A Bunting We Will Go

Over the weekend I sat down at my sewing machine to create a garland/ bunting/ banner for my guest room. My friend Tracy arrives on Thursday for a visit and we will celebrate her birthday on Saturday so I thought a bunting would be a fun touch.

While making Tracy’s bunting my thoughts turned to the Fashionista’s upcoming birthday. The theme of the party is “The Almost Famous Seventies Soiree”. Think vintage, denim and daisies coupled with fondue pots. Ah but I digress… I decided to make a few buntings as part of the decor for my daughter’s party. Into the closet I went and brought down my suitcases full of cherished 1930s-40’s vintage fabric. I wanted the bunting to be very special. This is to be my girl’s 21st birthday. In the dark corners of my mind I thought “She will be a true adult. This might be the last birthday party that I plan for her for a long, long time.” I knew which pieces of fabric were her favorites. We’ve looked at the fabric together many times. For some reason soft scallops come to mind.

But much like “When You Give A Mouse A Cookie” my mind continued to wander and before I knew it my guest/craft room looked like this:

You see if I make a few heirloom garlands for the Fashionista, then I’d better make a few for Sweet Boy.

It felt good to use the vintage fabric remnants and scraps for such happy projects. I also thought about how sad it was that such wonderful fabric had been squirreled away and rarely enjoyed. Not to mention that by using the fabric I could free up some much needed closet space. So I kept on selecting fabrics, and continued to cut, pin, sew, and press.

I then began to think about my upcoming trip to New Orleans. I thought about my cousin Linda’s generosity and I so wanted to arrive with gifts for her and her family and really enjoy myself while I am there. If only money grew on trees… :)
 I realized I could make my travel wishes come true if I let the fabric move on to a new home where it would be enjoyed at the happiest of occasions~birthdays, new babies, job promotions, lobster on sale…  I believe that it will be well treated and perhaps become someone else’s treasured heirloom.

The baby sized bunting might decorate a doorway, or the front of a piece of furniture.

The medium sized bunting might decorate a large mirror or become a curtain topper.

I used up every bit of my vintage fabric. All of the creations can now truly be called limited editions as there will never be any more. Of course I didn’t even waste the precious scraps.

The buntings and flower brooches will be going into my Etsy shop one by one as I finish sewing up the stacks of circles and triangles. 
Take a peek.
Laura
Special thanks to everyone who left such great comments in response to my pleas for New Orleans tourist ideas. I had to laugh as the overwhelmingly popular topic was where and what to eat.

Goin’ to N’Oleans: What should I do/see/eat?

Of course it will soon be Super Bowl Sunday, but truthfully, other than the excitement of seeing alot of Fleur de lis, my excitement in New Orleans is strictly limited to the fact that I will be getting on a plane in a few short weeks to visit this fabulous city.

My sweet cousin Linda lives in a suburb outside of New Orleans. For many years I have had a deep longing to visit her. New Orleans seems like my kind of town. Lovely, historical and FRENCH!

So why haven’t I gone? Well, there was a little thing called Katrina. Then there always seems to be the issue of limited vacation time and funds rearing its ugly head. I was my grandfather’s legal guardian for a few years, (he had Alzheimer’s)~ It seemed whenever I thought my trip would finally happen, my grandfather would develop a complication.  Such is life, and I don’t regret that I always put him first. But you can imagine how excited I was when I narrowed down a date for this year. No joke, a day later my sweet grandmother called. She needed me to come to Minnesota this spring and help her move again. I understandably, but sadly, had to tell Linda that my much dreamed of trip wasn’t going to happen this year either.

But my cousin Linda is something special. She decided to not take “No” for an answer and sent me an offer of a  plane ticket as an early graduation gift. Completely out of character, not only did I say yes, but chose the magnificent spring for my arrival. I figured in 20 years I would probably be glad I missed a few college classes in exchange for a trip of a lifetime.

So that is where you, dear friends, come in. I need to know your New Orleans Favorites. It is to be a whirlwind trip and I need to pack in as much fabulousness as a can. My friend Heidi said that I MUST go to Cafe Du Monde and have a beignet in honor of her. Check!

Then I learned from Terri that I must also have a dining experience at The Court Of The Two Sisters. Check!

 

But what sprawling plantations and homes should I visit?

Are there certain neighborhoods with balconies such as this that it would be a crime to miss seeing?

There certainly must be museums and churches that should be placed on my “must see” list.

Not to mention THE SHOPPING. The shopping! Help me out dear readers. Send me your lists. I promise to share my adventures and thank you for your suggestions.

Laura

Adorable Valentine Day Ideas

Have you begun your preparations for Valentines Day? I am a wee bit behind because I am also prepping our guest room for my friend Tracy’s annual visit. She arrives on the 11th and will stay for five days. I do plan on placing some fresh roses by her bedside.
We have also begun to address our Valentines, both handmade and store bought. (The pirate cards were found at Goodwill for $2.99. They are by Meri~Meri.)
During our crafting session I was inspired by this photo to create a heart garland to hang over Tracy’s bed.
I have been collecting ideas for our Valentine and birthday tablescape. I like the simple idea of tying a ribbon around a napkin.

For my monthly art lesson at Sweet Boy’s school I am going to introduce the children to Scherenschnitte. In preparing for a child friendly project I have quite a few heart prototypes made from paper napkins so I am going to decorate the top of our dining table with heart shape paper cutouts in a sort of runner fashion.  

What decorations do you have planned?
Laura

Cute Valentine Crafts

I adore frothy decor confections for this, the most romantic of holidays. 

Life may very well be like a box of chocolates and the empty containers can be just as sweet.
 Wielding a glue stick and a roll of crepe paper begin by just folding a pleat and gluing it down. Using the edge of the box top as your guide continue to do this 500 times. :) Then add lace and trim with a glue gun. Add some paper punched hearts and a bit of Valentine themed scrapbooking embellishments. In the center you can add a another decorative element. I selected a felt heart. It came in a package by Martha Stewart at Michaels.
The felt heart allowed me to pin on a vintage inspired corsage.

If you are going to a Valentine themed event this is a perfect gift for the hostess.

Here is a lovey dovey delight available in my Etsy shop.

Pink polka dot passion.  This was a custom design. It is possibly as sweet as the recipients shop, Smeeks.

For the locals, my vintage inspired Valentine corsages are also available at Hollywood Regency.
There are also a few new cupcake pedestals with Valentine gift tags in my Etsy shop.
 Be crafty,
Laura

A Dorothy Draper Dream Lunch

The Fashionista and I recently went to lunch at Modern Steak. I was instantly struck by how Draperesque the decor was. Dorothy herself would have been happy to have dined here. It is as if the dazzling designer, Cathy Hayes, perhaps channeled Draper.

 The effervescent chandeliers have classic lines with a bubbly twist.

I am saving this image in the personal style file of my mind. The chair finish looks like silver leaf which perhaps could be recreated with a bit of spray paint if I am lucky enough to discover an open backed beauty.  The true va va va voom comes from the tasseled corseting detail. It was held in place by upholstery staples. (Aren’t you glad I inspected this piece so closely for you? :)

Touches of lavender appear throughout the restaurant~ from the gingham shirts and converse sneakers of the wait staff down to this lovely little dresser tucked into a baby blue niche. Eye Candy!

 Although I don’t normally take pictures of bathrooms, this one begged for it. The mirrored ceiling reflected all of its the fuchsia fabulousness. You may have heard that Arizona has recently been pummeled by rain and tornado’s so dining outside was not an option. But I loved the astro turf green of the benches alongside the tangelo chairs. A true citrusy delight.

Oh and for those of you who are foodies~ I had the pastrami on rye and Fashionista had the Kobe burger. We were both swooning with delight over the accompanying French fries.  

Bon appetite!

Laura

 

How to Create Decorative Trim

Have you ever wanted to add a chair rail to your bedroom wall?
Perhaps you have a desire to update your bathroom windows with a bit of decorative trim. Maybe you have been dreaming of adding some dentil molding to your existing fireplace mantle.

Do you have some beautiful plates hung on the wall that would look even lovelier if they were framed out?
It is actually quite easy to add any of these treatments to your home. Depending on the size of the project, it can be very inexpensive as well. Enter in my MITER BOX TUTORIAL.

In my own home I have tried to camouflage a large dated mirror in my front bath a variety of ways. There was the Beachy Bathroom.

As well as the popular Ikea Frame out.

For its third transition I wrapped up my mirrored monstrosity in a big pretty frame.

Although I do try to stick to the one take rule there are times when you just have to start over. But here is the  fun blooper for your enjoyment.

Go make a beautiful mess and be blessed!
Laura

Because it’s funny…

My Sweet Boy is all boy.

Because he is all boy, after a few wearings (seriously~like 3 or 4) his jeans end up looking like this:

He says that the holes are caused by playing sports, but I wonder if he is secretly doing this:

So off to the sewing section I go to pick up a packet of iron on patches. Normally I get a 4 pack of dark denim but recently a two shade pack accidently made its way into my cart.

I didn’t notice the color difference until after I opened the pack. Ugh! What’s a girl to do? I went ahead and used the dark patches on pants that were still worthy enough to be worn to school.

But there was one pair of pants that the knees were  totally shot out and the hems were also a disaster. When pants get to this point they are down graded to weekend only wear. Sometimes though the pants are sneaky and get put on and exit out the door before I catch on. 

Trying to avoid this scenenario I decided that if I ironed on the light colored patches onto the ratty dark denim jeans that they would magically transform themselves into a red flag of “Do not wear these to school.” pants. Mr. Decor actually laughed at me and said that in order for Sweet Boy NOT to wear the dreaded pants they would also have to say “To Cool for Skool”. So out came the navy fabric marker.

 

What do you know, it totally worked and it made Sweet Boy laugh.  Do you have patched pants that are “To cool for skool?”

Laura