Pretty Pumpkins

Halloween is synonymous with pumpkins. There are literally hundreds of ideas on pinterest for carving but my favorites of late have leaned more towards pumpkin decorating versus actually busting out the knives and and getting your arms covered in gooey pumpkin innards.

(all the ladies before our crafting began  /  decorated pumpkins of all shapes and sizes)

My bookclub got together last week for our 2nd annual pumpkin decorating evening and of course, our creativity was encouraged by alcoholic beverages. Lindy hosted us at her house and after we filled our bellies with her homemade chili (so good btw), and aweing over her baby boy wade, we rolled up our sleeves and got to crafting. Lindy raided the isles of the craft store, finding supplies ranging from paints to sequins and even tiny spiders and stick-on mustaches... endless options to adorn onto our pumpkins.

A lot of the girls came with a game plan and their creations were nearly identical to their inspirations. Mary's white and sequin pumpkin was my favorite of the evening and sara's 'dia de los muertos' was also the perfect combination of spooky and adorable. I failed a bit with the pumpkins I decorated but had a blast non-the-less.

(our finished pumpkins... no need to carve them when there are so many decorating options)

The evening definitely got me in the halloween spirit and it didn't hurt that my closest girl friends were there to make it an evening full of inappropriate jokes, tons of story telling and quality time together. Check out last years fun by clicking here.

Parkinson's Vitality Walk

This past sunday I got up early to help my sweet friend mary and dozens of volunteers put on the 12th annual vitality walk benefiting the parkinsons association. Hundreds of participants flooded washington park in matching team colors with smiles on their faces to help raise awareness and fight parkinson's disease. 

(mary and I at the kids activity booth)

Mary got there super early to set up tents, tables and tons of balloons at the starting area of the race. I arrived shortly after to put the finishing touches on our booth... the kids activities area. Markers and crayons were put out for a drawing station, and pots of bright colors, brushes & sponges were then set up on the opposite end for face painting. 

(left to right:  wash park as the sun rises  /  drawings  /  the starting line balloon arch  /  drawings)

While neither of us (nor the other high school volunteers who joined our booth) had much face painting experience, I think we did a pretty decent job decking-out the faces of both kids and adults. Oh and you would have thought mary drew minions in her spare time as she painted at least a dozen in the hour leading up to the race with precision and accuracy that was super impressive. 

(painting faces and minions on everyone in sight)

There is no better feeling than donating your time for a good cause and while I feel I did only a small part in this very successful event, I walked away feeling like I got more out of the event than anyone. Oh and a few hours laughing with a very dear friend, I could not have asked for anything more!

West Elm // Holiday DIY

Last week my sister-in-law krista and I attended our 2nd west elm diy event for some crafting fun. Inspired by the blog, the house that lars built, west elm put together all the supplies needed for handmade paper flowers. 

Unlike the lacquer tray event that I wrote about here, (where there were less than a dozen in attendance) this one had nearly 60 people in attendance. It ended up being really great though because west elm set up crafting stations all over the store. So in between flower making, you could peruse all of the beautiful holiday decor... and pick out some items to add to your chirstmas list!

At the end of the night, we each walked away with a handmade paper flower and all the instructions to make dozens more. I think these flowers would make a welcoming bouquet to an entry way or add some texture and height to a holiday fete in the coming weeks. Krista ended up buying a mercury glass vase and I picked up this painted bowl to put all my nespresso pods in. 

Pinterest // Thanksgiving Inspirations

I was trolling pinterest this past weekend and found so many awesome decorating ideas for thanksgiving that I had to share. Some of these would fit perfectly into my imaginary thanksgiving dinner plans and others make me want to run to the craft store immediately.

  (a great natural centerpiece from sas interiors)

(a beautiful buffet from mod vintage life)

(wood plank chalkboard signs from eighteen25)

(a cozy and welcoming fireplace hearth from just imagine)

(wood tags to hang on your front door from that's my letter)

I usually leave up any of my 'halloween' decorations that are fall in nature and do not have a scary face or spider on them for thanksgiving. How about you, do you decorate for thanksgiving?

Book Club // Pumpkin Decorating

If you did not know, halloween is my favorite holiday of the year. The colors, decorations, activities and festivals all make this time of year completely magical in my book. So, it was only natural to host a seasonally-inspired event, honoring one of the most iconic images of fall... the pumpkin.

(clockwise from top left: all our pumpkins ready to paint  /  supplies and pumpkins  /  mary, ashley, me, sara and lindy)

I hosted book club with my girlfriends this month and took some inspiration from leah at freutcake to have a no-carve pumpkin decorating party. I hit up my local craft store for all my supplies... paint, sequins, markers, metallic brads and washi tape. Oh and then I gathered up a gaggle of pumpkins and invited the girls over.

(all of our finished pumpkins on my fireplace hearth (I love my spooky pumpkin sitting behind them))

Everyone brought wine (to help with our creativity) and I made a pot of chili and cornbread which sounded perfect for a cool autumn evening. Of course, it was unseasonably warm that day, like in the low 70s, but the girls didn't seem to mind too much.

From chevron to spiders, bedazzled to initials, I am so impressed with the final products. The girls loved how all the pumpkins looked together and insisted on leaving all of them at my house. I was completely against this at first but am now loving how they are looking on my porch and around my home.

(my front porch, all dressed up in festive decorations)

West Elm // DIY Workshop Event

Last weekend west elm opened their doors, pulled out the craft supplies and brought in local bloggers for a diy workshop. The event was inspired by erica domesek's who is a style and diy expert and author of p.s. - ... your're invited. The idea behind the workshop was to take typical home accents and make them your own by infusing them with custom design. 

(my tray, book and scissors /  all the craft supplies set out for our workshop)

In the middle of west elm's showroom, a small group of ladies crafted away, creating custom designed lacquer trays with paint, metallic washi tape and hopes of designing something special. My sister-in-law krista joined me for this workshop and we each walked away with a unique tray to accessorize our home. We had such an awesome time customizing our trays, posting pictures to instagram (#pswestelm) and checking out the new fall line in the store.

(clockwise from top left:  krista and I with our finished trays  /  my tray and book + a signed note from the author  /  krista's used her tray to display her jewels and baubles  /  here is the whole group at west elm)

You can buy your own copy of p.s. - you're invited with the link below...

this post was not sponsored by west elm; these are just my thoughts which I wanted to share with you, my lovely readers after attending a west elm event.

It's Beginning to Look a lot Like My Inspiration Board

(crate and barrel 'now and forever' collection)

I am completely obsessed with the image above.  The colors, texture, light and sparkles are so fabulous and this image has quickly become inspiration for my home this holiday season.  I love how there are natural elements incorporated through the laser-cut wood trees and pine cones which are then juxtapose by the metallic accents.   

Sadly I cannot afford to walk into Crate and Barrel and purchase all of these pieces (it would be over $300) so instead I am crafting up some elements on my own.  I spruced up a bag of pine cones with gold and silver accents similar to the image above and restyled many items I already own to go with the theme.  Finally, I am adding in some red accents to bring some richness and pops of color to the look.  I will take some photos of my house to show you what I was able to put together but I must say I am very happy when I walk into my house every night and see so much sparkle and shine.

(Ryan and I putting up our tree.  my new garland is hanging up too and I just love it)

Canvas and Cocktails

A little painting went down last week at Canvas and Cocktails.  If you have not heard of this place (or don't have one in your city) you are missing out.  

(Clockwise from top left:  Liz and Meghan  /  All finished up  /  Krista's witch in the sky)

Every night there is a different painting which instructors lead you through step-by-step while fun up-beat music plays to get your creative juices flowing.  Even better, they serve cocktails!  So, if you are feeling a little unambitious, a little liquid courage always helps.  The paintings range from landscapes to abstract, animals to holiday-inspired themes.

(My final product)

I have been to Canvas and Cocktails at least a dozen times now and some paintings are better than others for sure (most often dependent upon the intake of alcohol on my part!).  This painting is definitely one of my favorites because it is a new item I can add to my Fall home decor.  

Oh the places we will go...

I am so excited that my 1st year wedding anniversary gift for Ryan finally showed up in the mail this week.

(From Colorado to Greece, honeymoon 2011)

I ordered a beautiful map of the world from Here and There that I was able to customize with the places we have traveled together.   The Etsy shop has tons of customizable prints that I would encourage everyone to go check out.  The giclée maps are created on heavyweight, acid-free, fine art paper which was even more magnificent in person.

For my print, I chose for Colorado to be highlighted as it is our home state.  The dotted line links up to Greece as it was our honeymoon destination.  The print is fun and charming without being overly showy. 

(poor Australia, we need to add some visits to this side of the world)

To further personalize the map, I wrote out a list of our travels over the past 11 years and added a small red dot to represent our visits.  I thought about having the dots added by the designer, Carrie, however I chose to do it myself so I we can add our future travels and the map have continuity. 

(the lighting last night was horrible so my apologies for the poor picture quality.  however, check out my new bookends... so cute right?!)

A simple black frame with ivory matting finished off the print perfectly and Ryan really liked that we now have a way to track our previous trips and ones to come in the years ahead.  Oh the places we can go...

Love is in the Air

Valentine's Day is only a week away and it is a great excuse to fall in love with love.  I typically do a little decoration on our dining room table but this year I decided to take some of the beautiful and creative ideas I found online and expand my decorating and crafting into our main living space. 

Valentine Scrabble (I am going to cut these out and put in cute frames)

Heart Garland

Heart Garland

Heart Pop Up Card with Confetti

Yarn Pom Pom Balls

There are a few things I did not get pictures of but I defiantly think that my house is filling up with holiday love.  I cannot wait for Ryan to see it in person tomorrow.  The picture does it no justice but I bought these colorful foam hearts at Target that I hung in my dining room at varying heights from string and it is very dramatic.  I feel like I have little heart shaped clouds floating in my house!  However, every photo I took just looked so dumb (I swear it is not!)  I also re-used the cheap frames I bought for table numbers at my wedding, to create some tissue paper art.  I LOVE how they turned out.

The cutest decoration in my house is constantly on the move.  It is my baby Rocco in his new 'Ladies Man' XXS shirt that Brian bought him the other night.  He blends in perfectly with all the decorations.  I will post a photo later this week.  Brian, thank you again for thinking of him and making him even cuter than he already was!

Love Love!

I'm a wino... and creative!

Came across this super cute wreath today that I fell instantly in love with!  I love the shimmery champagne corks that have been painted silver which add some instant glam to the neutral overall look.

Then I started thinking more about it and I could easily make this with the ample supplies (I love me some wine, especially a great bottle of Pinot Nior) I have in my house.  Over a year ago Ryan and I started collecting (saving) all the corks from wine we open and writing the date and special occasion (if there is one) on it.  We have nearly filled the glass vase that holds them.  I love when I get to toss a new cork into the vase and see messages like 'He popped the question!' from Ryan's proposal and 'Girls Game Night' from dinner with my friends. 

I might need to drink a few more bottles to get the desired size and look from the inspiration picture but I am up for the challenge.  Just need some great friends, a fun occassion or lets be honest, just a nigt on the couch to get me started. 

Oh and P.S. I wrote this entire post in this exact pose!