What I received in the #epicgalentinesswap

Last week I had told you guys about the Galentine's Day Swap. In case you missed it, I blogged about it here. And I had promised that I would return to share what I received in the swap…so here goes!

The package that my partner sent me arrived several days prior to Galentine's Day, so I'm proud of myself for maintaining adult-like composure and somehow not sneaking a peek at what was in the box until the big day. As a group, we all planned to open our packages at the same time on Galentine's Day (Feb 13th). The gal that sent to me was Meghan from Juneberry Stitches. And oh my gosh did she do an incredible job putting this package together! So so me! Just look at the above pic! 

First was this vintage Valentine. Sweet as can be! 

Too cute right? They used the best fonts ever back then! A happy new addition to my vintage Valentine collection! 

Meghan also sent me this sweet pink and white check vintage apron with black detailing.  I love it! 

It looks right at home hanging in my kitchen! 

Meghan makes some of the most adorable bags, and I was so excited to receive this one. Linen burlap with a black doily and pink zipper!

Annnd this incredibly cute custom "basket". It's like a bag that stands up and can be used to store things…like make up…or craft supplies...or whatever.  I love it so much! 

One of the questions in our Galentine's Swap questionnaire asked what new craft or hobby we'd like to learn. My answer is that I would love to sew. So once again, Meghan paid attention to the fine print and handmade me this darling needle book! 

So so so cute!! And beyond thoughtful! So much care and time went into these beautiful things. 

She also included some black and white baker's twine…which I love! Never enough baker's twine!

And those top three rolls of washi tape are from Meghan...the black with white hearts, and the aqua and pink scallops. As you can see they are also right at home in my studio! She perfectly nailed down my aesthetic. 

And I love this adorable little cupcake stamp. 

I totally cracked up at these pencils! So so good!! She sent a whole pack of them! "Hoes before Bros" A Leslie Knope quote from Parks and Rec. 

“You know my code: hoes before bros. Uteruses before duderuses…Ovaries before brovaries.”

And check out this crazy cute vintage cake decorator! Ahh!! The pink plastic handle! It is so perfect in our kitchen. The shelf you see here in the background is it's new forever home.

Such a fun swap and geez what a perfect and incredibly thoughtful package I received. So glad I found the time to participate. Such a great group of gals. Sweethearts. If you'd like to see what everyone else got you can check out the #EPICGALENTINESSWAP hashtag over on Instagram! 

Meghan also sent me a bag of chocolate kiss truffles...I didn't even know they made those! 

Seriously, life moves so fast. Seasons blend together and holidays come and go in a flash. So taking time to connect with others for a holiday themed event such as a swap is so meaningful. First, it's so important to set aside the extra time and effort for making things and gathering stuff for someone else. It's so rewarding. And then there's the super duper added bonus of receiving a package like this. There are things here that I can display year round and know that they came from a great place.

Hope you enjoyed!

xo, Jenny…and Aaron says hi!

Treetopia Valentine's Day Wreath Blog Hop and Giveaway!

I don't know if I've mentioned it lately, but we've been super duper busy. And despite that, we still jumped at the chance to participate when we were asked by our super talented friend Jennifer Perkins to be a part of this Valentine wreath blog hop sponsored by Treetopia. We just love all things Valentine's. It's one of our fave times of the year...one of the most visually appealing Holidays. And the whole concept of this blog hop is great. We got to have some fun with this giant pink wreath from Treetopia, and get crafty alongside a star studded lineup of super talented crafter/designers. And in the end, you readers will have FIVE chances to win a wreath like this of your own! 

So…we stole a few hours out of our busy schedule and made our Charlotte Sweetheart wreath.  

So, like I said, the wreath is giant! When it arrived we were like yowza! We had only seen a pic online of the wreath and we couldn't discern the actual size. When the box arrived and we slid the wreath out we were thrilled at the size. What a room maker it will be! 

I immediately had the idea of the wreath acting as a frame for one of our wooden Charlotte plaques. She's our mascot and we love to see her sweet face up on our living room wall. 

We are big time sketchers. Pretty much everything we ever design starts with a crude pencil drawing like this. We'll just jot ideas on the paper and slide it back and forth across the table to each other.

Since we were going to have the matte black, chalkboard type elements, I grabbed these vintage wired pink balls and some other ornaments for pops of shiny color.

And then we started cutting out mat board hearts, and also added some glitter.

The arrow that we had sketched came together "in real life" fairly simply. We cut a wooden dowel to the right length, and then cut the arrow tip and end feathers from mat board. 

We painted all of the elements with gold acrylic paint, attached the tip and feathers to the dowel with hot glue. Then we glittered the tip and the end feathers. 

We love black! We always use it to balance our pastels and candy colors. And we love chalkboard art and lettering. So we decided to go with a black chalkboardesque banner to bear our wreath's "statement". 

The banner is cut from a cardboard box, and then we painted it with black acrylic craft paint. The lettering and line work is done in white acrylic paint. 

The first things we added to the wreath were the balls…some little pink ones, some slightly bigger pink, glittery gold, and a few white fluffy snowballs.

Our Charlotte plaque is actually hung right on the wall. To balance out the banner up top we added the arrow and the X O to the bottom portion of the wreath. And the big pink glitter heart was so so necessary. 

The X O and the black hearts were also just cut out of mat board, which we painted black and then decorated with sketchy chalk details.

We just added some bakery twine to the back of the banner and hung it on the top branches…this way we could always remove it and use it for something else. 

The whole wreath came together in just a few hours. It was really fun to do, and it looks so so fun hanging in our living room! 

We hope you guys enjoyed this little show and tell! We love the quality of this Pretty in Pink wreath. There are pre-lit wreaths & garlands available too! You can find them here. 

 Or, like I said up top...If you'd like a chance to win your very own wreath! Entering is super easy! You can enter below on this post, and also visit the other posts to check out their amazing creations, and enter on their posts as well! 

Monday: Jennifer Perkins

Tuesday: Crafty Chica

Wednesday: Amy Anderson

Thursday: Us! 

Friday: Vickie Howell 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And be sure to visit the Treetopia blog to continue the blog hop tomorrow!!

Happy Creating!

xo Jenny & Aaron

Hello February!

This is one of the best times of year for eye candy. Aren't you just totally in love with Valentine's stuff?! Even the kitschy cheap things at your local drug store are super charming. I love all of the hearts, the roses, the endless shades of pink. And I really really love vintage Valentine's…the ones that kids exchanged in school. I have a ton of 'em. If you've read this blog for a while then no doubt, you have seen a bunch from my collection. The vintage Valentine's imagery is much more beautiful than what's on contemporary cards. And wow, kids had amazing handwriting 50 and 60 years ago. 

So, me and Aaron designed this Valentine painting with a vintage sensibility. And we also made it distinctly Everyday is a Holiday by making the focal point a gorgeous cake. This painting actually features almost the full range of our favorite things to paint…we absolutely love painting roses and don't do it enough, and it goes without saying that cake is sorta our thing…but mainly it's the color palette that inspired us. On Valentine's day you will be inundated by pink and red. We wanted our main color to be this perfect pale shade of aqua, so that our Valentine would stand out in the crowd.

Ok, so we painted this piece on an 8 x 10 canvas and we wanted to do something special with it. One day we showed it to our friend Beca, and she suggested that we make postcards. Of course we thought this was a smashingly good idea! Right away we got them made and rush delivered. The quality is outstanding. The colors are bright and true to the original. 

We designed them to look like vintage postcards, and we wanted to offer them in a set of four so that you'd have the option to use them in a few different ways. The quality of the print is certainly worthy of framing. You can see all of our brush strokes and the texture of the canvas. 

You get four in a set and they come with white envelopes.

We announced them the other day and got a ton of orders right away…which we have already shipped out. That's definitely a plus with these postcards…our other items are made to order and therefore take some time. But we've got these postcard packs all set and ready to ship. We don't have many, so get them while they last. They're in the shop now!

The other day we got one of the most amazing gifts ever in the mail from a friend who took a class with us way back in 2007 at Silver Bella. This gift came as a total surprise, and the thought and care put into it is jaw dropping. Ok, do you see this little container of personalized m & m's?….well, there are nearly 50 of them!! Each one has a special scallop cut label that says "J & A", and the m & m's are adorable. They are our exact color palette…I especially love the generous amount of black.

And yes…besides all of those individual containers, Becky also included this giant jar full of 'em! So amazingly sweet! 

This is a just a few of the custom designs! I love the pics of Lt. Dan and Carlos. And Jack makes an appearance a couple times. That's a tiny illustration of me and Aaron on the one next to the pink Carlos m & m. And yes…that one does indeed say "ol man Carlos"…ha! So great. 

Seriously, what a special gift! We are so lucky to have a gal like Becky in our life. Thank you so much Becky!!! We love them! 

Ok, it's still chilly as heck here in Jersey. I think we're going to retreat upstairs where it is much warmer. We've got a makeshift mini studio set up in the corner of our bedroom specifically for cold nights like this. Thanks so much for reading…and don't forget about the Valentine postcards…they won't last very long…and they are all packed up and ready to ship!

xo, Jenny…and Aaron says hi! 

Friday Favorites

Today was a great Valentine's Day...me and Aaron, as usual, were home, working together, doing a little decorating, cooking some risotto, baking some muffins, giving the chihuahuas tubbies, listening to music, watching our current favorite show after dinner...all the everyday stuff...and why should it be any different? We used to go out to eat on V Day, but then it got to be so stressful...too many other people out there doing the same thing. So we made it a day about cooking and relaxing at home. Overall, I like everything about Valentine's Day, especially that it's a day when pink and red sit side by side, center stage. I'm a highly visual girl after all. And speaking of visual...check out the perfectly stenciled wall above. So Fabulous! The colors and textures work so well together. So FUN! I need more rooms in my house. 

And I have been a fan of Fun Cult  forever! That amazing banner above is made by the same sweet gal who made the "forever" banner that hangs on our headboard. If you don't have one of your own yet...what are you waiting for?!!

I will always love paper crafting, and the simplicity and feel of paper decorations. I love the roses, sepia book pages, layered paper heart garland from La Mia Casa. It's just beautiful. And crafts like this should be kept in the highest regard. I so so appreciate the time and care put into precious things like this.

Do you want to make your own Royal icing sprinkles? Well, here's how! And they're not just for Valentine's Day! Imagine them in lots of lovely pastels. 

I wouldn't mind calling this Pink House my home. I feel like I'd have to return home with a package full of macarons each and every day. Why is it that I can picture exactly what my life would be if this was the doorway I came home to everyday?  

Yes, I'll take this couch and furball ottoman (if it's faux)...asap. Again, I can imagine a whole new life that revolves around the existence of these pieces. 

I'm so incredibly smitten with my Instagram friend Baby Dear's tattoos. I've seen so many tattoos that attempt to be sweet, but in the end they turn out harsh and odd looking. At the opposite end of the spectrum are Baby Dear's tattoos. She got them just right. Exactly as sweet as the elements that inspired them. Big kudos to her tattooer.

Perfect pink heart doilies for serving up sweet treats...or even for crafting, art journaling, or whatever you can think of. I'm a huge fan of these!

Lastly,  to say that these Italian Thumbprint Cookies are so up my alley is a gross understatement. I am a huge pistachio fan! Now mix the pistachio with vanilla bean, strawberry preserves, and white chocolate, and you've got yourself treasure for the tastebuds. I am totally making these! 

Ok, that's it for today. I'm so thrilled that you guys took the time to check out some of my faves on this lovey dovey Friday. Me and Aar send big love and hugs to you and yours!

xo, Jenny...and Aaron says hi!

"Sweethearts" Art Journal page (Inspired by Boardwalk Empire)

So I had mentioned that we just started watching Boardwalk Empire. And we are totally hooked. We are now on Season 3, and even though we are loving it, I have to admit that watching all the episodes in a row is kinda exhausting. We watch an episode every night before bed and I swear we both have had dreams involving aspects of the show. The characters are great. They perfectly walk the line between reality and caricature. There's also so much beautiful scenery, incredible costumes, sets, and decor. And at the same time there is no lack of insane violence and how shall I say??...."boobs galore"! 

But seriously, the show is currently etched into our brains.

Here are some Boardwalk Empire inspired things we've said throughout our days while working:

Jenny: "I wonder if there is a chihuahua out there named Nucky Thompson?"

Aaron: "I was on wikipedia and saw that in real life Arnold Rothstein dies in 1928. Do you think they'll take the show to 1928 so that we will see him die?" 

Jenny: "Seriously, Richard Harrow is an art journaler!?"

Aaron: "It makes sense that Richard Harrow is an art journaler...he's a tortured soul like the rest of us." 

Yes, Richard Harrow, the man with the hand painted lead mask covering half of his face. The result of a horrific war wound. And yes, we looked it up. The face plate is a perfectly accurate representation of what was worn by wounded WWI vets. So ok, Richard Harrow is the most likable cold blooded hit man that you'll ever come across. Because you know that he hates what he does, and you know that he'd do anything to help out the innocent and the meek. He's also a sentimentalist at heart and spends his free time pasting collages of happy family moments in his scrapbook. Yes, in 1920 this psycho killer was an art journaler.

I was thrilled to find pics of his pages on the HBO website. Which, believe it or not, were the inspiration behind our art journal page.

I'm also so incredibly in love with vintage photo booth photos. We've been collecting them for years, and we love the tinted versions. I thought it would be really fun to make our own! A little hand drawn couple, inspired by the show Boardwalk Empire...only without the murder, bootlegging, boobs, and corruption. 

So here we go with a little step by step of our page.

 Starting with a blank primed with Gesso page, we chose a stencil that had a very Deco era feel. 

Then we laid it on top of cardboard, taped it in place, and then we used Mister Huey's, which we sprayed in layers of colors, letting dry between each coat.

We used a blow dryer to speed up the drying time.

Now we've found that Mr. huey's over gesso "moves" when we apply washes, or gel medium or mod podge over it. We really don't mind it since it softens the lines a bit. But a trick to not blurring it too much is to try to not brush over an area too many times. We "sealed" it with gel medium, and when that was dry, we mixed a wash of water and acrylic paint, and gesso. We brushed the wash in select areas.

And then blotted it to soften it, and then we let it dry.

 We mixed black paint and water, and using a round brush we dipped into the black wash and then speckled the page with it. While that was drying we worked on our photo strip.

Aaron is master of cutesy retro faces. I did a rough sketch of what I was thinking and he totally knew exactly what I was going for. He sketched out a few "poses".

And then he gave the gal a beau. Kinda Richard Harrowesque.

Can you even handle the cuteness?? 

We love the feel of the tinted photo booth strips, so we added subtle color and shading. 

While the strip was drying we played around with layout and papers. We cut a "dummy" photo strip to stand in as a place holder while we were figuring out the layout.

When we found a layout that we liked we adhered some torn papers. Vintage wallpaper, sheet music, and stripes. Love the black mixed in.

We had this sweet little house photo envelope and thought it was perfect! Again, it reminded us of something from the show. The Commodore's mansion. An amazing house that becomes a place of ill repute. And this brass Sweetheart trinket seemed perfect. And this vintage black plastic photo slide frame fit perfectly.

We chose some key elements, like our roses cut from floral wallpaper. We adhered those and the house photo, some vintage envelopes with charming old timey handwriting and affixed stamps.

We then did an antiquing wash around the elements. Using a fine tip round brush dipped in water, we brushed the tip of a brown Gelato and then floated the wash around elements, and then blotted with a finger tip.

We then grabbed some chipboard hearts and painted them gold.

And added an antiquey wash using Gelatos to mimic the brass Sweetheart

We glued down the hearts, added more of our wash to areas. And then we added a

hand drawn scrollwork border with a sharpie fine tip marker. We designed the border to be in keeping with the era.

Then we added some stamps, and a saying. We knew we wanted to add more black to balance everything. And it adds a nice masculine touch.

I found this quote while searching for something fitting, and from the era. There were so many slang terms, and sayings from the 1920's but they were all too cartoony. We thought this classic phrase was perfect.  So we typed it up on a black background in PicMonkey, which we use for all of our day to day photo editing as well. Such an easy program to work with. I highly recommend it. 

So, that quote was then printed and we cut it to fit in the right spot. We really love the outcome of the page. It captured exactly what we were going for with Valentines Day looming...and our Boardwalk Empire addiction. And yes, our passion for the show is definitely enhanced by it's Jersey shore locale.

Hope you enjoyed our little step by step art journal page.

xo, Jenny...and Aaron

If you enjoyed this tutorial, you'd probably like our book! Get it here.