Go for a Picnic

herb oliveoil, holding the basket, foraged berry tart, breakfast pizza, gratin, woodland 6pack

Love the idea of making some delicious uncomplicated food and taking it outdoors for a rustic meal... Enjoy nature, your company and the food you've made to share... so simple and so fulfilling.

Backyard Bouquet

Picked some flowers from my backyard today... It was such a joy to be in the sun surrounded by blooms!

Packaging!

We love to give a gift that's as special as the recipient. For us gift giving is a part of storytelling, a way to say thank you or we've selected something especially for you, its a way to show appreciating or to cheer someone up. One of our favorite parts of the gift giving process is the packaging... a great gift starts when a beautifully packaged object is placed in the hands of the one it is meant for. Here are some of our favorite ideas for creating a beautifully packaged gift.

love the eco friendly and sophisticated look of these fabric wraps from Chewing the Cud. 

love the clean and simple packaging from thinkgarnish.com

and for some fun and inexensive packaging pick me ups... check out our favorites from etsy!

Spaces for Little Ones

We spend a lot of time looking at images, designing spaces and pinning pictures of rooms for inspiration.
We love spaces of all kinds, but stumbling upon a perfectly imaginative room for a child always offers and unexpected breath of fresh (design) air. Here are some of our favorite recent finds...

Love the idea of painted imagery with the addition of 3D objects like this tree and birdhouse wall decor. Create a sweet and meandering display using cupcake liners and colored thumbtacks (as seen on apartment therapy). We love this crescent moon cradle from the Creme Anglaise line on Cargo Collective. Create a little vignette in a girl's room like this one above a day bed (from mycakies). How adorable is this toddler bedding and star wand by Colette Bream?????

Ok, so maybe we love good design for little ones because we all wish we had a safe, cozy and inspired space to curl up in a read a good book!

Blooming Branches

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We've had a couple of sunny days here and with the sunshine a true sense of Spring has arrived. Blooming branches are everywhere, and there is no better way to bring an sense of Spring indoors than with a bunch of tall branches bursting with fluffy blossoms. From cherry, to plum, apricot and even dogwood, stems abundant with delicate blooms are available for the gathering. Whats even better than the look of these seasonal wonders is the ease of putting them into an arrangement. Simply place a large bunch in a galvanized bucket, a beautiful clear glass vase, even use the small scraps in a mason jar or old bottle for a quick window sill arrangement. These delicate beauties will lighten up your space and bring Spring into your home!

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In the Studio

   
   fun in the studio today...

Fireside

With the start of a rainy day we thought we'd share this post with you!

We love the cozyiness of sitting by a fire, especially under a sky studded with stars on a late summer night. What we like even better is to recreate this feel at home when you really need a night under the open sky but cant get away for a weekend of camping. Here are a few ideas to create your own little outdoor retreat at home...

A full on campfire may not be a possibility in your own backyard, but a nice sized fire pit will be just as cozy and is easy to make. Check out these great DIY instructions to create your own. If  you want the feel of the fire but on a smaller scale, check out how to make a tabletop fire pit here.

Create your own little fire bundles with aromatic herbs and botanicals. Wrap rosemary, lavender or pine in newspaper and tie off with twine. Throw into the fire for a burst of that woodland scent.

We love good food. It doesn't have to be fancy, just good quality and shared in good company. Campfire food to us immediately says cozy and comforting. Roast marshmallows on skewers. Give your s'mores a little twist by adding a salted dark chocolate (this is our favorite mid range brand) and a handmade graham cracker (we love this recipe by smittenkitchen).

Make your fireside event your own... for more cozy inspiration check out the etsy treasury we've put together to help you complete the look!

DIY Froggie Runner for Passover

Working in this cute little froggy table runner for a Seder event this weekend. This is a fun craft to do with little ones on just kraft paper or newspaper and they can color or paint the frogs themselves. For a sleeker look you can also just use green paper like we did here...

This is made from a snowflake template I found online and then adapted into a runner by connecting all the pieces. First start with a square. I just used regular 8.5 x 11 paper to make my template, so my square was 8.5"x8.5". Once you have your square sheet of green paper (and you'll need like 20 or so squares to make a runner) fold in half.

It should look like this

fold in half again (in the opposite direction) to get a little square.

then fold from corner to corner and you'll get a little triangle.

Once you've folded all your triangles, you can draw your frog onto each of the pieces.

you should have a bunch of little squares that look like this! Go ahead and cut out the frog shape on each.

unfold to reveal a little froggie grouping of 4. Tape or glue the feet of each section to the next to create a runner. I made a runner two sections wide by about 10 sections long. Enjoy!!!

here's an adapted template from Secret Agent Josephine. Her template didn't work so we sort of made our own... have fun!!!

Wedding Cake Toppers

When creating a wedding that is unexpected and unique it all comes down to the details. Choosing a wedding cake topper that is fun and unconventional can be a way to add your own personal touch to a traditional wedding custom. Here are some fun handmade and customizable wedding cake toppers we found on etsy.

DIY Wednesday!!!!

 From this...

To this!!!

We found these somewhat dated looking but very expensive chairs at a consignment center. We wanted to modernize them a bit for our studio space so we gave them a facelift! Using Golden Brand textile medium and flat interior house paint, we mixed up a batch of textile paint and set to it with a foam roller and brush. The chairs are still drying and we have some awesome detailing to add, so stay tuned for the next step in the process!!!

Stones

Items from nature can be a great source for inspiration. We love these simple and easy ways to enhance the beauty of something as simple as a stone. Forget the pet rock of your childhood. These ideas are ways to create sophisticated and beautiful objects for your home, workspace or even to give as a sweet little gift. 

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Spring Palette

florals

A little springtime color inspiration to pair with this gorgeous weather we've been having... a spot of rain here and there punctuated by a warm, sunny weekend. Love living in the Bay Area!!! We are so lucky.
Here are some images to keep us in this sunny mood!

ombre cake

love the work of Elizabeth Messina

jcrew

lovely and simple

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