Thank you to my sister Katie of Sweet Mary Photography for documenting this beautiful morning I shared with family and friends. I had the best fun decorating the morning tea with gold spray-painted animals, sprinklings of colourful pom poms and a Beci Orpin confetti wall! Not your average 'babyish' baby shower which is exactly what I was after :)

Kimmy

My dessert table - a crazy colour explosion! I got the idea for the confetti wall out of Beci Orpin's 'Find and Keep' DIY book. 

The giant sponge cake was topped with macarons.

The lolly bags contained a set of cookie-cutters as a thank you gift to my lovely friends and family.

The pinata was another Beci Orpin DIY activity from her more recent book 'Home'.

Most of the food was home made by friends and family so I had cute little food tags to let guests know who made what for that lovely home made feel.

I loved how the spray-painted gold animals turned out! And they looked dashing amongst sprinklings of colourful pom poms!

My lovely friends Lucie (left) and Angela (right). (And me rocking my Gorman dress which turned out to be a great maternity dress!)

Gorgeous girls Janelle with Ruby (left) and Anna (right)

The baby was giving guests plenty of kicks!

my home - the final tour

Entry to our Norman Park home.

Well it's been a crazy year for me (to say the least) with busily filling my white with three art orders, running my freelance design business, working as a senior creative for a period of time earlier this year AND now throw in the 'you're moving to Geelong' factor! We just moved to Brisbane from Melbourne in January this year so it's taken quite a while for my husband Nick and I to settle in and get the house the way we like it... and now Nick's work is taking us across the country yet again! (This time to stay for a while thank goodness!)

Amongst all this we have been trying to get pregnant and after some highs and awful lows in our journey we are so happy to announce that we are expecting our first baby! So much happening... so much excitement.

Our pregnancy announcement photo taken by my talented sister Katie of Sweet Mary Photography. The cameo necklace is my mother's which Dad gave to her when they were engaged which she wore on her wedding day.

I will be sad to leave Brisbane though. I hadn't shared much of my home with you as it's taken us this long to get it to a point we're happy with! (Keep in mind we had to fully furnish it from the ground up - we came with nothing!). So I thought I'd better give you the tour of our home before our lovely things get packed into boxes next week. Our home in Geelong is a gorgeous little renovated cottage and I can't wait to share that with you once we settle in!

I am also working on some exciting new products which will be housed under a new label and website... more details will come over the next couple of months.

Kimmy

My office which is constantly transforming. This is where I fill my white with three art orders!

My office - I do most of my work behind the computer and love sitting in my new office chair. It's an Eames Replica from Milan Direct. The genuine sheepskin rug on the chair is from Ikea.

One of my prized possessions is this Beci Orpin collage art print (top) - hand signed! Also on my desk are a few watercolours I've been playing with... I'm still learning...

I love all the windows and natural light.

The holy Epson Fine Art Printer where I produce all my white with three prints! All orders are printed on demand so people can easily pick custom colours at no extra charge. Framed is my 'Lots of Sleepy Dachshunds' print in 'navy'. 

A few vintage goodies I picked up on our recent trip to Melbourne including a French keyring.

I love displaying herbs around the home as they last for ages! When in the water long enough they throw roots so it's nice to have living plants scattered around.

Love this 'Hektar' lamp from Ikea. The industrial side table is from the Woolloongabba Antique Centre (I'll miss that place!). The tall glass dome will remain empty until I find something that will fit in it!

I got this pair from an antique store for $120. Solid timber and newly covered in lush velvet. The giant rosary beads is from our trip to South America. The cushions are from Freedom.

Coffee table and side table from Freedom (though the plain timber one with the plant on it actually belongs to a nest of three - the other two tables we are using temporarily as bedsides!) The art above the couch was a splurge in South America - an original print by Guayasamin. We have named her Bruna.

Again - displaying herbs in a little vase! This one is Thai basil. The big woven tray was given to me by my father who works in Papua New Guinea. The white 'gem' vase with the fern is from Beneath the Sun.

Our bedroom - it's a bit underdone having only bought our bed and bedspread a few weeks ago... the bedspread is from Kip & Co - now I just need some of their amazing sheets and pillowcases to display! The bed is suffering from serious 'under-cushioning' at the moment. 

Our dresser is another Woolloongabba Antique Centre find. The framed art is one of my Fragments 'Garden View' prints.

A small part of my bottle collection (I'm slightly obsessed with bottles). The books and postcard are antique.

It took Nick and I ages to decide what to buy as a dining setting! We ate off our laps on the couch for MONTHS. I'm so glad we took our time as we are so happy with our decision! The table is from Freedom and the chairs are Bentwood Replicas from Matt Blatt.

I like to leave random things around that I've collected in our travels - like this newspaper from Japan! It just reminds me of how special all our adventures have been.

The guest room - bed and bedspread is from Ikea. The chair 'bedside' is from the Woolloongabba Antique Centre.

The print above the bed is one of my Banana Botanical prints in 'golden honey'.

Another Woolloongabba Antique Centre find - this 'Games for the Family' book is filled with gorgeous family activites!!

This mirror was carted all over South America in our luggage and somehow made it home unscathed! I loved it because it was so 'South American'. This plant stand was something I had been hunting for so long and guess where I found it... at the Woolloongabba Antique Centre! Now it just needs a pretty fern to crown it.

Honey and Rio have loved living here and I hope they like their new home in Geelong as much. Our herb garden is in the background which provides me endless 'foliage' to decorate the home... and sometimes to actually use in cooking!

designed by love

I was recently approached by 'Ruffles and Cake' - a new local wedding magazine in my hometown of Townsville - to do a little story on me, my business and of course my beautiful husband and our wedding!

They asked me to collect special momentos from around my home which sent me digging through shoeboxes of maps, postcards and souvenirs from our South American adventure last year and our more recent trip to New York in February. Also featured are a couple of my White with Three art prints, a newspaper I grabbed in Dubai, paints and paintbrushes (and a watercolour pineapple I did a few weeks ago), my lovely leather shoes and polka jumper, a menu from my favourite restaurant in Melbourne Chin Chin, a yellow beaded necklace I got in Colombia and a gorgeous art work from my favourite artist Beci Orpin (see the bear print on the brown paper!)

Make sure you pop over and read the full story over on the Ruffles and Cake Magazine! Thank you Savannh and Skye for featuring such a sweet story! (flick to page 37 for my interview and page 95 to see my wedding photos)

Kimmy

Rhys Lee for Gorman

Artist Rhys Lee for Gorman - as seen on The Design Files

My eyes were greeted this morning with this post on The Design Files! This collaboration between fashion label Gorman and artist Rhys Lee has just added fuel to my I-want-to-be-a-fabric-designer-fire!

Read the whole gorgeous story on the Design Files here - I love the way they have Lisa Gorman and Rhys Lee (who are long time friends) interviewing each other.

Gorman is by far my favourite place to part with cash in Melbourne. Their range is always colourful and whimsical with a touch of unexpected. And it's not the first time this lovely label has teamed up with artists to create beautiful new fabric. In the past they have also called on the likes of Beci Orpin and Rachel Castle who I adore. 

That's enough gushing from me for now - but I'll be getting back to my designs this morning with a new spring in my step. Speaking of which, it won't be long until I have my very own prints online for sale - very exciting!

Kimmy

Beci Orpin for Gorman

Rachel Castle for Gorman