decor – Elizabeth Smillie

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

a little sneak peek – fall is in the air!

September 5, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

I’ve been a bit absent around here, but there’s a good reason – we’ve been hard at work! The shop has been thriving {which is wonderful! but it also means that I’m quite busy} and there are some pretty festive new things coming to the shop. The seasons are changing and fall is in the air! Stay tuned for more …. :)

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

customer love – children’s room edition

August 16, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

Well friends, it’s Friday again – which means that it’s customer love time, and today I have a children’s room edition to share!

Last month a mama contacted me regarding a custom version of my new Large Hanging Stars – she was creating a whimsical woodland bedroom for her little guy, and was looking for stars in shades of white, yellow, gold, and some soft blues.

Some of the artwork in his room is from the Wheatfield, Winnie the Pooh, Babar, Good Night Moon and other art based on favorite classic children’s books by Shannon Presti and Vicki Freeman, and she was hoping to finish off the “play” corner with some sweet ceiling decor that reflects the whimsy and wonder in the pieces. After some emailing back and forth, I think we came up with a perfect fit for her growing boy:

And here’s how they look in his room!

Isn’t it just lovely?! I love how she played on the “starry” theme for him, bringing a feel of wonder and adventure to his room. She says that her little loves them, too, and keeps calling them “his stars” – isn’t that darling?

The playful fox fold-up play tent is from SnailCandy on Etsy, and the artwork she chose from the Wheatfield can be found here and here {I LOVE Katie’s work! In fact, if you look carefully around our home, you can spot an example in almost every room :)}. If you’d like to create something similar, you can find the large 12″ size stars in my shop here, and I’ll be adding the smaller 9″ and 6″ sizes soon. :)

Thank you so much for letting me share this, Nancy – I really love how the space turned out!!!

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!

Have you entered the giveaway for a gift card to the shop yet? If you haven’t, don’t delay! :)

artwork images are by Katie Daisy from the Wheatfield

Cars themed party on the Path Less Traveled

the Cars party! {part two}

July 25, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

Ah, the best laid plans! I started out the week planning to share all sorts of birthday ideas with you lovelies, and then … a {most precious and adorable} teething baby {who wanted to be held all night}, kids with colds who needed their mama and somehow my {sleep deprived, foggy and semi incoherent} thoughts just didn’t make onto the blog. But now, the little are better, I’m more rested and ready to share!

Anyone ready for part two of the Cars party? {looking for part one? or the sneak peek? You can find them here and here}

I had seen a super fun pool-noodle turned car race track on Pinterest, and picked up a noodle at the Dollar store when I was getting the a few other things for the party {side note – the Dollar Tree is an excellent source for streamers, cake plates, napkins, mylar balloons and plastic tables cloths!}, and it turned out to be a bit too small for the cars {but perfect for marbles}. John improvised and made a track using a large piece of cardboard, and it turned out even better for Ian, since most of cars are bigger than Matchbox size :) The kiddos loved hurling the cars down the “track”, racing to catch them at the bottom and then running back to the top to do it again. Ian was soooo tickled with his Cars cake from Sam’s Club! And with the stickers and temporary tattoos that we used as party favors :)the indoor eating area – at lunch time {the birthday boy requested corn dogs for lunch}

The balloon garland was so fun – and easy! – to make! You can find the tutorial that I made for it here. And do you see the “road” style table cloth? It was another thing that I had found on Pinterest, and super simple to make happen. Just cut a black plastic cloth in half the long way and then attach 1″ x 6″ strips of yellow construction paper down the middle using double sided tape.view of our dining room from the front of our house – I love the added dimension and pop of color that the red and blue paper stars added!from the kitchen toward the dining room – there were fire engines on the shelf under the photo wall and presents on the piano
another one of the Lightning McQueen printouts

The outdoor eating area, with another “road” style table cloth. I used a bunch of red and white streamers and red and white paper stars to bring a party feel to the tent, and they were so lovely as they swayed in the evening breeze :)

So there you have part two – I’ll be sharing the rest of the party soon!

xoxo

the Cars party!

July 22, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

Part one of the Cars party, here we come! Do you remember the sneak peak of Ian’s party that I shared? Here’s the {beginning of} the rest of it :)

If you remember, here’s the Pinterest board that I used to brainstorm party ideas for the Cars/fire engine/mechanic/Americana birthday that Ian asked for. There were sooo many amazing ideas that would have been fun to make happen, and John and I managed to pull off a few … and Ian was more than thrilled with the result!

a pre-party shot of the snack/dessert table that was one of the focal points of our indoor decor {note the absence of the drinks and other cold items :)}
I used a piece of burlap from my fabric stash {stashes of goodies like this come in super handy when pulling together parties on a budget!} to cover the table and rounded up all the galvanized bins that I could find to hold snacks and add some height to the spread.The wall signs were inspired by this Radiator Springs party and this “Route 3” party – all done free hand by moi while the birthday boy was taking his pre-party nap :)The Red, White and Blue Stars Garland added the perfect bit of color and texture to the front of the table, don’t you think?the snacks and goodies included watermelon, nuts, chips and salsa, pretzels, carrot sticks and dip, Chex mix, S’mores {the vintage blue Ball jars are perfect for serving and displaying goodies like this!}, and a variety of cold drinks {including this punch which is delicious and really easy!}.Do you see the little cars and tools scattered across the table? Ian got quite a kick when he realized that I had used some of his favorite toys for his party decorations {he’s such a sweetheart!!!}
the Tow Mater sign – Ian is still holding onto this! He has it in his room now next to his bed. From a distance you can hardly tell that I whipped it out using a sheet of cardboard, a foam brush and some white acrylic paint. ;)I made the Lightning McQueen sign using a free printable that I found here and some red construction paper – it turned out so cute that I ended up making several to scatter around the party!

So, there you have it – part one of the Cars party!

This is going to be a birthday themed week here on the blog! Today the world is welcoming a new royal baby {congratulations, William and Kate! And blessings upon the newest successor the British throne! <3 } and later this week my husband and three of his brothers will be having birthdays. Imagine the amount of cake that we’ll be eating! {not that I’m complaining at all!} How do you and your family celebrate birthdays? Do you have any special traditions?

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.

Cars themed party from the Path Less Traveled

a little boy Cars party {sneak peek}

June 24, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

Well, as you’ve heard, our little boy had a birthday {he’s 3!} which, of course, means that we had a party :)

Emma Grace loves parties, and being the awesome big sister that she is, she took on helping Ian “plan” his party months in advance – “So, Ian, you like cars? Hm, you want a Cars party?!” To which he {of course} replied, “YES!!!” So we’ve been talking about the Cars party for months.

For planning purposes I had been putting the ideas I’d found all over the interwebs onto a Pinterest board, and then {just like for Em’s party} closer to the day I narrowed down what might be feasible. Here is a quick peek at how it turned out!

some DIY signage over the snack/dessert table – and lots of cars and stars!a view from the front room to the back of the house: we chose to have an evening party for family, so the kiddos needed to have a light dinner before everyone arrived – they really enjoyed waking up from their nap to a decorated home and eating dinner at the “road” table!

the back yard – we had a few showers, but all in all in was a beautiful evening for a party. I’ll be showing you a full tutorial tomorrow on how I made the balloon garland over the inside table – be sure to check back!

All in all, not too shabby for a 3rd birthday party! Especially considering that the mama had rolled in late the night before from the Hobnob Summer Market, and most of the prep happened on the morning of the party. :) I love it when a plan comes together!

Have you had a chance to enter the Red, White and Blue Giveaway yet? I hope your Monday has been lovely, and I’ll see you here tomorrow,

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!

Chair Garland Decor Ideas {a continuing series}

June 20, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

Have you heard? The chair garlands in the shop aren’t just for decorating chairs!
When it comes to using these petite garlands, there are so many options that chairs are only the the start! This is a continuing series {see more posts here} where I’ll share some of my ideas with you {and, if you’d like to share some of yours, I’ll post them as well!}

For the Summer holidays – Memorial Day, Ian’s birthday, Flag Day, the 4th of July, etc. – I am decorating with lots of red, white and blue. {those balloon in the reflection? they’re left over from Ian’s party :)}

This vintage mirror lightens a corner in our dining area downstairs, and as I was decorating for our little guy’s birthday I decided to see if one of the Red, White and Blue Chair Banners would fit across it to add an additional pop of color – and look at that, it fit perfectly!

How about you? Have you tried using one of these sweet, short lengths of garland in an unexpected spot? Share your ideas in the comments!

Elizabeth Smillie

The Path Less Traveled

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