Pinterst Love: Mirror Image

For those of you who don't know, I recently moved! From a small apartment into a HOUSE! (More photos, etc. on that in the weeks to come - as I've got a lot of great projects planned!) We're still renting, but luckily for me I still get to decorate and paint like I own the place :) And, if you are on pinterest, you must know that it is THE BEST place to store all of your decorating ideas in one simple location. I was reviewing my board the other day and it dawned on me that I am currently IN LOVE with circular mirrors. Here are a few that I'm thinking of for my bedroom.

Love this - circles in circles.


Who doesn't love GOLD?!

Natural flower petals gives this an ornate yet understated look :) SUPER pricy though :(

Simple, white, classic :)

What things are you currently obsessing over? Are you currently on Pinterest and thinking, so many pins so little time (like me?!)!

Crafty-Round Up: May

Wow. The summer is more than half way over already (sorry to those of you reading also in denial like me if this comes as a shock to you!) and I don't even remember it starting! There has been A LOT going on and instead of boring you with all of the details (although I know you wouldn't think it was boring at all!), I'm going to hit the highlights of each month. First up, May - which brought many wonderful events. Enjoy!

Mother's Day
I made the trip up to Jersey to host the 4th Annual Mother's Day Brunch with both of my Grandmother's, my Mom, my sister and my Aunts. Its always a much anticipated event on the family event calendar, and this year we also celebrated my Uncle Brun's birthday.

This year, I made all of the women fabric flower corsages - don't you just LOVE the jewel center?

Mom & I on Mother's Day. I am truly blessed to have the most amazing, thoughtful, caring and supportive Mom in the whole.wide.world. She is such an inspiration to me in all she does. I hope that one day I can be half the mother and woman that she is - love you Mom :)

Mom's Mother's Day Present - a fabric necklace. Matches her blue eyes perfectly! Be on the look-out for more of these in my shop soon!

The cake :) And yes, it was as good as it looks!

Next up on my crafty round-up, Carter got married! For those of you who don't know my friend Carter, she is the FABulous graphic designer behind my logo and branding. You can see her work on her Facebook page. (Psst...She is also my fabulous apron model :)

I just couldn't resist making her an overnight bag in Heather Bailey flowers with Amy Butler sun spots in all of her wedding colors plus her new monogram on the front. Perfect for her trip to St. John's for the wedding!

I also assisted with her bridesmaids gifts - beach bags to match their super cute coral dresses! I made one for Carter too :) She is so good to me, I had to return the favor!

Next up, I FINALLY met Miss Sophia!

Is she not just the most precious thing EVER?! I am pretty sure that the entire day I was there, I let her mom Julie only hold her for mere minutes :) She was so sweet and mostly just slept on my chest the entire time. It was so sad to leave her. Oh, and Julie too. I seriously LOVE Julie and Min for having such a sweet little girl I get to spoil! Speaking of spoiling, just wait until you see Sophia's new overnight bag - photos to come soon!

Fabric Wreaths for Everyone!

So here it is folks - my first giveaway here on Love Elaine! And, it just so happens to be on the heels of my first giveaway on Young House Love. For those of you not familiar, go check it out now - but don't say I didn't warn you that you will soon be hooked. John and Sherry are fellow Richmonders who share their DIY tales of fixing up their second home and raising a family. Seriously, one of my favorite blogs EVER! So, RUN, do not walk through the interwebs to sign up for the chance to win one of the three giveaway prizes - yup, each person who wins gets their own custom fabric wreath!

Fabric wreaths are a hot commodity right now in my etsy shop! They can be made in any color combination and in sizes from 6 inches to 18 inches, with a bow or without.

So, since I'm in the giving mood, I thought I would add one more wreath to the pot for a Love Elaine reader! Here are the three ways to enter:

• Leave a comment below with your favorite color combination for Spring/Summer
• Follow the Love Elaine blog and post a comment to this post that you did
• "Like" Love Elaine on Facebook and post a comment to this post that you did

The winner will be announced on Monday, May 9! Good Luck!

Spring Has Sprung

While most people say "So sorry I've been soooo busy with x, y, and Z, as trite as it may be, I have been VERY busy and OVERWHELMED. That's why I haven't blogged. That's why I haven't posted all of my FABULOUS new items in my Etsy Shop for you to purchase, because everyone wants a new bag or apron for spring right?! Oh, and did I mention I had a craft show last weekend?! Luckily, I had two fabulous helpers (my Mom and my boyfriend's Mom both came to my rescue to get my tukas in gear for the show, so I wouldn't embarass myself and have NOTHING on my table - I seriously had nightmares about it before the show! An empty table at a craft show dream is a crafter's equivalent to those "standing in front of a classroom naked" dreams. So, while I pull myself (and my stuff) together to take photos next week and list the items in the shop for sale, here are a few teaser photos of spring goodies for you and your home.

Overnight Bag with zipper closure and lots of pockets

New item: Clutches, with or without a rosette

A fresh spring pleated purse

Update your table for Mother's Day with new place mats

A Very Happy Birthday (Bag!)

As I mentioned in my earlier post about Sophia's letters, I've been taking more time lately to sew gifts for those very special people in my life :) Its my favorite part about being able to create - giving 100% unique gifts that bring a smile! This totally fits with my gift-giving-personality, as many of my friends and family will tell you, I am an OBSESSIVE gift-giver. I obsess for weeks over finding the perfect gift to give which includes many hours of online shopping, frequent stops to unique stores and shops for ideas, asking said friends and family for ideas - it is kind of redic. I wish I had an explanation or story as to why I am this way (don't worry, all of the people in my life are great gift-givers, so I never had that time that I got the most awful gift and never recovered), but the sad truth is I am just an perfectionist and I take my gift-giving seriously.

So, onto my latest gift. This is one of my new Overnight Bags! Its a larger version of the everyday tote that is my most popular seller and I just LOVE it! It has so many pockets - and a ZIPPER (more on that later!). Just finished this bag over the weekend and it is a birthday present for my boyfriend's mom Carolyn! She is always making trips back and forth from Northern Virginia to North Carolina each month either in the car, on the train or via plane, to visit her mother, so I thought she would like a bag to have all of her travel must-haves by her side!


Don't you just love the subtle monogram on the front? I think it adds a great personal touch - and I know she's a huge fan of personalization on gifts - as the boyfriend and I got a great Christmas ornament this year with both of our names on it for our tree! The fabric is Art Gallery (which is my favorite fabric on the whole planet - it feels as awesome as it looks!).

Smells Like Fresh Cut Grass

Or at least that is what I can smell when I view all of the lovely handmade items in chartreuse that can be found on Etsy right now. I've always had a very love-hate relationship with green until recently. I just can't get enough of chartreuse here lately (plus, it sounds so fancy, I just love to say it too) that I've made a table runner, replaced the pillows on the couch, and today I bought a lovely kona cotton solid yard to use in an upcoming project. You can say I'm 'Crazy for Chartreuse"!

All of these items make me think of days as a young girl, walking to the bus stop through dew-covered spring grass...

Yay for spring!

XO,
Christen

Sophia's Nursery

Julie has Sophia's Nursery all set up - all she needs now is the baby! I wanted to share photos so you can see the letters in place and how amazing everything came together without being too "matchy matchy" which I know is what Julie was hoping would happen! Didn't she do an amazing job?! I just LOVE it all :)




Does that fabric wreath look familiar? It should - because I made that too! Its here in the shop! So, if you want help with your nursery, I'm all set with letters, fabric wreaths, baby bags, curtains and more! Just ask!

Thanks Julie for letting me be apart of such a special time for you and Sophia - can't wait until she gets here!