Colour cravings, anyone...?

Well, that makes two of us!

So, sticking my tongue out to the chilly wind, I today "recycled" a few tulips that were on their last legs, for a little colour therapy by the wall at the very back of our garden. In the wind, it was touch and go if the petals were going to stick to their day job long enough to let me play, and later, when I was carrying my "toys" indoors again, these pink princesses bowed one last time and then spread their glory all over the ground... 

I have lived in the UK for over six years now, but my affection for 

the old stone walls in this country has not subsided. 

Not. One. Little. Bit.

And as a true quality of play, the imagination is allowed to run wild...

So what if a small green cabbage was not meant for this... 

So what if it is perhaps rather more bizarre than beautiful...

Tickling the creativity for a brief but blissful moment, and aaaaah -

- my smile is instantly a little broader and more sparkling than it was a moment ago!

So, today's conclusions?

1. Allowing yourself to decorate in less than conventional ways can put a smile on your face - HEALTHY...

2. I have said it before and I will say it again: Playing with your food is a GOOD thing...

3. The wind did indeed play a February tune, but with a promise of the main act, 

The Spring Overture, being only moments away...HOPE

4. A purple shawl that in real life matched the tulips perfectly can indeed look very different 

in a photo...!  Hmmm, I think I will have to stick to the "so what"...here too!

 

Thank you so much for all your kind words and anniversary greetings after my last blog post!

A warm HELLO to my readers who have been here for a while, 

and a special HI THERE to all of you who visit The Swenglish Home for the first time. 

A WAVE and a WINK to my new followers, 

and a HELLO, HELLO, HELLO to all of you anonymous readers - I am happy to see you all here!

Wishing you all a great start to the new week,

Helena

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Sprout mania...

Dear readers,

If I promise not to show a single little sprout for the rest of the year...

...will you allow me to play around with these little green fellows just one more time?

You see, as I was looking at the moss wreath earlier, thinking it needed a little something extra, the idea suddenly seemed obvious... some Christmas baubles from Mother Nature's own X-mas shop.

Joined by napkin rings made from a fallen down branch from the forest, ivy from the garden, pine cones brought back from the forest in Sweden, some cinnamon sticks, and my rusty "gazebo" (which I think used to sit on top of a chimney, as a bird safe guard) - now with a small candle holder hung 'cauldron style', this simple table setting was created today to the tunes of Bing Crosby's "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas..."...

Keeping up with the season, the CALM letters above the white sofa (in the 

background) have been replaced by NOEL (also cut from leftover floor boards).

And these beauties... are they not stunning? I wonder if the people working with these small shoe lasts many years ago could have imagined the latter would one day serve as candle holders (the little hole on top seemed to scream out for a small candle!)... The lovely American shoe lasts were a precious, precious gift from a dear friend, Annelie. Dearest Annelie, thank you so, SO much!

And now, now I can hear you moan "Please, we are 'sprouted out'! Sprout no more!" 

So, I promise, no more sprouts for a looong time!

Wishing you a lovely week leading up to Christmas!

Helena

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Keep on sprouting...

Continuing my 'sproutful' playing in the garden a few weeks ago, I also set a slightly larger table...



You have seen all the 'buffet food' before in different ways,
 and you may also have seen this 'table' in summer costume before...

... so instead of lingering further by these natural 'nibbles', 

for those of you who were curious about the feature in A Mi Otthonunk,

here it is, courtesy of the magazine:

(Click on the images to view them larger.)

Last, but not least, a huge THANK YOU! I feel so grateful, humble and overwhelmed by all your kind words of encouragement after my last blog post! You, my supportive readers, are what makes this blog worth writing and what makes me inspired to create more, and I cannot thank you enough for popping in and voicing your kind support. Thank you!

Wishing you a lovely week, with lots of Christmas sweets and hopefully no stress at all!

All the best,

Helena

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Bring on the sprouts...!

However, just as I am no friend of a cabbage-inspired cuisine, 

nor are you likely to ever catch me munching brussels sprouts... 

But who says you have to eat them?!?!

So, true to my motto "Play with your food!", and inspired by something I remembered seeing in Minna's stunning blog Blomsterverkstad last year (read her blog post here) about how to turn these little greens into flowers, I ventured into the garden a few weeks ago...

... to set a small winter table with hints of the festive season...

... but this blog post does not end here... so, are you ready...?

Drum roll...

Here we go...

***

Announcing a small birth...

Dear readers,

Some of you may know that my "day job" is as a Communications Consultant and University Guest Lecturer in Intercultural Communication. I enjoy this work very much and find it hugely interesting!

However...

I am also - and this may come as no surprise to you - passionate about interiors and how you feel and live in them, as well as how to try to recycle and upcycle old items and use nature's own treasures when decorating, to aim for a both personal, soulful and sustainable home.

Having had such kind and encouraging response from you (the world's loveliest blog readers!), and having been contacted through my blog by professionals showing an interest in my ideas and photos, I have for some time been pondering if I could pursue this path too...

So today I invite you to witness the modest birth... of ...

Helena Bernáld Interior Styling & Photography

You are welcome to visit my website at:

http://www.helenabernaldinteriorstyling.co.uk/

With a lot of lecturing work lined up, I may have to take baby steps here at first, but I look forward to exploring what is possible and how to combine the two jobs! I hope you would like to join me on this exciting  journey too!

Now, stand back, here comes the champagne cork!

...and there is more....:

***

Published in A Mi Otthonunk

Some of the images above, together with some of my other winter and Christmas-inspired photos and ideas can be seen in a six-page feature in the Christmas issue of A Mi Otthonunk (= Our Home)  (http://www.amiotthonunk.hu/), which is out in the shops in Hungary today. I feel very honoured - thank you Tímea for contacting me!

To those of you who may have found your way here from the magazine feature, welcome to my blog! For those of you who may not have access to the magazine, but would like to see the feature, I will try to show it to you in the next few days.

So, having shamelessly blown my own trumpet and also a tune for brussels sprouts, 

I will let the final note today be an encouraging fanfare to play more with your food!

(It need not be wasted, as in most cases, it can be eaten after having been used as decoration!)

Wishing you a playful weekend!

Helena

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Pea love...

Yes, the same thing happened this year as last...

A handful of peas, rejected by the man in the house as being overgrown and too "square"...

...just happened to end up in my craft-eager hands...

... now sending the message of love to the world...!

So, pea LOVE to you all!

Helena

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Summertime... 

... and the living is eeeeaaasy...

Dear readers, a HUGE thank you for all your lovely comments 

on my previous post. As I am currently away from home,

with only limited time at the computer, I am - still - rather

 invisible on your blogs, but very grateful and humble that

you still take the time to stop by mine.

These photos are from last week's "heat wave" in the UK,

when even the most frozen of souls must 

have been humming a merry tune...

The inviting sound of flip-flops

echoing down the street, T-shirt-less torsos

 flexing their wintery paleness...

(perhaps not as inviting a vision...)

Time for some Swedish cinnamon rolls in the sun!

I simply cannot get enough of pansies and violets this year! 

Charity shop bargain cup and tea pot seem to enjoy hosting these sweet little purple ladies.

 

Some readers might wonder if I live in some sort of over-styled universe all the time,
as more and more of my blog posts seem to show what may appear to some a very staged setting.
The answer is no, of course not.
Nor do I spend all my waking hours creating little still lifes
and arranging pansies to look their cutest.

However, as my work is freelance and I am fortunate enough to work a lot from home,
I can use my lunch break to potter about in the garden,
unleashing my creativity for a moment,
while my brain is processing whatever work task is on the agenda.

I am no painter, nor can I draw very well.
Many are the art forms that I do not master, not even a little, not at all.
However, I do believe we all have some artistic veins inside us that are begging to be nurtured,
and I really believe that in order to stay healthy, we need to explore that creativity,
find whatever artistic expression that carries our voice,
and allow for some playful experimenting.

With so many people living in poverty around the world
and with natural disasters and illness forcing them to focus all their attention on survival,
it may sound a little arrogant to talk about
"the need to explore our artistic voices to stay healthy".
The basic needs of survival are of course an obvious priority,
but if we are lucky enough to live in a safe place,
we may allow ourselves to explore our creativity,
to create beauty around us,
in whatever shape we see it.

For me, right now,
playing around with colours and materials,
flowers and small creative projects,
is both inspiring and therapeutic,
calming and energizing.

To me, decorating is a moment's meditation...

At the end of this very long blog post, 

my warmest regards to you all!

Helena

(Home-made cake stand from earlier this year. 

Twigs tied with jute string around a tall glass vase, 

to serve as a nature-inspired pot for an ivy (on the table).)

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