Hi, guys! I’m just checking in quick today to share a few universal truths about moving. Somehow, they’re easily forgotten even if, like me, you’ve moved 11 times in six years. (Yes. You read that correctly.) So here are the three universal truths of moving, according to yours truly.
[Photo from Terrain. I want this decal!]
- No matter how organized and prepared you are, you are neither organized nor prepared.
- You always own way more stuff than you think. Regardless of how much you’ve donated or sold. (So if you think you should downsize from the 16′ truck to the 12′ truck, just don’t do it. I’m so glad I stuck to my guns on that one.)
- Inevitably, you’ll go days without internet, despite your best planning. (This one is particularly true if you are a blogger or in another profession that requires constant internet connectivity.)
But you know what? Moving is also incredibly rejuvenating! (While simultaneously exhausting, no doubt.) I love the opportunity to clean, organize, sort and start fresh so I am enjoying this time of getting settled while anxiously awaiting the internet installation. I’ll pop in tomorrow with Friday Link Love and then Monday it’s back to business as usual. In the meantime, here are a few Instagram snippets of the move so far!
[Instagram photos by Cyd Converse.]
Hi, friends. Top of the morning to ya! I’m getting a late start to the week over here, but I’m happy to report that the move is officially in full swing and I am so excited to get it all wrapped up. In the meantime, I think we should have a conversation about yellow. It dawned on me recently that yellow and I don’t have much history together. I am definitely a cool color girl by nature and usually stray away from big doses of yellow. I guess you could say it’s just not my color. That said, I wanted to come up with a yellow-centric color palette as a little challenge. Tempered with bits of pink and neutral stucco, I’m really rather loving this palette! And to prove that yellow is not totally banned in my world, one of my favorite yellow items from my desk is featured over at A Blog About Love, where Mara asked readers to chime in with the pops of yellow that are making winter a little brighter. Enjoy!
[Photos, from top: Judith Geher via Oh Joy| Elle Decor France via Decorator's Notebook | Josh Gull Wedding Photography via Ruffled.]
Howdy, friends! How’s everyone’s week been? Mine has been so so nice, with some unexpected yet much needed time away from the computer. I’m actually coming at you live from the car at the tail end of a road trip back from North Dakota. This weekend will be spent packing and getting ready for next week’s move and I am so excited to finally get settled. And to get all of my stuff out of storage that has been hiding away for the last year. It’s going to be like Christmas unpacking and seeing all of my things again. So with that said, it may continue to be a little bit quieter than usual around these parts for the next few days, but then I’ll be back in full force and ready to take you on the journey with me as I work on whipping the new place into shape. Stay tuned! In the meantime, have a fabulous weekend!
[Photo by Gypsy Fables. Prints available here.]
I’m struggling a bit this morning with my internet access out here in North Dakota, so I thought I’d take a moment for a quick coffee break. If you’re not a coffee drinker, I’m not quite sure how to describe my morning coffee ritual other than to say it’s one of my favorite parts of the day. In our home we’re big on really good coffee and no morning is complete or really ever gets started until the first cups are being sipped. We’re decidedly of the French press, vintage percolator or pour-over coffee making variety. The auto-drip coffee maker was banned many moons ago and shan’t be making a return. That said, our French press recently took a fall from grace so I’m on the hunt to replace this well-loved member of the family. The great debate? Deciding between this gold French press or switching things up with a pretty Chemex pour-over coffee maker. Big decisions, friends, big decisions.
Morning coffee break: gold French press | mugs | Chemex coffee maker | coffee scoop | creamer set.
[Photo by photographer JP Elario's awesome Instagram feed.]
I am really excited about today’s DIY project, I’ve got to say. Reason being, this little technique is one I’ve have in my repertoire for years, but it dawned on me that I’ve never really shared a full how-to with you. So today is the day! (This is actually an idea I got from the amazing ladies at Carter & Cook Event Co. back in the day!) We’re talking about how to make paper flowers from cupcake liners and glue. It’s about as easy as it gets, but the end result looks so cool. You can customize them with any color you like and then fashion them into a garland, use them as a cake topper, showcase them at place settings or put them to work as napkin rings. I’m partial to metallic gold, because they end up looking so chic while being about one of the easiest and least expensive crafts you can make.
Supplies -
- Basic cupcake liners in three sizes (jumbo, standard and mini)
- Spray paint in your choice of color
- Tacky Glue or similar
- Twine or string (if you want to make them into a garland)
- Hole punch
First up, lay your cupcake liners flat and give them a couple of light coats of spray paint. For each flower you’ll need one cupcake liner of each size, so plan accordingly when painting. Let them dry completely.
To assemble the flowers, put a dab of glue on the largest cupcake liner and layer the next largest size on top. Then add another dab of glue and repeat, layering the smaller cupcake liner on the top.
While the glue is still wet and setting up, grab your stack of liners and from the back, pinch together the centers of the liners and hold firmly for a few seconds. Then set them aside to allow the glue to dry.
Once your flowers are all dry, you can give them a good fluffing to adjust the shape how you’d like them to be. And then it’s time to start decking out everything in sight with pretty paper cupcake liner flowers!
One of my favorite ways to use them? As a super easy but crazy pretty cake topper. Use a cluster of them on a larger cake or on a tiny cake, just one will do the trick while making a big statement. Because the backs of the cupcake liners aren’t painted, I just stick them directly into the top of the cake. It’s that easy!
Of course, we know I love pretty garlands and these cupcake liner flowers look insanely lovely fashioned into a garland, too. All you need to make it happen is a hole punch and some twine or string.
Using your hole punch, punch a hole into the back of the flower and thread through your twine or string. I spaced my flowers a few inches apart and kind of particularly love the mix of the metallic gold and the jute twine, but again, you can customize it to suit the look you want to achieve.
And it’s that easy! Don’t you just love these? I know I sure do. To see more cupcake liner flowers in action, you can revisit this styled shoot I did with my girl Megan Dailor a couple of years ago. Happy flower making!
[Design + styling by Cyd Converse for The Sweetest Occasion. | Photos by Alice G. Patterson.]
The fine print: Please link with love! As with all of our posts, DIY projects featured on The Sweetest Occasion may not be copied, distributed or reproduced without express written permission. Love and links are always appreciated! If you’d like to share this post, please link to this post directly for the DIY tutorial and do not include the instructions in your own post. Thanks so much! xoxo
