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‘spruced up’ in westport

April 19, 2013

beautiful bookmarks at Spruce

It is that time of year in Connecticut…the time when ones thoughts are consumed with warm weather and gardening (as you can tell, I am still in a gardening state of mind)…And, for Friday field trip this week, I am going to take you on a visit to a new home and garden store in Westport center called Spruce.

Spruce in Westport, CT

The store has been opened almost a year, but quite honestly, I only recently became aware of it because I usually tend to concentrate my store perusal to Main Street when I am in that part of Westport.  Spruce is definitely worth the short walk from Main…it is located at 90 Post Road East.   A Paper Source has recently opened right next door which gives me two great reasons to walk over to the Post Road when I am in the downtown area.

Spruce in Westport, CT

Spruce in Westport, CT

In 2010, Spruce started with one store in Connecticut…there are now 7 Spruce stores in 3 states.

coastal items from Spruce in Westport, CT

Spruce in Westport, CT

As you can see, they carry a lovely selection of home and garden items, gifts, jewelry and clothing, and other accessories.

Spruce in Westport, CT

Bracelets from Spruce in Westport, CT

Assorted merchandise at Spruce in Westport

I hope these few photos gave you a little bit of an idea of what Spruce has to offer…I had a great time visiting!

  and Chad at Spruce in Westport, CT help to make your shopping experience a fun time!

Patty and Chad at Spruce in Westport, CT help to make your shopping experience at this home and garden decor store a fun time!

Entrance of Spruce in Westport, CT

Hope you enjoyed our Friday field trip to Spruce in Westport, Connecticut.  You can learn more about the store by visiting the Spruce website.  Be sure to visit the store if you find yourself in the Westport area.

Have a really wonderful weekend.  Thank you so much for stopping by!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie 

I am sharing at Little Red House and The Tablescaper.

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repurposed brown bags

April 16, 2013

bookmark made from a Terrain bag

April 22nd is Earth Day…in the spirit of the day, I am repurposing the brown bags I have accumulated from my Terrain purchases to use them in some fun and beautiful ways.  If you aren’t lucky enough to have a Terrain near you, any brown bag will do!  The Terrain bags have one up on the traditional brown bag since they are embellished with some beautiful floral designs.  You may have other stores you frequent that use brown bags with some type of design that would make your creations more interesting…Trader Joe’s, as an example.

Once I got started with this, I realized I could create a number of posts…I had so many ideas!  But, I limited my creations to seven.  Here is the bag I started with:

Terrain shopping bags

This first item I made is a place card.  I used a piece of cardboard from the bottom of the bag and glued some of the bag onto the front and back.  Then, I rounded the corners and stamped a name onto the front of the card.  Anchoring it into a piece of driftwood gave it the perfect finishing touch!

place card from Terrain bag

Wrapping paper is an obvious use for the bags and here I used a bag as wrapping… in combination with some pretty forest green ribbon and a natural twig pencil (both from Terrain):

wrapping paper crafted from a Terrain bag

wrapping paper from a Terrain bag

Cutting a bag into strips and weaving the strips together suggests a wealth of possible items…here, I created a basket with some woven strips.  I also used the handle of the Terrain bag as an accent on the edges and shredded (in my home shredder) some of the tissue to create the filling.  I was even able to utilize a piece of Terrain ribbon that was used on one of the bags I received from the store.

basket woven from a Terrain bag

basket crafted from a Terrain shopping bag

For the next use, I created a pretty utensil holder using a bag, a bag handle, and a paper punch:

cutlery holder fashioned from a Terrain bag

If you read my Valentine post, you know I made Valentine treat containers…I love to make treat containers for any occasion.  Here, I printed this beautiful vintage rabbit image I found on The Graphics Fairy onto the bag…I cut a piece of the bag and fed it through my home printer.  Then, I used my sewing machine to create a beautiful treat container.  This one contains jelly beans…the container needs to be ripped open to discover the contents!  Fun, right?

Treat sack from a Terrain bag

treat sack from a Terrain bag

Here is another Terrain bag…notice the green stitching on the bottom of the bag and the cut out handle…

Terrain shopping bag

I was able to utilize the stitching and the flower description on the back of the bag in creating a couple different variations of a bookmark.  The one with the stitching also utilized the handle from another bag:

Bookmark from a Terrain bag

bookmarks made from Terrain bags

Bookmark from Terrain bags

I embraced the style of bag for the dry erase board I created.  I simply framed the bag.  I love how the opening for the handle serves as a place to write ‘notes.’

dry erase board from a Terrain bag

So, these are some of my creations made from repurposed brown bags…a great way to serve the environment.  I hope you will be inspired to create some repurposed projects of your own :)

Thanks for visiting!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

I am sharing at Little Red House, Pinch of Joy, Craftberry Bush, Common Ground,  The Shabby Nest, and Coastal Charm.

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homage to fall with velvet pumpkins

September 24, 2012

One of my recent visits to Terrain created an intense love for velvet pumpkins…definitely love at first sight!  O.M.G., why have I never seen these before!  The display in the store was just breathtaking…how incredibly beautiful!  As much as I hate leaving summer, I now have a wonderful reason to celebrate fall…velvet pumpkins!!  So, I spent the first night of fall staying up into the wee hours of the night making velvet pumpkins…they are addicting!!

Here I present my homage to the new season, using my new creations…enjoy!

Because so many have asked, I am going to put together a tutorial (another late night!) on creating these beauties and I will post it tomorrow…if you want to try your hand at making them, check in tomorrow for the instructions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The pumpkins I saw in Terrain, that created such a stir in my heart, can be purchased in an unreal assortment of colors, on this website: http://www.hotskwash.com/hot-skwash-online-store/  To shop Terrain online:  www.shopterrain.com

Hope you enjoyed my velvet pumpkins!  Remember, if you want to give them a try, check in tomorrow for “how-to” instructions.  Thanks for visiting, Jackie 

The Lettered Cottage

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5 ways to add design personality

September 18, 2012

The best part about home design is adding your own style to your decor.  I would like to share 5 simple tips that can add instant design personality to your home.

INCORPORATE FAMILY MEMORIES.  A great way to anchor your home decor is through pieces that have special family meaning.  How wonderful to see an old family item passed down through the generations, or something that has special meaning in your family, every time you walk into a room.  If you don’t have something like this already, it is easy to collect some items from other family members that you can incorporate into your decor.  I have done this a lot over the years in my home.  I even have one room in my home aptly named ‘the nostalgia room’ that is decorated entirely with old family items and photos.  An old black and white family photo framed in a spectacular or trendy way, or a piece that reminds you of a particular family member, can create instant personality.  An old sign from a family business, your grandfather’s favorite fishing pole hanging on a wall, your grandmother’s favorite lamp – anything that has some family significance can make a creative design piece with personality!

A great way to anchor your home decor is through pieces that have special family meaning.

ADD TEXTURES.  Varying the textures of the materials you use in your decor adds great visual interest.  Incorporating different textures into a room full of neutrals gives instant visual interest and is a design element all on its own.  A monochromatic color scheme is instantly transformed with the use of varying textures.  Think about mixing textures you love when you purchase items for your home.  Any color scheme is enhanced with a clever mix of textures.

Varying the textures of the materials you use in your decor adds visual interest.

CREATE ORGANIZATION.  The way you choose to organize not only makes you feel great by creating order, but also can serve as a design element.  If you look at organization in this way, it is a simple step to add style to your home.

One way I do this in my home is in the way I organize my books.  The way I incorporate them into my decor is the way I cover them.  This is the simplest, but most beautiful way to turn books into a design element.  Use your favorite wrapping paper, nautical or street maps, old sheet music, or even brown paper.  Think about your interests and the color schemes of the rooms where you shelf your books.

Closets can be organized in a visually pleasing way using baskets or attractive containers.  Keep your rings in a pretty dish that matches your decor when they aren’t being worn.  In the kitchen, utilize attractive jars to house those daily calcium tablets!

The way you choose to organize not only makes you feel great by creating order, but can also serve as a design element.

USE SOME PLAYFUL PIECES.  As in life, it is not a good idea to take your decorating too seriously – add some fun accessories to give your home decor personality and to make you smile.  This is an easy thing to accomplish with little expense and can be utilized anywhere in your home.  I like to find playful kitchen items that can make even the most mundane task seem fun.  There are plenty of ways to add whimsy to your decor, particularly in accessories.

As in life, it is not a good idea to take your decorating too seriously.

REMEMBER OUTDOORS.  Don’t miss the opportunity to utilize great decor outdoors.  Simple items can make a big difference and this is especially true outdoors.

One example at my home was my clothespin holder.  The holders traditionally sold for clothespins were visually annoying.  I bought a basket for much less than a traditional clothespin holder and stained it using leftover stain from my house…now I love the way it looks!

White plastic doorbells are another eyesore, but SO easy to change up.  House numbers are also an easy item to replace and can be a big visual element – a great way to showcase your personality by the style of numbers you choose.  Planting your seasonal flowers in colors to complement your front door is an easy way to make your plants a great design element.  Adding design features to your garden is also an instant way to add personality and can make your weeding session more fun!

Be sure, also, to use pieces you really love for outdoor dining or entertaining.  I love the acrylic water glasses I found for my outdoor entertaining.  Clearance racks are filled with outdoor dining accessories at this time of year and some smart purchases now are sure to put a smile on your face come Spring!

Don’t miss the opportunity to utilize great decor outdoors.

Hope you enjoyed these five simple tips to easily add your own design personality to your home.

Need some ideas for something in your home that you’d like to turn into a design element?  Send me an email, I would love to help!

Thanks for visiting, Jackie

3 comments

orange appeal

April 19, 2012

do they still make tang?

When I was out and about last weekend I decided to try and find something to rock the orange.  Yes, I decided to give in to the orange invasion.  If you have been in the stores at all this season you have witnessed the orange take over.  It is everywhere.  In Manhattan recently, I saw fashionistas all over the city carrying huge orange bags…a big departure from the usual all-black attire.

What exactly is the appeal of the color orange?  What are the things that come to my mind when I think of the color orange?  Construction sites…  Prison uniforms…  Mario Batali (okay, I do like him).  TangTang was the ‘space’ drink I enjoyed as a kid …do they still make that stuff? ….and as I got a little older,  Tango.  Tango was an interesting (albeit disgusting) mix of some kind of artificial orange beverage mixed with vodka.  Back in ‘the day’ it was considered a much higher end beverage than my usual sloe gin fizzes.

I do give in to so many of the trends as time goes on….no matter how adamant I am about avoiding them.. I always give in.  I figure I will get some token orange item and get it over with…satisfy the orange. I can’t go with too much of it because I know it looks awful against my skin.  This was confirmed years ago when color ‘seasons’ were popular.  I was told I was a winter. Apparently winters DO NOT look good in orange.  Winter or not, I definitely agree that orange is not my color.

I decided to walk up and down the aisles of Jo-Ann Fabric & Craft Store to get some inspiration and a light bulb went off as I got near the yarn section.  I will make a lightweight scarf!!  Granted, I know very little about knitting other than the basic knit.  I try to mix things up by using two yarns simultaneously or varying the size of the knitting needles.  In this way, I can make a scarf look different without really knowing that much about knitting or learning any other stitches. If you pick interesting colors and yarns and/or mix up the sizes of the knitting needles, you can make people think you are an experienced knitter and they will never know you need to use a reference on the internet to remember how to cast on!  Here are the yarns and needles sizes I chose:

I used one 15″ knitting needle and one 17″ knitting needle and held the two yarns together and knit them as if they were one.

 

I merely did straight knitting, but put the two yarns together and knit them as one.

 

 

 

By the way, if price were no object, my orange item would definitely be a pair of Tory Burch flats…now THAT’S an orange crush!

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