Such Pretty Things

Pretty Prom Dress Details

After a very busy week, I have been enjoying a lazy Saturday morning reading through my beloved design magazines and checking out my favorite blogs and websites.  I usually head straight to the Shabby Chic site, as I absolutely adore Rachel Ashwell's design aesthetic and color palette.  So, I was looking at her site this morning and I almost fell off my chair when I saw this photo.  Can you believe those prom dresses! Just the sight of those pastel colored tulle skirts floating above the floor was enough to make me feel faint.  

I love vintage prom dresses and I have managed to collect a few over the years. There is just something so beautiful and ethereal about them - and the colors are so soft and pretty.  Here are some details from one of my most cherished gowns...

The dress is the prettiest pale periwinkle shade (my favorite color) and the tulle is dotted with tiny white polka dots.

There are sweet little bouquets of pink forget-me-nots decorating the skirt.

And the bodice is a confection of ruffles.

If you ever visit one of Rachel's Shabby Chic stores, you will find that she often has several vintage prom dresses for sale or on display as decoration.  Whenever I am in LA, I always try to go to as many of her shops as possible, as each one has a different selection of dresses and a slightly varied layout.  One year, I even managed to get to four stores in just one week!  Now that is dedication, don't you think?

"Sugared" Millinery Wreaths

By now you probably know that I LOVE millinery flowers.  So, in honor of the holidays, I thought I would make some millinery wreaths. 

These were made with a mixture of both vintage and newer millinery flowers, rhinestones, pearls, glitter, and vintage velvet leaves (see, I told you I was planning to use them!).  

These were not hard to make - just rather labor-intensive.  All you really need is a basic ring form, a bunch of pretty trims, some ribbon, and a glue gun.  I simply glued my trims to the wreath form in a pleasing design. To get a more interesting and three-dimensional effect, I layered and overlapped petals and leaves here and there.  I then added pearls and rhinestones to the centers of the larger flowers.  I decided to make the wreaths extra sparkly by "sugaring" them with a dusting of very fine glitter.  I used a pale blue glitter on the lavender petals and a pale pink glitter on the pink ones. Everything else got a dusting of silver. 

I think the end result looks good enough to eat.  But please don't!  :-)

Target Tuesday: Glittery Leaves

Target has lots and lots of ornaments this holiday season, but I was immediately drawn to these pretty glittered leaves.  I guess I just have leaves on the brain lately, but aren't these fabulous?

 

These are part of Target's  "Snowfall Splendor" collection, but they remind me of Wendy Addison's lovely designs. They are a very nice size  - about 6" x 6"  - and a bargain at only $2.99.  They come in several different leaf shapes and the glitter, while probably not of the true glass variety, does manage to replicate it very well.  You could certainly use these as ornaments, but I thought they would also make lovely decorations for your holiday table.  All they need is a bit of embellishment.

I love to collect vintage Christmas baubles throughout the year.  I like to place them in glass bowls  or jars for decoration, but they also make excellent trims. 

  

To embellish the glittered leaves, I simply gathered a small bunch of wired vintage mercury glass ball ornaments and secured the stems together with a small piece of jewelry wire.   For loose balls, I just looped a piece of jewelry wire through the hanger, twisted it a few times, and made my own stem. I then tied the tiny bunch to the leaf with a length of vintage velvet ribbon (in pink, of course).  I didn't want to glue these because I figured I might want to use them again, but you could definitely break out the glue gun if so inclined.  

For a holiday gathering, you could make a bunch of these and have one waiting at each place setting. Then, at the end of the evening, your guests can take them home...

 

...a pretty little reminder of your time spent together.

Autumn (Velvet) Leaves

We live in an older neighborhood where many of the houses date back to the 1930's and 1940's.  This means that we are surrounded by lots of old and very beautiful trees.  In the Autumn, our yard is a blanket of color - not always so much fun to rake, but oh so pretty to look at.  And while I love the leaves that settle on my lawn each Fall, I must say that my favorite leaves are the vintage velvet ones that reside in my wallpaper covered boxes.

I discovered my love of millinery leaves around the same time I started collecting vintage millinery flowers.  They kind of go hand in hand.  I have been fortunate at times to find "new" packages of old store stock.  These leaves tend to be in perfect condition and still have their original labels attached.

There are many very good reproduction leaves out there, so you have to be careful when collecting. The reproduction ones are lovely and perfect for a multitude of projects, but they should really only cost about $4 to $5 a bunch.

I like to store my leaves in vintage wallpaper covered boxes.  This keeps them neat and organized, but also makes for pretty storage.

I plan to use these leaves in an upcoming project that I will be sharing here soon...

Happy Autumn!

Vintage Millinery Flower Samples

I've been collecting vintage millinery flowers for a long time now.  I have many, many favorites in my vast collection, but these are one of my most prized possessions.  

These are original vintage millinery samples.  They are pinned to paper and tagged to show all the color-ways that were available for sale.  They probably date back to the late 19040's or early 1950's.

I think they are just lovely.  The stems are all rolled fabric and the colors are incredible.

I plan to keep them just the way I found them - attached in a neat little row on the delicate paper.  I am thinking they would look so pretty framed as artwork - in a shadow box and hung on my studio wall.  

M&M Alternative

I've never really been a big fan of the M&M colors (except for the pretty pastel ones that they sell around Easter time).  Red, brown, bright blue, Kelley green and orange just don't fit in too well with my pale, shabby chic color palette. Don't get me wrong, I love a good M & M - it's just that I can't stand to look at them!  OK, I am completely nuts, but it really does pose a problem because my kids love M&Ms and they tend to be an ever present staple around our house.

Well, I am very happy to say that I recently stumbled upon the perfect M&M alternative…

Candy-coated chocolate seashells!  Just look at how pretty they are!  The colors are perfectly shabby chic (lavender, aqua, pale pink, white etc...), they taste every bit as good as M&Ms, and so far they haven't melted in anyone's hands.  So, it's a totally win-win situation for all of us - my kids get their candy and I don't have to have jars of unattractive (forgive me, M&Ms) sweets sitting on my kitchen counter-tops. 

Now, if you are a true M&M loyalist and just can't stand the thought of giving up your M&Ms, by all means keep eating them.  But who says you can't have some of these little beauties around as well? You could just put them out in a pretty glass candy jar and then hide those M&Ms away in the back of the kitchen cabinet!  :-)

 

 

Target Tuesday

It is common knowledge (and a bit of a joke) amongst my friends that I love Target .  I know some people don't get it (i.e., my parents), but I absolutely love the place.  What do I love about Target?  Well, where else can you find paper towels, sparkly ballet flats for your daughter, and a Shabby Chic sheet set all in one place?  Target, that's where! 

 So, in honor of my deep love and devotion, I thought I'd start a weekly post entitled "Target Tuesday" (sounds way better than Target Wednesday, don't ya think?).  Target Tuesday will be all about my latest and greatest Target find.  But I won't just peruse the aisles and find the best items - I am going to show you really creative and fun ways to use them as well.

Today was a very good Target day.  When I got to the store I was pleased (and very surprised) to find that they had cleared out all the Halloween merchandise and had already put out most of the holiday stuff.  This was a big deal because it usually takes them awhile to get it all out and I am often quite frustrated (major understatement) by how slow the "transition" process takes.  But not today - today there were at least six aisles full of new holiday goodies.

 So, today's Target find is…

 

 Mercury glass votive holders!

Aren't these lovely!  They are such a pretty shabby aqua color.  I love mercury glass - especially around the holidays.  It's so glittery and pretty.  While the real stuff is hard to come by (and super expensive), there are some great reproduction pieces out there.  And now Target has an entire collection!  The prices seemed quite reasonable (another reason why I love my Target), too.  These were only $2.99 each.

Now, you could, of course, use these as intended - for votive candles, but I was thinking that they would make the cutest little vases.  So, I dragged my poor daughters (fun way to spend your day off from school, huh?) straight from Target to the supermarket to get some pretty pink roses.

To make these mini bouquets, I just bought a bunch of spray roses at the supermarket (Whole Foods and Trader Joe's both have wonderful flowers).  I chose spray roses because of their small size, but any flowers would work.  First, I trimmed ALL the leaves off the stems - this will keep your water fresher longer.  I then arranged the roses into little bunches and tied the stems tightly with some raffia.  Then I measured the height of the votive and cut all the stems to the appropriate length.  Voila!  Instant mini shabby bouquets!  These would make  darling centerpieces - all lined up in a row down the middle of your table.  They would also look so pretty on a fireplace mantel.

Well, I hoped you've enjoyed the first installment of Target Tuesday.  Who knows what I will find next week…  J

 

Lucky Clothes

Aren't these gorgeous?

I was lucky to find these vintage satin clothing hangers while antiquing a few years ago.  

They are my absolute favorite colors - pale periwinkles and lavenders.  And the dainty silk and velvet millinery flowers that adorn them are so pretty.

What I love the most about these is that, while they are practical and useful objects, they are also so beautiful and lovely to look at.  Perfect for hanging a vintage prom dress or wedding gown, don't you think?

Vintage Wallpaper Posie Wreath Kit

One of the projects that I have been working on for the past year is designing my own line of vintage craft kits under the Bee and Belle label.  They all feature original designs (by moi) and include genuine vintage craft materials - vintage wallpapers, millinery, ribbons, trims, rhinestones, etc...  I've had some manufacturing delays, but the craft kits will be for sale on my Bee and Belle website  - just as soon as it is up and running that is (hopefully, soon!).

In the meantime, I thought I'd show you a sneak peak at one of my holiday kits.  This is the Vintage Wallpaper Posie Wreath Kit.

This is the finished project, but the kit will include everything you need to make one just like it - all you need is the scissors and glue!  There are vintage wallpaper posies in a variety of romantic pastel patterns (pre-cut), paper leaves with a pale green flocked design, rhinestones, a 6" wreath form, easy to follow instructions, and the prettiest pale pink vintage velvet ribbon to hang it.

I just love the beautiful soft colors of vintage wallpaper!  Wouldn't this be pretty hanging over a glittery entry way mirror?  If you are interested in pre-ordering a kit, please leave me a comment or send me an email ([email protected]) and I will get you all the information on ordering.

Or, if you live near the Maryland, Virginia, or D.C. area, these will also be available for purchase at my favorite trimmings shop, Accessories of Old.

Enjoy the rest of this lovely Fall weekend!

Jessica