winner announced!

Peek at Tinkered Treasures

Thank you to everyone who participated in my signed copy giveaway! Using random.org the selected winner is: Paula Collins! Congrats to Paula!

Paula: Please contact me (my email address is located at the bottom of the about tab) and I will be happy to send you a signed copy of Tinkered Treasures!

xo
elyse

signed copy giveaway!

I was just thinking it's time for another giveaway of my book, Tinkered Treasures! So, let's see ... here are the deets!

- To enter simply leave a comment on THIS POST.
- For any additional entries please share this link (U.S.) or this link (UK) to where my book can be purchased on Amazon, or this link to Barnes & Noble. You can share the link on Facebook, your blog, Twitter, Instagram, etc. but please return to leave a comment on THIS POST for each share to confirm.

A winner will be chosen at random on Tuesday, May 28, 2013.

Please be sure that I will be able to contact you by your comment if you are the winner or be sure to visit the announcement post and contact me if you are the winner.

Thank you so much for all the support!

xo
elyse

tinkered treasures fun facts

I thought it would be fun to share a few fun facts about my book Tinkered Treasures ...

LIGHTS OUT This toggle switch plate-turned-frame project was styled and photographed but ended up being cut from the book. The reason? This type of switch plate while very common in the U.S. is not readily available in the U.K. and my publisher Cico Books is in London so this was a valid concern.

LIGHTS ON However, I liked the project so much that I pitched it to Romantic Homes as a Make It feature and created a French-Nordic version which ran in the magazine's October 2012 issue.

FABULOUS FOREWORD As soon as I told my treasured Fairy Godmother Fifi O'Neill, that the book was indeed happening, she offered to write its foreword. As you probably are well aware, Fifi is a conduit of beauty: she is a brilliant editor, stylist, author and generous heart. Even after many readings, her eloquent words about me and our friendship still amaze and astound me.

THIS AND THAT

• I probably made double the amount of projects that actually ended up in the book
• I'm not a perfectionist when it comes to the projects but I am regarding the text
• Most projects were created while sipping flavored seltzer or Starbucks coffee and listening to the band Luna's Lunapark and Bewitched CDs which I find energizing without being distracting

ROYAL TREATMENT I shipped all projects to London in 3 or 4 batches where they were styled  beautifully by Sophie Martell and brilliantly photographed by Holly Jolliffe.

Dressed to match my book alongside the adorable Marisa

MARVELOUS MARISA My author photo was taken by my sweet new friend, the super-talented and adorable Marisa Bettencourt, who really came through in a pinch and showed up at my door with her camera just days after my plea. I gave her one of my first of two advance copies and her's was the first book that I signed!

TREASURE MAP Currently, Barnes & Noble does not carry my book in their stores but hopefully someday. For now, I hope you will request it from your favorite local bookseller or buy it online at Amazon.

Amazon or Amazon UK

THANK YOU

Hope you enjoyed this little making of post! Find more details about my first book at the book tab on this blog and view a peek here!

xo

elyse

pretty yummy

A visit to Koralee Teichroeb's blog Bluebird Notes is always a treat.

A favorite image from Bluebird Notes

Koralee's simple but effective posts showcase her sunny outlook via cheerful quotes, delightful commentary and wonderfully styled displays of vibrant florals, foods and fabrics.

Blues and violets = sigh ...

I recall a post entitled {girls only} that included the following quote from Iris Murdoch:

One of the secrets of a Happy Life

is continuous small treats

I was so taken with those two lines that I included them in the Introduction of my book.

How very exciting for a couple of blogging pals to have our first books released around the same time! Koralee and I decided to send each other a signed copy and share about our books on our blogs.

Pink + aqua + ice cream!

This is one of my very favorite images from Koralee's scrumptious book, everything goes with ice cream. The book, which is a visual dessert, is a delicious extension of her blog -- filled with her beautiful photography, bits of wisdom, crafty ideas and of course, all kinds of inventive ideas for ice cream! The book also includes recipes from bloggers like Torie Jayne on charming "Meet my Friend" pages.

everything goes with ice cream exudes pure joy ... just like Koralee.
(I hope she produces a calendar someday!)

Cuz nobody doesn't like Koralee ...

{anyone remember the old Sara Lee jingle?}

Warmest congrats and much success and sprinkles to Koralee!

blog

book

facebook

xo
elyse

pink dresses

Lots to share and I'm always waiting for the perfect stretch of time to alter and watermark images but it slows things down so bear with me as I attempt to whip-out a blog post quickly already!

This week I was superhappy to be part of an authors event at Barnes & Noble along with other Rhode Island authors. It was my first-ever signing event and I was giddy with excitement and filled with gratitude at the many friends who attended, including long-time blogger friend: the multi-talented, sweet, warm and delightful Karen of A Scrapbook of Inspiration. (I'd share a pic but don't have 'em yet. Stay tuned!)

The Providence Journal

I have also been in the newspaper recently to promote Tinkered Treasures. A few years ago when my Fairy Godmother Fifi O'Neill visited my home for a photo shoot, she suggested I coordinate my outfit to match the room in which I was photographed and so as you can see I've kept that advice in mind when prepping for recent press efforts.

Valley Breeze & Observer

What a nice excuse to buy a pink dress! 

Photo by Marisa Bettencourt, M.Studios

But then again, who needs an excuse to buy a pink dress or one of any color for that matter? So, if you find yourself admiring a pretty dress, allow me to be that voice in your head that says: buy it!

Meanwhile, today I am happily in what I shall refer to as black lounge pants paired with a t-shirt and beat up sneakers.

xo

elyse

behind the scenes: illustrated steps

With my series of travel entries complete (I think), I'd like to share a bit of the process of creating my book Tinkered Treasures, which features more than 35 easy-to-make projects.

As I made projects, I was sure to stop and take photos of each important step. {At times I felt like I was making a stop-motion movie} From the many photos taken, I would create collages and send them to the editor assigned to my book ...

who would then forward them to talented illustrator Qian Wu to be illustrated.

How very surreal and very wonderful to see my own photographs illustrated so beautifully. During the proofing phase of the book, I needed to carefully review each depiction to make sure that it was correct, visually descriptive and corresponded well with the written instructions.

Qian Wu was among the many talented hands that went into creating this very lovely book of which I am so honored to have written.

happy tinkering

xo
elyse

paris: day 2

Image source: Hotel Caron de Beaumarchais

Well, it's about time I wrap up my series of posts on my trip with the second and final day in Paris. It was a quick-paced whirlwind of a trip for my sister Betsy and me, propelled by momentum and excitement. However, for my first time being so far from my boys, the length of the trip was just right.

Betsy and I decided to greet our full day in Paris with room service of le petit déjeuner which was quite wonderful even though it was not so petit.

Betsy insisted that our first stop be Le Bon Marché, a stunning department store designed by Gustav Eiffel. Imagine a bright and airy Nordstrom with a fabric section. I proudly ordered myself a meal at one of its cafes that had no cheese* but did have "caille" -- a word I could not locate until after I was back home: quail!

We spent hours leisurely strolling along the Champs Elysees ...

We nibbled macarons and sipped coffee and tea at Laduree ...

And enjoyed dinner before wishing the city of light a bonne nuit.

Back at our hotel I tapped away to share images and words by phone before attempting to close my suitcase and shut my eyes for a night of replaying brilliant moments such as musicians playing traditional French music on the Metro.

It was all like a wonderful dream.

Pre-trip Collage from this Post

It must be the writer in me that seeks to define what London and Paris meant during my brief visits. I loved them both. London was very much the kindred spirit, the long-lost, ruddy-faced best friend -- all warmth and smiles -- while Paris was like a crush -- where I wasn't completely at ease but smitten and attracted nonetheless.

xo
elyse

*I just may be the one person you will ever meet who detests cheese.

paris: day 1

Dear Blog, I went to Paris.

Sounds kind of silly doesn't it, but for the past five years this blog has been the closest thing to a diary I have ever kept. A dynamic journal with a search function, this weblog has become a part of my life: a place where I share, document and connect. Before I ramble endlessly about all that blogging continues to mean to me, I'll continue with tonight's dreamy entry.

Dear Blog, I went to Paris. One month ago ...

If you're just tuning in, you can catch the trip's backstory here but in a nutshell, once I decided to go to London there was no way I was skipping Paris. And Paris looks like this. Like a post card. Like a work of art. Like a dream.

Here is the shop where I needed to communicate with gestures that I would like some ribbon cut.

Silly me. I could barely keep my mercis from my bon jours but tried my best.

My traveling companion / beloved oldest sister Betsy, booked two nights for us at the elegant Hotel Caron de Beaumarchais where she had stayed years before after reading about it in a magazine. We took a taxi directly from the train, dropped off our luggage and began strolling le Marais section of Paris.

Every few steps I would look at Betsy, grab her arm and say, "We're in Paris! This is crazy!" and she'd always reply, "No. It's wonderful!"

Click to enlarge

 Our first night we just walked and walked and walked ...

Bon jour!

 We walked to Angelina to sip cups of rich hot chocolate amidst grand surroundings.

Brilliant

We walked to the Roue de Paris and took a spin for a brilliant aerial view of the city at night.

Skipping the Metro and taxis to explore!

We walked across the Seine River on the gilded Alexander III bridge, always keeping our eyes on our prized destination, our grounded North Star ...

Me and Betsy

GASP ... the Eiffel Tower.

Pinch me!

I didn't go up, I wanted only to gaze upon it. It's beautiful. It's magic. It's Paris.

No dinner? No problem. Il est merveilleux!

We returned to the vicinity of our hotel for dinner and wandered into Le Coude Fou. At once rustic and vibrant, the bistro features walls covered in art, chalkboards scrawled with long lists of wines, and tables of friends spilling over with lively conversation. With no translations on the menu, it was definitely a place for locals and me with my limited French, obviously only ordered wine and a cup of soup for dinner. C'est la vie! It was wonderful.

Hotel Caron de Beaumarchais

Who could sleep?

Stay tuned for the final day of our whirlwind trip. And always remember, it all begins with a thought, with an idea, with a dream!

xo
elyse