garlands – 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 – Chefs For Farmers

March 31, 2016 Elizabeth Smillie

You know the feeling when you realize you forgot to do something? Um, yeah …we had an amazing customer a while back who shared some gorgeous photos, and I completely forgot to share them with you. So …Chefs For Farmers!

Chefs For Farmers is an organization that brings “chefs, artisans and culinary influencers together to celebrate supporting local and regional farmers”, and their event decorator contacted us at the last minute to see if we could help decorate their banquet – our answer? Yes, of course!

They were kicking off their season of celebrations, and needed lots of bunting style garlands to add drama and texture to their modern industrial style venue. The planner needed something that was classy but also rustic, and she decided to use our Vintage Book Triangle Garlands in extra long lengths to mix in with some cafe lighting and twinkle lights -the final result was amazing!I love how the individual elements she used for the event – white cloths, wood chairs, flowers in glass bottles, kraft paper, string lights and bunting – are all so simple by themselves, but when they’re put together create a sense of refined, industrial drama. Gorgeous!

The bunting style garlands are amazingly versatile, working in rustic and classic venues alike {and, because they aren’t event specific, they can be reused for other occasions!}.

Thank you to Chefs For Farmers for the photos – the event was such a feast for the eyes, and it looks like it was for the stomach as well! {more photos of the lovely event here}

Items featured:

Vintage Book Paper Triangle Garland

customer love – American theme party!

June 3, 2015 Elizabeth Smillie

Sometimes your custom order requests are just the little extra “push” we need to create a new product, and sometimes we end up loving the new thing so much that we carry it full time in our shop.

This a story of one of those things. :) We started offering our Hanging Paper Stars {see them here} about 3 years ago, and found that many of you really enjoy using them for your events and in your homes! However, because they are large and a bit fragile, they have been a total bear to ship, and the shipping fees can be a bit high. So, John and I have talked on and off about creating a DIY Kit version of the stars with the idea that you would be able to purchase all of the materials needed, all of them pre-folded so that you would only need to assemble them {meaning, very little skill required!}. But life was busy, the shop was growing quickly, and it was something that kept getting set aside for “when things slow down”. Until – someone in Australia emailed to ask about possibly getting 12-20 of the white stars!

She was in charge of her corporate Christmas party, and they wanted to have an American theme to it – and have a bunch of our stars hanging from the ceiling! We knew that shipping that many of the stars to Australia {a location where shipping fees from the US were already high} would cost an enormous amount, and realized that this was the push we needed to finally get the kits made.

The gal sent us these photos to share after the event, and it looks like it was a terrific party! She also used our Red, White and Blue Stars Garlands in custom 60 foot lengths to string across the space, bunches of our Red, White and Blue Star Dessert Toppers in little glass vases as centerpieces on the tables and our Star Cupcake Picks in Patriotic Colors to top the desserts – it all came together so well!
So there you have it! An idea that was stuck in the concept phase for far too long was brought to life {and now is a top seller! you can find them here} by a customer’s special request. You guys really are what keep our little shop going, in so many ways!

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 – 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!

Items featured:

Large Folded Hanging Paper Stars

DIY Hanging Origami Star Kits

Red, White and Blue Stars Garlands

Red, White and Blue Large Stars Garlands

Red, White and Blue Star Dessert Toppers

Star Cupcake Picks in Patriotic Colors

from the hobnob {a photo dump :)}

June 13, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

Well, hello there :) You were just dying to see the promised photos from the hobnob market, weren’t you? It’s been almost a week since the last post, and to make up for lost time I’ve got lots of photos …of the first day :)

{the second day looked quite similar, but my hands were a bit full with holding a certain darling babe to take any more pics!}

the event was held in Kennekuk County Park near Danville, Illinois and on Friday night there was a pre-shopping event with live music and yummy goodies!

this section of the park featured a red barn, dining car and old train station – it was fun to wander around and explore a bit as I walked Olivia :)we had a bit of rain Friday afternoon, but once it cleared up it left us with a gorgeous evening sky over the barn and main exhibit tent.

the booth I shared with my sister-in-law {Sparkly Star Creations} and friend {Inspiring Joy Studio}The shopping selection from the other vendors was lovely, ranging from vintage, to re-purposed to handmade, and our booth was complemented well but the ones around it. It was a wonderful weekend, both the selling/shopping experience and sharing it with friends <3 The organizers are planning another indoor version for November, and I’d love to participate!