Decoration Inspiration - Bedroom

My undecorated bedroom is driving me nuts!  I have been racking my brain in the past few weeks trying to decide what to do with the large yet plain master bedroom my partner and I share. Can't be too girly, and I don't want a man cave. What to do? I had to meet in the middle. I've decided to go with a cozy lake house feel.

I have been very inspired by listings from fellow Etsy sellers, and treasuries created, that remind me of relaxing days by the water and the old family lake house I grew up going to in the summers. Granted, the old lake house interior was decorated by my grandmother like a classy 1970's bachelor pad (?!?), so I am going for exterior inspiration on that one, and imagining what my dream lake house bedroom would look like.

Obviously I am dealing with big blank walls in my room, because most of these items are to hang. As I get older, I feel lonely in a room with no wall hangings. What a change from my 20's where clean simple modern was the decor, haha! So now I have the furniture and the bed, I just need the fixin's...

top (L to R) : PointDeAmour, Dolan Geiman, Ichbinsein,

middle:  Old New Again, Open Door Studio, Boutique Girl, 

bottom: The Wheatfield, Blackbird Letterpress, Chez Sucre Chez

I wish I could purchase all of these items right now! But for now, you all will have to serve as my inspiration. I am grateful for that though, and thank you :)

Musical inspiration today: it's time for a Ryan Adams marathon!!

Tailgate With These Cuties!

I've been working on this idea for a few weeks now. I love cupcake toppers and thought it would be fun to make some themed with collegiate teams, such as my beloved UF Gators! I think they are simple and fun, and can't wait to see how everyone uses them for decorating. More teams and styles coming soon, keep posted in my Etsy shop.

Don't forget to pick up some Orange and Blue cupcake liners from Fort & Field!

Happy 4th of July! I hope everyone has a fun one!  ~Kate

Longwood Gardens

Yesterday, I went to visit Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA. It is over 1000 acres of horticulture amazingness. The garden was started by Pierre S. DuPont in the early 1900's and is now run by a charitable trust since his passing in 1954. If you are ever in the Philadelphia, PA area, I suggest you take half a day to explore this treasure!

There were thousands upon thousands of different plants, and I had fun photographing some of my favorites. One day when I am able to have a beautiful garden, I will go back to my pics and take another trip to Longwood Gardens to be inspired and decide what to plant.

Flickr Set

*For some celebrity cred, even Martha Stewart's head gardener, Andrew Beckman, has a degree in landscape architecture and horticulture from Longwood. 
*Follow Longwood Gardens on Twitter and Facebook

Anchors Away Treasury

Oh this is so exciting! It's my first (that I know of) feature in a treasury on Etsy. Thanks PeachyPopVintage!

I really like what she has put together, in fact I want one of each please. Click here to see it on Etsy and to check out the other items.

Featured on Kate and Oli

Katie, of Kate and Oli, made a cute anchor themed Heart + Worthy post on her blog featuring my Anchors Aweigh cards (#11). She also has an Etsy page of her own called Ichbinseins, where she sells her own handmade cards, here. Thanks Katie!

Little Red Hen Press Order Packaging

Wrapping gifts and packages are one of my favorite things to do, especially at Christmas. You should see what I do! I wish I had pictures to show of them, but I don't. Doh! You'll just have to trust me that they are pretty.

So when orders started rolling in for the cards and bags, I started experimenting with different ways to package and ship the items. I decided on boxes, even though they cost a little more to ship, because I knew the cards stood a better chance of arriving undamaged, and who doesn't like to open a box? ;) I originally wanted white boxes, but I couldn't find the perfect size for an affordable price. I didn't want to have to charge an extra dollar to my customers for a custom box. So, I decided to go with brown paper ones with mostly recycled content. The liner is 20-30% and the flute is 100% recycled (flute is the wavy part). I also found white tissue paper that is 100% recycled. Unfortunately the red isn't completely recycled, but it's just so nice, I had to include at least one sheet in each box. Red is in the business name after all! The two most recent orders have been shipped in a decorated box:

I have had a lot of fun coming up with this, and I hope I can continue to create a fun package for my customers to open! Of course each package will be slightly different, but always pretty.

This is the housewarming present I gave to me sister last Saturday and the gift contained within. She just graduated from the University of Florida, hence the orange and blue Gator theme, and loves cupcakes. She is very creative so I put together a cupcake decorating kit for her to use in her new kitchen, along with handmade Go Gator cupcake picks (I will be selling them on Etsy soon, so keep an eye out!). Also included in the package, but not shown, were 2 boxes of cake mix, and 2 containers of white icing. I made her promise to take pictures of the cupcakes she makes, and send them to me so I can post them on this blog. The cupcake liners came from Fort & Field, and you can purchase them here. The icing bags and tips, sprinkles, and pan were purchased at a local baking supply store. 

Her base color scheme in her new home is black and white, so coordinated the wrap for that. The bow is upcycled from an Anthropologie package, and the tag is made from my black Birds on a Wire print. She LOVED it all!

I hope I have inspired you!

Delicious Summertime Beverage

Looking at my yellow Birds on a Wire print got me thinking about the yum summertime drink called a Yellowbird. I first had one while out on Lake Hamilton with my family in Hot Springs, AR. My Aunt Kay whipped them up and they were so refreshing on that hot summer day! When I was bartending in Florida, it was always the perfect drink to serve when someone requested "something fruity"and I didn't want to make the obvious and give them a rum punch or pina colada.

Yellowbird

Coconut rum
Banana schnapps/liquor
Pineapple juice
Orange juice
Ice

For a drink: In a glass, add 1 1/2oz coconut rum and 1/2oz banana liquor; fill glass with ice; add equal parts of orange and pineapple juice until glass is full; stir & serve. You can garnish with an orange or pineapple slice.

What Exactly Is "Paper Weight"?!?

Boy, I have had a hard time figuring out exactly what paper weight means. The labels can be so confusing! I print my designs on card stock, and have recently switched over to 100% recycled vs. the 10% I was using before.  The web site I ordered the new 100% from said it was 80lb weight. I was looking around Etsy and realized most people were printing on 110lb, and thought well this can't be good. I can't have wimpy thin cards! No one will buy from me! Jeez those sellers must have a brick of a card! Imagine my surprise when the new 100% paper arrived and it was quite a bit more thick than the 10% I was using before, even though it claimed to weigh less. So I was totally confused, and I'm sure I have confused you too. What in the heck is this paper weight thing anyway? Well I found a website that explains it all:

PAPER WEIGHT DEMYSTIFIED

Thank you paper-paper.com!

So out of all of this, I realized card stock is called "index" paper when measured, and my new 100% recycled paper is somewhere around 119lb weight. Hooray for nice thick paper! I do notice a big difference between the two. I am also glad that it is fully recycled. It helps me sleep better at night... hehe!

I'll Have Some More Punch, Please

(Photo: Matilde Delich)

I found this great recipe for punch in a cookbook handed down to me from my mother. I am obsessed with finding the perfect thrift store punch bowl. I see them all of the time, but most only have a few glasses or some are chipped, etc. I have passed up so many good ones in the past and am kicking myself for it now! We all know that feeling, right? So when I find my perfect punch bowl, I am making this immediately:

Florence's Southern Punch

2 cups sugar

2 1/2 cups water

Juice of 6 lemons

Zest of 2 lemons

Ginger ale

Juice of 2 California oranges (or any other juicing orange)

Zest of 1 orange

2 handfuls of fresh mint, crushed

Syrup: Cook sugar and water together to the boiling point: boil 10 minutes. Pour over juices, zest, and mint: cover and let sit for 1 hour. Strain and chill.

For a drink: Fill glass 2/3 full with crushed ice. Add 5 tablespoons of syrup and equal parts ginger ale (a little more ginger ale, if desired).

For a party: Fill bowl 1/2 full of ice: add equal parts syrup and ginger ale (more ginger ale, if desired). Garnish with slices of orange or frosted grapes over the side.

From the cookbook Blessings by The First Presbyterian Church of Pine Bluff, AR. Recipe by Frances Toney Hall

Birds On A Wire Print

This is the newest print up for sale in my Etsy shop. I enjoy watching birds sitting on wires and fences, and these two make a cute pair!

The Perfect Perch For A Hummingbird Cake

Anyone that has been in my home, car, and especially my kitchen knows that I LOVE the color red. In fact, before I moved to Delaware, the only room in my home that didn't have red accents was my bedroom. Though that room was still close to red with the pink accents, haha! Well I just found this cake stand for sale on the Williams-Sonoma site and think it would be perfect for my kitchen, and would be even better with a Hummingbird Cake sitting right on top. You can't go wrong with a Paula Deen cake recipe!

 (Images courtesy of wiliams-sonoma.com and marthastewart.com)

A Little Bird Just Told Me...

...there's a new stamp in town.

Lucero Love

I recently found this 2006 tour poster stashed in between the large pages of a drawing tablet, and completely forgot that I put it there for safe keeping almost 4 years ago. I love the nautical print, the ship in the bottle, and the turquoise used in the back ground. I also LOVE the band Lucero, and this makes me wish I bought their tour poster more than just once! It's put in a safe place now and I will definitely frame it one day. They have been getting around these days and played Bonnaroo last weekend and Coachella in April. Way to go guys!

Here is the video for their song She's Just That Kinda Girl (love the DIY vibe!):

Anchors Aweigh

This morning I began test printing the anchor stamp I've been carving. My recent trip up the Northeast coast had me totally inspired to do something related to the sea. Standing on the beach with my toes in the sand is my happy place, and it was great to get back to the coast. I picked up this cute Seaside Terry Hoodie at the L.L. Bean store in Freeport, Maine and will be my comfy beach coverup for years to come.