DIY Fall in Love with Fall Wreath

I'm pretty excited to share this blog post with you today - this is a super fun DIY project brought to us by another one of my fabulous inters - Lynlee!! So take a look and leave her some love! Take it away Lynlee!

So since we are in the middle of fall, I decided that it would be so fun to be able to make a fun little decorative wreath. Lately I have been obsessed with all things burlap, so that is what I chose to make it out of. I spotted this idea on Pintrest (of course) and just had to make it.

{ M A T E R I A L S }

- Foam wreath

- 3 strips of burlap (4 inches x 70 inches)

- Embroidery thread (I chose brown, but you can pick whichever you want)

- Needle

- Hot glue gun

- straight pins 

{ S T E P 1 }

- Cut 3 strips of burlap (4 in. x 70 in.)  

{ S T E P 2 } Using straight pins, secure the ends of one strip of burlap and wrap the foam circle. Continue to use straight pins as needed to hole the burlap in place.

{ S T E P 3 } Take the next strip of burlap, using a needle and embroidery threat, stitch loosely along the side of it.

{ S T E P  4 } Next, take the ruffled burlap and attach it to the backside of the foam.

{ S T E P 5 } After you have done this, use hot glue to make sure that it is secure.

{ S T E P 6 } Repeat step 3 with the last piece of burlap.

{ S T E P 7 }With this strip, place it on the front side of the foam, using straight pins (use minimal hot glue to make sure it is secure)

And voila—you have your wreath!!

 Once you have your wreath, you can spice it up for any occasion - we added some cute fall Tatters for this one, but you can change it up with just about anything! Happy Monday friends!

It's Giveaway Time!!

Can I just say, I love Fridays. For many reasons: the weekend, relaxing, crafting, and FREEBIES! I Recently got the opportunity to hook up with the Broke Ass Bride ladies and they are just so awesome - if you are recently engaged you better go check out the site for lots of money saving tips and planning info, ok go!

So, anyways, we were able to a collaborate on an awesome Giveaway being hosted over on their site and guess what the prize is from Tasteful Tatters?? Ladies Choice! Yup, that's right, you get to chose 1 item - whatever you want =) Here are a few snaps of some of the newest items to the shop for you to check out:

So head on over to the giveaway HERE and enter today!! Also, leave us a comment letting us know which piece you're hoping to snag =)

Kitchen Label DIY

We recently got these cute jars for our kitchen for our sugar and flour to put on our counter. Now, I don't plan on getting either of these confused for each other, but I felt like the jars were missing something. I searched around for cute little labels or something to wrap around them. Hence the concept for this DIY!

Since I always have tons of extra fabric around, I decided to make my own "fabric tape" if you will. I cut 2 strips of a muslin fabric a little wider than my standard double sided tape I just had lying around the house.
>> Then I placed the tape on top of the fabric in the desired length I needed. Then I trimmed up a few places & placed them on the jar. Then I wrote the labels in a fine tip sharpie. Simple as that. In retrospect, I should probably have written the labels before placing the fabric on the tape. But there you have it! The possibilities are endless... I'm even thinking about doing something like this for Tasteful packaging =)

HWTM: Meal Planning

So I had the amazing opportunity to meet some crazy talented women at our last Creative Connection LA event this past weekend. Meeting & interacting with these women just rejuvenates me. One gal in particular stood out to me this month because her creative outlet is in an area that I majorly struggle with. She is a chef extraordinaire and she shares her skills with others via her blog as well as her meal planning service.

Meet Rachel Oberg

This girl has some serious talent at creating weekly - monthly meal plans for families/individuals specifically for those with eating restrictions - check out his excerpt from her blog:

"As I’ve planned for people over time, I’m realizing more and more that while I do love to plan for the “regular” eaters out there, the people I love to plan for the most are those who are struggling with it. I realized this when Summer entered a contest I held in July for a free menu. To enter, all she had to do was tell me why she deserved a menu. She wrote that she was overwhelmed by new food restrictions in her diet (no dairy, no soy, no corn syrup, and no sugar) and was struggling to come up with things to feed her family (who didn’t share the restrictions), that she could eat too. Insert shout of excitement from me! Someone actually needed my help! She won then and there. And, thus began the journey of realization that I’m on about this little business of mine. The overwhelmed, the stressed, the burdened, the hungry because you can’t think of anything to make… bring your menu woes over here!"

Now, I recently was able to receive a week of menu planning and I swear it has changed my life. This girl is so incredible organized. I received all my meals, recipes, extra tips and notes from her experience with the dish, as well with options to substitutes. She has EVERYTHING covered. So if you are like me (can't cook to save my life) or if you have some crazy (or not so crazy) allergies, this is your girl! She takes into account all your preferences as well as your budget and does all the work for you. And the best part, she's affordable! For one week, a full meal plan is only $15!! And for a month I believe it is $45. SUCH a deal! So head on over to her amazing blog HERE and if you purchase a menu - tell her Emilee sent you =)

Holiday Craft Corner: Bookmarks!

I am so proud/excited to introduce you to a new holiday column here on the Tasteful Blog: The Holiday Craft Corner. This column will be filled with awesome crafts to make as gifts for this holiday season. Our first project is brought to us by one of my lovely interns April! I think her project would make the perfect stocking stuffer to the bookworm or even that friend that love to have a paper journal - you know who they are! Take it away April:

It's only October but the holidays will be here any day (only 2 months!). I’ve been seeing these cute bookmarkers on pinterest. I’m here to show you how to do this affordable, simple craft. No sewing skills needed for this project!

{ M A T E R I A L S } scraps of fabric, fusible interfacing needle, scissors & thread. 

{ S T E P 1 } Fold fabric, and cut a square on the fold. Do the same with the interfacing fabric. Then iron the interface to the fabric (this makes the fabric a little bit thicker)  

{ S T E P 2 } Fold fabric in half, sew one side of the fabric. Then trim the edge you sewed and turn the fabric right side out. If a sewing machine isn’t in arms reach, this edge can be hand stitched. 

Now, you can leave the bookmark as a square and decorate it to your desire or you can cut the edge facing inward to any design. 

Here is my end product - I turned my square into a heart. Now my book has a little love saving my spot where I left off.

A-List Bloggers

I had such an inspiring weekend with all the CCLA girls at our event as well as just some fun brunch/lunch dates one on one with inspiring creatives. With that said, some of these ladies and more have been inspiring me a lot lately with their killer blogs. So I decided to give them all a little Tasteful A-List shout-out. Head on over to these throughout your week and I promise you will not be dissapointed!

Donna Queza - The Marketing Optimist

Rachel Oberg - De Ma Cuisine

 

Lindsay Goldner - Linz Loves You

Teri - Beach City Lifestyle

Facebook Giveaway Winner!

 I love giving away Tatters - I love to see people get excited for free Tatters. It makes my  heart happy. So, the other day I noticed that our Fan Page wasn't too far off from reaching 500 "likes" I thought it would make for a perfect giveaway to reach our goals! And what do you know, in the matter of just a day or two we made it! Huge thank you to all our fabulous supporters - Tasteful Tatters would definitely not be where it is today without your continuous support and love. So early this morning I randomly picked a winner from our Facebook fans to receive...  

$50 worth of Tasteful Products!!!

{our BIGGEST giveaway ever!!)

 

If you did not win, and you are a Facebook Fan, you can receive FREE Shipping until next Friday by using coupon code: TASTEFULFRIENDS just as a THANK YOU for all your support!! Have a happy weekend friends!

Fall Playlist

 It's playlist time again - I seriously love these posts... I probably make a new playlist every week or something. I just love new music mixed with oldies, mixed with a totally random Glee rendition or hip hop song =) Anyways, this mix was inspired by my dear friend/college roomie/lover of fall Aimee Grover. Without fail, at the beginning of the fall season (and often before!) this lady would have a whole long brand spankin new Fall Mix to kick off our favorite season. She was so fun to live with and inspired me to take extra care of the dubbed, "Fall Mix"

So here is just a peak at the many songs that I've collected for my ever growing Fall Mix - so grab a salted caramel mocha and cuddle up!

Snapshots of my life

This last week, week and a half has been completely nuts. Between juggling my 8-5 job which has been more like 7:30-7:30 job along with launching 2 new items for the shoppe and meeting new clients and delivery pieces for Treasures, there has just been little blogging time - I'm so sorry! But I promise I'm planning better and have some fun guest posts planned from our interns soon. They are just so darn cute =) Anyways, to give you a little glimpse of my crazy life lately - with simply photos I captured on my phone... aren't phones awesome these days?? Anyone out there get the new iphone 5 yet?? The wallet & shoes are my latest purchases... I'm in love!

New Additions!

Attention ladies and gentleman! We have a new addition to the Tasteful Family! Isn't she a beauty?! I'm currently in the process of naming her... suggestions are welcome =) This pretty is now available for rent for your next shower, wedding, or photoshoot. I absolutely cannot wait to see her in action!

HWTM: Fall Recipes

Even though temperatures are supposed to reach 100 degrees today (bleh) I thought I would share my new fall favorite recipe - Pumpkin Pancakes. I had one of my interns over last night for a presentation and I made these... (ahem, Mr. H did most of the work) but they turned out perfectly! Prior to last night, I've only had them at restaurants and some I've found are just too pumpkiny... but these had just the right amount of pumpkin to make you think fall... but not make you feel like you just took a bite of pumpkin pie. Thanks to The Happy Housewife for such an awesome recipe! Try making breakfast for dinner the next time you have some friends over!

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups buttermilk
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons applesauce
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions

1. Combine flour, baking soda, baking power, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon.
2. Add buttermilk, egg, pumpkin and applesauce.
3. Mix until batter is moistened, but still lumpy.
4. Cook on a buttered griddle on medium heat.

Paper Flower Bouquet

 

Since posting about my wedding, I've gotten quite a few inquiries from brides to be & just crafters in general asking about the paper flowers in my bouquet. And I am FINALLY getting around to making an official post about it - sorry! Now, there are lots of tutorials floating about there on the web, and let me tell you - prior to saying "I Do" I seriously tried them all! I found the ones that worked best and now I'm sharing my findings with you, because, c'mon who doesn't love a fresh bouquet of flowers from their favorite love story... that wont die on you! ( All you black thumb ladies like me are totally nodding their heads right now).  This is based on using pages from vintage books. Some tutorials are great - but if you have your heart set on using old pages, you'll find that your paper is too brittle and will tear and fall apart. So grab your favorite old book (or maybe a not so favorite that your heart doesn't break when you cut it up) and let's make some flowers!

{S U P P L I E S}

- scissors

- those green floral sticks

- glue gun & glue

- old book

- little tacks (i used cute color ones, but you can use any kind)

{S T E P 1}
Cut circles about 2 1/2 - 3 inches in diameter curving your cuts to create little waves all the way around. I wouldn't make a template because you want each one a little different than the others. Then cut one 1 1/2 inch straight circle. I was able to get about 3 on a page. You'll want about 6 for 1 flower.

{S T E P 2}
Stack your 6 circles and put your smaller perfect circle on the bottom. Then place your tack through the center starting at the top so the back end of your tack is at the smallest circle. Now start scrunching up the paper starting at the top and make the top page the most "wrinkled" aka tighter scrunching, then a little looser on the next, and looser on the next. Do not scrunch your last circle piece. Now it should look like a flower!

 

Now, these by themselves would make great packaging elements or table decor for a dinner party because they lay flat. However, if you'd like to make them for a bouquet, fold that last circle piece on the bottom in half so that the spine is along the base of the flower (use the tack as your guide). Take your floral wire stick and lay that along one of the edges to create the stem. Use your glue gun to glue the wire to your circle and press the sides together. You can trim the excess paper so that it is just attached to the stick and you don't have the extra paper around it. 

>> And there you have it!! Stay tuned next week, where I'll post a tutorial on the paper roses in my bouquet!

1 Year Ago Today...

Mr. H popped the question.. and I said yes (you can read the full proposal story HERE & HERE). Seriously a day that changed my life forever and when I look back it is amazing to see what God has done in my life in that short year. So many changes, so much love, and a whole new beginning. I can't wait to see what the next year brings! A HUGE thanks to my dear friend Aimee and her hubby Troy of Troy Grover Photographers who saw us through our dating process and offered their time and talent to catch our proposal on camera. I love you both and cannot thank you enough for being there for us on that day 1 year ago! (You can click on each photo to view it larger)

Meet the Interns!

I'm so very excited to introduce you guys to my fabulous new interns for Fall! These ladies are simply incredibly and have already totally changed my business - in the most fabulous way! I seriously don't know how I got so lucky to snag these two. So enough about me - here is the new TT Team! P.s. keep a lookout for some future posts by these ladies soon!

Meet: Lynlee

Name:  Lynlee Marie

Studying in College: Home Economics--emphasis in Early Child Development // The Master's College

Fav spare time activity: My favorite thing to do in my spare time is: reading & knitting.

Quirky fact: I am addicted to reruns of Gilmore Girls

Favorite vintage find: Hmm. Probably the awesome jewelry that was given to me by an older friend my mom and I cared for(: 

Favorite thing about TT: I love all of the vintage pieces! All of the stylings that I have seen are just so inspirational and creative! Love it!(:

Meet: April

 

Name: April Linh Nguyen 

Major/School: California State University of Northridge (CSUN), Major: Apparel merchandising, minor in marketing

Favorite thing to do in your spare time: going on adventures, going  to the beach, and making things.

Quirky fact: i like to wear dresses, i would wear them every day if i could and if i could be anything i would probably wish to be a mermaid. :]

Favorite vintage find: vintage red with white polka dotted high waisted shorts

Favorite thing about TT: emilee of course! besides that well the beautiful unique hair accessories.

And we like to match =) Soo it works out pretty well!

HUGE thank you to Brienne Michelle Photography for snapping these at our last shoot: THANK  YOU!!!

Tasteful Press Kits

Most of the time, I talk about how I loved to social aspect of college and hate how expensive my "social education" was.... I'm not bitter, I swear. Other times, like more recently, I'm incredibly grateful for the degree I have in Public Relations as it relates to owning my own business. I recently decided to completely change the way I market my business... and to whom I market to for that matter. When I say marketing, I'm not talking "logos" or artwork... I'm talking real marketing plans. With that said, I narrowed down my target market and my goals and objectives for the plan. I knew immediately I wanted to send a Press Kit to my "targets" (that's what we'll call them for now =) I started to kinda panic... ah I haven't done these in so long! But after bouncing some initial ideas off of friends, I am so unbelievably proud of the new Tasteful Tatters Press Kits. I want to give them as Christmas presents! haha Anyways, I thought I would share just a little pick at what they look like, and who knows...  maybe you'll be getting one in the mail this week!

 

There you have it! Pretty, yes? have a wonderful rainy Wednesday friends!

Social Media Tips from CCLA

If you've been reading my blog or follow me on Twitter, you've heard me talk about Creative Connection LA... a lot. I'm sorry! I can't get enough of it! I may be biased but I honestly think we have the most welcoming, friendly, and talented group around =) That includes all of our Creative Connection Chapters. So for our September meetup, we brought in Donna Queza to share with us some quick tips on how to optimize our use of social media. She did such a great job of explaining the different mediums and how they each serve unique purposes. I learned so much from this session, and I thought I'd pass on some of the knowledge that I was frantically scribbling in my notebook:

Donna: bringing the eduction!

1) Decide what your goals are: Why are  you using social media, what do you hope to achieve?
- Who am I?
- What do I do?
- Why does it matter?
- What are you hoping to gain?
2) Create a Twitter Profile description that actually describes who you are AND what you do. If it is too vague, how will people know you are a graphic designer (or whatever)
3) Keep your twitter friends, your twitter friends and make them feel special for that. Don't continually ask your twitter followers to go see something on your facebook page. And I think the same philosophy would work vice versa.
4) "The most powerful part of social media is sharing!"
5) If you want people to talk about you, talk about them i.e - thank you top followers and thank your clients

Notebooks made by The Pomegranate Basket

Photos by Simply V Photography

 If you live in the Los Angeles area, pleas join us for our next event - we'd love to have you and we welcome ALL creatives! Be sure to check out our Facebook page for updates!