Wednesday, September 29, 2010

WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY – fort & field


Hello lovelies! I have a treat for you today! Our WONDERFUL shop feature is the fabulous fort & field. I have had fort & field party accoutrements featured on my shopping extravaganzas a ton…I just love the collections, so many choices of colors, some hard to find items, and some just plain super-cool-where-on-earth-did-she-find-it kind of items.
One of the things, I feel, that makes a shop great is the vast variety within it. I love shops that make me giddy and offer lots of options all in one stop. Let me tell you… “me” plus “fort & field” = kid in a candy shop, that kind of happy.

I am in love with one of her best sellers…the striped treat bag. It comes in so many colors; I had to have them all. But wait, there are other patterns, like this pretty filigree print one…


New in the shop, gorgeous toppers for cupcakes, ice cream, straws…anything your heart desires. How pretty would these look on top of the layer you saved for your 1st anniversary? I’ll tell you…gorgeous!


Halloween is a month away… Look at these perfect little additions to any theme for your haunted fete.


Lucky you, TODAY I am giving you more than my traditional gushes…I am going to introduce you to the fabulous Jessica of fort & field.


Stop by fort & field for a visit and a looksee:

After you read this, you are going to love her even more…I DO!

1. I love going to your blog and being inspired with all the gorgeous eye candy. You have such lovely taste, what top 3 things inspire you?


It's almost difficult to take in all of the inspiration around us every day...it's really everywhere! One of my sisters is a graphic designer focusing primarily on packaging. She introduced me to interesting text and product design and I am completely hooked. I love that both can evoke certain feelings within us, and a product with great design can feel like opening a present! I can't go through the grocery store aisle anymore without stopping to look closer at certain products that pop out at me. My most recent job before diving into my business full-time was as a merchandiser for a fashion designer. The immersion in fashion that I experienced gave me a true appreciation for the details and art of fashion rather than the commercial side of it. Because of this, I take note and sketch an interesting neckline on a blouse or new way to do a skirt hem whether I'm watching a television show or browsing in a boutique. I'm also inspired by design from the 60's, whether it be furniture/accessories, fashion, or craft projects. I love the contrast in this time period between clean, modern design and sort of crazy off the wall. I keep an insane record of everything inspiring to me by collaging photos, magazine clippings, and pages printed from online in 3-ring binders. At this point, I have approximately 40 of these binders separated by category...and they keep growing! My blog is a way of sharing a little of this inspiration, but at some point I would love to find a way to get more of the information in these massive catalogs out so it would be available for everyone to see. To me, blogs are just the beginning and we're going to continue sharing and inspiring in new ways and this excites me.

2. You are a lady of many talents (sewing, baking, paper crafting...) If you had to choose one, what is your favorite?



In recent years I haven't been able to complete as many projects as I would like, but I would say sewing is my favorite. I grew up sewing with my mom and so I feel the most comfortable with it (while by no means being an expert). There are sewing projects that can be completed fairly quickly, but for the most part it takes some time to finish a piece. I think because of this, there is a great sense of accomplishment once done. I also have always been drawn to beautiful fabrics and have quite a collection so I guess I have to keep sewing so I can buy more!

3. How/why did you start your shop(s)?


When I was little, my sisters and I spent hours creating magazines, stationary, and candies and sold them to each other in the "stores" we each created in our basement. It was always a dream of mine to have an actual store, but it wasn't until a few years ago when this handmade revolution we're in began that this dream seemed realizable. I started selling "bakers twine" before you could find it anywhere. What I had was actually red and white striped yarn that I found around Christmas time at the local craft store. I now sell the real thing, but my initial experience with the twine made me research and become interested in packaging in general and I started carrying more packaging items like the ever popular striped paper bags. While these bags could be used for any sort packaging, they are predominantly used as treat bags for parties. So, I was introduced into another world of wonderful products...party supplies. It's just been a domino effect from there. My focus is still on party and packaging, but I also carry some gifts and am looking to expand into clothing and home accessories. I am bursting with ideas and new direction for the business and I think it's exciting as time goes on that I am slowly able to realize more of them.

4. I always love browsing your shop and just fell in love with these toppers. I love how they attach to the straws! Tell us about your newest designs in the shop - inspiration, etc...


Yes, the newest addition to the shop are toppers that are available for purchase as a PDF to print at home. They are available in a range of styles to suit any celebration...striped pennants, pirates, fun bugs, and the list goes on. The toppers easily slide onto any drinking straw to use as embellishment in a favorite beverage. Or, the straws can also be cut in half and slipped through the toppers to create cupcake or sundae picks. My oldest sister is a children's book illustrator and designed the toppers exclusively for the shop. We have plans to do many more collaborations together. And, I also have plans to design many products myself as well.

5. Tell us your FAVORITES…

COLOR?

turquoise - I love how fresh and clean it looks with white. My favorite color scheme right now would be almost all white with pops of turquoise and bits of citrus colors like orange, yellow, and green.

PARTY GOODIE/DECOR?

Flowers have always been my favorite decorating element for a party. The rest of the decor can be very simple and flowers will immediately elevate it and create something beautiful. They've been used for ages, but I'm constantly seeing new combinations put together. Lately, I have also been falling for the handcrafted variety over real. There are some amazing bouquets and centerpieces being made out of paper, felt, and fabric. I have also seen the entire ceiling covered in oversized paper flowers so it looks like a hanging garden. It's just incredible the impact the inclusion of flowers, whether real or handcrafted, can make.

SECRET SOURCE FOR PARTY GOODIES?

I've been browsing through vintage party books and cookbooks to find new possible ideas for goodies and party ideas in general.


A huge THANK YOU to Jessica of fort & field!
Thank you so very much for sharing your inspiration and your shop with us!


**All images found at fortandfield.etsy.com and fortandfield.blogspot.com**

Do you know an awesome shop that should be featured on WONDERFUL WEDNESDAYS? Well...tell me about it!

Friday, September 24, 2010

Halloween Spooktacular - BLACK + GREEN

Inspiration board number 3 - BLACK  +  GREEN.  A simple green at Halloween (ha, it rhymes...) is actually a little hard to find.  I am really loving it.  Sometimes I ache for something different and this is the perfect elixir for it... add green drinks and treats with some black tablewares and you've got yourself a party.

SOURCES: (CLOCKWISE)
1. WITCH OF THE EAST INVITATIONS - RIFLE PAPER CO.

2. GHOST WITH BOO BANNER - BLOOMANDBARNACLE
3. HAUNTED GATE MURAL - POTTERYBARN
4. FRANKENSTEIN FONDANT CUPCAKE TOPPER - TWOSUGARBABIES
5. HAUNTED BANNER - BLUEMOONCREATION
6. HALLOWEEN CAKE FLAG COLLECTION - READYGO
7. BAT PAPER GARLAND KIT - HOUSEOFCLOUDS

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY PREMIER - SIMPLE JOYS PAPERIE

Hello Darlings! Welcome to WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY! I am starting a new column for the fall to bring wonderful lovelies of décor and gifts for the holiday season. Each Wednesday I will feature one shop or amazing item, in all their glory. This is a bit different from my usual collections of goodies by theme and I think it will be fabulous. I hope you will enjoy this and feel free to email me (hankandhunt@gmail.com) about any wonderful shops or goodies you think would be perfect to feature here on WONDERFUL WEDNESDAYS! (attn: shop owners, if you want to recommend your own item, that’s okay, too!)




Our first Featured shop is…SIMPLE JOYS PAPERIE. As you may know, I find a good deal of lovelies whilst flitting around Etsy. I adore Etsy, its never ending corral of gorgeous goodness, and while hunting, I found this beautiful (and eco-lovely) shop while looking for Halloween décor. Her hand-rolled vintage paper wreaths are stunning. My jaw dropped when I saw this gorgeous wreath (above) pop up in my search for “brains” (long story…coming soon) and immediately got sidetracked.

There were more…


and I love ADORE each and every one.


You simply must go check out her shop…immediately.


And then there were cuffs made from vintage book spines… One of my favorite things are vintage books. So gorgeous. Brides… how PERFECT is this cuff to get a little dose of something old AND something blue to conjure up some lovely good fortune? I will tell you…PERFECT with a capital P! LOVE!


SOURCES:

1. MAY I PICK YOUR BRAIN WREATH
2. TATTERED HEART WREATH
3. TATTERED ANGEL WINGS (5% of sale goes to Etsy’s Project Embrace)
4. VINTAGE 1942 TIME WREATH
5. VINTAGE 1948 BOOK SPINE CUFF

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Devilishly Delish Book Review - A ZOMBIE ATE MY CUPCAKE by Lily Vanilli


One of my favorite things to do with my free hours during the weekend, aka the times I escape and the hubby watches the minimen, is go to the book store.  I love browsing through aisles and aisles of beautiful paper.  I could (and have) spent hours just looking at the wonderful selections.  A few weeks ago, I found this devious lovely by accident and had to snatch it up.  I have just been waiting to share it with you. My boys are still little, but someday I am definately working in some of these delightfully fiendish treats.

"A ZOMBIE ATE MY CUPCAKE" by Lily Vanilli is a book filled to the brim with the most evil cupcakes I have ever seen.  Lily Vanilli lives in London and bakes and decorates cakes in her own home.  You can buy them HERE or visit her blog HERE.

This is the cupcake that sold me on the book.  I know I could have remembered this, but I just loved it.  It's eerie and gorgeous. Perfect.


Here are a couple which are bloody good...and cherry raspberry sauce, extra YUM!


Here's one perfectly safe for the kiddos, incredibly cute, no?


As a lover of zombie movies (even though I haven't seen many since the boys were born, for obvious reasons...) a lover of cupcakes, and a lover of Halloween, I highly recommend this in your decorating book arsenal.  I will make a mild warning...a few of the cupcakes are not for the faint of heart, not sure what that says about me...

PS This one is a red velvet cupcake and red fondant with cherry sauce.  Delicious and gory, but not going to be in this house for a while, but for a teenager's party...can you say wickedest (although slightly morbid) mom in the neighborhood?

Friday, September 17, 2010

Halloween Spooktacular - BLACK + ORANGE

Hello my little darlings, here we have our second inspiration board for Halloween...BLACK + ORANGE.  Simple and cheerful, perfectly classic and EVERYWHERE. I've scoured through the masses and found these pretties. Enjoy and have a fabulous weekend!


SOURCES: (CLOCKWISE)

2. CUPCAKE FLAGS BY GOAGAINSTTHEGRAIN
3. MINI HALLOWEEN GLASSINE BAGS – LITTLEPUMPKINPAPERS
4. CALDRON PUNCH BOWL AND CUPS BY POTTERY BARN
6. HALLOWEEN TABLETOP PARTY PENNANTS BY POSSIBLYANDPERHAPS
7. VINTAGE OWL INVITATIONS BY LORALEELEWIS
8. MELAMINE TRAY BY POTTERY BARN KIDS
9. CAKE BUNTING PEEKABOO BY KIKILARU




Monday, September 13, 2010

Almond Butter Cookies



I am happy to say my little recipe experiment worked.  Since Hunter is allergic to peanuts, I was wondering if I could use other nut butters in various recipes.  I finally found an almond butter that was not made on the same machines as peanuts, and it happens to be the Blue Diamond brand, which is the only nuts we could find not made with peanuts. **Note - the nuts and butters from Blue Diamond are made on the same equipment as other tree nuts. We tried dipping celery in almond butter, no luck.  We tried it spread on toast, no luck.  Hunter can be incredibly picky at times, and since he's never had a peanut butter sandwich, he doesn't get the whole texture thing, which is a smidge less creamy in the almond butter.

So, I moved on to cookies.  Macarons are made from almonds, we like spritz cookies with almond flavoring, why not try almond butter cookies? It should be easy, and it was.  I took my favorite peanut butter cookie recipe and substituted almond butter for the peanut butter.  The hubby and both mini men are quite happy.  I know for sure that the hubby isn't just being nice because he stole the bag of remaining cookies and took it with him.

Here's the recipe, adapted from The Good Housekeeping Cookbook.
1 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup creamy almond butter
1/2 cup softened unsalted butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar (optional, I did this even though it's not in the original recipe)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix together butter, sugars, egg, almond butter, and vanilla.  In a small bowl, blend flour, salt and baking soda.  Add flour mixture to butter mix. Mix until thouroghly combined. 
Scoop out by rounded teaspoon size and roll in a small bowl of powdered sugar before baking. Press down the tops to flatten slightly. Bake for 15 - 20 mins.  Cool on a wire rack and enjoy, with milk was the preference at our house.

Another option for finishing the cookies is to add white chocolate chips to the mixture.  These were Henry's favorite.

Friday, September 10, 2010

Halloween Spooktacular - BLACK + WHITE

I know it's still September, but I've already started planning, and I bet you have too... With this mini series, I will be making inspiration boards that you can actually BUY!  So to start, a little BLACK + WHITE hallows eve party.  I have been seeing black and white everywhere, and I must admit I am dying for it...



SOURCES: (CLOCKWISE)
1. CROW MOBILE (POTTERY BARN KIDS)
2. ALL HALLOWS EVE SIGN (TUCKERREESE)
3. BLACK WINE GLASS (MARTHA STEWART FOR MACYS)
4. TREE TAPESTRY (URBAN OUTFITTERS)
5. WICKED OXIDIZED CANDLEABRA (ANALOGUESHOP)
6. B/W SWIRL LOLLIPOP (CANDY WAREHOUSE)
7. ROCOCO NOIR (ROSANNA)
8. ALL HALLOWS EVE INVITATION (BLUSHPRINTABLES)
9. LICORICE MINI RIBBON CANDIES (HAMMONDS CANDIES)
10. SIMPLE HALLOWEEN BANNER (TUCKERREESE)

Stay tuned for a Halloween inspiration board each Friday! Have a LOVELY weekend!

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Mind your P's and Q's

Hello lovelies! I hope you had a fabulous long weekend! Here we had a fantastic time.  But, unfortunately Henry was sick on Saturday with a cold.  Yesterday Hunter got it, and guess who got it today?! Here's a quick little mini post on some little manners.

ADORE THIS!!! Loving this poster. It is SO something I'd say to the boys. SUBLIMINAL BABY POSTER by SYCAMORESTREETPRESS



A simple and perfect little reminder for the boys, and mama, too. EAT GOOD FOOD by LUCKYBLUEBIRDART


How adorable are these napkins?  Henry is just learning to read, is highly impressionable, and these would be perfect. MANNERS NAPKINS by BETSYGRACE





I love these colors! Perfect for hanging right next to the sink... WASH YOUR HANDS by BELLYBABIES


Oh dear, how many times do you say this a day, me about a hundred...SAY PLEASE by LOUELLAPRESS


With a zillion toys, why do they fight over the same one? This sums it up perfectly.  SHARE POSTER by INKPETALS



Friday, September 3, 2010

new goodies, a DIY, and a GIVEAWAY, too


Happy Friday all! I am really excited to share with you our new MINI PARTY PACK! It has everything you would need to throw a little fete.  It has a fringe garland, a bunting garland (new design) and cake flags! All made from fabric of course! There are more packages to come soon for the holidays, but for now you can WIN one of these party packs over at anders ruff.  I am beyond happy Maureen asked me to be a part of her blog, and her write up of my garlands is so sweet. Don't forget to check out her Etsy shop here (Halloween is half off until 9/15!)

  
In the MINI PARTY PACK, there are cake flags.  These lovelies are easy to make . Do you have random scraps of fabric lying around? (ok, I might have more than most) Swing by the craft shop and pick up some 4" lollipop sticks and a roll of double stick adhesive.  Break out the scraps and some pinking shears and let me show you an easy way to customize your party.

For some strange reason, I have long strips of fabric laying around...


Use the lollipop sticks to measure and cut 4" long strips. The width is up to you, however you would like the flags to look.

Lay out the cut strips and add some double stick tape.  Cut the tape a smidge over half the length of the fabric, this allows a bit of overlap to secure well to the stick.


Peel back the tape, and place the lollipop stick in the center.


Fold over in half and smooth together.



TADA! Told 'ya it was easy.


Feel free to use different fabrics for all sorts of occasions.



Have fun and have a HAPPY WEEKEND! (and yeah, I guess you could use paper for the flags, too!)