Tag Archives: style

DIY Inspiration Books

05 Tuesday Mar 2013

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Tears1 Tears2 Tears3 Tears8 Tears5 Tears6 Tears7 Tears4
I love Pinterest.  It is a guilty pleasure of mine that I admittedly don’t have enough time for.  (Here are my sparse Pinterest boards).  As much as I love the online version, I cannot let go of good old-fashioned magazine tears.  I love the tactile quality of ripping out pages and I love cutting out and collaging the images together.  I collect photos from the pages of Martha Stewart Living, Country Living, Anthropologie catalogs, Domino, Blue Print, Martha Stewart Weddings, etc. etc and paste them into large blank sketch journals.   I think my idea for these books came from the amazingly obsessive collections made by my great-grandmother.  (I will post on Gram’s books soon).  I have used the images from my books as inspiration boards when I worked in fashion, as reminders of how I want our home to look when going out to a flea market,  and as idea pages for styling work.  But most of the time I just enjoy flipping through the pictures and getting inspired.

*Sorry for my lack of image credits above.  Unlike with Pinterest, I don’t keep my sources credited in my books.  I will be happy to credit any images if you drop me an email!*

Happy collecting!

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Flea Market Finds: Wall Sconce

26 Tuesday Feb 2013

Posted by in Shop, Vintage

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Lamp2 Lamp1 Lamp3
We have been searching for a sconce for our downstairs hallway for a while.  The fixture that came with the house was so awful it landed in the trash before I could get a ‘before’ picture.  (It involved some orange cubes that looked like Legos badly hot-glued around a bulb).  We found this wall sconce a couple of weekends ago at this shop in Saugerties, NY.  We usually hold out for a major bargain when we shop for house things, since we have so many things on our list.  This light was less expensive than city prices, but not as cheap as we usually go for.  We decided to buy it anyway and Chris hung it up as soon as we got home.  It turned out to be perfect for the spot and I am so happy we found it.  We are trying a new method around here: Instead of keeping our finds boxed up in a closet until our house is perfect, we have begun hanging up lights on our less-than-perfect ceilings.  It is nice to enjoy things now even if the plaster isn’t what we want it to be.   Some day our renovations will match the fixtures, but for now we are mixing perfect with not-so-perfect and getting on with living in an old house.

You can find your own vintage and antique wall sconces here on Etsy and here on Ebay.

Our Etsy Shop is Open!

12 Tuesday Feb 2013

Posted by in Our Etsy Store, Party!, Projects, Shop, Vintage

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EtsyBanner2Our Etsy shop is open!  We have been working hard to get the final details finished and I am happy to say we are open for business.  You can find our Headband Feather Crowns at http://www.etsy.com/shop/jeannerondeau.  The crowns are made in adult and kids’ sizes and my girls like to wear them for dress-up.  All of the pieces are made by hand using vintage fabrics, beads and sequins and each crown is one-of-a-kind.  We also do custom work.  We will continue to add more items to the shop, so please visit us often!
 
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Flea Market Finds: Suitcase Side Table

10 Thursday Jan 2013

Posted by in Organizing, Vintage

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SuitcaseWe are always on the hunt for the perfect vintage furniture for the house.  The bedroom search list includes bedside tables, a lamp for Ada’s room, wall sconces…But for now we’ve employed this little vintage suitcase to hold the lamp and water glasses.  It is just the right height and can be quickly converted back to its original self when Ada needs a suitcase to carry to Nan’s.  Vintage suitcases are abundant at flea markets.  Etsy has some cute choices here.  Be sure to check inside linings if you plan to use the case for storage.  A stack of vintage child-size suitcases also makes a good storage/table option.

Flea Market Find: Pegboard Towel Rack

02 Wednesday Jan 2013

Posted by in Projects, Vintage

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Rack

I found this rack for $8 at an antique shop in Northwood, NH.  We weren’t sure what it was originally used for, but the color and price were right.  (It is genetically impossible for me to pass up a bargain with potential).  Our upstairs bathroom has a funky layout with no space for hanging towels, so Chris added some hooks and hung the pegboard on the wall above the tub.  Some days we have to hold ourselves back from digging under the old floors in this house and knocking down walls with our hammers.  (What the heck is under the tile that completely encases the clawfoot tub upstairs?)  Other days we can make peace with the slow renovation of an old house, one dependent on time and money we don’t always have right this minute.  Some days we can be happy with an $8 towel rack, and move on with life for the time being.

Inspiration

30 Friday Nov 2012

Posted by in Inspiration

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Inspiration

Instagrams from the week:

*Ada’s Dessert

*Washi Tape Stack (Ready for holiday wrapping)

*Enamel Wash Bowl, Pearl River Mart

*My Pin Jar and Sequins

*Butterfly Flock, Pearl River Mart

*Sister Breakfast, Bedford Hill

Have a wonderful weekend!

DIY Vintage Crepe Paper Flower Hat

19 Monday Nov 2012

Posted by in Party!, Projects, Vintage

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My Mother-in-Law gave me this amazing How to Make Crepe Paper Flowers book for my birthday last year and I have been waiting for the right time to put it to use.  My copy is from 1922 and contains the secrets to making realistic flowers from crepe paper.  Needles to say, I am in love with this book!  Ebay has several copies for sale here.  The flowers turned out better than I had thought possible and we used them to make a special birthday hat for our friend Sandy.  To make your own Crepe Paper Flower Hat you will need:

*How to Make Crepe Paper Flowers book

*Variety of Crepe Paper (We used this 100 gms paper from Papermart, and each flower used less than one roll of paper)

*Headband

*Floral Tape

*Floral Wire (We used straight 18 gauge wire)

*Craft Glue

*Scissors

*Pinking Shears (optional)

*Card Stock for Patterns

*Ribbon to Tie Hat (optional)

1. Prepare patterns.  Our copy of the book did not come with the original patterns, so we followed the drawings in the book and made our own from card stock.  Label each pattern for future use.

2. Following directions from the book, make up flowers and leave stem wires long until you are ready to apply to the hat.  We used 9 flowers to make our hat.  It is helpful to hold finished flowers in a vase or cup as you go.

3. Lay ribbon over ends of headband about 2″ and glue.  (Our hat was a little heavy, so we added the ribbon to make it more secure for dancing).

4. Wrap headband with floral tape up until the point you want to add a flower.  (Start on one side of the headband and add flowers up and over to the other side).

5. Put a spot of glue over the floral tape and wind a 1″ strip of green crepe paper around the headband over the tape, gently pulling tight as you go.  This will be the visible headband covering, so try to keep it neat.  Our strip was about 15″ long x 1″ wide.

6. Trim the wire on first flower to about 3″, position it and use floral tape to secure to the headband.

7. Wrap green crepe paper over floral tape as you go, covering the headband between each flower.

8. Position the second flower and repeat the wrapping.

9. When all flowers are in place wrap the floral tape and crepe paper down to the other end of the headband and secure crepe with a little glue.

10. Allow the hat to dry.

Get your party on!

You may also like these projects:

Inspiration

26 Friday Oct 2012

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Instagrams from the week:

*Colored Leaves from Our Walk Home

*Beautiful Packages at H Mart

*Josie Sleeping in Boots She Refused to Take Off (Studio Bimbi boots were an Ebay find when Ada was her size.  I cry every time I dig out the hand-me-down shoes that Josie has grown into.)

*Josie, Sleeping in Her Shoes (These Gusellino shoes were another Ebay bargain.  The Italians make the best kids shoes!)

*Rain on the Screen

*Dinosaur Pumpkins at Blaze (This was our first visit and the kids had a great time spotting all of the spooky and beautiful animals.  Ada especially loved the butterfly forest.)

**We are off to celebrate Halloween early.  What our your upcoming Halloween plans?  Have a wonderful weekend!

Rain Boots

03 Wednesday Oct 2012

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Autumn means the rainy season in these parts.  Thus begins the yearly search for the perfect rain boots for the girls.  I found these on Ebay last week.  They are from Korea and were on sale for $10 with free shipping(!)  Korean designs are so cute!  I love this smart use of gingham fabric stretched under the waterproof rubber.  Why didn’t I think of that when I was designing shoes?

Wallpaper Love

05 Wednesday Sep 2012

Posted by in Likes, Projects, Shop

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I love this Neisa Crosland wallpaper. We searched for it for a long time and finally found it at Walnut Wallpaper in LA.  (Walnut has since stopped selling Crosland’s papers, but have an amazing selection of other beauties).   I was pregnant with Ada at the time, and we slept in the living room while we tracked down the perfect paper.  I wanted something that would be both calming and complex enough not to get boring.  I initially wanted to use Crosland’s Anenome which I had fallen in love with from a Miu Miu ad.  Chris and I finally agreed on Merlin and decided to place it on one wall and match the paint.  The mix of subtle metallic and spring colors makes me happy.  We loved how it turned out, and I am dreaming of more papered rooms.  We found remnants on top of old plaster downstairs and I would love to match it.  What is your favorite wallpaper?