Pretty Smitten with Elements of Style

I am completely smitten with the blog Elements of Style written by the talented designer, Erin Gates, of Element Interiors. My husband and I are working on updating our dining and living room areas and her blog and website have been a huge source of inspiration!

Her own house (which is on the market now! check it out here) is probably the biggest source of inspiration of all...it's modern and comfortable at the same time. Traditional modern, just what I adore. Check out the pictures below...

Oh my how I would just love to create my

Pretty Smitten designs from an office like hers!

I love the use of black and white in this dining nook. Black and white can look very stark to me sometimes, but she manages to make it look cozy. And love the pop of color from the orange table runner!

Love the sofa and chairs with their clean lines...but I can also see plopping right now on the couch and reading a good book. I also love that she has a big traditional rug.

The entryway...I love a standing mirror and all of those

picture frames make her house a home.

I hope all of you check out her blog and website and enjoy it as much as I do....today I featured her interior design talent, but her blog covers fashion and other topics too! Thanks Erin for all of the inspiration!

Back from vacation and shop is open with Holiday items!

Hello all! I'm back! Had a lovely little vacation. Went to Sonoma for a little family time and then my husband and I snuck away for a night to San Francisco. We are always happy to get back to our old stomping grounds! Ate a yummy dinner at Ace Wasabi, our favorite sushi restaurant and brunch at Balboa Cafe. A Giants game topped off the weekend! Can't beat that.

But I'm glad to be home and excited to have Pretty Smitten back open! During my time off I even had a chance to finish my holiday items, which are now available in my shop. Hope you enjoy!

Holiday Invitations:

Holiday Note Cards:

Holiday Gift Labels:

Holiday Gift Tags:

And the winner is.....

Susan!! Congratulations Susan you have won a song print! Winner was chosen via random.org. Please contact me at prettysmitten@yahoo.com and we will complete the details for your prize. Okay, so next giveaway at 150 sales?? Stayed tuned!! I'm heading off for a mini break with my family, so I'll start on the quest for my 150 sales starting September 28th. Have a great week everyone and talk to you when I get back!

Last Minute Vacation!

It's time for a little vacation! It's last minute, but we've decided to take a mini-break for some quality family time. My shop will go on vacation starting tomorrow and re-open on Monday, September 28th. I'm hoping to have a couple days to work on holiday designs, so please check back for Pretty Smitten Holiday when we are back!

Have a great week!

Pretty Smitten with Tray Vous

My son and I are proud members of the Bugaboo crowd. It's great...turns on a dime, flips to fold in no time and really grows with your child. Okay so I love it, but it's definitely missing one very important element. A TRAY! How Bugaboo not think to include a tray I will never know. But luckily, Lauren at Tray Vous has solved the problem! I found her ingenious tray while googling possible tray attachments. It's perfect, snaps right into place where the carrying bar is normally attached. A cup holder, some room for snacks, and voila...the Bugaboo perfected. The only problem is it's not available to consumers yet! I chatted with Lauren and she's in the process of talking with manufacturers and hoping to bring it to the market soon. I will be keeping my eye out and will let you know once it's available.

Thank you Lauren for creating Tray Vous!!

Santa Claus is Coming to Town....

Ok, well he's not coming to town immediately...but I've already had people request holiday items and started filling orders for gift tags today! So I wanted to share some of my first holiday designs with my online friends too...

These will be coming soon to my Etsy shop. What do you think? I will be working on more designs in the next month and I would love to hear your comments. Invitations, cards, party items, gift tags and stickers will all be available with these lovely holiday motifs. And of course our paper items will have a bit of holiday sparkle with the Pretty Smitten signature Swarovski crystals. Holidays, sparkles, oh my! I think I'm ready for some eggnog.

Giveaway!

Time for a giveaway to celebrate Pretty Smitten's 100 sales!! And now I'm up to 104, so even more to celebrate. For those of you who read my Friday post, I apologize that this giveaway posting is a day late! Yesterday flew by and I didn't have a chance to post. But without further ado....

Our second ever giveaway will be for one of Pretty Smitten's most popular items...a song print! One lucky winner will get to choose between my "You Are My Sunshine," "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," "I'm a Little Teapot" and "Baby Beluga." And of the winner gets to choose the color for the print too!

To enter, please leave a comment telling me which of the 4 prints is your favorite. The winner will be chosen on Friday and will receive the print named in their comment. Last time I had 5 entries...lets go for even more this time, come on readers!! :)

Thanks and good luck!

100 Sales!

What a great way to start the weekend...I hit 100 sales today! Yay me! Excuse me while I do a little happy dance around my kitchen. It was less then a month ago that I hit 50 sales, so I would say that my little shop is doing quite well. I'm so pleased! When I hit 50 sales I celebrated with a giveaway and I said I would do that at 100 sales too...so please check back Monday to find out what you can win. Okay I'm off to celebrate!

Happy Friday everyone, enjoy your weekend!

Puffs of Color

I'm definitely smitten with these pom poms! The ones shown here are from Martha, who else really?? They are the perfect puffs of color that add a touch of whimsy to a party. I'm starting to plan my son's 1st birthday and looking for new and fun decorating ideas. These definitely make the cut! Directions from Martha Stewart's site can be found below. Happy crafting!

How to Make Tissue Paper Pom Poms:

Step 1: Stack eight 20x30" sheets of tissue. Make 1.5" wide accordion folds, creasing with each fold.

Step 2: Fold an 18 inch piece of floral wire in half, and slip over center of folded tissue paper; twist. With scissors, trim ends of tissue into pointy or rounded shapes.

Step 3: Separate layers, pulling away from center one at a time.

Step 4: to use as a napkin ring - bend wire into a loop to fit around a napkin, and twist end to secure

ENJOY! :)

Pretty Smitten with Restoration Hardware

I was at the mall today and randomly went into Restoration Hardware. I'm not usually the biggest fan, but I'm completely smitten with these Subway posters! I have a blank wall on the landing of our stairwell, and these are calling my name. Just had to share!