The Brass Paperclip Project

Are You Gonna Give Her A Kiss?

Spotted this video on Twitter via @GuyKawasaki and HAD to share...81 year old high school sweethearts reunite after 62 years...sweetest thing you'll ever see and guaranteed to make you smile.  Enjoy!  XOXO, Cindi

Hip To Be {Seattle} Square - Part 1

Last weekend I had the pleasure of exploring Seattle's newest open-air market located in the heart of Seattle's oldest neighborhood...Pioneer Square.  The Seattle Square market is nestled within the quiet oasis of Occidental Park on a shady tree-lined street, just one block over from Pioneer Square's busy main drag.  Public art installations mingle with intricately carved totem poles.  Masses of flowers tumble from flower pots and hanging baskets.  Ivy covered walls beg you to relax and stay a while.   This is a really nice place to spend an afternoon.

The market was well curated with top-notch vintage and hand-made goods.  You won't find a single import or veggie at this market...it felt more like...well, a living and breathing Etsy.  I jumped at the chance to stock up on hand-printed and letterpress cards from fellow Etsians Orange Twist and Ilee Papergoods.  I was thrilled to learn that Orange Twist uses 100% recycled PCC papers AND her plastic sleeves are compostable.  Amen!

For lunch, I had to visit the market's rotating mobile "food-court" which features an ever changing assortment of the best mobile street food Seattle has to offer.  I could not resist the lure of NOLA style red beans and rice from Where Ya At Matt.  I was not disappointed, and in fact, took my bowl back for seconds. Laissez les bon temps rouler!

 

If you are hungry for more scoop on this amazing new market, be sure to visit The Seattle Square website and find your way downtown on Saturdays through September.  Public demand will keep this market going, so show some love!  And stay tuned for part 2 of this article...I'll be back with some more vendor highlights and tips for planning a unique and personalized wedding via a craft market.  XOXO, Cindi

Vintage Spanish Summer Wedding

This vintage Spanish summer wedding has so many thoughtful details and great DIY ideas that it's hard to know where to look first!  I love the doily-trimmed "Just Married" bunting and the recycled jars with lace wraps as vases. Oh, and the quilt-turned-guest book is just dreamy....

Brought to you by one of my favorite wedding blogs, Green Wedding Shoes...hurry over to visit the website for the rest of the scoop on this gorgeous and intimate wedding.  

XOXO

Cindi

all photos via greenweddingshoes.com

Vintage Garden Wedding

How sweet is this wedding!  I am so smitten with these ribbon hung glass vases...I wonder how they would look at night all lit up with twinkling tea lights?  This would be so easy to do...we all have extra glass vases from the florist and assorted jars from our fridge that are just longing to be recycled so elegantly... Be sure to visit Utah Bride and Groom for more photos and some other great ideas.

And if you like these photos and live in the Salt Lake City area, be sure to contact Phung Photography for more information.

XOXO, Cindi

Vintage Travel Themed Wedding

Love the look and feel of this vintage travel themed wedding. Be sure to visit Weddings Unveiled for the rest of the pretty photos and all the juicy details.  Happy Travels!  xoxo Cindi

Old Fashioned Backyard Carnival - Recap & How-To's

A few weeks ago I blogged about an old fashioned backyard carnival party I was planning for my daughter's 4th birthday...thought you might all like to see the final results...

 

DECORATIONS:
 

• handmade flag bunting set the scene...I cut and sewed a LOT of flags and stitched them to yards of vintage grosgrain ribbon that I already had in my stash

• vintage mason jars from the thrift store held pink garden roses in abundance

• thrift-store tablecloth tied my colors together on the table

• thrift-store apothecary jars filled with circus animal cookies and taffy added height and color to the table
• drinks banner inspired by this post from A Field Journal

FOOD:

• corn dogs standing at attention in recycled styrofoam blocks that I taped together and covered with paper and fabric scraps.

• BBQ chicken sliders with Asian slaw

• shoestring and sweet potato fries in handmade paper cones (see video below for how to make paper cones)

• buttery grilled sweet corn

• mini strawberry shortcakes with farm stand berries and homemade scones

• fresh lemonade with lemon slices and striped paper straws  - I originally wanted to serve lemonade in individual mason jars but ran out of time to thrift them.  (STRAWS! I featured these straws in my previous post about this party and when I went to buy some they were sold out.  I contacted the seller to find out if she had more and when I mentioned that I had featured them on my blog she was so sweet she sent me these straws and another set at no charge!  Many thanks to Carrie at CDK Designs for being such a sweetheart!! Be sure to visit her Etsy shop for LOTS of cute party supplies!)

• Not shown: a large metal chest full of iced beer and old fashioned sodas (vanilla cream, black cherry and orange creme)

 

GAMES:
 

• rings for the ring toss were made with discarded silk flower stems from my bridal business that I stripped of leaves, bent into rings, secured with duct tape and then wrapped with scraps of fabric and ribbon leftover from my flag bunting.

• the can toss was 6 recycled cans and a ball we had on hand.

• the sacks for the races were vintage pillowcases from my stash...easy to find at thrift stores.

• tickets were "awarded" to the kids just for playing...they redeemed them at the end for their goody bags.  I saved them as a PDF, so you can print your own on 8.5 x 11" sheets...just cut them into strips and then use your zig-zag scissors on the ends.  :)

Click here to Download a PDF of the Prize Tickets

 

All in all, it was a wonderful party...the flag bunting is still up over the deck...too cute to take down, but when it does come down, I will be hanging some of it in my daughter's bedroom.   I am also happy to say that I was able to pull this off with almost 100% recycled/compostable waste.  I intentionally served food that did not need plates.  The napkins, paper cones and food waste were compostable.  Beer & soda bottles, plastic cups & spoons for the shortcake were recycled. Hope you enjoyed the party too and found some inspiration for your next event.   You can see larger photos and more description in this Flickr set.

XOXO, Cindi

 

Vintage Airmail-Inspired Wedding Invitations

Loving this suite of vintage travel inspired invites from Oh So Beautiful Paper...where will your invites take you?  

A Vintage Library Themed Wedding Shoot

This has to be one of the cutest and most original wedding shoots I've seen in a while!  Here are a few teaser shots, but you simply must visit photographer Jessica Claire's website for all the juicy details. 

 

Luckiest Guy on The Lower East Side

Through the long and winding internet road, I stumbled across this adorable animation set to a wonderful song by the Magnetic Fields.  Thanks To Hi-Fi Weddings for pointing me towards Caroline Fontenot and her great New Yorkin' playlist.  Enjoy!