For me, this is the year of the textile. For a long time I focused on filling my home with furniture and art that makes me happy, but now it’s time to fill in the spaces. That basically translates to I need amazing pillows, rugs, and blankets!
Caitlin Wilson Textiles has a great selection of pieces popping with pattern and color, which is integral to my home because I rely heavily on whites and neutrals for larger pieces. Her patterns are also easily mixed and matched, making it super easy to swap out one thing for another when you get bored.
I’m loving the black spotted rug that’s found a home in my kitchen. I’ve stayed away from any sort of floor coverings in there up until this point and am so happy with the touch of pattern! (It looks like Bebe and Rainey also approve.)
Disclaimer: I received product to review for this post. All words and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that help keep Design Crush going!
A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending and speaking at Craftcation in Ventura, California. I’d met one of the organizers – Nicole Stevenson – over the course of several other conferences and was flattered when she asked me to sit on panels about advanced social media and keeping track of your time.
Kelly of Studio DIY was kind enough to play driver to Brittni of Paper & Stitch and myself after picking us up at LAX. It was a fast trip up to Ventura – fueled by Cadbury Mini Eggs – where we were welcomed by a hotel full of washi taped walls and tons of fun little details.
There were three definite highlights of the trip for me, the first was seeing Brittni work her magic for a floral accessories workshop she was teaching. Riding in the car with buckets of flowers, then seeing them in her room for a few days confirmed my belief that they do a mind good.
Second was a crazy craft libation tour I went on Thursday afternoon. (That’s the cool thing about Craftcation, it’s not all about crafting but rather making in all of its forms.) About thirty of us piled into a shuttle and were driven around Ventura, stopping at four different spots – Ventura Limoncello Company, Surf Brewery, Plan B Wine Cellars, and Ventiki. I’d say it was a success based on the fact that the shuttle got louder after each location.
Lastly, Friday night ten of us headed out for a dinner which didn’t go quite as planned but was a blast nonetheless. I got to spend some much needed time with friend and keynote speaker Lisa Congdon and met two other amazing ladies in the process. After exploring a little of the downtown area we hung out at the Busy Bee Cafe, eating the requisite fare and drinking.
My two panels were held back-to-back that Friday on the top floor – that view! I’m always nervous speaking to a crowd full of non-bloggers when it comes to social media, but I think the crowd in attendance got something out of it. And I think i was able to inject a dose of reality to the time management panel with my off-kilter methods. At least I made them laugh!
Saturday morning Kelly, Brittni, and Brittany of The House That Lars Built (As an aside, Kelly and I and Brittni and Brittany were assigned rooms together. Hilarity ensued.) headed back to L.A. and said goodbye to the sleepy town of Ventura. My soul was happy.
Mother’s Day is very meaningful to me, so I like to try and pull out a few extra stops. This year that includes a ridiculously awesome Kolo photo book that I put together for my mom. A few years ago I did something similar for my dad, an album that included photos of just me and him. But as soon as I got to raiding my photo collection I realized a little something – my mom was always the one behind the camera! That meant fewer photos of us together and a lot of photos of just me. Being an only child I hoped she wouldn’t hold it against me. (Ahem.)
It took some extra work, but I managed to find several of my mom’s favorites of me and several of the both of us together. (Yeah, there’s no injury under than bandage. I just liked to wear them.) I chose an 8.5 x 11″ photo book with a Mango cover and got to work scanning in all of the photos I’d picked out. I adjusted the color and brightness on several (ahhh, the age of technology) and uploaded them to Kolo‘s site. I was tempted to use the auto load function that places all of your photos in the album for you, but then decided to be a little more hands-on and chose the placement and size of each one myself.
The photos turned out amazing thanks to Kolo‘s Canon printing technology, especially when you consider that most of them are 30+ years old! I loved creating the perfect flow of images and personalizing the layout. I could have opted to add some text as well, but preferred to allow the visuals to speak for themselves.
Last weekend my mom came over to dye Easter eggs at my house (one of our many traditions) and I gave her this gift early. She loved it so much and with every flip of a page said “I love this picture!”. So I’m guessing I did okay, especially when she said the photo book was one of her favorite gifts ever. *pats self on back* The heirloom quality of these photo books guarantees they’ll be around for some time, and the rainbow of colors available for he covers gives my mom lots of options when it comes to expansion.
I especially love this one of the two of us at the Pittsburgh Zoo when I was about a year and a half old. My mom’s outfit looks like it would be just as in style today! Wish I could say the same for those overalls I’m sporting.
My grandmother is turning 90 this August and I think I’m going to put together a smaller version of the two of us as a special gift. Had I realized how easy it was, I probably would have done hers for Mother’s Day as well.
Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post. All words and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that keep Design Crush going!
Houndworthy is a unique dog lifestyle company that seeks to encourage owners to purchase more meaningful things for both them and their canine companions. They carry things for both pooch and owner in their wonderfully curated shop, including items by one of my favorites – See Scout Sleep. Piper and Bebe love their hemp collars and we can’t wait to search out new quality goods that get approval from all three of us.
A show-stopping line of handblown glass pendants make up Lasvit’s Neverending Glory Collection. You might recognize the silhouettes of iconic chandeliers from five of the world’s most eminent concert halls and theaters – La Scala in Milan, Palais Garnier in Paris, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, and the Czech Republic’s Estates Theater in Prague.
Each and every step of creation for Cotton & Flax is completed by founder Erin Dollar in her Los Angeles studio. Everything from the pattern design (with brush and ink) to the selection of heirloom quality fabrics to the hand printing and sewing. Is your mind blown? Talk about quality control! I love the palette and natural materials Erin has chosen for Cotton & Flax’s spring line – you can check out the lookbook (photographed by Laure Joliet) right here.
I love buying gifts for my mom. She’s fun to shop for and always acts like I’ve just given her the most brilliant thing in the world (as all moms are apt to do I suppose). But her birthday and Mother’s Day fall about a week apart on the calendar every year which involves some thinking ahead on my part. When Uncommon Goods asked me to share some of my favorite gifts for Mother’s Day I was excited to delve into their shop, where half of the goods are made by hand, most are made in the USA, and one-third incorporate recycled and/or upcycled materials. They also have a great selection of personalized gifts.
Of course I had my mom in mind while window shopping. Pool season shows up early here in Oklahoma, and a set of silicone wine glasses would get lots of use. She’s also been on a bit of a health kick, but water gets boring and would be much more interesting served in a flavor infuser water bottle. A wine pairing towel set would not only make a good reference, but also be a great conversation starter. My mama loves a good mojito and could muddle up her own with this molecular mixology kit! A trio of solar tealights would be perfect for early weekend mornings spent sipping coffee and reading the newspaper on the patio or late nights spent outside chatting with friends. So basically I can’t wrong. And also, I hope she isn’t reading this!
Disclaimer: I was compensated for this post. All words and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that help keep Design Crush going!
