House of Earnest

February 15, 2013

Friday Faves 2.15

ONE I love the idea of using a beautiful pedestal to display more than just cakes. Candles, jewelry, fruits – anything would be showcased atop this marble stunner from Crate and Barrel – $25. TWO this bright floral rug is so so pretty and is available in smaller sizes for a dose of spring. Crewelwork Rug from Anthropologie starting at $78. THREE the wavy lines on this dinner plate add a little romantic flair to the clean black and white design. Studio Sessions Plate $20 from Anthropologie. FOUR navy is such a nice move on from black. Ink blot pillow is $30 from CB2. FIVE cute and custom monogram glasses are so giftable! $96 for a set of eight. SIX a pretty metallic pouch is a perfect way to organize little things around the home.

It’s Friday! It’s been a long week of traveling for me, but it has been great. I’m going to be in India for just a few more days and although I’m working on Saturday (boo), I’m excited to spend a little time on Sunday exploring Delhi. If you’ve been and have any suggestions, I’m all ears!

Have a great weekend, guys!

p.s. We’ve got a GIVEAWAY going on! Two sets of silk pillow covers all inspired by emerging artists’ work will go to TWO winners… Click here for the details

2 Comments

February 14, 2013

Hand Made: Lacquered Animal Bookends

in Favorite Projects, Hand Made, Home Decor with 25 Comments

I was bursting at the seams to share this project and today is the day! I love lacquered anything, but this cute little animals in a lovely deep blue are such a welcome addition to my office. They were so so simple to make and the options of animal, object, and color are endless. I think I might even make a few for gifts!

I simply used Gorilla Super Glue to adhere a plastic toy to a brick, painted with a high gloss paint and finished it off with a high gloss lacquer top coat. Easy, huh?

I had so much fun playing around with styling them and thought the monkey’s faces were humorous. I really wanted to find horses or a lion, but truth be told, finding the toy to use was the hardest part of this project. I ended up using dog toys, but I think a trip to a large toy store probably would have yielded good results as well.

So what do you think? Silly? Fun? Can I say chic?

Have a wonderful Thursday!

25 Comments

February 13, 2013

Birchseed Giveaway – CLOSED

in Home Decor with 65 Comments

We are giving away TWO pairs of down-filled art inspired pillows today! First, I’m so excited to share a relatively new company with a passion for putting emerging artists in front of the proper audience. Birchseed‘s goal is to provide exposure for new artists to the general public through building each artist’s name and reputation. They focus on giving these young artists a chance to develop their artistry in a finacially supportive way which I just think is phenomenal.

Birchseed not only carries the original art by these new talents, but also helps them to get their names out into a world of consumers by making the art accessible through their line of art inspired textiles. The pillow covers are such a wonderful idea for regular joes like you and I who may not want to splurge on some original art, but may really want to integrate the look into our homes and support new artists as well.

To gain even more exposure for these artists and their craft, House of Earnest is teaming up with Birchseed to do a give-a-way with not just one, but TWO possible winners. Each winner will get a PAIR of beautiful art inspired pillows made from high quality materials and they come with the down feather inserts (how many pillows do you buy now-a-days that come with the insert?).

So here is how to enter – THIS GIVEAWAY CLOSED AT MIDNIGHT ON 2/19/13 AND WINNERS HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED.

1. Pop over to Birchseed.com and have a look around. Come back here and comment below, telling me which item is your favorite. We will choose one random winner for each one of these comments.

2. SHARE the love! If you share Birchseed or one of their products via Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest, (and come back here to leave a comment letting me know that you did so) You’ll be entered to win the second set of pillows. (make sure to include Birchseed’s site link in your share!)

Official Rules: Open to all U.S. residents, no purchase is necessary. This giveaway begins at 5am EST on 2/13/2013 and closes at midnight EST on 2/19/2013.

Good Luck!!

65 Comments

February 12, 2013

Spool of Love

in Hand Made with 12 Comments

I’ve shared a few other Valentine’s day ideas with you guys – A non-romantic, but darling, Bee idea with printable as well as a geometric addition to wrapped gifts. In both posts, I expressed how Valentine’s days really isn’t my thing, but I wanted to share one sweet bit which could be used all year round to show your honey that you’re thinking about them.

Since I’m in India for the romantic holiday, I thought it would be nice to leave a few little lovely tidbits around the house for Matt to find. I wound up some pretty patterned paper into spools, each with a little message, to remind my husband in lots of little ways how much I adore him.

ONE use a bit of tape to adhere your message to a vintage spool. Or you can buy wooden spools in the wood tidbits area at your craft store. TWO roll away your message. THREE tie it up tight with a pretty bit of string.

Of course, you can do this without the spools and just leave cute little notes scattered around, but how perfect is the idea of unrolling a tiny little message? It reminds me of a message in a bottle of sorts!

If you’re anything like me, you’ll forget most hiding spots and find them throughout the year, but it’s a cute little reminder anytime, right?

I hope you’re having a lovely Tuesday! I’m off to dinner already and will see you guys back here tomorrow with an eastern inspired GIVEAWAY!

12 Comments

February 11, 2013

Stylish Travel

in Travel with 19 Comments

It’s no secret that I travel a ton, and there are points in my life where I’m just moving stuff from one suitcase to another. I just got back from Alt Summit in Salt Lake City where I was doing blog work, I’m heading off again today for New Delhi for business, and will be home from India for just two days before jetting off again for Telluride (this time for a legit vacation!).

If I wasn’t super organized, my whole life would probably fall apart with the frequency of my travel. One of my favorite things to help organize my life is a travel jewelry box. It’s certainly a bit chunkier than other travel rolls, but it holds a ton and is a a little better for living out of at home and on the road.

Want to hear a funny secret? I’ve carried this case as a clutch before to dinner when I didn’t have anything else packed to match an outfit. Regardless, there is no doubt this little jewelry box from RedEnvelope is a darling way to keep strands of baubles in check while traveling, but if you live in a small space, it might be a great way to organize your gems at home too!

So while I’m in the air, I’ve got my trusty case with me – keeping at least one facet of my life in order!

What organizing tools do you use for travel? Anything I should know about?

p.s. don’t think I’m trying to show off by flashing those Rupees at you, one hundred rupees is less than two US dollars!

p.p.s. If you love jewelry (and who doesn’t), I’m posting over on Etsy’s blog later today with my top jewelry picks for a range of prices. It’s a bit of a ‘Treat yo’self” post for Valentines day!

19 Comments

February 8, 2013

Friday Faves 2.8

in friday favorites with 12 Comments

ONE gold rimmed agate coasters from Heritage1956 are on preorder, but they’re so perfect, you’ll definitely want to consider the wait. $80; TWO twig wall hooks are modern with a rustic twist. $25 each from StudioLiscious. THREE fun and funky silver beaded Love and Lust pillowcovers are perfect for the quirky home dweller who loves things neutral (me, me!). $198 each from Jonathan Adler. FOUR Adra vase is perfectly chunky and graphic. Fill with some of this springs blooming twigs for the perfect combo. FIVE I love this silver woven daybed from Calypso St. Barth, but for $1400 I might have to make one myself.

Each winter I tend to feel the need to glam things up a bit (all of the holiday metallics go to my head) and each spring I revert back to my more rustic, natural tendencies. I feel like this combination of both looks is absolutely perfect for where my head’s at right now and could make a room feel stylish and down to earth at the same time. I really do love the woven type daybeds and with departure this weekend to India, I feel like it wouldn’t be something hard to find, but probably pretty hard to ship back home.

So, that’s another thing. I’m headed to India this weekend for work and I’ll be there a little over a week. Follow on Instagram and twitter for all sorts of inspiration from the trip (I might have to snag some pretty textiles for summer projects!)

Have a fabulous weekend and check out some of the other things I’ve been up to this week:

A modern/rustic trivet made with just two materials

My photo shoot for Emma Magazine went live

A very sweet (and free printable) Valentine idea

12 Comments

February 7, 2013

Hot on Wooden Beads

in Favorite Projects, Hand Made with 9 Comments

This project came up last weekend totally by accident. I had a bunch of wooden bead packets sitting in my dining room for another project and was also in the process of making some tea.

I realized at that point that I didn’t own one trivet. In the past, I used towels or cutting boards for hot items and never really thought twice about it. In that moment, I wanted to bring my teapot into the dining room where I was working, so I just decided to string twelve of these beads quickly together to form a resting place for my pot.

Not only did it work out wonderfully, but I thought it was really simple and pretty and thus, should be shared with you guys.

So it was as easy as that! The bad news is that my aforementioned project which started the whole need for tea went south really fast and was a pretty big failure. I suppose I got the trivet out of the whole process, and for that, I’m thankful!

Have you ever quickly put something together out of necessity and it become one of your favorite things? If so, share in the comments below!

Have a MARVELOUS Thursday, you guys!

9 Comments

February 6, 2013

Valentines Day Party for Emma Magazine

in Party Style with 9 Comments

About a month ago, I worked on a Valentines day party shoot for Emma Magazine and I was just dying to share the outcome of the shoot with you! The full issue went live last Friday and I loved seeing my concept come to life! It was really the first styled type shoot I had done and although I learned a ton of do’s and don’ts, I am happy with how it turned out.

These are just a few snapshots from the shoot, but there are tons more and printable invitations by graphic designer, Sarah all over at EmmaMag.com! Please go check it out and let me know what you think!

Amazing photography by Benjamin Lowry, Ice cream provided courtesy of Jeni’s Ice Creams.

9 Comments

February 5, 2013

Bee Mine Valentine

in Hand Made with 26 Comments

I’m not usually a Valentine’s Day kind of person, but instead of thinking of it as a day to tell people I very obviously love (my husband) that I do (duh), I started to think of it as a way to tell people who I appreciate that I do. You don’t have to shout ‘I love you’ from the mountains, but there is probably a characteristic that you love about most people who you interact with closely on a daily basis. Your colleague? You love that she is so passionate about your joint project. Your neighbor? You love that he is so kind to bring your newspaper up to your porch.

Whatever the reason, I really like this not-too-romantic way to share appreciate for those who are close. Tie the little note to something bee related like a jar of honey with a mini honey dipper and let those around know how you feel about them.

What’s more is that I have these precious ‘Bee Mine’ cards already cued up for printing. Just print directly onto a set of perforated business card paper from your local office supply store and you’ve got it covered! Click here for the Printable valentine (front) and printable valentine – back. Enjoy!

Have a SWEET Tuesday!

26 Comments

February 4, 2013

Alt Summit 2013 – The Recap

in Random Thoughts with 10 Comments

I wasn’t going to post a recap of Alt… Why? Because I strive to reach out to a readership that doesn’t just consist of other bloggers. Not that I don’t love all of my blogger friends (I do!), but if we’re all just writing for each other, then what’s the point? I love the idea that I have the potential to reach out to a wide range of people based on my content – and I sure hope that I do.

So although I won’t go into the details of the panels (which were awesome), I felt that, like I had mentioned two weeks ago, you guys might just want a little behind the scenes glimpse at what goes on here on House of Earnest.

I met some amazing new people, reconnected with some wonderful girls I met last year, and feel that the panel I spoke on went well. It’s so hard to articulate everything I learned, but at the heart of it all, I came away a little more intent to just focus on creating things that I love and to share with you all. End of story. Among the clamor to meet sponsors, pass out as many business cards as humanly possible, and wow some of the big brands into partnerships, I just wasn’t totally convinced that those things would make me a better blogger – or even reach a bigger success in the blog industry. I learned tips and tricks here and there that will help my day-to-day run smoother and maybe help me to interact with you guys better, but my goal here is to get the best, newest, freshest ideas out to you with my own spin – and that isn’t necessarily something you can be taught.

I assume that is why you guys are here too, so I’m glad we have the same goals! Don’t worry – we’re back to our regular programming tomorrow. I have two really easy and beautiful projects to share, one very exciting (Valentines Day) magazine feature to share, and more.

p.s. If you still haven’t taken my annual survey – please hop over and let me know some of your thoughts! I’m eager to hear what you think!

p.p.s If you are another blogger who is interested in detailed accounts of the panels, Lisa from Elembee has amazing recaps for each panel she attended. Check them out here!

The lovely ladies in the photos above are: Megan from The Fresh Exchange, Amy from Parker Etc, Jen from A Blog Named Scout, Mandy from Fabric Paper Glue, Audrey from This Little Street, Katie from Modern Eve, Meg from MegBiram.com, Kelly from Design Crush, Allison from Engaged and Inspired, Natalie from Bing.

10 Comments

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Friday Faves 2.15

Hand Made: Lacquered Animal Bookends

Birchseed Giveaway – CLOSED

Spool of Love

Stylish Travel

Friday Faves 2.8

Hot on Wooden Beads

Valentines Day Party for Emma Magazine

Bee Mine Valentine

Alt Summit 2013 – The Recap

Tie one on: St Paddys Day Decor

Pastel Dipped Glassware

Magnetic Colorblock Desk Accessories

Design & Style

Ideas & Inspiration

Parties & Weddings

Food & Drink