Has your IKEA catalogue arrived? Mine showed up a few nights ago and I've poured through the whole thing.

Here are a few of the new things that jumped out at me. (And this time, I'm SURE they're new, since the catalogue identifies them as such. No mistakey-poos, like last time I posted on such things.) 

I'm in love with these SANELA curtains. They're 100% cotton velvet and they come in such a pretty turquoise blue. It's a bit like a Tiffany blue, actually. $79.99 for a pair of panels. They appear on page 40 of the 2012 catalogue (and on subsequent pages). 

Speaking of turquoise, here's another new thing I noticed: The classic MALM is now going to come in grey-turquoise in addition to the more run-of-the-mill shades always offered. It's priced at $99. Kind of a fun update. See it on page  64 of the catalogue. 

There's also this "kitchen cart" in turquoise. It appears MANY times in the catalogue, notably on page 109. I don't know how I feel about it. It has a retro feel, but ... I sort of think it's ugly. Am I wrong? It's $69.99.

Getting away from turquoise for a moment, take a look at this new series of shelving units. The series is called VITTSJö and features pieces made of tempered glass and powder-coated steel. The look is surprisingly luxe, and yet, inexpensive. This unit is only $50 and a piece that is around double this size is $90. You could spray paint the steel gold and the piece would look like a high-end étagère. (I'd totally try that if I had the space for more shelving.) See it online or on page 150.

I thought this low-pile LAPPLJUNG RUTA rug was sort of cool and graphic at first. Only $89.99, 200 x 200 cm (about 6.5 ft square). But what's with that banding detail!? Kind of ruins the whole thing for me. (See it on page 183.)

Alternately, here's another new black and white number from the rug department: the FERLE rug. Only $39.99. Low pile polyppropylene. Maybe for a kid's room? Seems sort of fun. It's a little small (195 x 133 cm or about 6.5 by 4.5 feet), but it's way cheap and probably hardwearing.

On to something I expect to be a big seller: the new TARVA line. It's untreated there are several pieces to chose from. (This dresser is $139.) It reminds me of the regularly-hacked RAST piece. Lots of potential to customize here, hence my prediction that it will sell. Might be a bit pricey (considering that the RAST is only $39.99), but the styling is nicer... I'd buy it. And then I'd go crazy hacking it into something unrecognizable. See it on page 265.

And with that, I'm going to end as I usually do when writing an IKEA post: on an ugly note.  What is UP with this effing lamp? I usually think the IKEA PS collections are wonderful, but this lamp 2012 LED lamp makes me gag. It's (obviously) inspired by a tutu. Ick. I won't tell you what page(s) it appears on. You'll notice it every time. And if you're like me, you'll gag. Every time.

Oh well. When it comes to IKEA, you can't win 'em all. 

Anyhoo babaloo, those are the things that jumped out at me. I might have to take a run over the IKEA to check 'em out in person. Happy Friday.

Hey thrifty, crafty, chic friends. 

I'm back.

Been on holiday for the last couple of weeks, as I believe you know, but I arrived home determined to get blogging again. And with that in mind, I did a little project this week that I'd been planning for some time.

The plan was to spray paint some old tins in a pretty, minty green. (Actual colour name? Pistachio. Why? Because it's what they had at Canadian Tire when I went in.)

Simple project right? But even the simplest projects can be frustrating.

The thing is this: I've spray painted a TONNE of crap over the years, so you'd think I'd know better, but nonetheless, I made a rookie mistake this time around. I rushed.

And what was the result? Gloppy, drippy coverage and a big fat rage black out.

Dang it. 

It's not that bad and it's not that big of a deal. The tins were free - picked out of the recycling. And the paint cost less than $10 and there's still plenty left in the can. But I HATE those damn drips, mostly because they're entirely my own fault. I suppose I can wait until the tins are fully dry, then sand out my mistakes and respray. But dang. That's a lot of extra work on a project that should have been simple.

I am an impatient person. This is one of my major flaws. And it makes me take short cuts when I shouldn't. I also have a tendency to get cocky. I'd spray painted so many times before, I decided I no longer needed to follow the rules. Stupid stupid stupid.

When you're doing a project like this, for goodness sake, don't do what I did. Take the time to do it right. Set it up properly. Do LIGHT, smooth layers of paint, giving coats time to dry before applying additional paint. Be PATIENT. 

Now, if only I could learn to take my own advice. Sigh.