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Welcome! I'm Victoria. This blog is filled with my love for the art of merrymaking, pretty things to craft and one festive magazine. Here's more about me...
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Large tissue-pom flowers

03.03.10 Posted in Imperfect party challenge, party by Victoria

Make it yourself: Large tissue pom flowers-

Start with a 6 inch diameter circle of heavy weight paper or cardboard for your base circle.

You will use 6 pieces of coordinating tissue paper. Doing one at a time begin making your petals. Connect the two short ends of one side and secure onto the base circle with tape. Connect the other opposite two ends and secure on the backside of the circle.

Working gently with the paper poof your petal out and into shape.

Repeat to create six petals.

Finish off with a 4 inch diameter pre-adhered piece of felt to cover all the lose ends. Simply place it on top and press down, the center will hold up to a rainstorm-  it was tested last week:)

Hang alone…

or together to brighten up your party space.

PS. I think these will make you smile.

blessings.


Bloom party

02.26.10 Posted in 30x30, design, Imperfect party challenge by Victoria

We are putting the finishing touches on this years Spring in Bloom party which has been a lovely party to design. Especially since it has been cold and rainy lately, there is great joy in having pink poms hanging everywhere.

I love this party design for its contrast of pretty spring blooms and rustic earthy elements. Since this event is designed as a brunch and neighborhood auction for Haiti relief, it’s only appropriate to have the raw burlap edges and chipped brick wall back-dropping the brilliant pinks and flowery details. A bit of rubble mixed with the simple beauty. Here are the details… (DIY’s for the party to follow next week)

We set up the party on our back porch under the canopy and softened the rough lines with beautiful poms of tissue paper and homemade felt flower bunting.

A field of life saver & chocolate flowers sit on the table ripe in bloom.

The candy “flowers” are resting in moss and the field is covered in burlap with miniature bunting welcoming guests to pick and taste.

A showing of spring potatoes made with fresh rosemary anticipate the coming meal.

We prepared a plate of scones made using a Sandra Lee recipe and baked them right into old soup cans. They came out extra fluffy (which is a great sconce quality if you ask me) and were topped with burlap spray-painted bloom labels and miniature raw edged bunting.

Since creating the s’more trees earlier this month I have realized just how lovely dessert trees can be. An orange tree in bloom finished off our table, with yogurt covered pretzel flowers and a few little bird peeps perched on the branches.

I stuck the oranges through with toothpicks and hung them with bright orange ribbon.

We dressed up simple white paper napkins with tissue flowers sewn right on. They make for a beautiful and budget friendly addition. Using tissue instead of fabric allows the napkins to remain disposable- just a few quick stitches adds an extra dose of beauty.

A re-purposed table that we found left for the trash was revitalized with a coat of bright red spray paint and a stenciled in bloom. It serves beautifully as a drink table along side our main space, reminding us that was has been meant for ruin can truly be restored.

A great quality of reclaiming trashed items is the ability it gives you to add substantial pieces to your event for a minimal investment- a half a can of spray paint and fifteen minutes work give us a table that fits right into our event design.

While making the ceiling poms for this event I was dreaming of a fresh way to use tissue this spring. These large flowers are a fresh take on the always lovely but a bit played-out tissue flower poms. They went together quite easy and add a bit of whimsical funk when paired with a thrifted frame and an old wreath resting against our brick wall.

Beverages are being served out of a plastic watering can. A cheap find that you can snag just about anywhere this spring. Stenciled in with a bright pink bloom makes this a pitcher I will be keeping around to use well after the party is over.

Champagne is also being offered with fresh-cut orange slices in a goodwill antique tea carafe. The glasses are rimmed with orange bloom zest and lavender.

As a tabletop centerpiece I converted our love vase project and freshened it up for spring. Switching out the spray-paint for hot pink and adding a vase gives this project a whole new (read: bright) life.

Our back yard has a white gate which serves as a lovely entrance to the party. A chalkboard painted piece of wood with a large tissue flower lead the way in.

Along the entrance path also sit our party favors. Individual garden tiles wrapped in pre-seeded burlap with thank you notes attached. Although a bit heavy to carry home, they’re a great addition for our neighbors yards. The burlap can be planted to sprout a few blooming flowers for each family.

Along the welcome path also sit our recently planted flower pots. Using the bloom stationary they announce the reality that it is not quite spring and there is much we are still awaiting to bloom.

Preparing this party has been such a joy. I love how the whole theme has come together around a word that encapsulates so much about life, the season we are currently in and what we hope to accomplish through the event. The little details were so fun to pull together, like the bike wheel wreaths and the spray painted table runner.

BLOOM

A theme and an event that we hope will bless those near and far. A design I hope will inspire you in grace and service this spring.

PS. Share your imperfect party for a chance to win an Anthropologie gift card. Two weeks left to submit- HERE.

blessings.


Bloom printables

02.22.10 Posted in Imperfect party challenge, party by Victoria

Only three more weeks until The imperfect Party Challenge voting will begin! I cannot wait to share with you many of the ideas and inspirations from the wonderful parties being entered. There is still time for you to win the $100 Anthropologie gift card as well, enter your party here.

In the meantime, plans are well underway for our neighborhood spring in bloom party. I am releasing the BLOOM printable party pack in PDF form today. A set of free printable party invitations:

The pack includes invitations, thank you notes and two different size party labels. The design has a beautiful textured linen background that looks lovely printed from home. It features the hot pink bloom flower found all over our party design and a fresh mint green to accent.

Download the files and print out on heavy card-stock. Be inspired to bless others and celebrate spring with those around you.


Bloom with ease and loveliness…

PS. If you’d prefer to buy these already printed, they’ve also been loaded to the store.

blessings.


THE imperfect PARTY CHALLENGE- something funky

02.11.10 Posted in Imperfect party challenge, party by Victoria

With inspiration sought after, and the invitations sent out- this week we are focusing on what will make your party extra lovely. Adding a little flair, something funky, a special unexpected twist to your party’s decor.

After falling head-over-heels in love with the plastic bottle wreath earlier this week, see the full tutorial here. It quickly became my something funky for the bloom party. I wanted to take it a step further and so…

I made a whole bunch of extra flowers, and turned them into vases. A very funky centerpiece indeed. I will be placing multiple vases of varying heights throughout the table.

To make the vases, I followed the painted flower tutorial and simply stacked the flowers gluing as I went. The bottom flower kept it’s bottle cap on to seal in the water and all the others went cap-less, allowing one simple bloom to pop out of the top.

I love the imagery of a single wild flower blooming amidst the recycled, sprayed bottles. That is our hope for the charity auction, a bit of blooming amidst the tragedy of Haiti.

How can you add a bit of unexpected flair to your party? A little something funky will remind you how lovely it can be when things turn out imperfectly beautiful.


THE imperfect PARTY CHALLENGE- invitations

02.04.10 Posted in Imperfect party challenge, Momhood by Victoria

They do not need to be fancy but a few lovely details will go a long way in tangibly communicating what our guests are to expect.

A sample of our bloom invitations-

A tensy hint of shimmery glitter and a neatly wrapped ribbon are just a forte as to what awaits. An inspiration, I hope, gathering people together to bless one another.

If you are planning along with us- this is the week to dream up, be inspired and make your invitations to give out to those you hope to bless by your event.

blessings.


THE imperfect PARTY CHALLENGE- inspiration

01.28.10 Posted in Imperfect party challenge, Momhood by Victoria

Welcome to this winter’s imperfect PARTY CHALLENGE. I am thrilled to be chatting with you over the next 6 weeks about the ideas, details and design process that contribute to a well put-on party. As well as those pesky issues that always seem to rear their ugly head to throw us all off track.


Are you participating? Will you be planning along with us? Or are you entering your own party to win the $100 Anthropologie gift card?

Inspiration should be where we all start when thinking about any endeavor, especially a party.

What inspires you to bless others through celebration- a birthday, a baby, a beautiful sunny day? What colors, designs or words bring delight to your heart as you think about your event? Whatever it is that comes to mind- capture it somewhere. By capturing it you have now begun an inspiration board.

Capturing your inspiration is important so that you have a foundation to build upon through the coming weeks. Your tracking could be as simple as a scratch paper filled with doodles and words, it could be a folder filled with pages and pictures. My inspiration boards are almost always kept online through Evernote, they have an amazing free online organization structure that allows me to tag pictures, recipes, and anything else with a simple mouse click. Once clicked it captures the pictures, the writing, and the url- allowing me to organize and categorize all of my lovely ideas in folders. It is a wonderful system for anyone who seeks out online inspiration.

The IMPERFECT PARTY CHALLENGE- Here is my inspiration

  • Inspiration often starts with a purpose- An afternoon charity event, helping an orphanage in Haiti to care for it’s babies.
  • After determining the reason I move on to the words that will inspire this event- Bloom is my word. Flowers that bloom because we are looking towards spring, flowers that bloom because it is what we hope to see after this tragedy, children being loved, life revived. Blooms popping up amidst the rubble.
  • Then my word moves on to take the form of images I see throughout life that get complied into a board- an inspiration board that becomes my starting point for everything else to come.

Bloom for Haiti,  an inspiration board-

  • A Christmas card from our wonderful parents, I love the blue glittery bird
  • Pom-pom flowers
  • A bunch of bloom-worthy circles found 90% off at Target and grabbed up right after Christmas
  • Bloom stationary that has become my paper inspiration
  • Martha’s flower pom-poms
  • Blossoms on a branch

(P.S. May I suggest if you want to participate in our contest but can not think of a reason to celebrate, why not host a party to help Haiti? You can use the event to bless those near you and those far away.)

Be sure to join the contest by posting your party pictures HERE. If you’d like, I would love to see a few items inspiring your party plans this week.

blessings.


Throw an imperfect party & win

01.21.10 Posted in Imperfect party challenge by Victoria

* Update- submissions have been closed, thanks to everyone who participated, you are all amazing! Please go HERE to vote for the party of your choice.

Have you been awaiting a reason to do something fun? To stay up all night disco dancing with a lampshade on your head, or maybe cozy up for an evening of scattergories with a few lovely friends? Are you ready to throw a party this winter?

If so you are in good company, starting next week The City Cradle will be hosting our first annual…

Why imperfect? Too many of us choose not to entertain and bless others around because throwing a party SEEMS like way too much work, because our houses aren’t quite clean enough, because we are not cute enough to pull it all together, and of course, because we cannot cook well enough.

This is sad- having a party is about enjoying and blessing our wonderful friends and family, about meeting new ones, and about connecting together. Hosting one doesn’t have to be centered around perfection- It can be lovely, inviting, and fun without draining you of life.

Are you up for the challenge?

Can you think of a group of people to bless, be it 5 or 50? If so participate with us and you can WIN $100 gift card to Anthropologie (usable in person or online).

——-

The contest information

  • This contest will run for 6 weeks and culminate with reader voting the week of March 15.
  • Each week during the event we will be posting a new topic to help you plan your IMPERFECT party- Plan along with us and host your party the week of March 10th.
  • Or submit any other party you are hosting/have hosted within the last 6 months.
  • To submit your party please post a link on the comments of THIS post to your specific party post, or you can email your information to citycradledesign (@) gmail (dot) com by 10pm March 14th. You do not need to have a blog to win.
  • To be entered include 1-5 pictures from your event, a description of the inspiration, and an explanation of one thing that did not turn out quite perfect + you can also include any other important or lovely details.
  • Submissions will close at 10pm March 14th. I will choose five finalist and then a reader vote will decide the grand prize winner.

I look forward to seeing what we can create by stepping out to bless those around us with food, friends, and a little imperfection!

Take the challenge, be imperfect & win something lovely.

blessings.