Unbelievable: Jackie VonTobel

I can't contain my excitement: Jackie VonTobel (of Jackie VonTobel Home ) just launched her new fabric line & online store today!!!!! You HAVE to check it out -oh my gosh her things are SO BEAUTIFUL!! http://www.jackievontobel.com/



Her designs are too pretty for words... But I'll try of course! ;)




Everything is so fresh & energetic& happy!!!:
Lots of them are whimsical takes on the classics: enlarged florals & toile-like patterns (The design below is just perfection... It reminds me of a modern version of one of my Grandma's plates... Oh how I need it!)...



...chinoiserie in unexpected colors...



beautiful peacocks, huge paisleys with an enormous amount of white space ...



...Cheerful graphic patterns that are still curvy enough to be super-pretty. (Sometimes graphic patterns can be a bit too much for me & feel a bit trendy but not these!)



I could seriously find a spot for every one of her fabrics & pillows in my house. (I would love a closet full of her pillows to switch in & out seasonally. Just one of these would make a room!) You can choose to go with organic cotton or eco-friendly linen, depending upon the look & feel you're after.


She uses so many different color palettes & here are images of just a few:

.... had to share the greens & grays of course!!! But this blue too (below) - oh my goodness!!!

Anyway, you've got to check it out!! I am in love and cannot wait to use some of these for projects!!!

xoxo,

lauren

all images from jackievontobel.com

wrap it up

i always try to do something special each year when it comes to wrapping my presents.  i like for people to know that i put a lot of thought into wrapping their very special gifts.  last year when i was working with the hospitality company i was really busy during christmas and pretty much a slacker when it came to wrapping my gifts.  i think the extent of my special wrapping was using a wide ribbon…not so special, right?  this year i’m still pretty busy but i’m going to make time to wrap my presents with care.

i’ve been browsing my favorite online spots to see what ideas are out there.  burlap is huge in the design world right now and i think that these gifts wrapped in burlap are quite lovely.

 

i think that tags and bows are the areas that you can be most creative with your gifts.   using your special someone’s initial for a tag is a really cute idea.

 

i would feel so special if i got a gift with this tag on it.  it’s so easy to make too.  just type out your message, print it, cut it out and apply some double-sided table to the backside.  use pinking shears to cut out the tag.  that would make it even better.

take a look at these cupcake carnation bows.  martha you always have the best ideas.

a great way to incorporate your kids into gift wrapping is to let them make the wrapping paper.  take a look at the gifts below.

if you can bake try baking gingerbread name tags. 

this package is so beautiful but i’m not sure i’ll have that much time on my hands.  looks like it would take quite a while.

here are just a few others that caught my eye.

 

 

how do you wrap your gifts?  do you use gift bags? do you have a theme each year?  do you tie an ornament onto your bow? let me know.

**photo credits – southern living and martha stewart

LiveJournal Tags: christmas,gift wrap,southern living,martha stewart living,burlap

Little Rest

Back from hospital I will take a little rest.
Back soon

Forcing Paperwhites/ Narcissus Bulbs

Paperwhites or narcissus are named after the mythological character Narcissus. There a few different versions of the myth of Narcissus (some including the nymph Echo & a curse) but most end with the haughty handsome boy falling in love with his own reflection in a pond and staying there loving himself until the day he dies. (hence the term "narcissist.")

A narcissus flower is said to have bloomed in the spot after his death.

Every Winter I think about forcing paperwhite bulbs. I just love the idea of having fresh flowers all winter & of course the small is insanely good. (I tried it one year but they don't do very well when you don't water them.) But THIS year, I'm doing it. I want that smell and I want those beautiful little white fowers all over my house. A neighbor of mine forces amaryllis & other bulbs as Christmas gifts & I think it's just a perfect idea. She times them so they're in bloom when she gives them.

I'm going to give them to all of the people in my life who love themselves too much as a hint for them to change their narcissistic attitudes- it's about time! (hahahah no, totally kidding... I'll give them to the people I love too much ;)

If you're anything like me & often a little short on time (and you're giving it to someone who you think might enjoy a mini-project & the waiting & watching for blooming bulbs) then you could also make them a pretty bulb-forcing kit with all of the ingredients needed: beautiful container, stones/gravel/etc., a bulb, and directions. How perfect are these paperwhites in julep cups (real simple mag) below?!

I'm loving them on this Christmas mantle (below, Martha Stewart):

And look at this huge trough on a kitchen island from here :

And pretty much anything in an urn is gorgeous to me (image below from tickingandtoile.com):

I'm loving the wild-vintage look in the photo below (from the Netherlands Flower Bulb Information center). Clear glass vases are easy to come by (in fact, pilsner glasses from a place like Ikea would be really beautiful & affordable) and I love seeing the root systems. A very raw/ natural look:

There are so many different options for planting. One of my favorites (and I cannot find the photo I'm looking for- arg!!) is to use vintage tea cups. Oney teacups are so inexpensive at flea markets & thrift stores and would make a beautiful gift. Check out this gorgeous metal (can't tell if it's copper or something else from the pic, gardensnob.com) pot below:

And they look perfectly simple in even just a plain white pot (uniquegardens.net):

Here's a quick How-To for forcing paperwhites:

( I got the information from an article on about.com with photos by Kerry Michaels)

1. Pick your container: If it's tall, you won't need to stake the paperwhites when they eventually bloom, but if it isn't, be prepared to have stakes, chopsticks, etc.

2. Add 2-4 inches of stones, pebbles, gravel, anything non-porous to your container. (This keeps the bulbs in place & out of the water.. you just want the roots in the water.)

3. Add the bulbs. If you're doing multiple bulbs , make sure they're all at the same level & nestled into place so you can keep the roots (not bulbs under water- bulbs will rot)

4. Water & Alcohol:

***UPDATE*** I've gotten lots of great emails & comments from readers who've grown narcissus themselves and they mention adding alcohol to the water to keep the plants from becoming too leggy. They say to just use water until the first sign of a green shoot arrives and then use approx 1 part alcohol to 10 parts water or 4-6% from that point on. (There are lots of different ratios floating around out there for how much alcohol to use & the article I read said no more than 10%.)

4. They do best in a cool spot out of direct sunlight for a couple of weeks. After they root, put them in a bright warm spot to speed up flowering. (The author of the article says she just keeps them on her kitchen countr the whole time.) Once they bloom (4-6 weeks after planting) you might need to stake them with something to keep them from falling over.

The year I tried forcing paperwhites, I used a faux conch shell. I saw this article from Cottage Living (below) and just had to make one! The problem (for me) was that because it was a faux conch shell, there wasn't much room for water and so it needed daily waterings and sadly, the love just wasn't there. The bulb never actually died but it had the tiniest nub of a shoot for 3-4 months and then it was Springtime and I gave up. But I think it would work beautifully in a real conch shell like the article recommended.

Here are a few inexpensive sources I found & thought I'd share with you:

For a vase similar to the one in the image above, try here (2 for $8.98)

Buy (already started/ forced?- It was hard to tell) bulbs here: $16.95 for $25

And here there's a deal with 30 for $19.95 and 15 for $10.95

I'd also heard that Walmart has them but don't have one near me...

SO, I'm going to give it a go this year & of course I'll take pics & show you how it goes when they bloom. I'm very impatient with these sorts of things but I'm going to try my best to water the bulbs this time!! (Image below from Country Living) I want these flowers!!!

xoxo,

lauren

image #1- whiteflowerfarm.com, image 3- greayer.com

holiday color scheme

i hope all of you had a wonderful thanksgiving.  i sure did.  mine was filled with family, fun and lots of food. 

i put my christmas tree up on wednesday night and i love having my house decorated for christmas.  while i was at target over the weekend picking up a few extra decorations i took a stroll through the home decor section and found a few christmas decorations that caught my eye.  it was mainly the colors that caught my eye. 

i’m in love with the color scheme.  if i hadn’t already decorated my tree in red, black and white then i would have definitely opted for this color scheme of fern, light olive, oyster, pearl, silver and wood tones.

maybe some of you haven’t decorated yet and can use it instead of me.  send pics if you do.

happy monday!

LiveJournal Tags: target,christmas decorating,thanksgiving,color scheme

my first guest blog is up

i’m guest blogging for the first time today over at the blog bargains in buckhead.  bargains in buckhead is a local atlanta blog and anna and claire give tons of tips for saving money around town.  stop by and check it out if you get a chance.  it’s my first time doing a video for a blog too.  it took a lot of takes but i finally got it done.  the guest post is about bargain christmas decorating ides.  hopefully you’ll find some that you can use.  click here to go directly to the post.

i’m signing off for the week to enjoy time with my family during the thanksgiving holiday.  i hope you and yours have a very happy thanksgiving.  eat lots of good food, and have fun with your family and friends.  see you back here on monday.

image – here

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

LiveJournal Tags: bargains in buckhead,guest blog,christmas