Pink Sisters Party

Recently I decided it would be a good idea to have a pink themed girls party and to make it a crafty one at that! I invited a few close friends/family members that are all like my sisters. My sister Shelley helped me make the invitations. The stamp didn't come out great in the photo but it says "Let's Celebrate."

Most everything had a pink theme to it. Strawberries may be red but close enough!

Of course it simply would not be a party without cupcakes!

I found these pink plastic wine glasses at a local party store. I originally wanted to use all pink china and pink vintage linens but I didn't have time to scour all the thrift stores. Time sure does fly when you are having fun!

I set up all the food, including pink champagne and raspberry lime rickeys, in the dining room. The crafty area became the kitchen table. I got most of the supplies here and here.

Yummy bowl of crepe paper and trims.

I made each of the girls a necklace featuring a pink polka dot background and a vintage Japanese pink rose charm.

Some bits and bobs.

Here are the girls all hard at work.

This is Shelley with her finished product. She is a runner and used parts of one of her racing bibs.

Here I am with my finished piece. I have it hanging in my craft room as a reminder of the fun we had. The party was a big hit all around! I highly recommend organizing one for your friends!

Hugs,

Patriotic Decor

I don't have much in the way of patriotic decor. When I saw the large eagle medallions in my recent vintage wallpaper finds - I knew I would have to make something out of one of them. I'm pretty happy with the way this turned out! I used silver glitter, some glitter leaves, red white and blue ribbon, stars, and red tissue fringe. Now I need to make some more!

What to do?

I was a good little girl on vacation and did not do much shopping. Most of the money we spent was on yummy seafood! I did get to a few antique centers. My main find was these three fabulous vintage necklaces. They make me think summer! Love this sunshine yellow one.

And this fabulous aqua blue one (I've come to realize that this is my favorite color - I always said it was purple but I have so many things in this blue color - the walls in my kitchen, clothes, jewelry!).
And this fabulous graduated silver one. Now here is the question - I was originally thinking of dismantling the yellow and aqua ones and using the parts in some new pieces but I'm not sure - they are great as is and maybe I'll just keep them! I need opinions - what do you think?

I'm Baaack!

Hi everyone! Just back from a glorious and relaxing week in Cape Cod. Jeff and I celebrated our third anniversary and spent time doing nothing in particular - a welcome escape from the daily grind. I'm an event planner and usually can't get away from planning but this year I decided to have no real plan in mind and it was so nice.

Since I didn't have much of a plan my photos are pretty random. There is a lovely little home association around the corner from the cute cottage we rent. I love to walk Margot through this area as there are some really lovely homes. This is actually one of the smaller homes but it was so crisp and clean and neat, I couldn't resist a photo. I especially like how the siding is vertical.

How cute is this? This a little guest house behind one of the area cottages. I'm not sure if it actually serves as a guest house or a shed but it is too cute either way.

I was playing around with the self timer. Margot hates the camera! I had to hold her head and as you can see - she still is avoiding looking at it. I think it is the noise. I muted the tones on the camera but the lens still makes some noise - I think she has flash backs to the Christmas photo when I take dozens upon dozens of photos.

This is what happens when Jeff takes photos! I actually think these two are kind of neat even though they are very blurry!

Maybe he does know what he is doing after all?...

I love these little "fingers" areas with docks and homes. Most of the homes are small to moderate in size and they are worth millions - check out this beast that is being built! I can only imagine what the neighbors think about this and what it is worth!

There are so many scenic areas on the Cape. I love being near the water and enjoying the breezes. We had awesome weather as well - most of the week was sunny and in the 70s with the ocean breeze - heaven!

Jeff didn't go lobstering but he did go fishing and caught quite a few. Guess what we will be eating for dinner this week...

Couldn't resist this cute little Mini Cooper outside a newly opened DD. I even saw it on the road one day with the sign and all!

There is a lovely little dock a short walk from our cottage (I wish it was ours!).

For the second year in a row I got to meet up with this lovely lady. I was spoiled! She treated me to a raspberry lime rickey (LOVE those!) and gave me one of her beautiful button pins. Plus she brought along her adorable youngest son - it was a treat to spend a bit of time with them both.

I had to throw this in for all of us antique lovers. This is the bathroom vanity in our cottage - it is an antique bureau fitted with a sink and marble top.

When we got home yesterday my Mom gave me this adorable trio of pads she found. I got to go on vacation and get gifts when I got home - what could be better?!

I'm slowly catching up with everyone - I have over 300 entries when I log into Google Reader! Bare with me!

Enjoy your day.

Hugs,

Summer Vacation

We are off for our summer vacation this week. Happy Father's Day to my father and father-in-law and to all the fathers out there! Happy anniversary to my hubby! We'll be enjoying the beach and hopefully the sun and definitely just enjoying chilling out - even Margot enjoys some relaxation as you can see from this shot last summer.

See you next week!

Somerset Life

I have a very exciting announcement - I'm featured in the July issue of Somerset Life! I'm beyond excited and thrilled and honored to be part of this phenomenal and publication and to be included with such inspiring artists.

I wrote an article on my birthday boxes. Here is a little sneak peek of one of my featured boxes. Gosh - can they come photograph all my stuff? Check out the link above for some great sneak peeks into the summer issue.

Thank you to all of my blogging friends who inspire me everyday!

Hugs,

Jim's Jerky Journal

I wanted to make something special for Father's Day for my father-in-law. Most often I am making things for all the females in my life but never really the males. I think part of it is because I just don't know what to make for a man! I'm too into glitter and flowers, and pink!

My father-in-law received a dehydrator for Christmas and has since been making the best beef jerky (yes I do eat this kind of thing and love it!). He has been doing a lot of experimenting with spices, cuts of meat, etc. so I thought a Jerky Journal would be perfect! Now he can keep notes on what it good and maybe not so good.

I saw this quote in Home Companion and absolutely loved it. It was said by Mario Cuomo and reads, "I talk and talk, and I haven't taught people in 50 years what my father taught by example in one week."

Inside cover. Love this bandanna inspired paper!

Check back here Thursday for an exciting announcement!

Hope you are having a great day.

More Posy Pots

Another posy pot inspired by Postmark LA. Love creating these little guys! They are so fun and cheerful and such a great way to use up scraps. The only problem I'm having is with trimming the fabric background. I Mod Podge it to the back and then coat it again, let it dry so it is stiff and then trim with a sharp razor but I'm still getting jagged edges or an off cut - any suggestions?

It is warm up in CT. In the 90s yesterday and today and forecasted to continue for the next few days. Hope that everyone that is also enjoying the warm weather is also staying cool!

More I Saw Red

For my next installment in Sara's I Saw Red bash - this is a Murano glass pendant light that hubby and I purchased on our honeymoon in Italy. We will be celebrating our third anniversary on June 18. I love how this light incorporates many different colors.

There is also a funny story to this. When we purchased it we decided to have it shipped home so as not to chance breaking it. The store told us that it would be wired for a US light bulb. Hubby put up the light and when we went to put a light bulb in - no go. Nothing fit and the socket was a very weird shape. We went to every home improvement store and bought every light bulb we thought would fit (the light has a strange two hole opening) and even tried contacting the store in Italy. Nothing. So the light stayed put but with no bulb for almost two years! Finally hubby took it down and we went to a local lighting/lamp store. We asked "Is there a light bulb that will fit this socket?" To which the shop owner looked at us and said "Yeah, a regular candelabra bulb." WHAT?! All this time and it would only take a regular candelabra bulb? Sure enough, it worked and we now have a working light. I can't help but smile every time I flick the switch.

Pocket Full of Posies

I was inspired by Charlotte's posy pots featured here and made my own little version to brighten up my kitchen table. So fun and easy. All you need are some scraps! The version in the book are made from felt but I used an unfinished wooden medallion I had sitting around and some fabric scraps for the background. Then I just cut and pasted felt, ribbon, rick rack, leaves and a fun button in the center. Simple and cute!

I Saw Red

Sara is hosting a fun photo themed event all week. It is called I Saw Red and the idea is to post photos featuring red that will hopefully inspire and make other people smile. Here are a few red photos from my home. I do have red accents elsewhere as well and will hopefully have a chance to photograph them during the week. This party will be going on all week with participants posting as many photos on as many days as they like - it will be fun to visit all the participants. Sara has all participants listed at the link above.

Don't you just love to change your bed linens for the summer? I saw a photo in Victoria magazine recently that really inspired me and I hunted down the sheets and quilt above. They really make me happy and hubby loves them too! Sweet and simple and lightweight for the warm weather. I especially love the polka dots on the reverse of the quilt. Another bonus - the quilt is machine washable - great for removing little doggie footprints!

When I saw this collage by Melissa - I knew it would go perfectly with the new bedding. I'm really loving the red and blue combination. Our bedroom walls are painted in a neutral beige/pinky color and I was on a big brown kick for a while - everything in the room was shades of brown - definitely needed a bit of a pick me up and this color combo does the trick!

Cheers,