Serious Pastels

Raining Rainbow by Solocosmo  

I've been running across a lot of amazing pastel color based artwork lately and it made me think, that pastels aren't always powder puff cute and reserved for little girls and nurseries. They can be sophisticated, eclectic, mystical, kitsch, and even just a little bit morbid as well. The use of bolder splashes of color and dramatic themes certainly add to that equation. A few that I am currently loving:

Yasmine of A Print A Day, online magazine Parasol,  fabric line, graphics craft shop, flickr.

Sunken Treasure by Brandi Strickland.  grethcnmist has a wonderful interview with Brandi here.

free range, flying duckling print by etcink

the music festival tents print by gretchenmist

Custom Eye Watercolor Portrait by Ashley White Jacobson

Egads Man Run poster print by William Dohman

Cosmic Unicorn by Rikki Simons

Sweet Treats: Edible Painted Marshmallows and Popcorn Activity

Amy of Living Locurto's edible paint project is adorable! She got the idea from Katherine's amazing drive in movie and popcorn themed party. Katherine used sweet evaporated milk with food coloring, and  Amy used regular milk with food coloring.

We have been loving both popcorn and marshmallows lately, ( put them together to make popcorn balls) and so I'm confident that my boys will just love this little activity.Wouldn't those marshmallows be cute in little s'mores?

Inspired Room: Fergus and Me

Fergus and Me has an exceptional eye for design. She also has an etsy shop full of wonderful vintage treasures. Her pre-teen girl's room has recently been showcased on Oh Dee Doh here, where you can read about the design inspiration and see more photos of the room.

The vintage quilt and bed posts (Land of Nod) add so  much warmth to the modern decor, like the swinging chair from Terence Conran's Habitat and wallpaper which is Polar bear oilcloth by John Lewis (UK). The creme paint and turquoise walls (Benjamin Moore Jamaican Aqua) work gorgeously with the dark wood floors.

I have to say, the paper cranes may very well be my favorite piece to this room. And they were made by Caroline herself. Such a creative and spirited young lady.

I love this redwork embroidered pillow on the cozy cream couch.

Even though this is an 11 year old's room, it reminds me of Kelly Rae's colorful home and I believe, can be utilized for even us older people!

Homefront: Cinco de Mayo Dress Up

Over the weekend, we attended a little birthday party for me and a nephew and a baby shower for my sis. But this post is about the Cinco De Mayo themed party we attended. There was a piñata of course at a few of these and lots and lots of good Mexican food and authentic dulches Mexicanos (candy!) I had my first taste of yummy, perfected, homemade flan (made by her) and other authentic treats.

 Mexican Candy by Warm 'n Fuzzy

I wore this, yes I did. I actually own 3 of these Mexican embroidered vintage dresses. This long cream one, a short hot pink one and a short white one with pale pink embroidery (it's very pretty). 

 

I love them all, but have never worn them. I wore this long one with a vintage red belt, vintage red cowboy boots I got at an auction and these amazingly (huge, pointy, uncomfortable) red enameled flower clip on earrings. My ears hurt just thinking about them, but oh the cuteness.

Many people remarked how 'festive' I looked as I was pretty much the most colorful thing there (aside from the piñata), though I wonder if that mostly meant 'ridiculous'? Oh well. It's not everyday we get to dress up as a Spanish Rose (even if we DO look a little ridiculous). At least I didn't go all dio de los muertos with a  sugar skull, now eh?

piñata via ok history

For those of you wondering, Cinco de Mayo (Spanish for "fifth of May") is a holiday celebrated in the United States and primarily limited to the state of Puebla in Mexico. The holiday commemorates the Mexican army's unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, under the leadership of Mexican General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín. (thanks, wikipedia) as my knowledge of Mexico is little more than a brief visit to Tijuana). Cinco de Mayo is also my little brother's birthday... Happy Birthday Jae!!

Vintage Finds: The Dainty Squid

Have you ever visited Kayla of the Dainty Squid? If you love color, vintage knick knacks, woodland creatures, mushrooms, cats and a flair of creativity, than this blog is for you.

She has great little collections of her many wondrous thrift successes, as well as lots of amazing finds on her friday favorites posts. She has a great post here on thrifting tips, and an Etsy shop of her very affordable and adorable handmade pouches and such. She also has a giveaway going on for some adorable mugs.

Homefront: Vintage China Plate Collection

 

I have been wanting to make a little plate wall. All of the plates I find are small little vintage china floral rimed dishes, and though I love them, I would love to get my little hands on some colorful Mable's House bird style plates!

But really, the white satiates my need for a clean uncluttered look, a la Nester Style, and the floral detailing adds a subtle pop of color that I lean to at times. So, it's a win-win, I suppose, with my ever changing mind.

 One last mission, finding plate wall hangers. They elude me no matter where I go, always sold out, on the verge of extinction. Which is interesting as my plate collection tends to multiply and replenish a stack on my countertop. And at 65 cents a dish, it's easy to see how that could happen.

Do you have some type of project or collection that is starting to take over? I think, maybe if I go to my calendar,. and write a specific date on when it should be complete... perhaps it will help me make my goal.

ps.. in case you are wondering about my lovely new table cloth... it is actually a vintage bed sheet that I fold in half and throw on the table. It's so pretty, how could I not? I'll show pics of it in action soon enough.