Lily Jane

Entertaining Inspiration: Wales Wedding

Hello, my dears!  How is your Monday going?  And how was your weekend?  We had ourselves an adventure in car repairs.  Friday night Craig and I were heading up to the Jazz game when our car suddenly stopped running.  While we were in the middle of thick game-night traffic, waiting to turn left at a light.  And then our hazard lights stopped working, too.  Needless to say, we caused quite the disturbance until some kind people offered to help push our car through the busy intersection and out of harm's (and everyone else's) way.  We had it towed and then went to the game anyway, took the train home and had a chilly little walk from the train to our house.  But it was by far one of our most memorable outings to date!

Luckily, we have an amazing friend who helped diagnose our car troubles (a bad alternator), towed our little car to his house, and then helped Craig replace it saving us loads of money and getting us back up and running by Saturday afternoon.  Aren't friends the best?  And now, I'm ready to not have to put any more money in to our car for a long time.

And, I'm ready for some entertaining inspiration.  Are you?  This destination wedding in Wales is so gorgeous I had to share it with you.  The cream and lavender color palette, the hand-drawn details, the jam favors; it's all amazing.

Not to mention the gorgeous photography by Sian Trenberth.  Just beautiful, isn't it?

{images via Mr Boddington}

What I'm Working On

WORK: This summer I'd like to participate in some of the local craft fairs and applications are due early.  The first one (Midway Swiss Days) is due this Monday so I've been busy putting products, photos, and paperwork together to send it all off in time.  I've also been finishing up a few products I'll shortly be introducing to the shop, including some wall prints.  I'm having way too much fun working these days.

THE HOMEFRONT: Thanks to one of my fabulous (and generous) friends, I'm finally learning how to knit!  And I've found that there are quite a few ladies in my neighborhood who also love making things like I do.  I'm having too much fun pulling and tucking the threads this way and that and having them consistently come out all beautifully woven together under my needles (well, most of the time...).  It's so thrilling to learn a new skill.

SOON TO BE: I have another project to share with you this next week.  An easy DIY birth announcement.  They're so easy and very sweet.  I can't wait to share it with you next week!

Have a lovely weekend, my dears!  I hope it's a cozy one.

My Favorite Find: Awesome Party Tips

This week's favorite find isn't an object, but a gathering of great tips from a seasoned expert.  Jordan shared a little summary of her Alt Summit panel on her blog: 6 Tips to Take Your Party to the Next Level. Jordan throws the best parties and I love having her advice in my brain for the next time I host one.  Take a little hop on over there and see what she recommends.

Do you have any tips for throwing successful parties?  What are some of your favorites that you've been invited to?

Our House: Bathroom Storage

Remember how we were gutting and refinishing the back of our house?  And how I haven't shown you any of the final pictures yet?  Well, that's because we got it to comfortable-to-live-in state and then stopped.  Leaving about a million tiny finishing projects to complete.  And I so want to show it to you in all of its pretty completion.  So, I'm adding another little blogging series here: Our House.  I'll be revealing rooms and bits and pieces of our house over the next year to show you what a lovely historic building it is and how we've been decorating it.  

My current project is organizing our master bathroom.  With a 1400 square foot house come tiny bathrooms and storage has been a big problem in there.  Our shelving could use some baskets both for function and looks.  These wire baskets from Crate and Barrel are at the top of my list right now.

 How do you keep your bathroom organized?  Do you have his and hers compartments?  Do you keep extra linens in the bathroom or elsewhere?  What do you do to keep things in their place?

{image via crate and barrel}

United States Art

I love this map.  So much.  I want to hang it in my little boy's room.  

It's a limited edition silkscreen print and it's on sale.  Pretty awesome.  But I'm wondering...should I hold out for one with state capitals, too?  Would any more experienced parents out there like to weigh in?  

{images via these are things}

DIY: Groundhog Day Cupcakes

"What holiday is next?" is a question I get asked quite a lot.  Brady's at the age where he's starting to understand holidays and the anticipation surrounding them.  And, of course, he's ready to party all the time.  So when he posed this question after New Year's I had to pause and think for a second...yep, Groundhog Day is next.  

Now, Groundhog Day doesn't carry very many traditions with it, beyond looking for good ole' Phil on the news.  But I thought that this year maybe we could do something a little more.  We've been reading The Big Snow at our house and on the last page the groundhog pokes his head out of the ground and sees his shadow.  Which gave me the idea to make Groundhog Day Cupcakes.

I designed the cupcake toppers and made them into a PDF for you to download and assemble.  Just print the groundhogs, cut them out and sandwich them together with a little glue and a toothpick in the middle.  And remember to save one of your groundhog paper trimmings.  You're going to need it if he sees his shadow this February 2nd...

If it happens to be cloudy on February 2nd and Phil doesn't see his shadow, you can always just slide the groundhog into a plain frosted cupcake.  They'll be just as adorable.  And such a great excuse to eat cupcakes.

What do you do to celebrate Groundhog Day?  Any predictions as to whether or not spring will come early this year?

Entertaining Inspiration: Rebecca Thuss

Hello, my dears.  How are you today?  I have a little dessert table inspiration to start your week off.  By the always amazing Rebecca Thuss.  I love the mixing of patterns and that marbled cake!

And how great are those paper kites?  I'm loving them.

{images via Rebecca Thuss}

 

What I'm Working On

WORK: The last few weeks the holiday rush has slowed down a bit and I've been able to get to work designing again.  My latest projects are these two cards, featuring illustrations of things that just belong together.  They were designed with Valentine's Day in mind but I think they'd also be great for a best friend or anyone you hold dear.

SPOTLIGHT: Have you seen the latest issue of Greetings, etc.?  Take a look at page 20 and you'll see my Ribbon Invitations!  It's Lily Jane Stationery's first magazine feature.  I'm flattered and pretty excited.

THE HOMEFRONT: It's been dinosaur week at preschool.  I've never seen my three year old so chatty about what he's done there...he is loving it.  So we're taking a trip to the dinosaur museum today to cap it all off.  

I'm also going to be finishing up the last of the New Year's purging; I've been going through every nook and cranny of my house cleaning out and tidying up.  There will be victory dancing when it's all done.

SOON TO BE: There's a sweet DIY project underway.  It involves chocolate and toothpicks and I can't wait to share it with you.  It's coming next week!

What have you been working on lately?  Any plans for the weekend?

My Favorite Find: Pi'lo

Another one of the new features I'll be adding is sharing one of my favorite things with you on Fridays. Something that's caught my eye or that I can't stop thinking about.  This week that something is the lovely linen workings of pi'lo.    

Their shop is full of natural, neutral goodness that makes me feel calm, good-natured and loving the simple things in life.  Their lined paper goodies are among my very favorite of their offerings.

What are your favorite fabrics to fill your home with?

{images via pi'lo}

Decorating with Bold Ceilings

This tiny and minimally decorated bedroom has me in awe; the bright and bold ceiling casts a rosy hue around the entire room while all the white surrounding keeps it from being overpowering.  I love the cozy atmosphere.

It's a bold step to paint a ceiling such a brilliant color, but I think it was very well done here.  Still, I'm a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to the top of my rooms, I guess.  I would love visiting a room like this for a week or so but I don't know if I could live with it every day.  

What about you?  Could you do a brightly colored ceiling in your home or do you prefer a white ceiling above all?  Do you think this one is gorgeous or over the top?

{image via coco & kelley}