Before and After: Corina's Modern Grey Dresser

Happy Monday friends! First of all, thank you sooooo much for all your sweet birthday wishes, it was a lovely weekend filled with love, family and lots of cupcakes!

I'm so excited to share this recent Lather Creations commission with you. It really was a true ugly duckling to swan type of transformation, since my cousin donated the original piece from the dusty confines of his garage. It had obviously been there for years, with layers of chippy oil paint and super stuck dressers! But sensing the piece's promise, J took the orbital sander to it and discovered solid 100% Canadian maple goodness underneath (thanks J!!)! This photo really doesn't do the 'before' any kind of justice, but here's a peek anyway...

Local jewellery designer Corina of Jake & Cleo spotted the dresser on my blog and saw the promise as well. After getting in touch about a commission, she and her other half picked up the most gorgeous khaki coloured grey paint to coordinate with their bedroom colours. I'm in love with the colour and how sharp and modern it makes the dresser look. After several good coats of primer, paint and finish to seal it all in - I topped it off with some whimsical black and white knobs I've had stashed and waiting for the perfect project! The black and white really pops next to the grey and they have such fun words on them like 'pull', 'open' and 'discover'. Too fun!

I really never get tired of seeing what paint and hardware and a little elbow grease can do to freshen up a tired old piece of furniture, don't you agree? I can't wait to see the dresser in action in Corina's bedroom!

You can also check out Jake & Cleo's jewellery on Etsy here...

Have a great week friends!

Birthday Baubles and Bites

Birthdays are awesome. This morning J surprised me with a beautiful bouquet of yellow lilies, a lovely card and a sweet little package from my absolute favourite jewellery shop Silver Lotus. Their unique packaging is almost as good as what's inside! Nestled in the box was the prettiest pair of simple, brushed silver heart earrings....perfect!

I have a nice collection going of cute earrings from Silver Lotus. I'm usually a 'dangly' girl, so it was nice to mix it up with a more 'everyday' pair!

We also stopped by local bakery The Cupcake Corner to taste some yummy cupcakes for the wedding. They did not disappoint and owner Derrick sent us home with lots of tasters. You know, to make SURE we really like them! I think you know the answer to that.

I've been collecting vintage cake stands for my mini-cupcake dessert table - here's a little sneak peek of one with the cupcakes we took home. I think it's going to work just fine, don't you?

Hope you're having an amazing weekend friends!

Etsy Love: Liz Hutnick

I am in love these adorable hair accessories and pieces of jewellery from Liz Hutnick's Etsy shop. They're so dainty and feminine. Since I've starting wearing my hair in a bun more, I think I need some cute hairpins to accessorize!

{all images via Liz Hutnick}

Tomorrow is my birthday and there is a weekend extravaganza of awesomeness planned - between dinner out with J, cupcake tasting for the wedding and family get-together! It's also snowing blankets today....so it will be nice to trudge around the city for all good things!

What are you doing this weekend friends?

Exciting Workshop Announcement!

I've had something in the works for a while, but didn't want to reveal it until I had firm details to share. I'm going to be teaching a workshop at the local college on 'Blogging and Social Media' for uber-newbies! 

It's going to be a super fun course for beginners. Think something for your mom, aunt or grandma - someone who has a computer and has heard all the buzz, but has been too daunted to jump into social media. It's the ultimate basics course, students will learn how to make their own Facebook and Twitter profiles, plus learn about and start their own blog. It will be held Saturday mornings at Red River College on May 7th and 14th from 9am to 12noon. I've been developing my curriculum for a few months now and I'm so excited to finally see it up for registration!

I can't lie - I am a little nervous about getting in front of a group and teaching, but it's a topic I love and am passionate about and I can't wait to encourage and help others develop their passion as well.

So if you know anyone who is entirely new to Facebook, Twitter and Blogging and they live in the Winnipeg area, feel free pass on the workshop link!

ps: I have some amazing new graphics tools on my new Macbook so I'll be playing around with design, like the little graphic I made for you above! What do you think? Okay, give me a break - it's just my first one! So much to learn.....

Dancing Feet

Remember how I was coveting these little ballet flats over at J.Crew? Well I wasn't coveting the price plus my mom made an offhand remark that they seemed pretty basic (thanks mom for reminding me that it's a special day!). 

Soooo...I went back to the research drawing board and found these little gems for just $28 from The Dessy Group! I love the rich look of the satin fabric, the girly detailing with the ruching and most of all - the comfy flat style! Of course this means I splurged and ordered two pairs, one in a pale oyster shade and one in a peacock blue. The blue is a little darker than I wanted for my colour scheme but I just couldn't resist the idea of peacock satin shoes. We'll see what goes best with the final outfit!

{image via dessy}

I know buying shoes online is a bit of a crapshoot so keep your fingers and toes crossed for me!

How did you fancy up your feet on your wedding day? Did you splurge on something new or did you go for 'something old' with a pair of favourites?

Happy Tuesday friends, I hope your week is going well!

Before and After: Max's Nautical Navy Dresser

How's your weekend going? We're still in a deep freeze here so I'm doing lots of snuggling and comfort food cooking! I recently finished a few client commissions for Lather Creations that I'm excited to finally share with you. Remember my friend Martha's large dresser she wanted painted for her son Max's room? Here's the before pic. It's a great piece, large and well constructed with solid dovetail joints and a fantastic classic shape.

Martha already had a gallon of Benjamin Moore's Hale Navy that would be a perfect nautical blue for Max's room. I also chose to remove the old-fashioned brass hardware and make customized knobs, perfect for a little boy learning his ABCs and 123s. Watch for a tutorial on how to make your own personalized knobs in an upcoming PIY Pointers! Here's the dresser after....

I just love how it turned out, it will be a dresser Max can use right into his teenage years, it will just be a matter of swapping out the knobs for something a little more mature. I hope he likes it!

Hope you're having a wonderful weekend friends - talk to you later!

Shades of Blue

Happy Friday friends! I'm sooo looking forward to the weekend. We moved offices this week and it's been a sea of change - all good but you know how change is. It drains your energy a little more than usual.

So yesterday I finalized my first design decision when it comes to my wedding vision and I'm so excited to share it with you. As you know from my cardigan choice, my main colour will be a dusty turquoise complimented by soft neutrals like ivory, grey, pale yellow and leafy green. My round tables will be covered in white tablecloths but I'll be adding squares of assorted coloured fabrics I purchased from Etsy in those shades for a pop of colour and a 'vintage' mismatched feel. My lovely sister and matron-of-honour Lindsay will be sewing them for me.

Here's a sneak peek at the fabrics I chose...

 

 

 

 

 

 

{all images via etsy}

It's really feeling like it's starting to come together and I'm so excited!

My dear past brides, how did you decide on your colours and design? Did you choose something you always loved? Did you break out and try something new? I'd love to hear about it!

Have a great weekend friends!

Etsy Love: Shop Dirtsa

Holy mama it's cold outside here! I'm talking -43 degrees celsius with the wind chill kind of cold! That means that I'm all about staying warm and cozy right now. We bought a new macbook computer and router over Christmas and this is my very first blog post coming from the comfort of my very own bed! Can you say sweet?

I think my bed is my favourite place to be...with the thick down comforter, worn soft sheets and thick comfy pillows. Oh and J and Gus to keep me company! That's why I'm loving Etsy boutique Shop Dirtsa with their adorable throw pillows.

{all images via shopdirtsa}

Don't you just love the Scrabble-style design of the letters? J and I love to play the classic word board game, so I'm especially fond of these. They would make me smile every time I climbed into bed!

How's your January weather treating you? Wherever you are, I hope you're warm and cozy!

Have a lovely week my friends!

Blog Hug

{image via CoffeeShop}

There's no doubt about it friends. I'm in a serious blog funk. Maybe it's because it's the dead of winter? Maybe it's a Christmas bustle hangover? Or probably it's because there's just too much going on and I'm only one woman. But the truth is I'm really missing it. I love chatting with you all and not having those regular conversations is really starting to get to me. So I'm just going to keep writing, even when I don't always have something to write about. Hopefully it will keep me going during the dry spells so I can ride them out better. Plus we just got our new macbook and router so I'm writing this post in bed while watching the Golden Globes - how cool is that?

The truth is that I really love blogging. It's changed my life in so many cool and amazing ways. Even with my wedding planning alone, most of the cool contacts I'm made and ideas I've found have come from blogging. I found my venue when it was featured on the Martha Stewart weddings blog. I found my photographer through a referral from an old acquaintance via Twitter. And a lovely local reader hooked me up with her wedding seamstress to possible my my dream dress.

So tonight I'm giving a big Sunday night hug to blogging, bloggers, blog readers and all the amazing thoughts, words and ideas we share with each other each and every day.

What does blogging mean to you? I'd love to know if it's enriched your lives as much as it has mine.

Rest up friends and have a wonderful week ahead! 

More Cardie Brides...

Hello! I know I haven't been blogging much lately but with so much on the go - something had to give. I will continue to check in with you guys as much as I can. I have to say - I LOVED hearing about all your wedding dress visions and stories...I could almost picture you each as I read them. Much thanks for sharing! And for your words of encouragement. The more I look around, the more I realize how set I am on my own dress vision. Here's a few other cardie brides I happened to find while peeking around online...

{all images via Ruffled}

{image via Style Me Pretty}

They all look so happy but I'm sure it's because they're so darn comfy in their cozy cardigans!!

Hope you have a lovely week friends and talk to you soon!