Fall Favorites: Lovely Little Details

{image by Hugh Forte}

Hello Pearls for Paper readers! Can I tell you how excited I am to be visiting today? Emily and Anna are some of the loveliest people I've "met" (cocktails in Boston soon, please?) in this crazy wedding world, and I am just so honored to be paying a visit to the blog today :)

Oh! Maybe I should introduce myself as well? I'm Jacin, and I am an event designer/planner living in San Francisco but originally from Connecticut, and I also have a blog under my company name, Lovely Little Details. You can take the girl out of New England, but you can't take the New England out of the girl, right? So it goes without saying that I just love mason jars. Before you roll your eyes and sigh, let me back up a bit. Masons are more than just pretty decor to me, I promise. Though they are a lovely wedding trend, I actually love them because they remind me of my late grandmother, Mimi, who was the queen of canning - from jams to pickles to homemade tomato juice (best bloody mary ever, anyone?) - she knew how to make it and every time we visited her, we'd end up with a special jar of one of her labors of love. I've never shared the image below, but it is my favorite picture and I think it depicts her perfectly. Isn't she the sweetest?

So... when Anna asked me to stop by today and talk about my favorite uses for masons in the fall, I happily obliged :) Here are some of my faves!

{image by Hugh Forte}

I love how Nancy of So Happi Together added these adorable oak leave cutouts to mason jars for guests to use as place cards and drinking cups. So sweet, and perfect for fall, don't you think? I'm picturing a big canteen of hot apple cider right in the middle for an autumn gathering, or maybe if you want to jazz up your college football tailgate. Yes, my husband might be mortified, but at least it would look cute, right?

{etsy seller meganEsass}

Next up, why should we be the ones who get to enjoy our comfy fall sweaters? Kidding, but aren't these hand-knit mason jar "coozies" created by Megan Esass just so sweet? They'd be perfect for your Thanksgiving side table, or even as part of the centerpiece.

{The Nerd's Wife}

Confession: I don't like apple pie. Phew! I said it. But there's nothing like the smell of homemade apple pie with the cinnamon and spices filling the air, and to me, it automatically reminds me of the fall. That and pumpkin pie. The concept of pies in a jar will never get old to me, and I especially love the pumpkin pies - wouldn't that be a fun gift for your guests to take home after a dinner party? {Here's the step by step instructions from Our Best Bites}.

{the brides cafe}

Obviously, besides canning, my next favorite use for masons is as a simple and pretty vase. I love flowers, they just make me happy. Add a few wheat stalks, or a single dinnerplate dahlia bloom, and you've got yourself a gorgeous centerpiece. The image above is one of my ultimate faves.

{You Stir Me}

Lastly, I just stumbled upon this last week over on You Stir Me (one of my faves!) where Laura craftily adapted the Thank You Jar idea from Young House Love in to a mason jar instead of a topiary jar. The concept is that you and your family write down something you are thankful for everyday leading up to Thanksgiving, and then you read them. I just love this idea and have a big blue mason just waiting to be filled.

Thanks again Anna & Emily for having me visit today - hope you all enjoy your holiday season, mason jars and all :)

xoxo jacin

Fall Favorites: You Stir Me

Hi lovelies! I'm Laura from You Stir Me and I'm so happy to be visiting the gals at Pearls for Paper today and sharing a fun and easy DIY with you! This week is all about fall favorites and my absolute favorite thing to do this time of year is dream about all the prettiness in store for the holiday season. As soon as the first brisk fall morning peeks it's little nose around here, I instantly dive into all the holiday inspiration I've been squirreling away and have at it. Here's a little DIY I came up with, perfect for your Thanksgiving table or for those crafty brides out there wanting a homespun twist for their place cards. DIY Wreath Place Cards

You Will Need: A wreath (I used a vine wreath I had laying around but you can use a Styrofoam or cardboard one if you like!) Yarn Ribbon Glue gun Decorative accents Name Tag Scissors

Step 1: Tie one end of your yarn around the wreath and wrap the yarn all around the wreath. Tie it off when completed.

Step 2: With your glue gun, begin to glue the decorative accents to the wreath. I like to poke the ends of the accents into the wreath and hide them underneath the yarn. Be sneaky. Feel free to add as little or as much as you like! I was going to use the gold glitter ornament you see in the pictures but nixed it last minute. Editing down my crafts is not easy for me!

Step 3: Thread a piece of yarn through the name tag and tie it around the wreath. Loop your ribbon around the top, leaving the two ends untied. You'll use the ends to tie the wreath around your napkin.

Step 4: Place your wreath on your napkin and tie the ribbon ends behind the napkin. Sit back and enjoy!

Wouldn't it be such a fun idea if you made new Thanksgiving wreath place cards each year and everyone in your family started a collection of the wreaths over the years? You could hang them up on the Christmas tree or create a pretty garland to ring in the holiday season. Make sure to snip off the name tags, of course. Think of all the fun little things you could glue to the wreaths for a kids table!

My family might be seeing some little wreaths at their seats come Thanksgiving...

Fall Favorites: Cornflake dreams

Hello! It's Jillian from Cornflake Dreams, a life and style blog about all the dreamy things in life and travels abroad. I had the pleasure of meeting Anna + Emily during the Rendez-Vous New England Event in Boston this past September and I am thrilled to be guest posting on Pearls for Paper!

Today I would love to share with you my favorite family tradition. Every Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter my mom's side of the family gets together for a large dinner and at the end of the meal we all sign the tablecloth! Each holiday has a separate vintage tablecloth that we use every year. We sign in permanent marker and then a family friend embroiders the signatures in holiday-colored thread. everyone signs their name + the year and kids will draw a small picture. Guests are encouraged to sign and it's fun to see who has attended the dinners over the years and how our signature has changed. When I lived in Charleston, I included a small palm tree by my signature and I even think the easter tablecloth has "Jillian DiCaprio" somewhere on it from my Titanic days.

 

My friends and I are starting to get together for Thanksgiving every year and I am thinking about starting this tradition with them. It's a beautiful keepsake that is purposeful and unique!

What are your favorite family traditions?

xo,

jillian of cornflake dreams

Fall Favorites

Howdy there & happy Halloween!!! Did you get to do anything fun this weekend? Catch a glimpse of any unique costumes? It's always so fun to see all of the little kiddos decked out in costumes & acting out their characters!! So, we've been gushing about Fall ever since September hit... the season represents change, counting our blessings and spending loads of quality time with loved ones. This week some of our fabulous blog-friends are stopping by to share some of their "Fall Favorites" to inspire you! We have SUCH a fun week ahead!!!

For now, I'll get things started with one of my personal favorite fall past times: making {and eating} caramel apples. Enjoying them any other time of year doesn't have the same effect! Am I right or am I right?! More recently, I've noticed some fun recipes that make the most of these festive flavors.

{Recipes are clockwise from top left: via, via, via}

Mmmm...  don't these look like perfection? What is your favorite fall food?

Don't forget to check back tomorrow for more fun Fall Faves! :)

A very festive monogram

The work week is almost over! For some reason it seemed unusually and ridiculously long- was it just me? Well, in the spirit of the upcoming holiday, this weekend will be spent enjoying a favorite childhood past-time: pumpkin carving! No, we don't have children and NO, we're not too old to carve on our own! This is an art form!! While searching for some inspiration to help guide me away from the traditional chunky orange pumpkin head with triangle eyes I discovered {and fell in love} with this:

{via}

Pumpkin carving in it's classiest form: with monograms! How adorable!! Are you carving pumpkins this year? What look are you going for?