a creative mint

Color Me Pretty Time

Hello, I am at Decor8 today for my Color Me Pretty column. Come over and visit me there if you have a chance. Have a great weekend and I will see you back here next week.

xoleslie

Decorate

Hello, 

I hope you all had a nice weekend. I wanted to share with you a few pages out of Holly Becker and Joanna Copestick's book, Decorate. I had the honor of having parts of my home photographed by Debi Treloar for this book last summer. As you see above, my daughter's room was a case study for ideas and tips on decorating with children.

My studio was also used a few times to show or explain some of Holly's decorating ideas. I do not have air conditioning in my studio and it was crazy hot due to a heat wave the day we were all out there for the photo shoot. I felt so bad for Holly and Debi!

My dining room, living room and master bedroom were also used in the book. I know I am biased as I am really good friends with Holly, but I think this book is FANTASTIC. Holly and her team worked very hard to bring together an inspiring, accessible and educational decorating book. You will find floor plan ideas, tips on flowers and entertaining, style guides and much much more. I have been reading it constantly and I can not get over Debi's beautiful photographic work. She is one of my favorite photographers. Between Holly's great eye for design and Debi's talents this book is an awesome gift for yourself or for a creative friend. 

I joined Holly, Debi, Joanna and other good friends for the book launch of Decorate in London earlier this month. The launch party was at the Liberty of London flagship store just off Regent Street. Their fabrics are insanely beautiful and the space, well, amazing, a must see if you are ever in London. I had the pleasure of working with Sania Pell and Holly on some table styling for the launch party which was a real treat. Sania's home is featured on the cover of the US version of Decorate as you can see above.

I was thrilled to be there with Holly to celebrate her achievement. She is a warm generous soul who deserves nothing but great success. 

xoleslie

Girl Power

Hello Friends,

Sorry for my long absence! A flu bug and then travel had me away from here longer than expected. I have lots and lots of posts in the making, so I am warning you, I hope you don't get sick of me! 

Firstly, I wanted to share with you three very talented women who have helped me create a serious makeover. I had my two year blog birthday a couple weeks ago and I thought it was time to smarten things up around here. I hired Jo Klima of The Darling Tree to give this little blog a new look and feel. I wanted my posts to be easier for you to navigate through and I hope the Posts by Color feature helps with this. Jo is a dream to work with and I would absolutely recommend her to anyone. She will also be designing a portfolio website for me in the next couple months. Thank you Jo!!!

The next talented gal I had the pleasure of working with was Sarah of Parrott Design Studio. Sarah designed and letterpress printed my new cards (I am thrilled with them). It is incredible how often I get asked for a business card. Even though my blog is not a "business" it is nice to have something beautiful to hand people who are interested in seeing my photography and styling work. Sarah created a piece that I am very proud to hand out and I could not help but hang some on a board in my studio. She also did a great post on her blog showing the making of my cards. If you ever need letterpress anything, Sarah is the gal to go to, her wedding invitations are over the moon gorgeous. Thank you Sarah!!!

Last but not least is Li Ward of Fat Orange Cat Studio. When Sarah and I were looking at fonts for my cards I knew I wanted something original so I asked her for some calligraphy recommendations. When I saw Li's work I knew I wanted her to pen my name! Not only does Li do calligraphy work, she is also an accomplished photographer. She specializes in pet and wedding photography. Yes, Li does both, very very well. You must check out her blog and see her wonderful work. After Li completed my name I quickly decided she should also pen "A Creative Mint" for my blog banner. I like her calligraphy work because it feels fresh, a little more modern and yet readable. Li did a super nice post on her work with me here. Thank you Li!!!

I love that this is a girl power post. I am blown away with these talented women who are making careers out of their creative passions. Their love for what they do is evident in the quality of their work and their professionalism in how they carry out their work. Each of them had my projects done fast and with attention to even the smallest of details. Inspiring.

xoleslie