We have relocated!

Please visit our new site: www.lovilee.co.za

The new Lovilee is here!

"I am very excited to bring you a sneak preview of what you will wake up to tomorrow morning! It has long been a dream of mine to do something creative, letting go of all the energy stored up inside in a constructive way. The idea of a blog had been on my mind for a while, but as with most ideas in life, acting on the impulse proved more difficult.

In December last year I took the leap and started www.lovilee.blogspot.com. I designed the logo in MS Word (very trendy) and managed to get a decent look and feel going. I then approached my sister (who is a way better cook than I could ever dream of being) to do a Thursday recipe for all those kitchenites out there.

Melanie Wessels, who was responsible for my gorgeous wedding photos last year and whom I subsequently became good friends with, approached me with an idea to go professional with the blog. I was super exited that she was willing to bring her talent and skill to the project and things just progressed from there onwards!

So, tomorrow is the big day, the migrate to www.lovilee.co.za! I'd like to thank ElmaRi and Melanie for all the hard work they have put in so far to make my dream a reality and hope to get to know you, the readers, better over time and even get a chance to spoil some of you with the give aways and competition prizes!"

- KaRi

"I am SO excited about Lovilee! Since I am a wedding photographer I get to meet many brides-to-be with ideas or maybe looking for inspiration. Lovilee will be such a great "place" to showcase trends, ideas and diy projects specifically for weddings. With Karen and Elmari both being so creative in their different fields, they inspire me to creativity and I'm sure it's contagious"

- Melanie

"Tomorrow is the first of many more lovilee days! The site will go live with great ideas, tips, things you always wanted to know-and-have and tantalising recipes. I love cooking and baking, but with the birth of my first daughter, my time has been cut in half and half again and half...okay you get the picture! She is a ray of sunshine in my life, I am loving being a mom and exploring the field of what's new, what works and what not. I will be sharing this info with you in the future.

I'd like to thank Karen and Melanie for all the hard work they've put in to get us going and having patience with me for not always grasping the latest techno-terms! But I'll get there. Enjoy this journey with us and please let us know what you like and would like more of. To many more Lovilee days!"

- ElmaRi


Here with a preview:

Online: Sleepy King on Etsy

In my never ending search on Etsy for new ideas and creative designers I came across a shop called Sleepy King. The recent rand depreciation against the US dollar has curbed my online spending habits somewhat, but it is still nice to browse...

Shop owner Savannah Carol purchased her sewing machine at the start of 2009, after the birth of her son. She wanted to make toys for him in her spare time, and got so obsessed with making the toys that she started Sleepy King in April 2009. She has been a full time sewer since then.

Here with some of my favourites:

Days to new Lovilee

Online: Valentines inspiration

I found Skippy Designs on Etsy, and it made me feel warm and fuzzy inside looking at the phodies on sale. Shopowner Mandy Lynne, a photographer in Springfield, USA's portfolio is truly inspiring with the tranquil and peaceful feel that she creates.

Love is often portrayed in reds and whites, but I think it should rather be in pastels, marshmallows and turkish delights. Visit the shop on Etsy for more photographs and be inspired!

Online: NotOnTheHighStreet.Com

"Seeking out the people who create the unusual,  the inspired and just plain ‘out there’.  That’s what notonthehighstreet.com is all about."

I have made a brand new discovery just by using Google to search for doorstops (Which still proves to be rather futile in South Africa). After Etsy, this is now my favourite online hangout.  This online shop was found by Tucker and Sophie Cornish, in 2006, they aimed to create a place where one could find charming, unique and carefully-made things that you just might stumble on by chance. Everything sold on the site is designed, made or selected by an independent small business. The shop is UK based and all their prices are reflected in GBP whereas Etsy is in USD.

In future, I will aim to provide you with more of my finds on this site, but I discovered the following shop that offers great wedding gifting and ideas, called Letterfest. A really special and unique gift idea is the following personalised sketches of the newly wed couples' first house or alternatively their wedding venue. You simply send them a picture and they send you back a piece of art! (unfortunately only for UK delivery though, an ideal chance to get to know someone there!)

                          
                   

Chooseday: Modern guy love - Treemail

Country Living magazine has created a valentines treemail app, where you are able to send a tree carving of your and your valentines' initial to Twitter, Facebook or via email. The application allows you to choose your own knife width as well as the tree bark style to carve into. The cost of the app is $0.99.

So for all the guys out there... No excuse not to have a card that shows the love this year!

Source: Design*Sponge

For more on this application, visit Design*Sponge or alternatively download it from Country Living Magazine.

Decor: Bookcase inspiration

I stumbled across a design site called Yanko designs. This US-based site offers a place where you can potentially sell your designs, browse through or purchase ready-made items from other designers. The chairs above were simultaneously developed as bookcases, with the intention to provide a place to read and serve as storage.

Source: Yanko design - designer: Gail Peter Borden

Online: Spread the love

Here with a follow up on the valentines cards posted last week. Volume 25. has released a 2011 printable valentine card edition. There are 6 cards, one for each day leading up to valentines day. The cards are available form the EyeCandy Shop. Once paid, a 2 page PDF will appear in your inbox and you are ready to print, fold and send!

Chooseday: Key to the heart

So you have been thinking of a surprise valentines gift. Want to be retro, show affection and be practical? Here with the ideal gift for him or her, a Skeleton key USB drive. Each key has a memory of 2GB and is priced at $58 per USB, available online at FredFlare.com.

Online: A card for my valentine

It is my first Valentines day being married and I am rather indecisive on whether to give a printed or handmade card. There are some really neat cards available on etsy, here with some of my favourites:

Printed:

  

  

Top row: all by Colette paperie (US shipping only)

Bottom row: all by Zuq and Zoe (these files are emailed in PDF so that you can print them yourself)

Handmade:

  

  

Top row: all by Rosengarten

Bottom row: all by Little Bea studio

Online: "I Do" the cherry on top

I have seen everything from aliens, Lego and even the Corps' Bride that you can use for a wedding cake topper! The latter might not be an ideal start to your journey :). Here with some of the ideas and suppliers that I managed to find on etsy as well as a photo of my own wedding cake toppers in July 2010.

Here with a photo of my own wedding toppers, I made the little flags with words myself, using a toothpick and a little pearl bead at the top of each one. I ordered the dolls from Goosegrease on Etsy and personalised them myself as well.




Formal

    

From left to right: Love by Buttons N more buttons, Naked Lovebirds by sweetie caketopper (also salt and pepper shakers), Transparent purple color butterfly by Butterfly bazaar, customised wedding couple by Subtle Details, dragonflies by Clear cut crafts 2007, Love by Blue butterfly design.

Not so formal





From left to right: I carry your heart with me by Cottonbird designs, Benedict and Louise by Lesley Wellington, True love by dear Jes , We Do by Bragging bags, Love by Crafty pagan, Custom lovebirds by Country Squirrels RUS,


Cartoon


    
All of the above by Kikuike

Chooseday: Here kitty, kitty...

Those who know me are well aware of the fact that I am not much of a cat lover. I had however had some requests for a "Choose your cat" questionnaire after the post last week on "Matching a puppy to your personality". I found two links that have online questionnaires to help you choose the perfect cat for your possy, Enjoy!

-    Purina: Cat breed selector 
-    Selectapet: Find the breed that is right for you (for choosing a cat or dog)

Decor: You will not believe... Magnetic Paint!

As per my post last week Friday on no-drill renovations, I continue with something from the Nate Show. Here is something that I have never seen or heard of before watching the video... Magnetic paint! Yes, you have heard right, the paint is see through and can be painted onto almost any surface. The surface then becomes magnetic and you can decorate it with all kinds of magnets, including magnetic frames as per the video below:

Online: You + Me

What a lovely idea for a wedding! I first saw the idea on Roula & Schalk's wedding photographed by Melanie Wessels (also my wedding photographer) and had to go looking for a supplier. Sjengraving is a company on Etsy that does custom engraving on stones, check out their shop for more great ideas!

 

Decor: Art-Groupings

So, this is a really neat and new design concept called "art-grouping" and I just looove it! My house is full of bookshelves, ones that have little hooks for use in the bathroom for additional towels, and then another in the bedroom, just for decor. Here with some really inspiring ideas! The image below is from the bedroom of Jessica, owner of Vol.25.

Source

The following two images are from ikea's new online catalogue  also posted by vol.25.

 Source

Source

Decor: No-Drill renovations by Nate Berkus

In my view, Nate Berkus is one of the best design guru's of our times. He started off with home make-overs on the Oprah Winfrey show, but now has his own show. The show is not being broadcast in South Africa as yet, but is available for viewing online. Nate has started a series on no-drill renovations, and I think this is the problem to most our design dilemmas, take a look and lemme know what you think!

On the side: Diarise this!

With 2011 around the corner it is a great plan to get yourself a diary of some sort. There are plenty complimentary give-away diaries with magazines at the moment and for those who want to buy something special to carry with for next year, take a look at the Elise Grey diary for this year. It is available at most bookstores and online at: http://www.ladygreycollections.com.au/

Online: Stunning Vol.25 gifts

So Christmas has passed, but what about a gift to cheer up someone in the new year? Here with the stunning new range of gifts available from Pine Ridge Art with some of Jessica Rose's designs from Vol.25.

Cup of tea anyone?

Magnets with matching list pad

On the side: The solution to all our problems...

Ever wished that you could just come home to a clean house? Samsung has developed a new generation vacuum cleaner called the NaviBot. I could not believe what I saw. Be sure to check out the video clips to view its full functionality.

Decor: Birds on a wire

I received my Elgarbo's art picture back from the framers. Check out the shop on Etsy, there are many to choose from and some good specials to help you start your collection.