Valentines Day is just around the corner and so is my daughter Sadie’s 7th birthday (which seems crazy!) so I’ve been thinking a lot about easy and affordable crafts for both occasions. We’ve got a few fun classes coming up at the shop, like these adorable stamped bags made by our equally adorable employee Kindrel, and I need to come up with a DIY to teach nine 4-7 year olds at Sadie’s party next week. Hmm. Ideas are welcome on that one!  I’m a sucker for good packaging, in case you haven’t noticed, and it’s amazing how extra special an inexpensive gift suddenly becomes when a little creativity and care is put into the wrapping. Newspaper, paper bags and even celery hearts are used to put together these pretty packages and prints below…

DIY Stamped Bag Class at Spruce Collective (via my Instagram)

Project Wedding by Chelsea Fuss

A Subtle Revelry

Brunch at Saks

Better Homes & Gardens

For those of you looking for a bit more of a creative challenge, check out the gorgeous chalkboard my partner Jessica whipped up for Indie I Do, a wedding event that we took part in last weekend. It’s so inspiring working with such amazing ladies and I’m also really excited about our vintage rentals in general! We’ve taken over the basement (literally, our poor landlord didn’t know what hit him!) and are will be working hard to getting our showroom presentable later this week. But I must say, our current inventory is pretty great and we’ve added several lovely new pieces which we’ll be showing off soon!

Trove Vintage Rentals Chalkboard by Jessica MacDonald

The Coterie Blog

Do you do any special baking or preparation for Valentine’s Day? I don’t usually do much more than a treat bags and some love notes for everyone in our little family, just some wee things to show them how special they are to me. But I think these pretzel/heart/arrow cookies are pretty flippin’ cute, don’t you? Maybe I’ll get adventurous this year :)

It seems like a lot of you could relate with renovations and that darn “snowball effect” that I mentioned in last week’s post. We bought our first house very young and our budget has been pretty tight ever since, especially as our family has grown. When funds are short, its easy to get discouraged trying to tackle projects that add personality but it doesn’t have to cost a bundle to make a space your own. At the shop, we’re always encouraging customers to take their heirlooms and collections out of hiding, dust them off and put them on display. If you surround yourself with things that you absolutely love, odds are pretty good that your personality and style will shine through.  Avoid holding onto items that you feel obligated to keep (there’s no need to feel guilty over stuff) and pare down unnecessary clutter and trinkets whenever you can. Books and plants are ideal for filling empty spaces and add character to any display…

Photo by Brooke Holm for The Design Files

Style by Emily Henderson

SF Girl by Bay

I firmly believe that a room (and a home, for that matter) should evolve over time, not overnight. As impatient as I’ve been in the past with “finishing” a certain room, I’m almost never happy with items that I’ve bought just to fill an empty wall or corner. And I always wish that I would have just saved up a little bit longer for the piece that I actually wanted in the first place. Being a vintage lover has definitely helped to ease my impatience! At thrift stores (or junk barns or auctions or garage sales for that matter), you have equal odds at finding either the “perfect” piece or the “just for now” one. Don’t limit your search to just display objects and furniture either…I have friends who have vast collections of vintage textiles and linens, just waiting to be turned into pillows (like these barkcloth ones over at Stepback) or even framed. What are some of your favourite thrift store finds?

Norrgavel via Solid Frog

Line Shape ColourLily via Miss Moss

I’m feeling the urge for some junk hunting now! It’s funny, since starting the shop I’ve been much busier behind the scenes and sourcing out new product rather than scouting out vintage treasures. That’s where having great partners comes very much in handy :) Well, I’m off to work now but wish you all a great start to the week!

We’re doing a pretty awesome giveaway over at the shop starting later this morning, alongside some amazing local businesses. CheddarBooth and Mikaela Ruth Photography got the ball rolling on this contest to win a styled Afternoon Tea Party and we were thrilled to join in! We’ll be hosting the winner an seven of their lucky friends in our workshop and Tracycakes was the obvious choice for the decadent treats that will be served (they are only a few doors down from us at Spruce and their food is sooo good!). Mikaela popped by the other day to snap these stunning promo shots for the contest…

All photos by Mikaela Ruth Photography for Spruce Collective

All photos by Mikaela Ruth Photography for Spruce Collective

If you live in the Abbotsford/Vancouver area, don’t hesitate to enter! Here’s how:

• Like each sponsor on Facebook (CheddarBooth, Mikaela Ruth Photography, Spruce Collective & Tracycakes) and comment on at least one of their contest posts, telling us why you want to win and who you want to bring
• Share the contest link on your Facebook page(s) for an extra entry
• Tell your friends…the more friends that enter, the better the odds that they’ll invite you!

And that’s not all…we’ve got runner up prizes too! If you don’t win the grand prize tea party, you’ll still be in the running for additional prizes from each amazing sponsor: $300 off your next CheddarBooth booking, $200 off of a photo session with Mikaela Ruth Photography, coupons for cupcakes and high tea at Tracycakes and a party-themed gift basket from Spruce Collective…hooray!

All photos by Mikaela Ruth Photography for Spruce Collective

 So if you live nearby, don’t forget to Like, Comment and Share on each of our Facebook pages to enter. And if you live far away, well too bad but I’ll be sure to share pics of the winners at their beautiful soiree :)  And it’s suddenly the weekend, what are your plans? I’ll be at Indie I Do with our vintage rentals (which I’m really looking forward to) then we’re off to a local ski hill Sunday with the kiddos and some friends for sledding and some winter fun. Cheers :)

It’s been far too long since I’ve done anything to freshen up my own home (I don’t think Christmas decorating counts) and I’m feeling a little antsy to switch things up a little bit. The problem is, as with most projects around the home, one small job usually snowballs into several until the entire household is suddenly in disarray. If you’ve ever attempted even the most minor home reno, you probably know the deal! In our case, we want to swap the kids room which means they need to be painted.  But then I was thinking (my husband’s least favourite sentence!) that we really need to replace the 1969 windows throughout the house and may as well do them before we paint any walls….and if we’re doing that, we may as well replace the 10 year old stained carpet in both bedrooms…and if we change the carpet we should finally install hardwood on the rest of the main floor…and if we do that, our existing laminate was so poorly installed around our kitchen cabinets and I would loooove to redesign our tiny galley kitchen…which includes another new window not to mention cabinets, hardware, appliances….and oh my word, suddenly a $200 room switch has skyrocketed into a major overhaul!!! Big changes like this are not going to happen anytime soon so I’ll happily just step back and focus on the basics (like sweeping my floor) for now. Speaking of basics, black and white is always a calming staple for design, fashion and the home…

Photo by Karel Balas for Milk Magazine

Helt Enkelt

Yarning Made

Alexandra Snowdon

While I do enjoy black and white, I much prefer it when natural materials and textures are thrown into the mix. And I don’t think I could live without at least a few bright pillows (or throws or rugs) but neutrals are always a safe backdrop for whatever colours you choose to mix in…

Country Living. Photo by Bjorn Wallander.

Shanna Murray Tea Towels for West Elm

Emily Henderson

This last picture feels so bright with the addition of warm wood tones, doesn’t it? All in all, I’m pretty happy with our little house and how it’s functioned for our family since we moved in almost 5 years ago. I can’t imagine living in a home that I didn’t want to keep working on and improving! Accomplishing it on a very tight budget keeps the creative juices flowing too :)

It may be because it’s summer South of the equator or maybe it’s because we have family living there right now but for whatever reason, I just can’t get enough of Australian design lately. It also helps that Lucy Feagins of The Design Files (one of my most regular reads) posts a multitude of amazing homes each month and is so amazing at showcasing what’s new and exciting in the land Down Under. Case in point, this rental apartment belonging to textile designer Gemma Cagnacci and her partner Andrew Meehan…

The Design Files. Photo by/home of Gemma Cagnacci.

Avid travellers, the couple have decorated their Sydney home with richly patterned rugs from the Middle East, second hand treasures, family photos and colourful art. Their apartment is another perfect example of how to add personality to any space without breaking the bank and I am seriously coveting each and every one of those amazing rugs! Once again, white walls and bare wood floors provide the ideal backdrop for bright bursts of colour which can be swapped around at whim…

The Design Files. Photo by/home of Gemma Cagnacci.

The Design Files. Photo by/home of Gemma Cagnacci.

The Design Files. Photo by/home of Gemma Cagnacci.

The sunshine here on the West Coast of Canada felt so great this weekend, didn’t it? For a few moments at the park yesterday afternoon, it almost felt like Spring was in the air. And then the sun went behind the trees…brrr! Did you get outside over the weekend? I should have stepped away from the computer a little bit more than I did but it felt good to get caught up on a few things and to have at least one lazy family morning in our pj’s until noon :)