Our little boy is turning three this week, so we hosted a small birthday party at our house this weekend and I thought you all may enjoy a look. He'll be starting preschool this year, so I went with an old school theme (some of the things that inspired the party theme are here). I had a surprising amount of stuff laying around our house that fit my definition of 'old school'. The wreath above is my shameless interpretation of a beautiful Katie Runnels wreath. I found a couple of these little chalkboards at my parent's house.
Each invitation included an orange ceramic three and a graph paper scroll with the party details. I found these cute mint tins at a dollar store and repurposed them as invite-containers. Score!
I'm not really a fan of wrapping paper, so I kept it simple with his gift. I wrapped some graph paper around a cardboard box and cut the circle out of a security envelope. I found the chipboard 'E' at our local craft store.
Does it get anymore old school than pink erasers?! These were also a craft store find. I used an exacto blade to cut slits in each eraser and then just slid in graph paper name tags. Totally easy! If you're itching to see more party photos, visit Aesthetic Outburst. I'm also co-hosting a little giveaway in honor of our little guy's big 3. Come join in the fun!
Oh the genius of a mother rocking her baby to sleep. Many of you know what I'm talking about; you're trying to get your little one to nap for the afternoon and while your rocking her sweet pretty head, you have nothing to occupy your mind with but say your imagination. You're dreaming of decorating your kitchen with that beautiful light from Anthropology you saw the other day; thoughts come to mind of how you could make one yourself. Suddenly you look down at that basket of toys on the floor and "poof" an awesome DIY is born!
This amazing Anthropologie-inspired pendant light how-to is from the genius mother and photographer Ashley Ann of Under the Sycamore. Ashley has posted a step-by-step tutorial on how she made it on her beautiful blog and while you're there, be sure to check out her other clever DIY projects. Now, I'm off to find a basket!
We found a great find this week for a weekend project. Readymade Magazine always has good ones and this table made out of pallets is obtainable just about anywhere. We've all seen those cast-off pallets hanging around any store's back door and even though no two are alike, they've got it covered. Click here for the directions by Jen Turner and here for the article. Photo credit: Greg Scheidemann
I'm off to Chinatown today to meet up with a lovely photographer to see what we can find! Hope to have something fun to show you soon from the shopping trip. Wishing you all a fantastic weekend!
Greenwich Letterpress is a beautiful little boutique located in the heart of the West Village in New York City. It's owned by two young and talented sisters -- Amy Swanson and Beth Salvini. They also design, print and carry their own line of letterpress greeting cards, invitations, and more. It seems as though there is nothing this pair cannot do!
Every nook and cranny of their small space is full of tempting paper goods and pretty gifts: stamp sets from Yellow Owl Workshop, vintage post cards, office organizers made from vintage yardsticks, cards from Screech Owl Design, and more...
Now, I should probably disclose the fact that they carry cards from Sycamore Street Press... but don't let this make you think that my love is biased. Even if they never ordered a single SSP card, Greenwich Letterpress would be one of my favorite shops to visit. I highly suggest you stop by next time you are in Manhattan, or take a peek their online shop right now.
If you've not yet seen Gina Namkung's surprise balls, you're in for a treat. A few years ago, Gina generously gifted me one. I was instantly taken with it but tucked it away someplace safe to save for a rainy day.
Fast forward to said rainy day, January 2010. One dreary afternoon, my family and I decided to unravel it and oh, the fun! Buried between layers of bright-colored crepe paper, we uncovered the sweetest surprises-- confetti, paper balloons and vintage trinkets galore! (You can read a little bit more about our experience here)
The surprise ball is as magic as it looks. When it was all said and done, I wanted to wrap the whole thing back up and do it all again. The concept is simple enough but there's something special about the way Gina puts them together. I recently asked her a few questions about her process and of course, she was kind enough to share:
What's the story, the personal history behind the surprise ball?
GINA: It must be part of my DNA to have always been drawn to that small thing. The gum ball ring I saw a boy give to another girl in the first grade. A Cracker Jack prize (back in the day when you actually got a prize as opposed to a sticker). A teeny tiny toaster with an even smaller piece of plastic toast that my best friend had for her Barbie... I coveted with all of my envious heart. Let's not even talk about the cigar box full of trinkets from Boo Radley. A birthday party where we played "Pass The Parcel" was my welcomed initiation into the unraveling of a surprise. Eventually I found commercially made surprise balls and for a while, handmade ones (from an amazing kind of shop in Seattle that sadly closed its doors).
How did you first come to make the surprise ball? How long have you been making them?
GINA: It wasn't until my eldest son's second or third Easter when I made my first ball. Some twenty plus years ago! Since then, I've made them for countless birthday parties, more Easters and Christmas Stockings, for classroom show and tells, as presents for young and old and as it turns out, I made one for a friend who in turn ordered twenty for his store at- most fittingly- Easter time. That was in 2005.
I have to ask, where do you find all your amazing vintage goodies?
GINA: There's a shop in L.A. that's a treasure trove of things I like, but as much as I would prefer to source from independently owned shops for the quantities needed, the reality is that I couldn't do what I do were it not for the internet. Primarily through ebay and Etsy I've managed to "meet" many a wonderful seller. Twenty four boxes of baby crayons from a seller in England! A gross of celluloid pins with feathers from one in Philly. Vintage novelty keychains of Danish food products from another seller in Minneapolis. Dozens of paper honeycomb strawberries! Another gross of wonder flower seashells! So yeah, I spend a lot of time with my laptop.
Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions, Gina! I knew your answers would be interesting.
I leave you all now with a terrific little surprise ball video from the folks over at Kade Spade New York. By the way, you can find Gina's Surprise Balls over at Kiosk. Each one contains a minimum of fifteen surprises, mostly vintage trinkets! And should you feel the need to make a ball of your own, check out these fun tutorials over at Craft Zine and Not Martha.
Again, many thanks to Gina! Who is clearly making the world a better place. One extraordinary surprise ball at a time.
A must visit online. A Love Letter For You is a project by Stephen Powers with the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program. Literally it is a love letter painted on the walls of buildings on Market Street in Philadelphia. The project includes a total of 50 murals, a documentary film, a sign school and shop that will provide training for area youth and free signage for businesses on the market street corridor, and 2 books documenting the project. One of the books will be a small paperback that will be distributed to area businesses free of charge, for them to sell to visitors. The other book will be a larger hardcover book that will document not only the artwork, but the neighborhood and the inspirations of the Love Letter Project. Visit all the murals here. (Via twitter.com/presentcorrect).
We are loving these little Chalkboard Thought Bubbles from redvelvetart.com (originally designed by the talented Rachel Denbow). Great as a photo booth prop for weddings and parties or a message board in your home. Click here to see more.
When I cook with lentils, I often go the Indian route cooking them into submission with curry and coconut milk. For dal, I usually use red lentils because they are quick to cook and their mushy texture is comforting and familiar. Lentils du puy (or French green lentils) are quite a different beast. Instead of turning soft, these lentils stay firm without any loss in texture. While they are ideal for salads, the weather was overcast for most of the weekend so I decided to simmer up some French lentils into an Italian-style stew.
This vegan dish is simple to prepare and robust in terms of flavour. The onions simmer and brown providing a deep earthy flavour. I used a whole jalapeno for this dish and it turned out to be quite spicy. I was actually shocked since most jalapenos I've used recently have been rather mild, so use less if you like less of a bite. Or if you've got a mild pepper, just add extra chili flakes or cayenne if you want more heat. For ease, I used a great bottled tomato & basil sauce from Italy but you can use a homemade sauce if you have some handy. The sauce starts off looking soupy but cooks down into a savory rich sauce. Any leftovers can be heated up and served over pasta or rice.
Italian Style Lentils du Puy 1 tablespoon olive oil 2 onions, sliced thinly into half moons 1 jalapeno, diced 4 cloves garlic, sliced thinly 1 cup french lentils du puy, sorted & rinsed 1 teaspoon oregano 1 cup tomato sauce 2 cups water or stock salt & pepper to taste
In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add in onions and saute until soft and starting to brown, about 15-20 minutes. Stir in jalapeno, garlic, lentils and oregano and cook for a few minutes, stirring things about. Pour in tomato sauce and water and let simmer uncovered over med-low heat for 40 minutes or so, until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Season with salt & pepper. Serve in deep bowls with buttered bread.
I can't seem to get enough of air plants lately. I see them popping up everywhere. These little gems are from Flora Grubb Gardens. Tiny mosses, lichen, and Tillandsia growing happily in darling cube terrariums. The photos are from Flora Grubb's brother's wedding (Jonathan Grubb & Kestrin Pantera) that their floral designer Suzie arranged for the special occasion. A wedding that was the talk of the internet recently; where we found out even the bride's bouquet and their wedding cake was adorned with the plant. According to the NY Times, the bride, Kestrin hates to "kill" flowers so she chose a bouquet of tillandsia, because it feeds off air. So sweet don't you think? If you by any chance didn't hear about it ; there are some beautiful photo's from their photographer, Feather Love here; a link to their most awesome vows here and here and a feature at Style Me Pretty here.
Not sure if you guys are big Lost fans, but artist, Ty Mattson designed a series of silk-screen prints inspired by the show, and I thought you'd like to see them! You can see more here (his blog) and are on sale at ABC here.
Photo credit: Angus Fergusson for Canadian H&H With the weather warming thoughts of setting up a cosy backyard are a definite constant right now with me and I'm sure many of you. And as I've been gathering some of these images ever since we moved into our townhouse, it's fun to finally share them here. Our space isn't large but quite like many of the spaces shown here. I'm leaning towards something like you see at the Ace Hotel - Palm Springs (3 images directly below) - maybe a corner nook, built with for now some wooden pelts (a trick I saw in July '09 issue of Canadian House and Home - see last photo) with heaps of cushions and an overhead sail from Ikea (as our budget will only allow something like that this year). Here's a bit of inspiration I've been collecting from furniture to a bit of landscaping; I hope they inspire you too.
Above: Ace Hotel, Palm Springs (above three images)
Contributer post by Abbey Hendrickson of Aesthetic Outburst
Live Love floral pillow, 
Photo credit: Angus Fergusson for 
Photo credit: Stacey Brandford for 
(Via 
