Monday, May 22, 2017

Garden Party




I have such fond memories growing up of my great grandmothers summertime garden party picnics. The table would be filled with yummy food made from secret family recipes. An appetizing display on heirloom lace and embroidered tablecloths. Finger foods showing off the cut glass serving dishes. Tea would be served from her favorite collection of tea cups and saucers. I looked forward most to the desert at the end of the meal! Great Grammy's brownies were stacked neatly on a white translucent depression glass plate. It was the only plate she had of that pattern and is still in the family to this day. Vases were made and decorated from extra kitchen  jars and filled with wild flowers cut from the field. It was simple and beautiful!


I have gathered a buffet of vintage goodies that were inspired from these lovely garden party picnics of the past and created The Garden Party Collection. Hand embroidered tablecloths, vintage dishes and jar flower vases, so allow yourself to dive into the lovely and charming garden party style!

I hope these re-creation pictures will inspire you to get out and enjoy this season by having your own garden party picnic!




Above: A lovely vintage spring homer Laughlin 1940's plate alongside a pink handmade rose doily used as the base of a simple centerpiece. Below: A vintage tablecloth with beautiful hand embroidery work.

Vintage Embroidered Tablecloths


The crackers rest in this adorable ceramic crate found here


This is a jar that my mom decorated in a similar way. My great grandmother would decorate extra jars from the kitchen and find other uses for them. This one is used to hold a few pieces of silverware for the garden party. An easy DIY or just check here for decorative jars and custom ones!

Gorgeous Southern Belle Dresser Scarf adds a delicate touch to a comfy throw pillow.


My great grandmother would always use dresser scarves  or embroidered runners to decorate a plain throw pillow. It's a nice way to change up the look of items you already have and add a little vintage detail!






Tuesday, May 2, 2017

Storage Ideas


 I know everyone has seen using stacked old suitcases for storage, that is nothing new.

 What I like about this photo is that they have used these to store photos or special mementos from wedding, vacation, or a special event and added decorative labels to each suitcase. It would be so handy to do this because how many times do photo books get shoved in the back of a book shelf and you forget about them? Or vacation mementos get stored in the "Scrapbook to do" box but that box turns into their permanent home. Before you know it that box is full of scrapbook supplies, ideas and is just a big mess!

These would also be out in the open so you wouldn't forget about them. Reminiscing with your loved ones and kids would be so much easier because memories would be very easy to find and pull out to look at. I have recently found some old photos in my shed and am not sure how they made it out there. I wish they had been in the house protected from elements and bugs. It would be even greater if they had been in house, labeled and easy to find!



I find these jars so handy. My mom first made one for a friend as a toothbrush holder in a country-chic style bathroom. After that I started thinking of all sorts of uses for them around the house. The chicken wire helps hold items like paintbrushes, tooth brushes and colored pencils. A similar storage option, painted cans, are helpful for storing craft items like buttons, clothespins, pens, pencils, wooden kitchen spoons, etc.



I wanted a very small drawer on top of the bedside table to store small items like lip balm and  eye drops in.  I ended up using a wooden book box I found at a craft store and painted it black to match the base that the lamp sits on. it was an inexpensive fix and creates a little bit of hidden storage.



I love finding new uses for items I already have. I use vintage toast racks to hold greeting cards. It's always great to have greeting cards on hand and in an organized fashion. You can use a larger toast rack to store them and set it on your desktop or store in a cabinet if you'd like! The yellow toast rack is very small and only meant for two pieces of toast. Use the small holders as decorative touches on your desk. On the 1st of the month I go ahead and pull greeting cards for any occasions in the month ahead and  keep them in the smaller holder. That way I see them everyday on my desk, add my message and get them mailed out. The vintage toast racks come in may different styles and variety which is great because you can match them to your decor. The bottom picture is a vintage heavy brass toast rack, it can hold a lot if I need it to!



If you have any unique storage ideas, let me know! Every home can be organized in a lovely decorative way, sometimes with items you already own.