Mothers day

Mother's Day is coming up, in a mere 10 days! To help you find a little something for your favorite mom, print out this blog post and bring it into the store to get 15% off your purchase!

May sewing classes!

It's almost May and I just remembered we haven't told you about the new sewing classes for this month!

On May 3rd Emily will teach you how to make felted bowls ($20 + materials)

On May 5th, I will teach you how to make some Pajama Pants (so cozy!) ($30 + materials)

On May 29th, Jaime will tach you how to make a super awesome Linen apron. ($30 + materials)

What are you waiting for? call to sign up now! 816.756.0855

Ames Bros. Posters

One part of J's office that is already decided is that it will be the room O' Ames Bros. We have quite the collection of Pearl Jam posters designed by Ames bros and the office room is officially the gallery. I can't remember offhand how many there are, maybe 15ish? (Which doesn't sound like a lot until you have to find wallspace for 15 posters) and of course we will be seeing PJ this Sunday (!!) so we might have to add one more.

One one hand I am wondering if we should paint the room white, since there will be so much color and pattern from the posters. On the other hand I kind of want him to paint it a really light creamsicle orange. Just because I think it would be pretty..

Home office for J

So, J may be taking his show off the road and working from home come this summer. I would not be good at that (naps! Snacks! movies! distractions!) but he, I think, will be much better at concentrating on the task at hand. But, the "office room" as it is, is not conducive at all to 8 hours a day of work. It is J's designated room and houses his music equipment, all the cd's, records, futon, etc. and is the only room in the house not painted and put together. So we are slowly thinking about cleaning it out and making it a nice place for him to sit at the computer day in and day out.

So, I thought I would stroll on over to Apartment Therapy and get us some ideas..


I also found these helpful tips..

TOP 5 RULES FOR FENG SHUI:(From Apartment Therapy)

1. Function. If anything, you should let functionality guide your decisions on placement of any furniture or technology around the office. Should this printer go here? How much is it really used? Can I reach it easily when I need it? Every item should be placed in the context of use and optimized according to personal subjective preference.

2. Comfort. A primary rule of feng shui is making sure you are comfortable. Doing so suggests maximized productivity and a calming environment to work in at all times. This also means if you have your back facing anything other than a wall, you might need some adjusting. The optimal feng shui setup allows you to face the people coming into the room, creating an affordance for conversation rather than "I'm trusting you not to be a ninja spy, so please don't attack me from behind."

3. Fashion. Ever go into a room and say to yourself, "Man, that sofa really throws off this room." In all honestly, there's no scientific measure for something like aesthetic design, but one can always try. If a huge couch needs balancing, try adding a large painting or wall-shelving. An empty corner? Add some potted plants. Or simply rummage through our on-going Perfect Workplace Contest 2010 for some great ideas inspired by your own fellow readers.

4. Rearrange often. Like anything design related, one must accept the fact that rearranging is inevitable. We like to do it at least once every three months to optimize our working environment for upcoming projects.

5. Declutter. One of the original key rules of feng shui involves knowing what you should leave out. A room overstuffed with anything, from office furniture, to unruly computer cords, to overcrowded file drawers, is not acceptable. Get rid of it. Keep only what you need. And for goodness sake, clean up those wires!

Kensington Rooftop Gardens

So, I recently decided to save all my pennies and go to England in the fall of 2011. Granted, it will not happen for quite a while, but don't you think that I haven't already started planning! Although I promised J that we wouldn't spend all our time in London, there are a few things that I feel like I should go see and the other day I added the Derry and Tom's building to my list. Otherwise known as the once glorious Big Biba. Now a depressing Marks and Spencers, but I felt like I need to see where all the Biba awesomeness once lived.

Here is a pic of the building. It's huge. Seriously huge. I've seen countless pics of Biba inside the building but you just don't get the feel of how big it is. (E, would we be able to take on that building? We would dance a jig to get to make it our own or run away screaming?) Anyway, that's not the exciting part..here is the exciting part....They still have the rooftop gardens!! and it's open to the public!! The gardens were built in the 30's, and have been maintained even though the building has changed hands a variety of times over the years. In 1981 Richard Branson (the Virgin company owner and man of untold wealth) bought the gardens and refurbished them (complete with flamingos) and in 2001 he put a fancy pants restaurant up there as well. I'm totally going. And maybe I'll get a wee inkling of the Biba glamour that was there. Hmm, what should I wear?

Prize!

Hmm, I've been feeling a little lonely on the old blog lately. I wonder if perhaps I will hear all of my lovely reader's voices if I bribe them? Well, I'm willing to give it a go..leave a comment on this post of your favorite blog/or website that you go to all the time and maybe we will pick you to win a fabulous prize!

VW Beetle

So, I never thought I would be totally outraged by the design aesthetic of a car. But, a couple of weeks they unveiled the 2011 VW Beetles, and I was totally grossed out. Because I love a VW Beetle. I wanted one forever, talked my parents into getting me an old one in high school (a 1974 one, which was totally adorable although admittedly not the most reliable car), and when I needed a new car for my "adult" life I had to have one.

They are so cute! And round! And come in pretty colors. But then there is the new one, it has a flat roof..Why?? Why have a Beetle if it is just a Jetta with rounded fenders? Well, I guess I better make mine last for a while, maybe long enough that they will have a burst of nostalgia and go back to the original design..

Marimekko

I did some imaginary shopping this morning on Marimekko..would you like to see what I bought?

Ehrman Tapestry

Yet another craft I've long been wanting to try..needlepoint and embroidered pillows. I've had the Ehrman Tapestry magazine sitting and mocking me for the last year as I try to decide whether or not to give it a go. Of course, I would like to get to the point where I could just make my own patterns, but I always feel like I have to do a few patterns first to get the hang of things. Have any of you attempted needle-pointing? Is it as hard as it looks??

Walking Parasol

Well, the day has come. I officially can not be outside without an umbrella anymore, lest my skin burst into flames. I walked to work this morning with a face lotion with an SPF 15, makeup with an SPF 15 and SPF 70 sunblock on and still got a little burnt. Geez. So, although we do have an amazingly large number of umbrellas at home, I thought I would shop around for some more cute ones..just in case any of you are in the same boat as I am..




Admittedly, the two clear ones (Cath Kidston and Lulu Guinness) wouldn't help me with my sun issue, but aren't they super cute? However, I think I would pick the blue with red flowers for my summer walking parasol. All of these lovelies can be found at brollies galore!

New Fabric!

New fabric! And can I just say that the pics do not do that galvanized shot cotton justice at all..it is a gorgeous blue/orange mixture that also happens to be super soft..

Baby Snugglie

There are still some spots open for the baby snugglie class this Saturday (9-12) Call or email to sign up now!

816.756.0855
betsy@bonbonatelier.com
Class is $30 + materials

New Liberty of London!

Two new Liberty fabrics have come to live with us! Needless to say, they are gorgeous. Also very hard to get, so we don't have a ton of yardage on either of them...so if you love them, you better act fast!

Soop rings

They're back! Yes, we have more fabulous Soop rings...and now crocodiles, elephants, kitties and ponies have joined the zoo...

Sukie Iron On sets

What will I do when I'm done stenciling everything in my house? Well, iron on Sukie fabric transfers to everything in my wardrobe, of course! And lampshade, cushions, etc...