big big BIG

as a photographer, i'm shooting my first wedding in 2 weekends!!! ahhhh!!!

i cannot even begin to describe my excitement. honestly. it's bustin at the seams.

when my lovely friend, maggie, asked if i would do it months ago i thought i'd be a nervous wreck right about now. but i think i'm good, i am just so excited to do this. and honored... that she would even think to ask little ol me!! another friend with a photog hobby is going to be my second shooter :)

should be lots o fun. the bride and groom are long time friends of ours and they are kinda a big deal.

they are kinda fun, and kinda alot cute.

i've pulled together some of my favorite wedding images from some of my favorite photographers.

they all came from my pinterest... i have a wedding inspiration file packed with even more. go there for the details.

these above and below are from my all time hero, jonas peterson.

i want to be just like him when i grow up.

he's so crafty.

i will be right here to share when it's over...

until then, like i said the other day, i have a long list of to-do's before i will let myself say i'm 100% ready for take off (no worries, maggie, its all fun stuff!!) and checking stuff off daily :)

like, i just got new business cards created for me and i think they are pretty scrumptious... i'll share when they are complete... and i'm working on my new website. that is a pain in my side. i'll share those details when that's completed too, and hopefully it won't be 2012 by the time that happens :)

love and happy monday.

JILL

flowers for friday #56

happy friday everyone.

i have a 2-fer for you all today.

just because they were both so lovely and i didn't think it fair to choose between them ;)

i've been really into "pastels" lately. not really the chalky pastels you that burn your eyes, but more the vivid, smidge brighter, and more beautiful pastels... such as the ever popular mint, and this lavender above. 

i tell you, i have been sporting lavender nails all summer long and it makes me smile sparkly unicorn rainbows everytime i look at my mani. no joke. try it and tell me you don't feel the same way. 

i've been wearing sally hansen insta-dri 'lacey lilac' that i threw in my cart at the grocery store on a whim... and it's actually really long lasting for the $4 price tag. perfect!

and then i snapped this one with my phone in my grandma's garden.

i wish i had her thumbs, the green ones. but i don't, so i'll live and just enjoy hers.

have a good weekend, lovers.

JILL

be careful...

please be careful this weekend with all of irene's craziness.

we are headed west for a wedding. hope we make it. who know's when we will get back!!!

xoxo

elle.

more copper spots!

remember when i posted about these copper polka dots martha made with contact paper?

i always kept them in the back of my mind because, well 1- i think they are adorbs, but 2- i always thought it'd make a perfect background for photos for when i have my studio someday.... someday.

joy, from oh joy thought they were cute, too. so she used them in her home studio/office. you can read more and see more.

but when she announced she and her husband were having a little bambino, she used it as a photo backdrop.

and it's just the loveliest of lovelies.

see:

pretty darn cute, i think.

you?

JILL

this is me.

and i'd rather the done pile was a little bit more substantial at the moment!

i'll be back in a bit with a real post.

sorry for this lame excuse of one ;)

love.

JILL

hot succulents

hot pink and succulents go together like lamb and tuna fish...

you like peas and carrots better?

(5 points if you can name that movie!)

from design*sponge

but they do go together quite well i think. and i think this hot pink string just made macrame cool again!

i would love to hang one of these somewhere... kitchen window?

don't you think?

JILL

wallpaper without the paper, please.

i want something graphic and a little punchy for my kitchen walls.

i don't want punchy color, i want punchy as in something a little different than the norm with lots of texture and pattern.

i initially thought wallpaper but there is nothing i hate more than removing it.... so NOPE.

(because i will want to remove it. that is what i do. i change things.)

so. wall stencil?! for the same effect?

yep.

remember i found this a while back and told you i was about to purchase. now i'm glad i didn't because i'm over it. and sooo many people have used it now. don't get me wrong, it's still a lovely stencil, i just don't think ikat is the way i want to go.

so then i moved onto another ethnic print: indian paisley.

big fan. and this one was the winner. (i've been on the hunt/search for months now.)

but then i found this one below, and i thought i could maybe make one like it. it's smaller and more floral. and cute!

but i liked this one below for it's airy quality. i have a smaller kitchen. it would do quite nicely. but i'd have to make it. and not sure how that would work out. so i moved on.

then i thought about this david hicks print in a domino oldie. it looks totally do-able in terms of diy-ing a stencil. so then it was the winner. and i was s-o-l-d.

until i saw this david hicks rendition on design*sponge and it got me all excited.

winner winner chicken dinner!

i'm going to hurry up and do it before i change my mind again!! but seriously, i have lived with this for a few weeks now and i like it more and more and more. i'll even be using the same-ish colors, and most definitely the gold.

as soon as i have a free weekend, i'm going to get my diy ON.

of course i'll post the before, during, and afters...

and i've never stenciled before so it could get a little hairy :)

JILL

clean and colorful...

just what everyone needs on a monday morning :)

flowers for friday #55

had the pleasure of meeting the fabulously talented florist and stylist, amy merrick.

happy friday!!

xoxo

elle.

tgif

friday friday friday friday friday friday

FRIDAY!

headed down to visit my mom in law this weekend. we're throwing a baby shower next saturday so i'm off to do some baking... and other fun girly stuff :)

have a good one!

JILL

{via j.crew}

prima

anyone else loving these prima ballerinas?!

and the cashmere and tweed and houndstooth and plaid that comes with the first signs of fall....

its definitely bittersweet. 

xoxo

elle.

via j.crew

stick em up.

so ever since i read my recent elle decor and saw this little lady:

i've been obsessed. obsessed with her art and her creativity.

i have to admit... i admired her work so much, i tried to mimic her. it's not even 1/10th as cool as hers but i tried. and i very much like the way it came out!!

her name is payton turner and she's only 25. her wallpaper is gorgeous, no?

as you can see.... it's not printed wallpaper....

it's stickers!!

 did you all see her in elle decor? i couldn't stop staring. genius genius genius.

so. much. fun.

it would kill it on the walls of a child's room. jenny at little green notebook, said yesterday she is going to try this out in her daughters' room and i can't wait to see her results!

i didn't have the amount of stickers necessary, the patience, or the willingness to stick all these to our walls... so i made a much smaller piece, like payton did here:

i had a billion stickers from when i was a kid (so glad i hoard random art supplies!), and just went to hobby lobby to beef up my collection. the quirkier and the more odd your stickers are, the better in my opinion... and my opinion came straight from payton's example.

i got frogs, snowmen, bananas, trees, spiderwebs, dogs, candy, fish, balloons, prescription bottles, horses, birthday cakes, etc. and just started sticking.

i took horrible phone photos as i worked last night:

and for a little of my own spin, i placed our last name and my husband and i's first names hidden in there, too.

finished!!

up close shots of the final:

it really didn't take as long as i thought it would. and i totally winged it in terms of straight lines and being in the center of the page, etc. about an hour and a half later, she was framed and ready to hang in one of my vintage brass frames!

last night around 11. 

loving it more in the better light this morning :)

so there you have it. my august art!!

read more about my monthly thing here. and see january, february, march, april, may, june, and july.

i'm actually going to hang it in the bathroom we're remodeling, behind the commode.

don't you think it's kinda cheeky? pun not intended.

plus its a little something extra for the boys to look at while taking care of business :)

JILL