I was working in my studio this morning when I realized that perhaps you’d be interested in a fun DIY idea for decorating a drum pendant. I decorated one in my workspace/dining room last April for a party and liked it so much that I left it “as is”. I’m planning to change it up soon so I thought that before I do, I’d share this idea that is both great for parties or for long term.
Okay so first, you need (obviously) a drum pendant. I bought mine from Raumformplan, it was made by a German designer called Frau Maier (you can see this pendant also in my new German decorating workbook, Holly Beckers Wunderbar Wohnideen, coming out in March). I selected the largest size available since my space allowed for it. I wanted something with a nice silhouette but also with a bit of bling so I selected Big Lulu Gold – a white drum pendant with a slight size difference (it’s wider at the bottom than at the top) and a gorgeous gold interior. You can find them here – my friend Janin sells them in her online shop and she is happy to ship one to you. :)
After the pendant arrived, I decided to give it a more personal touch before installing it so I added a hot pink textile cord from House Doctor. I don’t think they carry pink anymore but you can always write to them to check or buy one from Rie Elise Larsen or, if you are in Hannover, ask my friend Daniela at Sommerfugl if she can get one for you since she sells Rie Elise stuff in her pretty shop.
After you’ve installed your pendant and added a pretty textile cord, it’s time to decorate it for a party! I went through my ribbon stash to see what I already had and selected colors and patterns that I liked. Then I stood on a chair and held them up, accounting for about 3 inches extra that I’d need for each to tie them to the frame of the shade.
I cut the ribbons into different lengths and simply tied them to the frame. NOTE: Please make sure you tie them tightly so they do not “slide” towards the lightbulb and of course, common sense says to also not tie them near the bulb at all – make sure they do not touch it or even come close – go for at least 4-5″ away. Best to tie them closer to the shade than to the bulb! Also, make sure they are not too long – you don’t want your candlelight dinner turning into a house fire!
For a final decorative touch, I tied on a leaf banner that my friend, London-based stylist and author Sania Pell made and gave to me last year. It is a very special gift so I wanted it to be in a spot where I’d see it often because it gives me such a happy feeling. (Thank you Sania!).
So, there you have it – a super easy DIY that you can do in minutes if you already have a drum pendant – if not, I bet now you are considering to buy one, aren’t you? I actually love this light because I can hang things from it and since it goes with so many different room styles and color palettes – a wonderful piece is a versatile one!
I hope you enjoy my little DIY. See you on Monday!
(photos: holly becker for decor8)
As a blogger who is out a lot playing around with my camera and meeting up with people, I’m asked frequently about my loot – what’s in MY bag? In this post I’ll share a list of what I think is some pretty great gear for bloggers that I use – and everything is quite affordable (my camera is well under $1,000 which, in DSLR terms, isn’t high end but still does a beautiful job). What works for me may not work for you but I really LOVE my Canon 600D and the 4 lens that I have (one is a kit lens, the other 3 I purchased). I also like my other goodies, like my camera strap and my cute camera bag that just arrived today.
Here is a list of my loot:
Camera: Canon 600D with the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens by Canon that came with it. This camera is great because it not only takes amazing photos but it has full HD movie mode – my latest obsession! Camera details/price can be found here: Amazon.de/Amazon.co.uk/Amazon.com
Lens: Canon EF-S 18-200mm 1:3,5-5,6 IS (Amazon.de/Amazon.co.uk/Amazon.com), Canon EF 50mm 1:1.8 (Amazon.de/Amazon.co.uk/Amazon.com) Note: I want to upgrade this lens soon though to the Canon EF 50mm/1,4. And the latest lens I’ve picked up is the Canon EF 35mm 1:2,0 (Amazon.de/Amazon.co.uk/Amazon.com)
Tripod: I use a Manfroto #222 joystick head on top of a standard tripod that my husband bought on eBay awhile ago. If you’re in the market for a tripod, Manfrotto is a really good one to try and they are super sturdy though not so lightweight – I only use this one for shooting at home. I haven’t gotten to the point yet to where I’m bringing tripods on the road with me… Ha! Baby steps, here.
Phone/Apps: I also want to add that I frequently use my iPhone 4 to take photos (Instagram addict) and I really like the KitCam app though I find myself using the Camera+ app most of the time. I’m also taking videos frequently with the Vine app and having a lot of fun with it!
iPad: I use my iPad constantly. More than my MacBook Pro even. It’s the best thing ever and the funny thing is, it took me 6 months after I purchased it to even get into using it. One great thing you can do with an iPad that is pretty cool for photographers is that you can pop an Eye-Fi card into your camera and transfer pictures wirelessly to your iPad while you’re shooting (as in instantly!) using the ShutterSnitch app. My husband and I shot about 30 photos for my last book like this and it worked like a charm when it came to styling and really helps you to pick up the pace on shoots, too.
Camera bag: Ketti Chevron cloth camera bag. Note: Mine arrived with a dark purple lining that I really don’t like (it’s hard to see inside because it’s very dark) – the website says green lining (with photos showing it so I know I’m not crazy)- so I insist when you purchase a bag from them you make sure they get your order right. Other than the purple interior, the bag will work great for me – I love that it’s padded and has adjustable slots for the lens, the camera, etc. inside – yet it looks like a very “normal” handbag. I got so tired of running around in my ugly black (very standard, very boring) camera bag!
Camera strap: Stardust camera strap from Bloom Theory in silver.
iPhone case: Le Pavillion iPhone case by Kate Spade and this silly pink cat from Accessorize. Don’t laugh. Okay, laugh.
So! That’s what I use when I’m out shooting and having fun. Hope some of these tips help you out! A few of the Amazon.com links above are affiliate links by the way, which means I earn about 6% if you buy something on the US Amazon site. All of the other links are not affiliate-related at all. No one has paid me or given me products, discounts or any freebies for mentioning any of the above items. I paid for absolutely everything at the same retail price as everyone else. :)
If you have any questions or want to share what you use, please do in the comments section below! What’s in YOUR bag?
Happy Friday everyone – loads of love to you!
(images: holly becker, thorsten becker and bloom theory)
Welcome to my first ever Delicious Bites column, this is Jillian Leiboff and I’m excited to be writing for decor8 again this year. At the end of 2012, Holly asked if I’d like to switch things up a bit and write a food column instead of my usual shop girl visits column to encourage more of what she loves: cooking up easy, simple meals and desserts, nurturing relationships around the table and really enjoying your time at home with family and friends. Sounds good to me, what do you think?
For those of you who know me as a shop photographer, this may come as something of a surprise but food is also one of my first loves. I’ve been baking since I was 12 and photographing food since my student photography days. While other students were bringing watches and vases to photograph there was me with sushi, coffee cups and chocolate brownies! Not much has changed since.
I decided to kick off Delicious Bites this month with my recipe for Plum Crumble Cake. I’ve been making this simple plum cake for ages – it’s a basic butter cake layered with sugared plums yet it’s so versatile — you can use almost any kind of fruit. I’ve made the cake topped with sliced apricots, peaches, raspberries, blueberries and mulberries and all were delicious so see what variation you can try on this recipe.
In addition to the fruit tip, I also tweak the recipe every now and then. Sometimes I’ll use cinnamon to flavour the cake and I’ve even tried lemon rind. This time, I decided to add a crumble topping. You can never have too much of a good thing, can you? NOPE..
Walnuts and cinnamon go really well with plums so the cake is topped with a cinnamon-spiced walnut crumble. It’s a very moist cake, so don’t be alarmed when some of some of the plums disappear. They’ll sink to the bottom for sure but please note that this helps to keep the cake nice and moist so it’s not a bad thing.
The crumble recipe makes way more than you’ll need to top the cake so I store leftovers in the freezer. You can use the crumble next time you make the cake or you can use it to make a delicious fruit crumble. If you don’t feel like making the crumble, the cake is delicious just as it is. A light dusting of icing sugar is all it needs but if you feel like adding a dollop of cream, that’s good too. I’m also not opposed to ice cream!
Ok! Are you ready to bake this delicious cake? Good, because here’s the recipe!
Crumble Topping
¼ cup (55 gm) brown sugar
¼ cup (35 gm) plain flour
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ cup (70 gm) walnuts
30 grams (1 oz) cold unsalted butter cut into small chunks
Cake Ingredients
5 small plums
1 tablespoon caster sugar
125 grams (4 oz) unsalted butter
100 grams (½ cup) caster sugar
1 egg
1 cup self raising flour
½ teaspoon cinnamon
60 mls (¼ cup) milk
Optional – icing sugar (confectioner’s sugar)
Crumble Topping
To make the crumble, combine the flour, brown sugar and cinnamon in a food processor. Add the walnuts and butter and pulse until just combined. Place the crumble topping in a small bowl and refrigerate while making the cake. This makes more crumble than required so I store any leftover crumble in the freezer.
Cake
* Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F.
* Grease and flour a 18 cm springform tin and line the base with baking paper.
* Cut the plums in half and remove the pits.
* Slice each plum into quarters, put into a small bowl and sprinkle over the tablespoon of caster sugar. * Set aside.
* To make the cake, cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl until light and fluffy.
* Add the egg and mix until combined well.
* Sift the flour and the cinnamon.
* Add the flour alternately with the milk to make a soft batter. You may not need to use all the milk.
* Spoon half the batter into the greased and lined tin.
* Layer a few of the plum slices over the top of the batter.
* Gently spoon the remaining batter over the fruit.
* Sprinkle the top of the cake with the crumble and arrange the remaining plum slices onto the crumble layer.
* Bake the cake for 60-75 minutes or until the cake tests cooked when a skewer is inserted into it. Some of the plums will sink to the bottom of the tin while cooking.
* Cool the cake in the tin for about 15 minutes before turning out to cool on a wire rack.
* If desired, dust the top of the cake with icing sugar.
I hope you enjoy the cake – if you make it please let me know how it came out! See you all again next month with another recipe from my kitchen. – Jillian
(photos/recipe ©2013 Jillian Leiboff)
Pastels are everywhere but do they feel fresh or a bit sluggish to you? I must admit, all of that sugary softness can feel totally boring (Easter needs revamped!) so why don’t we turn up the heat and make pastels ZING. What I’m about to show you (brace yourself) is a very hot ‘n spicy palette for Spring on the runway so why not try it at home by mixing pastels with spicy red, 80s neons, warm cooper or gold tones, maybe a shot of black, deep violet, emerald or navy. I’m tellin’ ya people, we can take pastels from Oy vey to Oh yay in mere seconds – take a look…
This is a very lively mix – a real party girl combo using sugar sweet pastels and punctuating them with clever color accents that are bold and risky. While pastels can feel really granny and dated (or seasonal), you can easily perk them up with my favorite metal of the moment – copper!
If you’re a bit bored with neon pink, opt for neon orange because that looks quite gorgeous when placed in a pastel playground.
I even love spicy reds – they can energize a pastel palette taking them from Easter egg hunts and tea parties to grown up girl Glamorama cha-cha! Want to get a little edgy with pastels? Grab a little black or navy and dot it around the space.
Cushions by Martinich&Carran
How are you using pastels at the moment? Here are some visuals to give you some ideas that I love…
I have to add that Lucy over at the Design Files is such an inspiration to me. This Australian blogger has such a gorgeous design blog about Aussie design and recently had a beautiful open house event where she turned an empty rented home into a living blog OPEN HOUSE showroom for a weekend. I really love Lucy’s photography, blog and now her open house events – I’m tempted to fly down to Australia to attend the next one later this year – it’s my big dream ! Anyway, Lucy loves color and knows how to mix pastels with more vibrant hues so I selected several photos above from her open house party to inspire you to be a bit more daring when you decorate. To see more about the Design Files Open House, please visit Vimeo and watch this stunning video. Lucy, you rock with color and design!
(images: ferm living, revolver, design files)
Your friends read your blog. Really. Don’t think for a second they don’t. I assumed that since my pals hang out with me offline that the last thing they want is more of me online, but it seems I am wrong. Most of my friends read this blog and take what I write about here pretty seriously, especially when I talk about things I need or want — from emotional support to a new vase. A blog truly is a very public Dear Diary entry, that’s for sure. Sometimes this can be a really good thing because your friends can really know your taste and through their blog, you can learn more about what they love. This comes in really helpful when gift giving.
Do you remember my post last September about vintage Kantha quilts? My dear friend Tinna remembers and evidently, didn’t forget how passionate I was when I wrote about them. Recently, while visiting a design fair in Denmark, she spotted a stack of them at a booth and brought home a gorgeous Kantha quilt for me as a surprise. You can see it in my home below. It’s from a Danish company called AU Maison and though I knew about them and own other things from this brand, I had no idea that they stock these quilts. When she gave it to me last night, I wanted to jump up and down but remained as composed as I possibly could despite that I wanted to kiss and hug her to death. This is the best present ever!
Tinna is an agent for House Doctor and Ferm Living, and she’s Danish (though living in Germany for over 20 years now), so she’s frequently in Denmark for her work and to attend the big design fairs. I always wonder when she’s off on her trips what she is finding and responding to since she has great taste and is very likable and chatty. She is THE perfect person to attend a fair – always looking, talking and isn’t afraid to approach people. I’m so glad she approached AU Maison and asked them if she could take home a quilt – what a cool lady, thank you Tinna.
I am thrilled to have this and love that there is a little story behind it. Stories make objects so much more special but beyond that, I am so happy and grateful to have friends in Germany that are like family. Maybe this little blog is more than just a way to reach people who don’t know me, perhaps it is reaching those who do. Do you ever think about your blog like that – that it can also draw in your friends even closer to you?
Do you love these quilts from India too?
(images: holly becker for decor8)
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