Party Planning: A New Color Scheme

Creative ventures -at least in my life- rarely go as planned from start to finish. This is not necessarily a good thing or a bad thing; it's just how it is. The plans for the sophisticated safari party were no exception. Once we realized the lovely coral fabric we wanted was unavailable in the time frame needed, we had to rethink things. Other textiles we'd wanted ended up having patterns too large to work well in our setting. I have to say we were pretty disappointed because it basically changed the entire look of the party (remember me saying textiles were the backbone of our design?). We felt like we were back to square one.

However, this is usually where creativity really has a chance to shine, right? We ended up finding a bunch of curtains in a clearance bin in the discontinued floral Barbro pattern (below). We decided to use this for our tablecloths, and I have to say the high poly/cotton ratio is making me happy. I won't need to iron tablecloths at the party venue! Dark pink/purple and a light pink will be the main colors with a bit of sky blue and a pinch of peach to round things out. The guest of honor really likes this, so we're all happy.

This week is filled with all the last-minute preparations that lead up to a big party: prepping the kitchen, baking cakes, finishing several DIY projects, making lists and checking them twice, etc. The pom-poms have all been assembled and we'll wait to fluff them up until we start decorating the space. Pomettes are still to be made (ahem). Tablecloths have been cut; flowers will be bought at the street market on the morning of the event. RSVPs are in and the interactive guest book has been assembled. I'm still messing around with Photoshop to make tags for the napkins and labels for the cake buffet. Tinkering.

I'm also realizing there's going to be quite a lot of fabric left after this event. Is it bad that I'm already conjuring up projects to repurpose the projects I'm currently making?! Anybody else do this?

Mossy Shed Frocks by Dottie Angel

There's something about Tif Fussell's Dottie Angel blog and shop that I just find totally endearing. Yesterday she posted some dresses in her shop and they sold out before I could create this post (!!!). But I think they're worth seeing. They look so delightfully summery, yet cozy. Something to wear while pottering around doing something creative either in the garden or in your home. 

Since they flew off the shelves so quickly I'm sure she'll make more, but in the meantime check out some of her other creations. I like the 'little bit of this, little bit of that' aspect to her work. What about you?

Short Reads

Image from here

Simple Stories: A Return to Old-fashioned Blogging

One Thing Your Daughter Doesn't Need You to Say

25 Free Colorful Fonts

Font Awesome -because it is.

An incredibly difficult photography project by one of my former college classmates.

Flying stamps -yes, really! and so pretty! I need to incorporate some stamps into my decor.

Free ephemera -nom nom nom for those who like to play in Photoshop!

Draft your own simple top -nice because I need some more summery tunic-length tops. I actually think I'll just try the free Colette Sorbetto top and lengthen that...or ??

Paper Wind Ornaments

I'd had a stack of translucent polka dots on my desk for weeks before I had any idea what to do with them. I thought it might be fun to make some paper ball ornaments, sort of like these, but wasn't totally sold on the idea. The neon pink grosgrain ribbon on my shelf was another I-should-use-this-but-how item. Then came glitter, of course. Glitter always seems like a good idea until you touch it. I only wanted to apply the thinnest of lines along the edges, but of course it's impossible to do this without creating a situation where you find glitter months later, in the carpet, out in the car, in the laundry. Yeah. I love/hate glitter.

Anyhow, I made these little wind ornaments as I was thinking about the Christian holiday of Pentecost. They seemed fitting. I've given most of them away, but I still have a couple blowing around. And by 'blowing around' I literally mean blowing around. The windy weather has been insane lately. This is probably another reason I keep finding glitter in random places. But considering Pentecost, perhaps this is also fitting.

What about you? Any supplies you've been wanting to use but still need the right inspiration?

Patterned Calendar Pages (Freebie)

So I know we're nearly 6 months into 2013, but I love the patterns on this free printable 2013 calendar from the lovely Toffee magazine and thought I'd share. You could use the pattern portions of the previous months for crafting or journaling.

Eat This: Springy Pea Soup

A fresh and spring-y pea soup in another one of our new favorites. Frozen peas are pretty amazing thanks to 21st century freezing techniques; they're also cheap, healthy and easy to keep on hand. Chicken broth and fresh mint leaves are other easy-to-find ingredients. The soup pictured above is thickened with additional pureed veggies (photo and recipe found here), but we're also fans of Ina Garten's recipe as it tastes delicious even without leeks. Don't skip the mint, though -it's the secret ingredient in both recipes!

Are you a spring and/or summer soup fan? What are your warm weather favorites?

New Logo Love

I've been working on new promotional materials thanks to a snazzy new logo from designer Molly Arnio and an incentive from the fabulous printers at Moo. Hoping to share the final products with you soon!