I was strolling along the aisles of my local Target store {one of my favorite passtimes!} and stumbled upon these little beauties. Sparkly shower rings!! and I instantly knew that these were made to do much more than hang, albeit glamorously, a shower curtain in my bathroom! I can imagine all kinds of fab cameos these can make at a party including to-die-for napkin rings. Keep an eye out for these in upcoming photo shoots of mine because I KNOW they'll have a starring role!
Today's my birthday and I'm off to do a little celebrating! I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Happy Friday!!
Jennifer
Hooray!! I'm finished! {insert tossing of confetti here!} But I have to tell you this was the hardest project! I would say this is definitely one of the more difficult DIY projects I've taken on... here's how it went:
FRIDAY:
I sanded the entire dresser with a handheld power sander. Definitely the right tool for the job - except that I apparently haven't been properly trained in how to sand because my finished sanding job showed lots of cirlces and scratches that looked like loopy-doodles.... thank goodness the silver gilding would cover this. I'm in big trouble when I go to do another painted furniture project though!
Then after my so-so sanding job I filled the holes from one side of each handle - I'll be replacing with knobs since I can't find handles that are the same size as these... next, I painted the base coat color. Here I used an oil-based dark chocolate from Benjamin Moore. If you are considering skipping this step - don't. I have to admit I almost did and I am now sooo glad that I didn't because it really does show through. Which leads me to my 2nd point - pick a color you'd like to see because - {ahem} you'll see it. I'm hoping that's the nature of gilding and not just my woeful gilding skills...
SATURDAY:
All excited to begin gilding... discover the brown paint is still drying. Darn this Virginia humidity!
SUNDAY:
OK! Finally ready to begin gilding! Yippie! So, at 7:30 am out to the garage I go. I bought the "quick dry" style of size which dries in 3 hours. "No problem, 3 hours? I'll be done by lunch!!" {insert dramatic/scary music here!} With paint-brush in hand, I begin applying the size. It's thick and sticky so I applied a nice thin coat. It took about 45 minutes to an hour to apply it carefully to everything. I wait another 30 minutes for the top to be "tacky" and then begin applying the silver leaf... This stuff is wafer thin. The slightest hint of a breeze and your placement is totally off. Well.... after carefully placing each little sheet of leaf I realize my 3 hour window has ended and the entire rest of the dresser has completely dried. After several seconds of panic and many, many deep breathes... {and panicked thoughts of "who can I call to come help me do this project!!??" or "could my 6 month old possibly hold a paint brush?!"} I realize that I'm going to have to apply the size and the leaves in sections. Thankfully the pint of size I ordered held more than enough to do this. So, taking it in sections, I finally completed the project nine hours later. Oh yes, you read that correctly... NINE hours. That would be 9 hours of hunching over, sweating, crying, more hunching, more sweating and a lot more crying. I admit it. I'm a wimp! This was not how I envisioned this project (or my Sunday!) going! I seriously thought I'd be done before lunch. NOT at dinner. And by then - I was so tired I barely wanted to eat anything...
MONDAY:
Feeling a little better after a night's sleep with no nightmares about the dresser - yay! - I headed back out to the garage to check on my dresser. It was sitting there looking all sparkly and shiny with a lovely distressed feeling to its patina. And I was smitten!! It is now happily residing in my bedroom and I'm mostly thrilled with it. Yes, there are some mistakes here and there but that's part of her charm.... her story.... and now that it's over, I love her for sharing that story with me.
Not sure if I'll keep the acrylic knobs - I love them {they're from Target! } but they kinda fade away... might try a darker knob... we'll see!
Happy Wednesday!
Jennifer
My daughter and I recently moved and I'm in the process of decorating my new bedroom. It's fun to have the liberty to decorate only to please your own personal style and taste but it's also kinda overwhelming! I've been busy building a Pinterest inspiration board for my bedroom and have gotten a little overwhelmed with all the options and styles that are out there. But the great thing about the board is that it collects everything visually and then helps me to see patterns develop and begin to really choose what I like and I what I don't. I'll share before and afters of the room with you soon but for now I wanted to let you see what I'm tackling over this Labor Day weekend.
I came across the top photo while trolling the internet looking for ideas and fell in love with the silver dressers. Fortunately I have my grandmother's old dresser which has a similar (although not identical) shape and thought.... "hmmm.... I could paint you!" I did a little more looking around and realized that paint probably wouldn't give me the look that I want but Silver Leaf would!
I found this handy blog post on Little Green Notebook (thank you Jenny for posting it!) and felt inspired to tackle this project! I bought my brown paint from my local Benjamin Moore shop (I got an oil based paint) and ordered my "size" and silver leaf. Like Jenny I also ordered the aluminum (not real silver) leaves.
So with tools in hand, my daughter and I (ok, mostly me) are headed out to the garage to begin sanding. Hopefully come Tuesday morning I will have photos of my beautiful newly silver leafed dresser to share with you! Wish us luck!!
I hope you have a fun & safe holiday weekend!
Happy Friday!
Jennifer
I am busy, busy working on the September issue of Celebrating Everyday Life with Jennifer Carroll and wanted to share a sneak-peek at one of the treats I've created for this issue: Caramel-White Chocolate Apple Pocket Pies! That's a mouth-full of yummy! Can't wait to share this recipe and more with you.
Not a subscriber? Click her to sign-up so you don't miss out! http://www.jennifercarroll.net/index.php?/newsletter
Happy Wednesday!
Jennifer
Ahoy Maties! My DIY Pirate Party kit is now up in my etsy shop! Please visit and share the link with any friends whom you think would like this kit for their next pirate party! http://www.etsy.com/shop/JenCarrollVA?ref=seller_info
Right now these are download only files (for printing on your home printer or through your local print shop). In 2012 (or maybe later this Fall!) I will be offering these items in a boxed set. Stay tuned for those details!
To view the entire pirate party shoot check out the August issue of Celebrating Everyday Life with Jennifer Carroll!
Click to launch the full edition in a new window
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Click here to sign-up so that you don't miss an issue!
I want to say a GIANT - THANK YOU!!! to everyone who helped with this Pirate shoot! Jen Fariello, Dara, Stage & Liam Parker, David Riley, Jim & Pat Roberts and Sherry Spencer of Pat's Floral Designs, Millie Smith, and Jenny Yetman for all their invaluable help! Thank you also to the folks at Chris Greene Lake for letting us shoot there.
I've also just found out that this photo shoot will be featured in the Spring issue of Phyllis Hoffman Celebrate magazine!!! How exciting is that?!!!! I'm a huge fan so this is incredibly exciting to me!!!
I hope you are having a wonderful week!
Happy Wednesday!
Happy Wednesday! We're off and running this season, with so many fabulous brides to design for-- and, let's be honest, nothing is more fun than designing for a group of brides with a wide range of ideas and concepts. Our first up is a Memorial Day wedding at Keswick for D.C.-based bride Lauren. She and her fiance Max have incorporated some Old World charms into their wedding design, and the results are regal and elegant. We just finished a mock-up of the reception decor this past weekend, and we're pleased that Lauren gave us the green light on our designs {we're also so lucky and excited to collaborate with Pat and Sherry of Pat's Floral Designs and Meghan of Shindig Events, along with the lovely Keswick staff and the Skyline Tent Co.}.
Some images of inspiration for our designs behind Lauren and Max's grandiose reception:
{via johnpratt.com}
{via eaudrey.com}
{photo by Jen Fariello}
Enjoy the gorgeous spring day!
-Jennifer & Stephanie
... Jen Fariello Photography and Shawn Cossette of Beehive Events! As always, we're thrilled when our fabulous friends get the recognition they deserve and we feel so lucky when we get to collaborate with Jen and Shawn. Shawn hosted a pretty springtime Bridal Bouquet design session for a bridal party, allowing her bride to really have some input on our bouquet. The group turned it into a party and Jen took some gorgeous pictures-- what a fun way to throw a shower!
{photos by Jen Fariello}
We couldn't think of a better way to spend a springtime afternoon-- beautiful flowers, good friends, and some design savvy! Kudos to Jen and Shawn and congrats on the Style Me Pretty Facebook feature!
Happy Friday!
-Jennifer & Stephanie
Did you hear about Reese Witherspoon's secret and sudden second wedding at her ranch in Ojai a few weekends ago? Once the media caught word of it, every magazine and blog was abuzz with speculation about what she would wear and how the wedding would be styled. We're finally getting glimpses of the star's (second) Big Day getting hitched to agent Jim Toth, and People just released a photo of her PINK custom-made Monique Lhuillier dress. The gown was gorgeous and we are so excited to see Reese on the cusp of new trends.
{photo by People via www.fashionista.com}
Reese and Monique went right in making the gown a subtle pink instead of an in-your-face hot pink. We love the sash and the neckline-- and kudos to the bride for going with a soft, natural hair style. It's a perfect look for a Southern bride!
We love incorporating pink into our color palettes-- some of our recent brides have used pops of pink in their bouquets, bridesmaids dresses, or ceremony decor. A pink satin ribbon lining the aisle? Yes please! Pink floral details on a tired cake? Yum! A pink custom drink? Perfection. You certainly don't have to put pink in the center of attention, a la Reese, but you should never be afraid to include it somewhere in the big picture.
Happy Wednesday! Enjoy the spring day!
-Jennifer & Stephanie
It was such a gorgeous day here in Charlottesville-- it got up over 80 degrees!-- and spring was definitely in the air, from our home base out in Afton all the way to the Grounds of Mr. Jefferson's University. We're completely biased, of course, but Central Virginia is definitely the place to be to experience spring time beauty. That being said, we rounded up a few of our favorite spring things in a green, white, and cream color palette to inspire our current projects...
