garland – Elizabeth Smillie

a storybook themed baby shower, part 1

August 31, 2016 Elizabeth Smillie

A while back we had the privilege of welcoming a new nephew into the family, and we celebrated with a storybook themed baby shower! His mama loves reading, so we thought a party filled with children’s books would be a perfect way to welcome the little man to the world.
Babies and books – love them both! Since this was a storybook themed baby shower was for a baby boy, I used lots of neutrals (“vintagey” colors), whites and blues, and scattered stars and vintage books about liberally – and I think it all came together beautifully.We split up the hostessing duties a bit – I got to hostess at our home and provide the decor and drinks, my mother-in-law and sisters-in-law took care of the food.
Most of the decor were things that I either already had, we had in the shop and tweaked a little, free printable from Pinterest or that I made just for the occasion {children’s book page pinwheels and pennant “BABY” banner! And an adorable table runner from vintage children’s book pages, too – so cute.}We went with a simple color scheme – white, light {and a little dark} blue, kraft brown and vintage papers. The colors were a perfect backdrop for the children’s books, and played well together. :) I used a mix of vintage and new(er) linens, a variety of mixed metals and some wild grasses instead of of flowers. Stacks of vintage books (of course!) in brown and blues came into play, too.
I was delighted with how my table runner turned out! My mom has a knack for finding gorgeous old children’s books, some of which are sadly too worn to be enjoyed by our children. I used the pages with colored illustrations, arranged the pages a few times until I was happy with how the colors looked together, and secured them in placed with some double-sided tape. Super cute! (it was inspired by this table runner)One of the details I loved adding to this party were the framed storybook quotes and artwork. I found several through Pinterest, and a few through a basic web search – all were free, and when placed in frames I already had, made a fun addition to the shower. And the new mama enjoyed keeping a few for the little guy, too!

Stay tuned for more party photos, including more decor, the super darling and delicious food (all storybook themed!) and the guest of honor!

shop items featured:

customer love – celebrating wedding Anniversaries in style

July 16, 2015 Elizabeth Smillie

It’s no secret that we love seeing the photos our customers take with their purchases, and especially when it involves celebrating milestones like wedding Anniversaries! This lovely couple ordered a custom version of our Gold Glitter Banner to use as a prop as they had a photo shoot to celebrate 5 years of wedded bliss {and the bride and groom still fit in their wedding clothes!}. And you have heard of the tradition of saving the top layer of your wedding cake to eat on your first anniversary? This couple took it to the next level with these gorgeous photos featuring a custom cake banner, their wedding rings and the serving pieces from their wedding – gorgeous!

Thank you {and congratulations on your anniversaries!!!} to both of these couples for allowing us to share these photos with you!

Do you have photos that you’d like to share? If so, you can either email them to me at elizabeth@pltmarket.com or tag them with #thepathlesstraveledmarket on Instagram {as long as you have a public profile :)} – we’d all love to see your ideas! Also, I often send “thank you” coupons to the lovelies who let me share their photos with you – so if you’re looking for a coupon for your next order, sharing photos is a great way to get a discount!

Geometric Banners

August 8, 2014 Elizabeth Smillie

If you’ve been following us on Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest you might have noticed this already, but we’ve been working hard to add some new items to the shop! I’ll let Olivia show you. :)

Isn’t she just the cutest thing ever?! And now don’t you want your own (garland I mean, not baby girl ;D)?

We have these available in vintage map (some of you saw the preview here), vintage music, vintage book and colored cardstock (shown in white, but available in all colors). And we have them all available in the chair garland length, too!

I love how these can be customized almost endlessly, that they echo the current geometric-loving trend, and that they resemble the classic white fabric buntings (remember them from the village celebrations in Downtown Abby, anyone?) – there’s just so much to love about these! So far I’ve already used them as ceiling decorations and photo backdrops/props, and Emma Grace has requested a “triangle party” for her next birthday (she likes to plan her birthdays far in advance). Imagine how gorgeous a bunch of them would be at a wedding!

just so you know :)

March 12, 2014 Elizabeth Smillie

Just so you know, pretty much all of the garlands, toppers, etc. in my shop can be made in any range of custom colors: Imagine the possibilities – they’re almost endless! These started out as our classic heart chair backers, and the customer requested that they be made in the same color scheme as our Confetti Circles garlands. The resulting hybrid is gorgeous! Or at least, I thought it was :)

a Labor Day sale!

August 30, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

Happy Labor Day! I’ve been planning on sharing our summer decor for … all summer {best intentions, eh?} and realized that if I was ever going to, now was the time! After Ian’s Car themed birthday, I was loving the “Americana” feel of all the party decorations, and decided to go with it as a summer theme. :) After I took down the cars and birthday banner, I added a few more things from years past and from the shop, moving them around a bit over the course of the summer. The Large Book Star Garland is surprisingly durable! I’ve had it draped on our shelf for 3 months now, and there’s only been one incident with a tear {and that one was my fault – not the kids ;)}. It eases nicely into Autumn, too! And the Red, White and Blue Star Cake Garland has been a fun pop of color in my little pot of dried boxwood, and looked sweet with the patriotic colored candles.
I made the embellished lanterns from a Martha Stewart tutorial a few years ago, and was happy to see that they had survived the time in storage {a.k.a. a file box in the closet that I had forgotten about}. To finish off our “dining room” area, I draped a Red, White and Blue Large Star Garland over the top of our curtains and hung a large Navy Star on either end.Star dessert toppers aren’t just for desserts! They add such a fun touch to just about anything, and I’ve really been enjoying having a cluster of red, white and blue stars in a pewter vase on the shelf by our front door. {“love” print from Recipe For Crazy}

Do you have any plans for the long weekend? My husband actually gets Labor Day off this year {perhaps the first time since we’ve been married – yay!} and we’re hoping to get a few house projects done. Growing up, my dad used to remind us that one of the best ways to celebrate the American worker was to be an American worker – and then tell us what the project for the day was! :) It didn’t used to be too much fun {except we always had a wonderful barbecue at then end of the day – mmm!}, but now that there’s the possibility that I could have a freshly painted bedroom? It sounds great!

And, not to leave you without a special sale for the Labor Day weekend {maybe a perfect time to stock up on decor and dessert toppers for fall celebrations?}, I have a coupon code for you! Use code LABORDAY20 for 20% off of any order in between now and midnight Monday!

I hope you all have a blessed, relaxing weekend <3

a library inspired baby shower

August 19, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

Tonight I have something quite darling to share – a library inspired baby shower!

One of my customers {Dina of Honey & Fitz} used our Book Star Garland as part of the decor for this darling baby shower that she designed and hostessed for a dear friend – you can read her tell all about it on the sweet feature that Style Me Pretty Living did this morning :)

Photography: Ruth Eileen Photography, Design: Dina of Honey & Fitz

P.S. We have a winner for the giveaway! Congrats to Kristel P.! I’ll email you your gift card code tomorrow :) And thank you to everyone who entered! I’ll be having another very soon – we only need one more Facebook fan to reach 200, and then we’ll celebrate with something pretty and sparkly!

some lovelies

July 29, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

Oh wow, I’m so thrilled to share these lovelies with you this morning! One of my local friends, Vanessa from Violet Vintage {we became friends through our shops – I LOVE how having a handmade business brings new connections into my life!} recently threw a gorgeous watercolored Thank You luncheon for her lovely support team.

The lovely event was featured on Style Me Pretty, and Vanessa was kind enough to let me share it here, too!

Did you know that you can request custom items from our shop? Vanessa had commissioned a custom version of my doily garlands and the result was the amazing peach and mint garlands made from vintage paper doilies that graced the luncheon in such a gorgeous way! They really were the perfect finishing touch to a unforgettable time. What a perfect way to thank the ones who’ve been with you through everything!

The lovely photos of the event are curtesy of Emily Weis and the venue is the Historic Ambassador House in Fishers, Indiana.

Extra Large Red, White and Blue Star Garland from the Path Less Traveled

the giveaway is ending soon! :)

June 29, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

just popping by to remind you – the giveaway ends tomorrow night!

So if you wanted to enter but forgot {or would like to add another entry?}, don’t dilly dally – it’ll be over and the prize on it’s way before you know it!

how Tuesday: DIY Balloon Garland Tutorial!

June 25, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

as promised, today for how Tuesday I have a tutorial for the DIY Balloon Garland!

It makes a big impact for an incredibly small investment, and can be customized in an almost endless array of colors! Want a rainbow? No problem. Monochromatic more your style? Again, no problem. Seriously, you can use this for any of life’s celebrations from baby showers, birthdays, graduations (school colors!}, bridal showers, casual receptions, housewarmings … even retirement parties!

materials: balloons in your preferred color{s}, a needle with a large eye {hole for the twine}, twine {or narrow ribbon}, scissors, and thumbtacks {if you’re planning on hanging it outside, you might prefer to tie the garland up and not need the tacks} step 1: measure the length you’d like your garland to be and choose your pattern – I decided to use red, white and two shades of blue for Ian’s party – {You might like a monochrome look, a random look, or some other variation!} and inflate your balloons. Having an assistant for this step can be very helpful! step 2: thread your needle with the twine – I chose to use twine for this due to it’s strength {thread just wasn’t going to be strong enough!}, but you could also choose to use a narrow ribbon or some other narrow type of cording. step 3: begin sewing the garland – poke the needle through the “tag” of the balloon, not too close to the end or it might rip out, just somewhere in the middle ……pull the needle and cording through, and continue with the rest of your balloons.

step 4: tie a loop in the end of your cord to prepare for hanging. If you’re hanging the balloon garland outside, you might choose to skip the loop and leave a long tail {to use for tying} instead. step 5: put a tack through afore mentioned loop and stick ‘er up there!

step 6: string out the garland across your desired distance and repeat step 5 …

…while taking a moment to admire how pretty it looks hanging across your room. :)

And that’s it! You can make several strands and hang them together, leave it to stand alone or, as you can see from the first photo, combine it with crepe streamers! Each option looks great – with a project like this, it’s hard to go wrong :)

If you haven’t taken a moment to enter the giveaway, you might want to click over and do that – it’s super easy to enter, and you might win a set of the newest red, white and blue star garland and matching cupcake toppers!

sharing this on Sew Can Do and C.R.A.F.T.

little bits from the week

June 21, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

the photos that I capture on Instagram are just little bits and pieces of our life, and it’s really interesting to see what moments I capture {and which ones I don’t} – of course, it seems as if {since I instagram from our iPad} I only capture the things that stand still.

Which of course explains why Emma Grace, Ian and John don’t show up very often, but flowers, projects and Olivia do. Of course :)

If you’d like to follow along, I’m @pltmarket on Instagram <3

It’s been a few weeks since my last post like this, so let’s play catch up, shall we?

my sister-in-law is redoing her master bedroom in neutrals, gray and light pink – and asked for a custom garland to grace it. I love what I came up with! have you tried {re}growing green onions yet? silly baby girl! this is her “I’m such a funny girl – I can grin with my eyes shut!” face … and it melts me.

Of course, she also does this face when she is really tired and crying …. she’s a roller now! Olivia has been {purposefully} rolling her way across the room to get to the curtains and then plays peek-a-boo with herself in them :) new cake garlands coming soon! “mr. & mrs.”, “hooray”, “congrats!” and “we do” will all be showing up … soon. I promise <3

Ian got to touch his first snake on Memorial Day {see? we’re really playing catch up!} and was absolutely fascinated Ian loves his toy horses. Almost as much as he loves his cars and guns :) He has a daddy horse and a little boy horse, and they seem to go on LOTS of adventures – I find them in some of the most random places! being darling, of course <3 a custom cake garland – this time for a little guy’s Thomas the Tank Engine birthday prepping inventory for the Hobnob Market! my rose bush has been blooming! I’s still on the small side, so I’ve been hesitant to cut any long stems, but I’m loving snipping a small bloom every now and then! I’ve been adding some new Red, White and Blue items to the shop – have you checked them out yet? She loves sleeping on her tummy – and sticking her feet through her crib bars. Rollin’, rollin’! She rolled her way over to the box and snatched the tape off of it – apparently it was a pretty fun chew toy until I snagged it away from her! Last night I made up the Brown Eyed Baker’s Chocolate Bundt Cake. Yum. Next time I need a chocolate fix, I seriously need to choose a healthier recipe {although, this one DID have 5 eggs in it – can that count as breakfast? (if you don’t know what I’m referring to, you NEED to watch this video of Bill Cosby)} another custom order! this time a banner of light blue hearts and cream circles stamped with “Bride to Be” – LOVE it! and might even make more for the shop {what do you think, maybe in custom colors?} making up a newborn size lace onesie

and last, but not least, a super fun surprise – Pretty Prudent {aka Prudent Baby} featured our Subway Cupcake Toppers on their blog!!! To say I was excited to find out would be an understatement.

So there you have it – 3 weeks worth of pics in one fell swoop. Are you still with me? ;)

On to other things – I’m planning another giveaway {yay!} and would love your input. What would you like to win from my shop?

I hope you’re having a lovely weekend, enjoying the beginning of Summer {or Winter if you’re one of my lovelies in Australia} and soak in some time relaxing and being refreshed in your soul.

{hugs}

p.s. the giveaway is live! check it out and enter to win your very own set of 4th of July themed decor from the shop!

Elizabeth Smillie

The Path Less Traveled

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