Our Wedding (Part III) :: The Little Details

Happy Monday everyone, I hope that you had a great weekend! Since it was such a beautiful weekend, I tried to spend as much time outside as I could, including a nice Father's Day brunch on our terrace and a stroll down by the river and a visit with the family to the Smorgasburg.  I am excited to bring you the last installment of our wedding which includes the details that made our day special. You can check out my wedding photographs here and decoration here.  

Romantic, rustic with a touch of whimsey was the feeling that I really wanted to create in each detail  of our wedding.  Since we were getting married in a rose garden, I wanted to incorporate a concise floral theme, consisting of season garden roses and peonies by adding a rose botanical print for both our wedding pamphlet and our menu cards.  For our favors, I wanted to tie it back to the venue where we had our dinner, Frankie's 457, a fantastic restaurant that also produces their own olive oil in Italy.  I decanted olive oil into small bottles and added a custom floral label that was placed at each setting.

Handcrafted:: Paper Poppy Present Toppers

My philosophy when it comes to wrapping presents is that the present should look as beautiful on the outside as it does on the inside.  When the holidays roll around, I look for ways to creatively dress-up gifts that will be placed under the sparkling tree.  One of my favorite ways is to top a present with a seasonal flower, garland or a traditional bow, however, this year I will be adding these giant paper poppies to serve as present toppers.  Before this project, I thought that making paper flowers was quite difficult, but I actually learned that it is the opposite.  These poppies are incredibly easy to make and you can really be creative with the colors and finishes;  I created a few different varieties including a metallic red poppy and a gold foil version.  Continue for more...

Handcrafted:: Gilded Bird Boxes

I recently had one of those leisurely afternoon where I could take my time wondering in and out of shops on Fifth Avenue.  One of my favorite stops is Bergdorf Goodman, in particularly the 7th floor that features an exquisite array of luxurious home goods and now holiday decor that always fills me with inspiration and DIY ideas.  There have been a few amazing projects floating in the blogosphere that turn plastic animals into beautiful objects like this project from Nadia which is one of my favorites.  Both Bergdorf Goodman and Nadia's project inspired me to create a decorative glossy box with a gilded bird that is perfect for a vanity, desk or mantle.  This project is easy and the results were just pretty.  This would be a fantastic hand-crafted holiday gift especially if given as a set.  Continue for more...

Handcrafted:: Decorative Decanters

I love collecting bottles, new or vintage, they serve so many purposes, whether decorative or functional; however, sometimes they need just a little oomph to make them just a bit prettier. I love spray painting them a solid color or giving them the look of mercury glass.  I recently had the idea to turn a plain decanter into a pretty one by simply adding a gorgeous knob on top.  This project is incredibly easy and looks beautiful on your vanity or on a bar cart. Stay-tuned for my post next week where I put something very luxurious inside! Continue for directions...

Hand-crafted Beauty:: Savon de Marseille Soap {I HAVE MOVED TO ROSE &IVY JOURNAL!)

To discover more beauty, please visit Rose & Ivy Journal by clicking here!

I have long been a lover of bars of soap and I will be the first to say that liquid shower gel has never been in my beauty repertoire.  During college I worked at a beauty boutique that sold many luxurious soap brands from France and it was there that I really fell in love with bars of soaps from brands like Prè de Provence  and Claus Porto.  One of my favorite types of soap is Savon de Marseille which is a luxurious soap that has an olive oil base and is infused with French green clay.  Savon de Marseille has a storied history and has been around since the 1600s, it is typically made with water from the South of France, French olive oil and clay and is left to dry in the breezy Mediterranean air. This soap is loved because it is incredibly gentle and can be used on all skin types, especially sensitive skin and can be used on the face and body.  This recipe is incredibly easy to follow and the result is pure luxury - it is gentle on my skin and the clay is great at removing impurities that summer weather can bring.  Once finished, you will be left with a lot of soap, so it makes an amazing gift to give just because.  Continue for more...

Hand-crafted:: Chamomile Tea

I must make a confession, I have thoroughly fallen in love with my camera.  It has taken a little while to really know how to use it, but when you do there is no going back.  That being said, I have really been doing some heavy experimentation lately, where I have spent hours (I mean hours) playing around with different lighting and making photographs either bright and vibrant or dark and moody.  A quick story first though- when I was in high school I inherited my grandfather's manual Nikon from the 1970s.  It is a beautiful camera, I still have it.  I used his camera for photography lessons and back then I just did it because I needed to fulfill an elective.  I thoroughly enjoyed it but my teacher said I didn't have a 'knack' for photography, yes, a teacher told that to a student, so after that class I actually believed him and didn't pick up a camera again until last May.  Since then, photography has been an amazing creative outlet for me and I am glad that I stopped believing him and in turn, I believed in myself.  

Anyways, I decided to dry the chamomile leaves from yesterday's post and make tea.  I made homemade tea once before here and was blown away at how easy it is to make yourself.  Chamomile tea has a subtle floral notes and I love to sip it with just a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.  Continue for more...

Creating a Luxurious Life:: Linen & Room Spray

 I absolutely adore the smell of fresh laundry - it has a certain aroma that greets you with a warm presence.  Unfortunately, laundry time in Brooklyn is short of being glamorous, especially if you are without a laundry machine to call your own.  I, like many New Yorkers, make the long haul back and forth to the laundry mat with each time making the idea of owning a washer and dryer feel like some sort of dream.   In order to make post-laundry time more luxurious I decided to create different linen and room sprays to make my sheets, blankets and towels fresher and also to fragrance the air with a naturally uplifting scent.  Creating your own spray is incredibly easy and if you put it inside of a pretty container  you will want to keep it by your bedside and spray it on your pillow before going to bed.  Continue for instructions... 

Heart Painted Ceramic Tea Cups

Happy Valentine's Day! I love tea cups, if only for their dainty presence. I am a coffee drinker through and through so I often find myself drinking my morning java out of a tea cup to just pretty up the experience.  You might have seen these tea cups in my post for Rich Hot Chocolate - well,  I painted them to make them more Valentine's Day appropriate.  This is an incredibly simple project and the possibilities are limitless, plus this DIY is very inexpensive.  I picked up both the tea cups and saucers at a vintage store for less than five-dollars.  Continue for instructions...

Also, don't forget to enter the Skin Owl giveaway here  - you can win one organic skin oil  of your choice and you can enter more than once! 

Handcrafted Greeting Cards

I have a profound love for stationary, both collecting it and sending it. In today's world that seems to move a mile a minute with tweets, texts and emails flying back and forth, it is nice to slow down and relish in a handwritten letter. The only thing better than buying beautiful paper is making your own and it is so simple and the results are limitless.  Here I fastened pretty buttons to scalloped card stock and wrapped them in velvet ribbon.  This could also make a great gift or could serve as an invite to your next soirée.