girl and wallpaper reunite

 













It was back in 2010 that I posted: girl meets wallpaper a tale of GASPing over wallpaper in Romantic Homes, tracking it down, and using it here and there ... on a wall, framed as art and to cover the side of a small cabinet.

 













For a while now, I'd been thinking about using the left over scraps to line the insides of cabinets. The other afternoon while on a writing break, I needed a project to clear my head and out came the last rolled remnant!

 
















Without much planning (er, none) I peeled a first sheet of contact paper from a shelf and used it as my template to cut a piece of wallpaper to fit. Not even taking the time to grab the wallpaper paste from the basement, I zig-zagged a line of school glue, smeared it around with my hand (with a plastic lunch bag as a glove) and "installed" the wallpaper. I added spots of glue where needed and then rubbed the paper smooth with a dry paper towel.


















When I finished the first shelf I thought: Am I crazy? No planning, no measuring, no nothing? But, somehow it worked and so I continued and completed two more shelves until, alas there was not enough paper left. I pulled out some pretty shelf lining I had purchased at The Rose Victorian and used it to trim the top shelves. Again motivated by haste, I secured the lace paper with tape.















Even though I was only able to cover three shelves, it gives the kitchen the little boost I craved and might just make unloading the dishwasher a tiny bit more pleasant.

In book news: My first text deadline is complete! Thanks as always for your much-appreciated well-wishes and cheers!

In blogging news: It looks like Blogger has changed a bit and I have no idea how this post is going to look when published! Why so many constant online changes? LOL

Happy May!

xo
elyse

"less is more"

"Neutrals provide a perfect canvas for the playful palette of this sunny Providence bungalow."

Because magazines tend to hit the newsstands early, the May issue of Cottages & Bungalows might seem like old news in mid-April, but it's still very exciting to me!

Here's a little story of why, and how it came to be ...



Through blogging I became acquainted with artist Margaret Owen, and as it turns out she lives in Rhode Island just like me. We met for lunch and I held a giveaway of one of her bea-u-tiful paintings (post). Soon after, I sent a batch of images to Romantic Homes to pitch a story about Margaret for their we love / artisan section. Not only did the idea get the green light, but upon seeing a snippet of Margaret's fresh and colorful home, I was asked to do a story for their sister publication Cottages & Bungalows.



In the April 2012 issue of Romantic Homes you will find my article The Practical Impressionist, my very first non-tutorial writing for the magazine. How especially wonderful to have the opportunity to help promote Margaret and her art.



In October, I met Margaret and enlisted friend Bronwyn (aka Casapinka) at Margaret's home, where we plotted a course over sandwiches and got busy the following week.



The three of us had SO MUCH FUN moving furniture, styling vignettes, buying fruit and flowers, and taking photographs. Industrious Margaret even created a new painting to display and built an orange box to hold a large floor plant!



Next it was time for me to write the article and wait patiently for it to publish!



You can find my article Less is More on pages 49-57 with resources listed on page 94. I found my copies at Target and Barnes & Noble.

The seemingly indefatigable Margaret just returned from hosting an art retreat in Morocco and is now offering a painting workshop in France in September! How cool is that? For information visit French Sketchbook.

MEANWHILE in BOOK NEWS ...
The project part of the book is complete and I am currently writing, writing, writing, editing and writing! And smiling. Hope you are smiling, too.

xo
elyse

spring break

Hello!

It feels strange to be such an "absentee" blogger lately but I have been using every opportunity to work on my book. I'm trying to be very organized, too. Well, pretty organized anyway!



The projects portion is complete! Days spent making glorious messes, listening to music and being nervous; then tidying everything up before the boys storm through the door hungry. The best tinkering days were the ones where projects seemed to take their own detours and turned into things I hadn't planned on. Know what I mean?



The very day I realized that I had depleted much of my treasured supplies, a surprise package arrived at my door step from the amazingly talented Debi! A beautiful egg carton painted, decorated and filled with favorite things like paper roses, mini cupcake liners, and other sweet odds and ends! That Debi is such a good egg. {tee hee}



With the projects behind me, I am currently writing all of the text. Step-by-step instructions, project introductions, etc. I try to start each writing session with a favorite treat for inspiration whether it's baking a batch of muffins the night before to pair with coffee, or sipping pink grapefruit seltzer (so delish!).


I can see by blog thumbnails that I have lots of catching up to do on really fabulous posts. I do try to update my Tinkered Treasures page on Facebook almost daily. It's usually small snippets of things like the image above from my latest magazine purchase. GASP!

The boys have the week off from school so it's time to put on my cruise director's cap and keep us busy and happy. Maybe I can fit in some writing during a couple of cartoons ... or better yet, a cartoon marathon?

Happy April!

xo
elyse

selina style

First, a heartfelt thank you to everyone who commented on my wishing out loud post. Working on a book can be a bit, well, daunting ... even when it is a dream come true. The many encouraging words I received have been such a boost and continue to cheer me along during the first of my deadlines! However, tonight I am taking the night off to talk about another book: Homespun Style by Selina Lake.



If you're like me, you have come to admire Selina's lovely styling through her other books Bazaar Style and Romantic Style, where you can count on playful mixes of pattern and texture, always garnished with flowers or fabric, and always punctuated with an effervescent pop of hot pink.



Like this dreamiest of bedrooms in soft shades of aqua, blue and mint.



Or this colorful kitchen on page 25 that I seem to get stuck on every time.



Beautiful rooms of well-organized crafting chaos: bins and baskets of yarn and paper and buttons.



Fabulous details without being fussy



Not only is Selina's imaginative styling showcased in beautiful photography by Debi Treloar,



but the layout is fabulous and the words by Joanna Simmons are perfect.

Remember the bright, uncomplicated colours that filled our childhood paintboxes?

If you follow Selina's blog and Facebook page as I do, you know one of the reasons why her books are so fun, special and lovely:
Selina loves what she does and does what she loves.



Okay, tomorrow it's back to working on the book for me! I hope to share more on that soon.

But tonight, I am catching up on reading blog posts!

WOL!

xo
elyse

wishing out loud: book news

Wish Out Loud (WOL) is a little expression I made up for myself. It's all about putting it out there ... your dreams, your goals, your wishes. I often WOL and SOL (Smile Out Loud) here in blogland because it is a place so full of camaraderie.



WISHTORY
About two years ago on a cold winter day, my boys pleaded with me to take them to the playground. Knowing I would be that-mom-in-the-car, we stopped by the library so that I could pick up a book. I grabbed Alicia Paulson's Stitched in Time. Despite being "sewphobic" I knew it would be lovely and enjoyable because I follow Alicia's blog, Posie Gets Cozy. What I didn't know was that just a few pages in, I would be struck with this wonderful and exhilarating feeling of I can do this. I could write a book. A craft book!


Right then and there in the cold car, I hastily scribbled thoughts onto an envelope (no iPad here!). Soon I began to research and discovered my next steps would be writing a query and a proposal. This may be around the time the frequency of my blog posts slowed because any extra time was used for writing, editing, creating and then finally ... submitting!

I sent my query to a publisher and I waited. I tweaked my query. I sent it again. I obsessively checked my email. I inquired. I waited. This process continued for about a year until I finally received a gentle rejection.

My next step: I wished out loud. Some of you might remember that about a year or so ago on the upper left sidebar of my blog it said something like: Attention Publishers. Book deal wanted. I had seen another blogger do this and thought -- I'm putting it out there. This act felt brazen.



Weeks later I received a phone call from a very special person who noticed my WOL. We talked and she told me that she believed in my idea. She suggested a publisher to whom I should send my proposal. Again, I tweaked, edited, reviewed and sent it. And waited. And obsessively checked my email. And then at last heard from the publisher who found my ideas "clever and very, very lovely." Months later on my birthday, I received an offer. A few months after that ...



a contract! (Guess I could've dressed-up for the pic!) I am busybusybusy working on a book of 35 projects. The release is planned for Spring of 2013!



I thank all of my friends in the blogging community for always cheering me on, for leaving comments like I hope you write a book someday because I would buy it! These good wishes let me know that this was possible.

I hope you WOL your hopes and dreams, too (even if it feels brazen)!

{So, if I'm not so great at reciprocating comments, I hope you'll understand. Please know that I read and sincerely treasure each comment.}

xo
elyse

cottage style: an especially special issue

Aah ... the magic of blogging ...



One year ago I found myself swooning like crazy over blogging friend Cindy's post simply titled WHITE, in which she shared image after image of her dreamy home. It's fun to see the comment I left then that says:

{you might want to send this link to fifi. she is always looking for beautiful homes.}

Well, guess what? Cindy took my advice and by August, Fabulous Fifi was blogging about her July shoot schedule in California which included Cindy's home! Thrilled about this connection, I asked to be considered to write the article. Just before Christmas, I received the assignment!



Fifi's go-to photographer Mark Lohman took the prettiest images. The article titled warmed with white is part of the Romantic section of the magazine and is filled with Cindy's French/Nordic decor and tips. If you like chipped finishes, ruffles of linen and muslin, and touches of pink you will LOVE this feature. Working on the article even prompted me to buy another reclaimed window ($5!) to hang indoors.

I'm so honored to have contributed to this beautiful publication. It was two years ago that an issue of Cottage Style inspired me to re-do my bedroom. With so many places to find images and inspiration, to me still nothing compares to savoring a printed magazine!



On newsstands March 6th!

xo
elyse

happy februyellow

It happened AGAIN!



I find myself craving yellow, searching for yellow, creating with yellow.

I checked my trusty blog and sure enough, just like last year (sweet idea) and the year before (craving yellow), I felt the same way at the same time.


This week has found me gathering yellow ...


Creating with yellow ...


Shopping for yellow ...


Mellowing with yellow ...

And as always, I love my yellow with dashes of pink!

How about you?

xo
elyse

{Shopping Sources}
Fabric: Fat Quarter Shop
Millinery forget-me-nots: Sugar Pink Boutique
Charm bracelet: Nest Pretty Things

smooches

Framed wallpaper

Sometimes we blogger-types arrive home to find boxes waiting at our doorstep. It could be a giveaway win, a thinking of you gift, a purchase! I would like to share all three in a display of the amazing generosity* throughout blogland.
*Well, the first two are a display of generosity; the purchase was more like a display of follow-your-gasp!

The Giveaway Win



A box with a giveaway win arrived yesterday from Joyce of Scrap for Joy! It included a book, two sweet butter pats, crafty items and more! Joyce has always been special to me; she's warm and funny and so talented. I crossed my fingers that she might include a goodie created herself. And she did.



Joyce made this pretty garland using Cath Kidston stationery that says smooches! Of course I had to do a little stylin' to show off her handiwork. {Sorry for the glare}



So very adorable.

The Gifts



My superfunpal M from {oc cottage} shocked me with a delivery of beautiful books: thriftychic so that I could finally return it to the library, and the equally swoonworthy The Comforts of Home. How fun is she?!



In the past months I have received an aqua stocking from sweet friend and Pansypreneur Sharon, a fun bird from Kreatelier from artsy Margaret, and a stocking from cheerful Jeanne.

The Purchase



And this GASP AT FIRST SIGHT Savannah removable wallpaper was a MUST-HAVE when I found out (thank you, Molly!) that it's from Pottery Barn Kids and ships for free. Sigh ...



I have a zillion ideas planned for this roll!



i-smooches to you for reading

xo
elyse