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It’s time for me to share a few more details on the Shabby Sleek Greetings project that I collaborated on with Maddy (of Inspired Bride) for Nonpareil Magazine. Get ready for loads of pictures!

Almost six months ago, Maddy and I met each other for the first time over a tasty dinner in downtown Minneapolis. We talked about design, blogging, her life growing up in New York, and my life growing up in northern Minnesota. The conversation also touched on the possibility of collaborating on a project of some sort. We tossed around a couple ideas, and over the course of the next several months stayed in touch.

Fast forward to February, my house, on a sunny Saturday afternoon. Maddy and I were sitting around the dining room table, up to our elbows in crafting supplies, and an abundance of creative energy buzzing through our veins. Together we planned, purchased and assembled the various elements of the greeting table we had dreamed up together.

On the day of the photoshoot, we headed to !Delaney Photography in Minneapolis. Now, before I go on, it’s essential that I give you a tour of this Amazing studio. Yes, it truly was Amazing with a capital ‘A’. Maddy and I were drooling over the details of this place. Check it out for yourself:

I love the mix of old and new, finished and raw.

Anyways, back to business… Once we arrived at the studio, Maddy and I laid out all of our materials. Our wonderful stylist, Nicole Uphoff, joined in the fun and began potting the small succulents.

Meanwhile, Maddy and I got busy working on the paper details.

Nicole is a professional stylist, and has been in the industry for 17 years. She was wonderful to work with and learn from. These are the various surfaces that she brought to the studio for us to choose from. We ended up shooting on the dark wood surface and one of the white shutters.

The wall that we shot against was painted the day of, using Restoration Hardware’s “Graphite”. While working together on this project at the cottage, Maddy and I agreed that we loved the warm gray tone in my bedroom, so we used the same paint color for our backdrop.

Styling each shot was an involved process that took into account placement and lighting. We combined the various elements that we wanted, and Nicole fine-tuned the details, with the help of Maddy, Arin Kukulis (another stylist/art director), and myself.

When the set was ready, several test shots were taken, and we tweaked as needed based on the results.

Here’s the whole gang (Arin, Nicole, Dan, and Maddy) checking photos.

We ended up shooting a total of seven sets/scenes. You can see them all by viewing the Shabby Sleek Greetings article (click on the right arrow to scroll through the pages). Once the photos were taken, Maddy worked her magic, and wrote up a fantastic how-to on the various elements of the greeting table, including the wishing tree, programs, escort cards and potted succulent favors. This, of course, all ended up on the virtual pages of Nonpareil Magazine!

This project was truly a joy to work on, and I learned a great deal about styling, and how art directors, stylists, and photographers work together. Additionally, I gained a great friend along the way. If you enjoyed seeing this project, you will be glad to hear that Maddy and I have already met and began planning our next collaboration for issue #4 of Nonpareil. Stay tuned!

*Last two photos taken by Dan Delaney of !Delaney Photography. Concepts and art direction by Maddy Hague and Bethany Hway. Styling by Nicole Uphoff. Additional style and art direction support by Arin Kukulis. Calligraphy by Xandra Zamora of XYZ Ink.

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Remember in February when I was crazy/busy? I had a series of guest bloggers, and somehow managed to make it through one very jam-packed month. I revealed Secret Project #1 to you already, in the form of the Vintage Valentines photoshoot that was later featured on Style Me Pretty. I also think I mentioned Secret Project #2, but thus far, have not revealed its identity. Well, my lovely readers, the day has finally come that I can throw back the curtain and let you in on the other project that was keeping me busy last month!

Issue #2 of the amazing Nonpareil Magazine is out (congrats to my dear friend Maddy Hague, who is one half of the brilliant team behind this online pub), and I am thrilled to announce that the Shabby Sleek Greetings project was a joint collaboration between Maddy and myself!! We brainstormed, shopped, crafted, designed, printed, arranged, and tweaked together, and in the process became great friends. Check out the step-by-step how-to on creating all the various elements for your own greeting table. And check back here next week for all the behind-the-scenes stuff! I’ll have pictures and stories to share. Have a great weekend everyone!

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A couple weeks back, I had the honor of guest posting on Mrs. Limestone’s blog. I put together a post all about decorating with jars, and the many aesthetic and functional uses they can serve. The post was such a hit over there, I thought I would share it here too. Enjoy!

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Today I want to share with you a few ideas on how to use glass jars in your home and in your decorating. I live in a small cottage in Minnesota, and tend to decorate using a subtle, natural style. Jars are one thing that I use all over my home to hold everything from dog bones to candles! Read on for ideas on how to use this thrifty and fun item all over your own home.

Pictured above, a couple jars sit on display on a shelf in my living room holding clothes pins. Multiples of the same thing have a dynamic, but calming effect. There is a look of consistency, but the trio (third jar not seen in this picture) creates visual interest.

My husband and I have a fun tradition of collecting multiples of one item from every vacation we take. We put these little collections in jars and display them on a shelf. Here you can see driftwood from a trip to Door County, Wisconsin and smooth pink and gray stones from a trip to the North Shore of Lake Superior.

In my studio, I have jars to hold rubber bands, large clips and paperclips. Since they look so lovely on my desk, I can keep these necessities close at hand for maximum convenience.

In my bathroom, I have two jars perched atop the toilet (since we have literally zero counter space) holding q-tips and cotton balls.

My kitchen counter is host to this trio of jars that hold loose change, dog bones, and clothes pins (for sealing up bags of opened bags of chips, etc). I also toss wine corks in the clothespin jar to keep things interesting.

Back in the studio, I have this small jar holding sticks of chalk that I use on a small chalkboard frame (see tutorial on how to make your own here).

In the summer, we spend many evenings on the patio, enjoying the long hours of daylight and warm temperatures. I often have a few jars scattered around with small votives burning. It sets a lovely mood, and when it gets dark…

…nothing compares to the beauty of all those candles burning brightly in the many glass jars!

The very best part about decorating with jars is that they are extremely cheap and easy to find. Most of mine were found at garage sales for pennies a piece. Often people who are into canning will sell a whole box of old jars for only a couple bucks. I scoop them up whenever I find them, and always put them to good use!

Other ideas for using jars around your home include ::
- use them to hold lemonade or a signature beverage at your summer party
- put some fresh cut flowers in them on the table for a casual and pretty centerpiece
- fill them with candy, cover the top with fabric and tie off with a ribbon, then give as a gift
- fill with dirt and place herbs in the jar… how lovely some basil or parsley would look growing out of a jar!
- use a small jar on your nightstand to hold keys, watches or anything that comes out of your pocket

I hope you have enjoyed this little collection of ideas for using jars around your home. If you have any other ideas that I did not mention, feel free to chime in and leave them in the comments. I have many jars and am always looking for creative, new ways to put them to use!

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It’s been a crazy week here at the cottage, but in the midst of it all, I somehow managed to find time to tackle a quick DIY project that’s been flitting around in my brain for awhile. The amount of supplies needed is minimal, and like Rebecca’s wonderful project yesterday, this one can easily be done in under an hour. Now get out your sewing machine, grab a pair of scissors, and get ready to join the fun–today we’re making our own notebooks!

The first order of business is to find or purchase some twill ribbon. I found these mini spools at Michael’s for only $.50 a piece. They each have four feet, which is enough for two notebooks. So $2.00 in ribbon = enough for 8 notebooks. Not too bad!

You will also want to get your hands on some cardstock. I went for neutral tones, with one vibrant green for a pop of color. These were sold in a pack of 50 for about $4.00, also at Michael’s. Make sure you also grab some plain text-weight printer paper. You’ll want 5 sheets per notebook.

Once you have your materials gathered, measure 24″ for each piece of twill ribbon (1 piece per notebook you are making). Cut on the diagonal to prevent fraying!

Next, whip out some double stick tape. This step is essential, as you are going to take that 24″ piece of ribbon and center it on one sheet of cardstock and then sew along the length of it. The tape will hold the ribbon in place while you are sewing it to the paper.

Now just bring the paper and ribbon over to your machine, and make sure to set the stitch length to something a bit longer. I had my machine set at 3.0. I chose to use cream colored thread for all of the notebooks that I made, since it was easiest to avoid switching out thread colors, but I think adding a contrasting hue would be just darling.

When you start and end your stitch, go very slowly and carefully back and forth so that the stiches fall in place over one another and finish off the edge. This will prevent the thread from coming undone, and give a really nice, finished look. Take your time sewing the ribbon into place. It’s not a race, and speed is not your friend here! Slow stitches will mean more perfect stitches!

Once you get to the end, clip the thread right down to the ribbon on both sides. The backstitching will hold things in place, so no need to worry about anything come undone.

Next, grab five sheets of plain printer paper, and fold them crisply in half. Now take your cover and fold it in half as well. Line up the text sheets with the cover sheet, so the folds match. Next, you are going to need to use a long arm stapler (since a standard stapler won’t reach to the middle of a letter-sized sheet) and staple right on the crease. This is called “saddle stitching” in the book world, and it works great for a project like this!

And that’s it! You’re done! Now just repeat those steps as many times as you want for a really simple, fun little notebook. Make several and give the set as a gift, or keep them in your purse for grocery lists!

Another idea is to print something on the cover, such as your name, or a graphic. Whatever you do, have make sure to have some fun with it! I hope you enjoyed this little project… as always, don’t hesitate to let me know if you have any questions. Happy Thursday, and see you tomorrow!

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