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4 Creative St. Patrick’s Day Holiday Decor Ideas With Vintage Flair

Nothing like another holiday, in order to give you an excuse for vintage holiday decorating.  What is the point of collecting vintage items if you can’t display them and use them for celebrations?  So, just wanted to acknowledge all the St. Patrick’s Day celebration that you see on the internet and other social media.  The other images I have included, provide ideas for displaying your vintage cutlery and tableware that is just lovely.

Here’s a round up of a few pins, I have collected on my “Holiday Decor” board on Pinterest that will spurcreative ideas  for Irish St. Patrick’s Day decor with a vintage feel and using some of the  free vintage postcards that are available on the Internet.

I think it’s the mercury glass and chandelier print on the mantel that I like so much. The sign has just the right touch of crafty diy feel mixed with a few formal decor items.

I really like the shabby chic(or distressed) decor in this next idea, and of course the vintage cutlery, green majolica and tablescape. The original pinner is a self-confessed plate addict.

This next pin includes the actual vintage postcards I found online to create my header image.  Here the pinner is using it to create a cute holiday home decor item.

This next idea, I really like and will probably use it with different holidays.  Just change the vintage cup color to your holiday color theme.

Hope you like these pins and they inspire you to get you celebrating holidays with all your vintage collectibles.

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Digital Scrapbooking Crafting Apps for the Ipad

While I have been dabbling in the world of digital scrapbooking for a couple of years or so, and engaging in my hobby when I can, (using a variety of free and or paid resources), I knew that  with the popularity of Picmonkey and other photo editing programs that someone would eventually create an easier online digital scrapbooking software application.

So, I wasn’t surprised to see that the doyenne of all things homemaking, home design and style, and crafting would launch her own crafting application for the ipad.  This application was initially released sometime in June of 2012 and was available for free.

After July 8th, 2012 it  was made available on the itunes app store for $4.99.  If you are on Pinterest, the Martha Stewart Craft teams regularly posts pins on their application. If you click on the Martha Stewart Crafts pic above, you will be directed to her introductory video of the app but it it basically speeds through the interface. (This is not an affiliate link.)

According to other online reviews, the crafting app is solely for card making.  It enables you to choose from three background  sizes and decorate them with elements like patterned paper, stamps, punch-outs, stickers and even sparkles.   Four themes are included with the app, and five add-on packs are available for $1.99 each via in-app purchases.

As you would expect from Martha Stewart, the app provides themes that complement each other and are color coordinated, but you can go outside of the box by mix and matching your own themes.    You can retrieve pictures from your ipad or use the ones already stored on your ipad for your photo layouts.

All your projects can be saved, emailed or posted to Facebook and Twitter.  If you were looking for something that is actually printed,  you can send the card to your printer or send it to  Snapfish, a digital printing service.  I have been looking for other similar apps for available for android tablets but haven’t been successful, so I’ll have to do additional research.

Other similar ipad apps that are worth  looking at are:

Red Stamp Cards –

Available at Itunes app store – Free

ScrapPad- Srapbook for Ipad

Available at Itunes app store – Free

If you want additional information, or just want to know what the interface looks like,  I have included a third party Youtube video review of the software app, so you can get an idea of the look of the software app’s interface and the basic functions that are available on the Martha Stewart’s Craft Studio.

Sometimes it helps to watch a video of someone else using the software before you commit to trying it out.  Unfortunately, it’s no longer free, so you want to be able to get the most for your purchase.

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Spring is on the Way!

Well, March has rolled in and with it of course, are all the the pleasant reminders of the season.  For me I have included a few pics of my favorite things, so this blog post is just a list of all my favorite things associated with spring.

Many Shabby Chic collectors tend to collect items associated with spring colors, pastel robin’s egg blue, pinks and buttercup yellows…And I can’t forget the soft spring green!  So this is a great time to bring out the decorative collectibles.

Here’s the list!

  • eggs
  • bunnies
  • chocolate bunnies (you’ll get to know my love for chocolate)
  • warmer weather
  • soft pastels
  • baby lambs
  • puffy clouds and blue skies
  • cherry blossoms
  • trees blooming
  • gardening

And of course, the warmer weather lends to ideal conditions to scout for vintage items, (although weather doesn’t tend to stop me from shopping altogether….a limited spending budget does). Living in California, the weather is generally pleasant but there are days in winter that get a little gloomy.

In any case, just wanted to celebrate the season with a tiny shout out.  Take some time and bring out your favorite vintage items, it will change your outlook and relieve the cabin fever!

How about this idea for spring or the Easter holiday! I just used to like looking at marshmallow peeps.