ElegantKB

Special, handmade gift ideas that KB adores including a vintage book box!

I feel very fortunate to spend holidays with my family and friends.  And I feel even more special because I received handmade treasures.  Here's a picture of a couple of hand made gifts that I will enjoy!  I also love making things and typically run out of time before I can complete more than a few hand crafted items.  But check out the hand drawn pears on this serving plate.  I think it's lovely.  A special person in our family knows the artist, a woman in San Francisco.  The decoupage box is actually a book box, made by my Dad.  The little Jack Russel terrier dog image is a lot like my dog.  Also I think my father remembers that red is my favorite color.  The vintage book that he started with has a red cover. There are more images inside. Red flowers are layered with book pages, pretty paper, glue and paint too.  It's like a secret compartment book box because there was a nice gift inside!  I have some special gifts that I'm finishing up soon.  I also will begin a major quilting project in 2010 that will end up as a gift.  What kinds of things do you like to make as gifts?  

Vintage Elegant Lady in Stylish Fedora Hat, she is KB's Aunt!

Here is KB's Great Aunt Joanne in a fashion photo from the 1940's.  What I like about this look is the sassy, stylish fedora that tops off her menswear suit.  The ruffle front blouse adds a feminine touch.  The fit on her menswear suit is tight and sexy with the waist nipped in tight.  She looks adorable here. 

Joanne loved fashion.  Her collection of fashion photos are from the heydays of Hollywood glam in the 1940’s.  This is the time when fedora hats were worn by stars like Humphrey Bogart, Gene Kelly, and Lucille Ball. Joanne and her husband Bunny, became merchants in the apparel business.   When I was a teenager Joanne and Bunny took me to the Los Angeles Apparel Mart.  I spent time in their booth and wandered around the clothing market.  This experience pushed my decision to apply for the Fashion Design program at FIDM (the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising).  The LA Fashion District is the capital of West Coast style. Thanks to Aunt Jo for taking me there when I was a young girl!

Elegant scents for home by Casa di Francesca, KB likes her new gift!

I surprised myself! I won a gift in a Twitter contest!  It was a fun Twitter party during Project Runway Season 6.  The Clever Girls Collective group asks questions via tweets during the show. You can find them @CleverGirlsColl.  If they like your answer (tweet), then you are a winner!  My prize is a lovely scented Versailles Tuberose home diffuser set from Casa di Francesca.

Amazing San Francisco Opera Costume Sale, Oct 24 and 25, KB dates noted!

Here is a rare opportunity to purchase amazing costumes and clothing from the SF Opera Scene Shop.  It's happening Saturday and Sunday, Oct 24 and 25, 2009.

Vintage, Elegant Lady in a Summer Dress and Macrame Belt, she is KB's Aunt!

Here is KB's Aunt Joanne as a fashion plate in the 1940's.  What I like about this look is the macrame belt simply draped over her hip.

Color match your home décor and wardrobe with color copies, a shopping tip from KB

I want to share this creative use for color copies with my readers: I use my color copy machine to get images of home decor.  I also copy prints and patterns from clothing when I need to shop for items and match colors. I carry copies of my color schemes with me out to the stores.

I found vintage elegant ladies on patterns from Decades of Style at the Maker Faire, KB inspired!

My favorite part of the SF Bay Area Maker Faire was the Craft building.  Here is a picture of the wrap jacket pattern I picked up.  The patternmaker interprets vintage styles and makes the fit modern.  I enjoyed browsing through their rack of samples.  I got so excited when I saw this lovely jacket.  I plan to try it in silk dupioni.  If you want to find out more about Decades of Style

Fashionable hand made dolls at Whimsy Bean, KB recommends!

My good friends at Whimsybean.com have new dolls up for sale. These dolls have famous faces.  I mean they are "Hollywood" glamorous! They are adorable, stylish, and fun to collect.  Check them out!  I'm sure they would love to hear from you.  Here is a close up of one of my fave doll faces- Kiss, kiss! Check out the rest of this elegant lady on the whimsy bean site.

KB's "Pay it forward quiz game" free download - What do you know?

Do you know what color ribbon raises awareness for people with HIV/Aids?  Do you know what the V in the V-sign (peace sign) stands for?  Do you know the name of the foundation that awards a Peace Prize?  These are sample questions from my Quiz.  I call it the "Pay it Forward Quiz Game" because even if you know all the answers you might pay your quiz sheet forward.  Get the free PDF download for answers and instructions on how to play this party game.  We played it at our Soup Bowl theme party to raise community involvement and to get people to think more about social activism.  I hope this post gets you thinking.  Let me know if you have any more ideas or great questions for the quiz game.

Free illustration of a Soup Bowl from KB's party invitation!

A simple party idea needed a simple graphic to set the tone. See below for the invitation I designed for the 2009 event.  Each year I host this party with a team of fabulous friends who have a flair for entertaining.   This year the theme was based on a different idea- to do something nice for our community.  So we came up with the Soup Bowl party.  I also invented a quiz game- we asked everyone to put in $10 donation to go towards a good cause. It ended up being a lot of fun and it inspired some heart felt conversations. I'll put up my quiz in a another post in case you want to use it for an event.   I took out my favorite Prismacolor felt pens and made the soup bowl illustration.  I'm attaching the soup bowl graphic art free for you to use- click herefor PDF.  Here's the wording inside the invitation:

Sunday evening, March 22

5:00 to 8:00 PM

hosted by __________

A selection of delicious soups and breads will be served

At ________ house, address

RSVP

Phone number

*****************

Play our "Pay it Forward" Quiz Game

To join the fun bring $10 donation

We will "gift" the donation pot to your favorite charity if you win!

Bring with you:

A spoon and a bowl

Optional- a beverage to share.

And for you foodies... here are menu ideas- we had 3 soups on the stove and we served each person using their personal bowls.  A veggie red pepper and fennel, creamy cream of mushroom, and a hearty white bean, kale and sausage.  Each soup was garnished and special. People came back to try seconds on their own and the whole atmosphere was comfy and yummy.