Jordan taught me that if you’re looking for pretty party ideas, wedding magazines are one of the best resources. She’s brilliant like that. In the current issue of Wedding Style Guide there is a story on a Garden Party Bridal Shower that made my heart go pitty pat. I’d love to throw the same party — not as a bridal shower — but just as an excuse for the ladies to lunch.
I love the tagged canning jars ready to host fresh flowers that the guests arrange themselves. I love the hearty sandwiches served on sheets of brown paper. Lots of lovely details. Bonus: you can even get free downloads for the party stationery — invitations, hang tags and signs — so that you can throw a party just as pretty as theirs.
And if you’re not subscribing to this Australia-based magazine, you might want to do so. Wedding Style Guide is a treasure. Full of gorgeous photography and brilliant party and entertaining ideas.
Knowing how bummed out I was about missing another Beehive Bazaar, the lovely organizers sent me a box filled with goodies so I could experience some of the BB wonder here in New York. Lucky me!
Beautiful and functional (my favorite combo), hand-painted garden tools. The cutest little reversible apron you ever did see. And a cheery wool-sphere necklace — that I have been totally coveting. The package absolutely made my day. Thank you Steph and Molly and Noelle!
The best thing about today is that it’s one day away from Ben getting home. He’s been on a business trip since Monday night and I’ve been trying to pace my Motherhood Patience so that I’m not completely worn out before he gets back. But alas, my patience is running on fumes today and I’ve been offering up incessant prayers that my children be especially charming today so that my only desire is to hug and kiss them and buy them yellow balloons.
Because my mind is on manly Ben, I remembered this fantastic line of stationery I spotted on kirtsy. They’re called Man Notes and you can find them (and their silly names) on Pretty Bitter.
Do you remember the last Ask Design Mom Week? Well it’s awesome. And it’s back. And it starts on Monday.
Here’s the story: every so often I realize I have become a serious slacker about answering Ask-Design-Mom Questions. So. I take a week and post as many as I can. Then I answer some. And you, the clever reader, answer some as well.
A new twist for next week: I’m hosting 5 different excellent Giveaways — one a day, Monday through Friday — to thank you for your help in answering all those worthy questions. So meet me here on Monday for good questions, good ideas and good prizes. I can’t wait!
I’ve received a few emails asking for more information on the plates I posted about last Friday — the plates we made at the Method Party. And happily, I’ve rounded up a few great photos so you can get a better idea of how it works. By the way, the photo at the top is from Danny Seo’s home. He made a whole series of plates and displayed them in his workshop — aren’t they fabulous? And don’t you want to move right in to his workshop?
Here’s how you can make a wall of plates for yourself:
Come up with a silhouette. You can draw it from scratch or trace an existing one. Or maybe just do a bunch of circles or stars. Whatever you envision, it needs to be outlined on a sheet of computer sticker paper.
Cut out the silhouette.
Pull off the adhesive backing and place the sticker on your plate. We used old plates that had been picked up at Salvation Army. A great way to reuse!
Choose a color (I still can’t remember the name of the paint. Anyone else?), and cover the entire plate surface with paint. You may need a few coats to achieve the color and coverage you’re looking for.
When the paint is dry, use a pair of scissors to carefully tug/scrape the sticker away from the surrounding paint toward the center of the sticker. You will want to work carefully or the paint edges can come up. Don’t panic if they do — you can touch them up with a small paint brush.
When the sticker is removed, bake the plate at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. (No word yet on how durable this ultimately makes the plate.)
And that’s it. Now. Why not host a plate party and make your own collection? Like the idea, but not up for making your own? Check out the work of Sarah Chiat. Refurbished plates with all sorts of good-looking, sometimes edgy silhouettes.
One last note about the party. We were lucky enough to be joined by Amanda from Goody Blog. She is darling and friendly and I loved the post she wrote up about the event. Many of these great photos were taken by her — thanks Amanda!
If you have a wedding or other special event this summer and you need something just right for your daughter to wear, find a dozen drool worthy options at Emma & Avery.
Emma & Avery is also perfect for anyone with a daughter that insists on dressing like European royalty.
Since the power in my neighborhood has been randomly turning off on this completely storm-less day, I will embrace the randomness and give a list of unrelated, but interesting links that have been on my mind.
Sugar City Journal
An excellent blog. Written by two sister-in-laws on the opposites sides of the country. Very inspiring. Lots of ideas and projects — like the pretty detailing on these stairs.
Xerpi
This is a site to organize all your favorites sites. It’s like bookmarking on steroids. With the ability to do things like visually group related links and add notes. I’ve been using del.icio.us for my bookmarks for the last 18 months or so. I use it to keep track of sites I’ve posted about and sites I want to post about. But I’m thinking about switching to Xerpi. It looks like it has a ton more features to help me track things more efficiently.
White Trash Mom Handbook
Don’t you love it when one of our own (bloggers, I mean) makes good? Hooray for Michelle of the infamous White Trash Mom blog, who just had her first book published! It’s filled with lots of funny anecdotes and practical advice on not letting the pretentious aspects of Modern Parenting get you down.
Tollipop
Another fantastic blog by a talented and interesting illustrator.
$1 Summer Movies
AMC is hosting dollar shows all summer long to benefit charity. Lots of recent kid hits like Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium, The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep, Alvin & The Chipmunks and Shrek The Third. I love matinee movies in the summer! You can’t beat an air conditioned spot and a box of milk duds when getting to the pool sounds like too much work.
Memorial Day Quilt
Look at this beautiful quilt Scribbit posted about. Made by friends to commemorate the death of her young nephew. For materials, the friends used sections of his blankets and clothes and pajamas — even including tags occasionally as reminders of his ages and stages. What a gift!
Part of being a Mother in 2008 means not being able to meet friends at the park without some discussion, minor or major, about reusable grocery bags. And I’m not even exaggerating at all. Grocery bags are a big topic. Huge.
So of course, my eyes are constantly peeled for the best bags to recommend. And it’s true, I’ve already linked to several different types in previous posts. But today, I’m going to introduce two different versions that focus on the ability-to-become-small as one of their chief aspects.
First Baggu. It’s a great website with great photography. So you should probably check it out just for that. The bags are sturdy, generously proportioned (they hold the equivalent of 2-3 grocery bags), they sit flat when they are filled, and they come in great colors.
Next, meet Flip & Tumble. Featuring another smart site with a little video that shows you how fast it is to collapse these bags — easy as balling a pair of socks.
Flip & Tumble bags are so small that it’s a cinch to keep one with you all the time. And in a pinch, the ball will double as entertainment for your toddler.
