The Suburban Sentiment

Have you seen these?

I think the designer of this Boskke Sky planter has turned the humble pot plant on its head (literally!). Who says plants must grow upwards?

What I really like about this is that you can hang them indoors, and they don’t take up counter space. In fact, using herbs, or orchids, like pictured, would look sensational in my kitchen, if I do say so myself.

But I bet you’re probably wondering about how to water it, and how to stop the soil from falling out (gravity is such a wonderful thing!)? Well, it has a special reservoir system which conserves the water. In fact, you only need to water it once or twice a month. Talk about low-maintenance!

And the soil is kept where it should be by a part of the planter, which locks it in. No mess, no fuss. Pretty easy, one could say.

I could only imagine having  an indoor plant / garden room (although my husband would ask, “why on earth for?”), and have a number of these hanging from the ceiling, so when you look up, it’s like a canopy of plants over you. How lush!

You can buy one from here, but stock won’t arrive until March.

{Images: Boskke}

I heard about the styling genius of Rebecca Thuss somewhere in blog-land last year, and I only recently had the chance to go explore her site. And what a treat it was!

Enchanted. That pretty much sums up how I felt when feasting my eyes on her incredibly gorgeous work.
I just love the way that she has placed her objects of attention just so, and teamed up groups of things that all complement each other. And how the ribbon falls so casually that way, yet was probably coaxed and cajoled into its final state.

It’s definitely a dose of inspiration for me to take on board as I do the photography for my own items. I am so bad with photography, and I really appreciate the skill of professional photographers.

Having the eye to see things that just might not be right, before taking a hundred pics and dismantling the “set”, only to realise that something was sticking out of place, or even worse, not in place.

Brings back bad memories from university when I had to complete a photojournalism class as part of my degree. Now, I do appreciate that it’s good for a journalist to have some knowledge of photos, placement and how the subjects can add to your story, etc.

But it was no surprise that little old moi, who took on a journalism degree (which is practically all about writing, is it not?), wasn’t so great with a camera in her hands trying to take seriously professional shots. I’m sure our tutor was trying to hide his horror when I had to present my pictures to the class.

Oh well, my mum liked them (aren’t mums so great like that!) and I passed, which is all that counts. As I couldn’t bear to do that class again. Even the processing of the photos from scratch that ruined my oh-so-stylish-circa-2000 cord pants!

In that case, I’d rather have left it to the professionals who print them so quickly from their ultra-modern machines, rather than buy some fancy-shmancy pegs to dip the paper into chemical baths.

But you only live once, and while I didn’t like that experience, it’s something I learnt from: leave cord pants alone – on the store shelf, where they belong – and enjoy the mod-cons of photo processing stores.

Update: This post just joined Melissa’s Friday linky at The Inspired Room. It’s far too hot here in Sydney 34 degrees celsius this fine Saturday to be anything remotely related to winter, but head on over and see what it’s like in the northern hemisphere!

Here’s a little behind the scenes pic of what I’ve been doing over the New Year weekend, for A Sweet Gesture. 

 These new gift tags will be launched in the store soon, inspired by lovely hues of blue. They come in a set of 8, and each tag has a different design, so you don’t need to give all your friends and family the same tags for birthdays and other special days. I like to think of it as avoiding the awkward phrase, “this looks familar…”.

Happy New Year to all. 2010 will be a blast! It just starts with the conscious decision by you to make it that way. You can do it! I can do it, too! Yay.

Just checking in for a brief moment to share this gorgeous DIY from Amy Butler.

If you’ve got some double-sided scrapbook paper lying around, why not put this little sweet thing together and leave a note for someone special. It will certainly be a delight when they find something so lovely with a note just for them.

Or, why not do one for yourself? Perhaps with an inspiring message? Strategically placed on your bedside table, it’d serve as a beautiful reminder when you wake up in the morning.

(spotted via i heart handmade)