Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Making a Man out of Pink



{click photos to zoom, some have amazing details}

I recently asked if a pink room would go over well with your man. The answer was mostly a negatory. But, I thought, surely, this can work if done well? So, I did some sleuthing around for pink bachelor pads, and as I suspected, most of the accents are done in greys and earthy, leathery browns, and lots of animals. Some are quite over the top, but others could work with a few minor changes. Convinced? I asked my husband what he thought, and he gave the appropriate learned response, "I'm sorry, your right, those pants make you look great." (in other words, h* no!)

(note, not all of these rooms are bachelor pads, many of them are though!)




During the 1920's through 40's when color was first introduced into baby's dresses, baby boys wore pink and baby girls wore blue. Before the 20's babies wore white. This article here has some amazing scientific research why the color preference changed to what it is today, and why women are drawn to colors such as pinks and reds more than men (it has something to do with berries, no lie).


mark rigg

caradnonio-pink+bachelor+pad

VogueLiving-thomas+obrien+pink+bachelor+pad








pink+pad+david+alhadeff+new+york+time+feature




apartment therapy




herve vab derstraeten's pink bachelor pad


apartment therapy


the white house (red room)






windsor courtney smith




steve gambrel


apartment therapy


apartment therapy


drake design


nina campbell


house to home




domino






domino (yes, the walls are a soft pink)




apartment therapy










Truly though, if pink is alright in all of these scenarios, then you can tell your man that pink is just fine for him!


*brad pitt in pink suit, male model in pink polo, pink bottlenose dolphin


*pink john deere tractor, pink hummer limo, pink cat car


*pink storm trooper, pink storm trooper at G20 protest, pink darth vadar


*saddam hussein's pink room, solider in pink boxers in afghanistan gunfight, pink tank


*last but not least pink foosball table

Pink... the new boy power. Could you imagine purple? Which would be harder, do you think?

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

The Art of Giving. Part 3



Welcome to the final chapter in the Art of Giving Saga, artful embellishing.
Part 1~ Artful Packaging
Part 2~ Artful Tagging

Today's topic we will be focusing on those extra special embellishments for your package that will give it that boost of personality, and a bit about HOW to pick out the perfect gift.

First, for picking out the perfect gift, think, does this person collect anything? Great! Then think again, is this person tired of this collection, would he/she pull out their hair if they get another owl/mirror/western movie/golf mug/necklace... Do they talk about how much "clutter" they have and they have no more room for "knick knacks", these are some clues to try and take a different route.

Think, what kind of hobbies/activities do they enjoy? What colors do they decorate with or wear? Do they love to cook, bake, read, be lazy, blog? Do they prefer organic, nature inspired or vegan items? Do they love pottery, vintage china, geneology? For inspiration, go to Etsy's Gift Guides, which has a lot of ideas for many personality types and occasions. The gift guides are a good place to start getting your brain turning for something not likely to be found in a mall. If this persons loves movies, thrill seeking, theatre, pampering, consider planning an evening out for an event rather than say, a gift card (which for many people, are perfect). Perhaps nearer to Christmas, I will revisit this topic, so lets get on with the packaging!

millinery flowers, vintage, gift wrapping, creative craft, bow, ribbon, lace, pastels

First, I take you to My Konos. She is a truly amazing jewelry artist, and has mad skillz in creating lovely supply packs. Paper millinery flowers, vintage ribbon, lace... just you go and pile it all up on a tissue wrapped gift and what do you know, you have a treasure. Try wrapping your gift up in sheet music, newsprint, a scrap of fabric, tissue paper....

nester, nesting place, ragamuffin, gift tie, craft

Now, Nester. Her ragamuffin theme has gone crazy on a foodie gift. She tied up some lovely fabric trim, tassels a bell and a note and there you have it, no wrapping paper needed!



Lastly, Unfinished Business. She makes jeweled embellishments already for you to just add on to your package, easy peasy.



Now, here are my contributions. I gave this lovely acorn bird feeder as a gift and instead of wrapping it or putting it in a bag, I embellished the rope with a feather, watering can, skeleton key and a cream ribbon.

For more ideas, I wrapped a book in ribbon and lace, and added embellishments that could easily be tied or glued together. I would recommend getting a circle of felt as your base, gluing everything to that and then tying your decorated felt tag to your wrapping ribbon.


tulle, vintage seam binding made into rosettes and a vintage brooch


tiffany blue satin-ish ribbon, vintage watch face, shell, vintage chandelier prism


tiffany blue ribbon, pink millinery flower, vintage rhinestone brooch, chandelier crystal


ticket stub, drink umbrella, pink heart jewel, green vintage bead, green flower, gold trim


shell, brooch, key, watering can, feather


black lace, spool, rhinestone, brooch, watch face, gear


pair of earrings (as a second gift), shell, flower, lace


wooden lady, feather trim, lace, flower, rhinestone brooch


same as above, but with a photo slide and buttons

Anything is possible, just use your creativity and spare craft junk you have laying around (it's a great way to destash!) For lots more ideas, visit Sande of A Gift Wrapped Life, the queen of packaging, and she also has an online shop, Oooh la la Cadeau where you can purchase lovely gifts along with lovely wrappings. (some of her amazing packages below)







If you could go out and package a gift today, which idea above would you most likely use as an inspiration, or do you have any other ideas?

Related Posts with Thumbnails