Pink of Perfection

I think these yarn wreaths are just about some of the cheerfullest spring decor items I’ve ever seen. I like how they are both cozy and sweetly fresh, just like season itself. The most seasonal decorating I ever do is bringing in lilacs instead of dahlias, but I’ve always loved the idea of lightening the interior of my home when things warm up. Do you swap out decorative items–throw pillows, blankets and the like? And have you seen your first lilacs? I bought my first bouquet yesterday, and they sit–already a little droopy–in the morning light of the breakfast table.

There are few things as soullessly austere as a home with blank walls. Figuring out how to add personality and pretties to your walls (while staying on a budget) is no small task. One solution: giant, striking wall decals. Perfect for rental apartment-dwellers who dream of wallpaper (just peel them off when you want your security deposit back), these decals let you add a flock of birds, lotus flowers, or a flowering tree to your home. A family I know put birds in flight down the hallway of their apartment and the effect was so whimsical. Dezign with a Z is giving away a $30 gift certificate to one lucky Pink of Perfection reader. To enter to win, leave a comment about the creative decorative elements you’ve added to your walls––quirky or traditional––by Friday, January 21 at midnight EST. One commenter will be chosen at random. Can’t wait to hear about the genius decorating you’ve done, and good luck!

Update: The lucky winner is commenter #64, Athina! Thanks to all your entering––what terrific ideas!

My book club did a modest little gift exchange for the holidays (meeting: At Large and At Small). We had a limit of $10 and the gifts were universally awesome: a handmade magnet with one of my favorite words, Saipua soap, fancy food stuffs like artisanal jams and posh hot chocolate. But the gift that made us all especially bright-eyed in our looking-forward-to-the-new-year excitement was this day planner by The Small Object. It’s colorfully, enthusiastically emphatic, and just, well, delightful. Who doesn’t need a daily reminder to “start smiling,” and “banish monsters”? I just think it’s so cheerful.

Who knows what you win, exactly, but I love the sentiment of this cross stitch print like mad and could see it inspiring a craft of my own, very likely complete with a pronoun change.

Available at the Keep Calm Gallery

“Because everything is relative,” the little red birdies chirp, “choose joy.” Available on Esty from what seller evajuliet calls her “pep art” collection. I’m swooning over here, and also, feeling a good deal calmer.

Remember that vintage fabric my friend sent me after finding it in a relative’s North Dakota attic? I didn’t know how to properly honor it, and a year later, here’s the answer I settled on.

I first saw embroidery hoops used as fabric frames at Purl Patchwork as a way to display their Liberty of London swatches. (I’ve always loved the black and blue feather print.) But when I kept seeing them in shelter mags and on design blogs, I thought it was a decorating device too “over” to do in my own house.

But you know what? Screw that. It might have taken me a few years to finally cop to my desire to get pretty fabrics on the wall any way I can, but now that I have, I find the results ridiculously cheering. Who cares if something is “everywhere” (Keep Calm and Carry On, anyone?). If you love it, make it yours, bring it into your house, and let it bring you a bit of joy every time you pass down the hall.

This project is just my kind of skill level: Iron your fabric. Then slip the fabric into the embroidery hoops, tighten the screw and pull the fabric taught. Cut off the excess fabric, and hang them on the wall on tiny nails. Done and done.

Yesterday, when I was convalescing, I fell down the rabbit hole known as Polyvore while watching The Bachelorette (seriously, Justin–for real, or not?). I’ve known about Polyvore for years from the cool collages of stylish girls that show up on fashion blogs. As much as I love making a collage, I never used the site since I wasn’t nuts about the branding on the application.

And then! I realized that, duh, you can take a screenshot of your collage, rather than posting the embed code. The pics won’t be handily clickable, but oh well. The point is, I now have a way to collage my heart out, without wondering what to do with the giant finished product.

Last night I designed my evolving look, dubbed “Nerdy Lady,” worked on an outfit for Sebastian’s movie premiere, and then moved on to plotting a California-cool, semi-professional look for my friend. And now, I can’t be stopped!

What I love most about collaging is how through selecting images you love––a beautiful tart, an antique locket, a mod, streamlined couch––you begin to see patterns. It’s like being a magazine editor of your own life, with your most authentic self revealing herself through images. And that’s my current goal: to listen to my authentic self. It’s the voice beyond the chatter that says you’re not good enough or smart enough or beautiful enough or that a pint of ice cream really will make you feel better. That voice is a menace. But your authentic voice? She is a soothsayer and truth-teller.

“Nor need we power or splendour, wide hall or lordly dome; the good, the true, the tender, these form the wealth of home.” — Sarah J. Hale