a creative mint

Vignettes of Color

Hello Friends, here is the holiday series I did for my "Color Me Pretty" column over on decor8 this week. I wanted to try working with a palette that complimented my home decor. I can't seem to get enough of turquoise these days and it's a fresh approach to the normal holiday blue. I was also inspired by my recent trip to Copenhagen and I packed some paper and ribbons back that I used in this series. 

Manzanita branches are inexpensive in California and really great for hanging ornaments off of because they are quite strong. I like the natural color of them but they could easily be painted for a different look. After the holidays are over leave them unadorned in a vase for an interesting texture in a room. I also put together a paper chain out of some of the patterned paper I made from some scanned fabric.

I couldn't resist using some Martha Stewart glitter this year! For these tags I scanned in some vintage postcards, made them black and white, printed them out and then cut out tag shapes around the images. I then applied glue with a little brush and sprinkled various colors of aqua and turquoise glitter on, one area at a time, letting the glue dry between sprinkling. I did a few tags at once and it went really fast.

I like using more than one ribbon to tie decorations to the branch and it's a great way to use up little bits of ribbons that are not long enough for gift wrapping.

I love wrapping gifts...it is a little design project that brings such pleasure...

A few yards of ribbon I purchased in Copenhagen at Gronlykke and Plint. I believe some are by House Doctor.

I hope you enjoyed this color story. Thank you so much for visiting me here and making this past year an amazing one for me. This time last year I had very little knowledge about blogs and the incredible creative conversation happening online. I feel so blessed to be contributing in some way. Thank you all very much. Happy Holidays, xoleslie. 

Color Me Pretty Time

Hello Friends, I am over at decor8 today with my last Color Me Pretty series of the year! If you have a moment come over and say hi. I will see you back here in a couple days. xoleslie

Vignettes of Color

Hello Friends, here are the photographs from my "Color Me Pretty" column on decor8. I really enjoyed working on this series as I can't get enough of natural tones and textures combined with a little red! I also love pulling in some vintage items and combining them with new items. The ribbons in the above photo were bought from the Selvedge Shop on my recent trip to London.

This photograph includes papers collected from Japan, vintage buttons, vintage letters from the Flea Market and some more ribbon from Selvedge Shop.

After being in Denmark in late November I got really inspired with how they decorate for their winter holidays. One element that really inspired me was the use of simple branches instead of trees to decorate. I know it is not a new thing and I have seen this in the US but I guess I saw it in a new, more whimsical way. Just a few precious ornaments hung on some branches. For those of you who like the pitcher I used it is on sale at Anthropologie while supplies last.

   

I used brown baking parchment paper instead of brown kraft paper for this gift wrapping and a newspaper I picked up from my local Japanese grocery store. There is something about doilies that makes newspaper and brown paper instantly pretty.

This watercolor journal is so nice looking that I decided to only partially wrap it and the felt coasters are on many gifts this year!

Vintage enamelware and an old lantern remind me of older winter scenes...after skiing...if only I had some nordic mittens I could have put in this photo!

I picked up these vintage soda pop bottles at the Rose Bowl Flea Market in the summer. The fellow selling them had tons and tons and I loved their simple graphics and of course the red and white!

Phew! That was a lot of images, I hope you enjoyed them! Red and white is so traditional for the holidays, yet there are many ways to make it feel fresh and new. 

I will be back next week with one final holiday series for you, until then take care! xoleslie

Color Me Pretty Time

Hello Friends, Happy Holiday Season to you! If you have a moment please drop by Decor8 today for my "Color Me Pretty" column. See you back here soon. xoleslie     

Travel Notes

Hello friends, I had an opportunity to go to Europe for a week and of course could not refuse! My first stop was London where I ran around during my short two day stay! I managed to visit the Selvedge Shop right after I arrived, I just love their magazine and the goods they stock are wonderful. The next day I took in Kings Road and visited the Tricia Guild showroom to drool over all the incredible patterns. I stopped in at the ever sweet Cath Kidston store and admired her holiday collection. After Kings Road I jumped on the tube and headed to Notting Hill where I then walked down Portobello Road and could not resist gobbling up a cupcake at the Hummingbird Bakery (worked up an appetite with all the walking) and then checked out Pedlars and the beautiful food at the Grocers on Elgin. Later in the day I hit Regent Street and browsed through the new Anthropologie store and was amazed by that growing green wall! Early the following day, I strolled the Marylebone area and checked out the beautiful La Fromagerie store, Emma Bridgewater, Habitat, delicious juice at The Natural Kitchen and more...finally ending up at Selfridges on Oxford St. Then it was off to the airport...

The next stop was Copenhagen, a city I had never been to before, but I loved it (my Scandinavian obsession continues) and want to return soon! I couldn't resist visiting the Royal Copenhagen Tea Room as I have a weakness for gorgeous candle lit spaces, down lantern laden walkways, especially on a cold afternoon! Just a few of the many beautiful stops were the gorgeous and inspiring Gronlykke shops, Carre Copenhagen and the little antique bookshop Boger & Kuriosa which is across the street, Tutein & Koch for stationary supplies,Plint for cute housewares and a great ribbon selection, Marimekko Concept Store, Illums Bolighus  and the lovely The a la Menthe (A Moroccan Tea Room without a website but a nice review on the blog link). Incredible Kusmi Tea selection at Vinboersen, lovely home accessories at Portobello and hip design store Normann -Copenhagen. An evening walk through Tivoli Gardens to see the holiday lights was really special too. After two inspiring days it was back to the the airport...

The third and final stop on our little adventure was Iceland. We stayed one night in Reykjavick and one night out at the famous Blue Lagoon. I could see how floating around in healing mineral waters could easily become a past time! I will be back one day to check out more of this amazing looking country. I hope you enjoyed my little link tour and I will see you back here soon. xo leslie