Artist in Residence

Late one recent evening, my husband and I arrived home from a party to find an artist busily at work in our kitchen. Painting this as a gift for a friend:

She had been inspired by this vintage motto print I keep on a bookshelf:

She believed both the sentiment and the peacock motif would please her friend. Unable to get her hands on another—it's dated '1923' for heaven's sake—she set out to paint her own version. In a slightly different, more youthful colorway. A bit larger than the original too so that it would fit into the thrifted frame she intended to use. It has just the right amounts of age and patina.

I think her friend is one lucky birthday girl, don't you?

At the same time and place she found the gold frame for her friend, she also found this carved wood one for herself. In which to showcase a favorite greeting card.

Talented, smart and industrious. Creative, thoughtful and thrifty. Respectful of the old yet intrigued by the new. Beautiful too, as you can see in the self-portrait she drew for me, below. That's my girl. The artist.

[click to enlarge, if you like]

Oh, and that gorgeous frame I propped in front of her drawing? She thrifted that too. Add 'good eye' and 'excellent taste' to the above list.

Luxuries Large and Small

These lovely little luxuries are ring boxes from the Muse Collection by Charlotte Moss at London's Halcyon Days. For your dressing table, vanity or evening bag, they are "descended from the rare and beautiful enamels of 18th-century England. Prized by discerning collectors worldwide, both as tokens of taste and sentiment and as works of art, they are destined to become the antiques of the future."

Says the designer of her collection, which includes atomizers, handbag mirrors and tiny vanity trays, "I have bought these wonderful enamels as gifts, and received them as gifts, for years. It is a great pleasure and opportunity to be entrusted with creating designs for today. Once again I’ve chosen to invoke the muse - images and motifs from the lives of women who continue to inspire - myself and others."

You would be correct in assuming that these pretty little numbers come with price tags containing quite large numbers.

I received as a gift this Christmas my own tiny, shiny box. It is not fancy enamel nor is it covered in pretty patterns. It is plain, coral pink and heart-shaped. It is from the not so exclusive, one on every corner, Hallmark collection. And it is currently my most prized, sentimental and inspiring possession.

It came from my daughter and contains a photo she took of us (with the camera in her laptop) on Thanksgiving Day 2009. That's her, below, squeezing the life and love out of me. And though this box was a gift, it came at a very large price. Letting her go last year to live her own life was more difficult than anything I have done with or for or because of her in the last nineteen years of my life. But it was worth it.

I have proof in a priceless pink box.

"Every luxury must be paid for, and everything is a luxury, starting with being in this world."

Cesare Pavese, Italian poet, critic and novelist, 1908-1950

Thanks to Rosemary and her dentist's fancy magazines for the top image. It is quite a luxury to have a friend who thinks about you while waiting to get her teeth cleaned. Images and descriptions of Moss's Paris, Nantucket and New York boxes are from Halcyon Days' website. And to Katey, well, you know.

A Banner Day

I love party banners! What's not to love? Color and pattern and fun shapes—some of my favorite things! Fabric banners make great do-it-yourself decorations for a child's room. If you have a box of leftover fabric scraps like I do, and even the most basic sewing skills, you can whip up one of these yourself. Pretty flag banners are also fitting for many special occassions—baby and wedding showers, holidays and special days of all sorts— but are most commonly seen at birthday parties.


Once upon a time, Pottery Barn Kids had this one, above, for sale but I'm not sure it's still available. The colors and lower case letters make it very sweet and soft—perfect for a little girl or a baby's first. This banner is also stitched together from pretty patterned fabrics and the letters are embroidered.

This cute banner, above, for a little girl's birthday, was made using layered scrapbook papers and letter stickers strung onto a grassy green ribbon. (A brief aside: Isn't that the best, craziest mantelscape?! This looks like a FUN household!)

Here's another example, above, of the kind of fabric banner you could make yourself if you were so inclined. Applique the letters either by machine or with iron-on bonding. Don't possess the crafty/sewing gene or have the time to use it if you do have it? Click on the photo and buy this one!

This etsy crafter makes banners and all kinds of fun things. Click on the photo, above, to visit her shop and find out how to order a completely custom banner made just for you.

Owen and Mason's crafty mom made this cute banner, above, to go along with their pirate-themed second birthday. Strung up on the mantel with an assortment of ribbons, it's a party all by itself!

I've had this photo, above, from countryliving.com in my files for a while now. I don't remember what the occassion is—summer holiday or birthday or shower—but it looks like a lot of fun is about to happen! Imagine this photo without the banners. The space wouldn't look nearly as festive, would it?

The photo above was borrowed from an online company that makes wedding and party favors and this is a serve-yourself candy buffet. The flags are a perfect mix of sweet colors. This space is so pretty (not to mention full of candy) that I want one for myself right here in my own house. Excuse me while I go make room...

Five years ago, for my daughter's fourteenth birthday party, I put together a banner to hang in the house. There was another banner, larger and older (from her third birthday), outside—plus games and music and ping pong and a bouncy house of all things that these great big girls had so much fun with!—but this little banner was for the (relatively) quieter area where we sang and ate cake. I swagged it from a long valance rod.

The banner was crafted in a very quick, easy way. First, I chose five or six different colors and patterns of 8 1/2 x 11 scrapbook papers. My finished banner required 18 flags, that's 9 whole sheets. All of the patterns are small and simple so the letters will stand out against them. I cut the papers in half so that the finished flag size was 8 1/2 x 5 1/2. Next, I cut 9 sheets of standard white copy paper in half. On each white sheet, I drew a single block letter, first in pencil to get it the way I liked it, then with a fat black magic marker.

I cut out each letter, around the outside of the marker line, and used a glue stick to attach it to a colored flag. The outlining helps the white letters pop against the colored paper. Finally, I punched holes in the top corners of each flag and strung them onto a long ribbon. (If you place a strip of scotch tape over the ribbon where it runs across the back of the flag, you can space the letters to your liking and know that they will stay put.) We have used my daughter's banner for every birthday of hers since her fourteenth and occasionally even for my husband and myself—with her name taken off the end, of course!

Today, my daughter turns nineteen. For the first time, she won't wake up here in my home on her big day. Will her roommates think to put up a banner and balloons while she's sleeping? And sing to her when she wakes? Will she miss any of it if they don't? Like all the well-intentioned, empty-nested, ever so slightly intrusive moms who came before me, I have taken matters into my own crafty hands. I made a new banner. And packaged it up with some balloons and birthday candles. I know she'll love it. And I hope she'll use this new one again and again too. To celebrate the birthdays of friends as much as her own. She's a very generous young woman. She likes to make things fun and nice for other people. She already bakes a better cake than I ever have! She's taken on a lot of responsibility at a very young age and is growing every day. She's creative and smart and thoughtful and curious. She wants to know everything. She wants to see everything. She's well on her way to becoming an even more remarkable, extraordinary person than she already is.

Happy Birthday, Katey! XO

Click on any of the photos above, except for my own three at the bottom, and you'll be taken to the source of the banner pictured. Try your hand at making your own banner. They're easy and fun and personal. Make one for your own birthday! Send one to a friend! Use another message or none at all. Hang one somewhere that only you will see. It will be like having your own private party every day!