Etsy find: Lace favor tags.

Remember these amazing butterflies? The Gilded Bee has now created these gorgeous lace tags in a myriad of colors. Aren't they pretty? I'm thinking they'd make pretty amazing favor tags...

Tiered cake stand tutorial.

Good morning! Just popping in to share a great DIY tutorial from Amber Lee at Giver's Log. Her clever thinking has just opened up a world of possibilities for me! Enjoy...

A colorful, Brooklyn-inspired table.

If you didn't see this great tablescape over at 100 Layer Cake, be sure to check it out. I love its subtle references to Brooklyn, the fun color palette and overall vintage vibe. Full credits can be found on the link above.

A super fun yellow + gray wedding.

Don't we all just love a wedding that has no detail left unturned? Looking at these incredible photos by the talented Rebekah Westover, you can see that Mallory + Josh's big day was one of those weddings. Those bouquets! Those socks! Those balloons! I just adore every fun detail this cute couple thought of. Rebekah captured each detail perfectly, too. Be sure to visit the link above to see many, many more pics.

Pretty poms.

First, there were paper lanterns. Now, there are pretty party poms. They're available as clusters, garlands, single poms or napkin holders. Whichever you choose, I love the happy, celebratory feeling these provoke.

A crafty looking cake.

I love when any sort of craft inspires a wedding theme. Thanks to Postcards & Pretties last week, this quilled cake caught my eye. Imagine carrying such a theme through your entire day! Here are some visuals to inspire.






Credits (from top to bottom):
Utterly Engaged, Nice Package, J.Crew

A very Seattle wedding.

My former West Seattle neighborhood has some of the best views in the city. Alki Beach Park runs right along Puget Sound and, on a clear day, the Olympics pop up on the horizon. When my sister was getting married a few years ago, I tried to convince her into having a destination wedding that included two venues in the area: Luna Park and the Alki Bathhouse. She didn't go for it, so you can imagine my delight when I discovered Natalie + Robert's wedding celebration in those very spots. =) Be sure to click through to photographer Kip Beelman's full set of images. They're gorgeous!

Building a tiny studio (part 4 of 4).

Now that you've seen the "after" photos, I thought it would be fun to share some detailed images of the finished studio. I placed a collection of blue glass (including a sweet little jar my mom used to keep change in) along the window sill for a lovely pop of color. A couple of inexpensive kitchen rails from Ikea added even more storage on the wall next to the press. We hung a miniature type drawer (from my childhood home) and topped it off with a custom piece created by Victoria of Ex Libris Handmade. She appliqued a globe featuring Europe per my request and I just love it.

If you want to see more photos from the beginning to the end of the project, feel free to visit this set on Maida Vale's Flickr stream. Thanks again for following along, and have a fab weekend. I'm out tomorrow, but I'll be back to weddings on Monday.

Building a tiny studio (part 3 of 4).

If you have stuck with me through the past two posts, thank you! I'm excited to finally show off our handiwork.

As I mentioned in my initial post, our goal was to create a space both my husband and I could use. He's a musician and a foosball fanatic. His equipment is stored in a space just outside this room and can be easily moved in and out when needed. Although I work with a wonderful printing vendor to create the Maida Vale line of letterpress invitations (and will continue to do so), I'm hoping to introduce smaller scale products to my shop using the new Kelsey 5x8 press shown here. All in good time... Regardless, we think we have achieved our goal and are quite proud of the final result.

Detailed photos coming later today...








Visit Flickr to see the entire set of before, during + after photos.

Building a tiny studio (part 2 of 4).

Over the course of three months, we framed new walls, added lighting and electrical outlets, installed a new window, put up drywall, primed, painted and built a custom desk. It was time consuming, but oh-so-worth-it. Shown below are some "in progress" photos. "After" photos coming tomorrow morning. Woot!


Framing and insulating the walls.


The new window.


Framing.


The wall shown above, but with drywall.


The bulk of this tiny room (with exposed beam).


We scored used laminate flooring off Craig's List for $40. We spent a bit of additional funds on underlayment, but overall, it was a great deal and I'm glad we were able to reuse materials.


The same wall, primed and ready to go.


The former closet turned nook.


The DIY desk we added to that nook. We combined three Ikea shelving units and created a top of several 1x4 boards from Home Depot.

Building a tiny studio (part 1 of 4).

I'm going off topic for the rest of the week to share some "before + after" photos of the new production studio the hubs and I just finished remodeling. We live in a tiny house in Seattle so space is at a premium (I'm talking two closets in the entire house!). Maida Vale primarily occupies a small loft we call the "treehouse". I have a lovely view of the Olympics on a clear day and lilacs that bloom just outside of the window. As my business grows, however, my need for more space does too. Needless to say, this is a wonderful problem to have.

In December, we decided to finish a small room in our partially underground basement. Together, we are not terribly handy. Fortunately for us, some help from very kind friends and the good old library made the project much less scary. Our goal was to create a space that works for both of us (more on this later) and I think we accomplished that. The "before" photos follow below. I apologize for the quality of these. The remaining images won't be this bad, I promise. Progress photos coming later today... =)


We knocked out the partial drywall shown here and framed all new walls.


The previous owners created a mish mash of walls that we basically erased.


We knocked out this closet to create space for my workspace.


We also replaced this janky old window with a new energy-efficient beauty.

Peacock-inspired dessert glam.

I'm working on an art deco-inspired wedding that draws color inspiration from a peacock. Imagine my excitement when I came across this beautiful post on Style Me Pretty a couple of weeks ago. Aren't these photos exquisite? Follow the link above for full credits.