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10 Top Romantic Bedroom Decoration Ideas

by MissMalaprop on September 2, 2011

Romantic Bedroom, photo by Laura Dreamcrone via Flickr

I’m taking a few days off for Labor Day weekend, so today’s post comes to you from blogger Amanda Kidd. I hope you enjoy!

A successful marriage is always based on two pillars, one is love and the other is romance. Romance is something that gets evolved in the bedroom, after marriage. But does your bedroom still have some romance left in it? Now, here are some ways by which you can ignite romance in your bedroom too. Just change some lighting, colors and decoration, and witness the magic.

Idea and thought
Set the theme that you want in your bedroom. A romantic bedroom may have different themes, such as soft romance, cozy or wild romance. Once you are settled with your theme, your half of the work is done.

"Lighten Up", photo by Villa Amor in Sayulita via Flickr

Warm lighting
Try some lighting drama in your bedroom. Give your bedroom a secluded and warm effect with some romantic, dull lighting. These soft lights will give your bedroom the much needed dreamy effect.

Color drama
Get your bedroom colored in shades of love, like pink and red. You may try different colors for different sections of the walls. You may also choose other colors which you think reveal your romantic mood.

Collage
After the walls are colored, try some good wall decorations. The best wall decoration would be the paintings with romantic themes, your framed photographs of being together or any collage that shows your togetherness. You may try other romantic wall hangings too, preferably in red or pink.

photo by Laura Dreamcrone via Flickr

Bed
Try to decorate your bed with warm and cozy linens. If it is the peak of summer then you may try something lighter in linen, but make sure that is full of colors. Get good cushions that match your bed spread and pillows.

Candles
You can never go wrong with candles. The moment your spouse enters your bedroom, just switch on the soft lights and lit the candles. Try to go different with aroma candles and floating candles too. Let the romance be ignited in your spouse’s mind gradually as you slowly light the candles one by one.

"bedroom rose", photo by alt_prospettiva via Flickr

Flowers
These are the most important ingredient in a romantic life, especially roses. You can sprinkle rose petals on your bed or can get a rose bouquet for your spouse. But do remember to keep the roses red, as red roses mean love and romance. You can anytime substitute the roses with any fresh and colorful flowers and can get the magic created. Even if you do not want to create a dramatic effect, you can always go ahead with fresh flowers in your vase, which is in your bedroom.

Mirrors
Add more depth to your romantic bedroom by placing mirrors. It will always reflect the soft lights, thus, enhancing the drama of the bedroom.  Curtains
Curtains are very important for your bedroom decor. Try to put curtains which will curb the outer noise and lights and give you the peaceful time to spend with your spouse.

Canopy Bed inside Pavlovsk Palace, photo by Erwyn van der Meer via Flickr

Canopy
To give your bedroom a more spacious feel, you can add a canopy to your bed.  Last but not the least, now as you are done with the decoration, add the mood to it. Play some good, soft, romantic music and feel the romance from within. Try all these tips and set your romantic spirits high. Turn your boring and dull bedroom into a romantic one and stir romance and bliss in your mundane, monotonous life.

About the author: Amanda Kidd is a blogger who also has a keen interest in interior designing. She frequently tries out new décor and home improvement ideas to give a new look to her apartment. She loves making friends and is really active in the social media world.

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How To: Typewriter Key & Filigree Flower Pendant – Guest Post by Jacqueline Gikow

by MissMalaprop on August 16, 2011

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Today’s post comes to you from Jacqueline Gikow, who is a jeweler and the owner of ChelseaRainbow. She lives in New York City, one of the most vibrant urban cities of the world and the capital of fashion. Here Jacqueline will show us how to make a cool typewriter key & filigree flower pendant.

This pendant is made of a large filigree flower and a typewriter key in the letter “J”. The typewriter key comes from a vintage Royal typewriter and has had the back attachment sawed off so that it has a flat back that makes it easy to glue to the flower. The combination of new (filigree flower) and old (typewriter key) makes for an interesting pendant that is wearable by either men or women.

Materials

1 – typewriter key
3 – 6mm bright copper open jump rings
1 – Gold-plated lobster clasp
1 – 45mm filigree flower
18 inches gold plated 1mm chain
E6000 glue

Tools

1/32 metal punch
Pointed pliers

Instructions

1. Cut 18 inches of chain.

2. Attach one jump ring to one end of the chain. Close the jump ring.

3. Attach one jump ring to the other end of the chain and string the lobster clasp onto the jump ring. Close the jump ring.

4. Punch a hole in one of the flower petals on the filigree flower.

5. Attach the third jump ring to the filigree flower

6. Thread the chain through the jump ring and close the jump ring.

7. Glue the typewriter key to the center of the filigree flower using the E6000 glue. Let it dry. Make sure the letter is facing up to the jump ring.

8. You are finished!

Check out more of Jacqueline’s jewelry creations at ChelseaRainbow.

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Homemade Pennsylvania Peach Jam Recipe – Guest Post by Judith Choate

by MissMalaprop on August 9, 2011

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Today I’ve got a delicious recipe for Pennsylvania Peach Jam for you! The following is by three-time James Beard award winner Judith Choate, whose upcoming book “The Best Little Book of Preserves & Pickles: Easy Jams & Jellies, Chutneys & Condiments, Sauces, Spreads & Syrups” will be available on September 12.

PENNSYLVANIA PEACH JAM

Quantity: Six ½-pint jars
Method: Water Bath (Shelf Life: 1 Year)
Method: Refrigeration (Shelf Life: 6 Weeks)

I don’t know why this is called Pennsylvania Peach Jam but I assume it was devised by the wonderful folks in the Pennsylvania Dutch country, where peaches are even more luscious than those famous Georgia gems.

3 cups sugar
1 box powdered light fruit pectin
4 cups chopped fresh peaches, preferably organic
1½ cups fresh orange juice
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Grated zest of 1 orange, preferably organic
1 bottle maraschino cherries, drained and cut in half

Mix together ¾ cup sugar and the powdered light fruit pectin in a small bowl. Combine the peaches, orange juice, lemon juice and zest in a heavy saucepan over high heat. Stir in the sugar/pectin mixture and cook over high heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a hard boil. Stir in the remaining 2¼ cups sugar and bring to a rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and skim off foam with metal spoon. Stir in the cherries and immediately pour into hot sterilized jars, cap and process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath.

BOILING WATER BATH INSTRUCTIONS:

In a pot made specifically for canning or a cooking pot large enough to hold the number of jars you are going to process completely submerged in water, bring water to a near boil. Place a rack on the bottom of the pot.

Fill, clean, hot jars with prepared food to be preserved, leaving one-half-inch headspace in each filled jar (unless otherwise specified). Remove air bubbles from jars by pushing around edge of jar with a rubber spatula. Wipe sealing edges clean with a dry cloth. Place lid and cap on each jar and twist closed. Do not seal tightly.

Place jars on rack at the bottom of the pot, allowing free circulation of the boiling water around and under each jar. The water must be at least three inches above tops of jars (add water if necessary). Bring to a boil as quickly as possible. When water is at a vigorous boil, begin counting off the processing time necessary for the individual recipe.

When processing time is reached, using tongs, remove jars from boiling water bath. Complete the seal by tightening screw cap. Invert jars. (This will test for leaks.)

After about 10 minutes, set jars upright. Place about two inches apart on wire racks or newspaper, out of drafts, to cool. Label and store in a cool, dry place.

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For more recipes from Judie and other great chefs, follow her on Twitter at @redrockpress & at Notes From Judie’s Kitchen

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Colorful Summer Time Favorites – Guest Post by Brittni Mehlhoff of papernstitch

by MissMalaprop on July 12, 2011

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I’m excited to bring you today’s guest post, by Brittni of papernstitch, a fab site devoted to all things handmade! Look for a guest post by me on Brittni’s blog very soon!

It’s that time of year again: summer. July is one of the hottest months of the year in Florida, which is where I am writing from today, and with the temperatures still rising around here, it’s really put me in the mood for a dip in the pool. Now, considering I don’t actually have a pool, I thought I would “cool off” with some of my summer time favorites from around the web instead. This roundup up is all about color. So, let’s put a little pep in your step with handmade goodies from across the rainbow - neon oranges, bright reds, grass greens, and ocean blues….

1. Orange Faux Wood Grain Ceramic Planter by McCheek’s Mayhem: Bring the colorful outdoors inside with a few succulents housed in a planter from McCheek’s. Perfect as a centerpiece for your once bare dining room table.

2. Azure Fine Art Photograph by Irene Suchocki: Don’t have the budget to travel to the French Rivera this year? Me either. Luckily, Irene of isphotography is capturing the moments you and I dream of with her Azure print.

3. Bouquet Headband No. 2 by Pretty Good Things: Show the world how much you love the colors of summer with a cheerful headband filled with flowers.

4. Flower Print Pillow Sham by Small Talk: Rest up after a long day at the beach with a mod print pillow from illustrator Alyssa Nassner of Small Talk.

5. Hopscotch Placemats by Red Clay Home: Add a little color to your next meal without having to pile up the veggies with these lemon lime colored placemats.

6. Banded Bandit Dress by Sew Moe: Head out to the boardwalk with a comfy dress that will keep you cool.

7. Scandinavian Picknick Poster by Handz: And finally, what summer would be complete without a picnic? If it’s too hot to sit outdoors with a basket of food, maybe you’ll settle for this Scandinavian print instead.

What will you be doing during the warm summer months to keep it colorful (and cool)?

About the guest post contributor: Brittni Mehlhoff specializes in marketing the work of talented artists and designers for the curated art and handmade exhibition site she founded in 2008 called papernstitch. She is also the editor of a handmade and diy blog by the same name, dedicated to creative business tips, diy projects, and handmade features. When not working on papernstitch, Brittni is dreaming up fun little tutorials, crafting projects for her home, and adding to her growing art collection.

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How to Set Up a DIY Photobooth – Guest Post by Rebekah of 504 Stitches

by MissMalaprop on July 10, 2011

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So my awesome partner-in-crime, Rebekah of 504 Stitches, recently posted this killer tutorial on her blog, about how to set up a DIY photobooth. She’s been running some summer camps for kids recently, and I LOVE this project that she did with them. I asked her if it was okay to share her post with you guys, and she said sure thing! I hope you enjoy!

DIY Birthday Party Photo Booth

A DIY Photobooth is a fun and easy way to add a personal touch to any party or gathering. This is my favorite way to capture friends and family having fun, acting silly and smiling, like really smiling. Ditch the formal family photos, grab some props, your camera and shoot away.

Before the Photobooth day gather a few things and prepare with some basic equipment to make this project easy to set up and the photos easy to share:

Easy photo sharing – I use Flickr where I upload the photos. You can set the viewing permissions if you don’t want the photos to be public and just share them with family and friends.

Camera + Tripod (optional) - I use a Nikon D40, but you can use whatever digital camera you have. I like to use a tripod as so can adjust the height and invite kids to snap a few photos too.

Photo Printer - if you have guests who will want to take home photos, or you want to print them out and leave them as party favours (great for b-day parties) a simple photo printer like the Canon Selphy is my recommendation. I did a photo booth for my friends’ wedding and printed out photos for the guests, which made the best wedding present (a direct quote from the bride).

Extra tools to make it even easier – get yourself a remote for your camera so you can capture yourself in some shots, your guests can use it too and free you up to enjoy the fun. I got mine on Ebay for about $4. The Eye-Fi wireless memory card makes uploading photos to your computer and Flickr automatic.

Capture Amazing Photos!

Backgrounds - I’ve used a number of different things for backgrounds and they set the mood and ground your photos, adding colour and theme.

Family gathering such as an anniversary – vintage quilts hand made by family members are a precious way to add a sentimental touch

Theme Weddings and Parties – use a thrifted sheet and pin up stars, or inexpensive party decorations

Outside or Causal events – use a colorful printed vinyl shower curtain or printed fabric

Seasonal Parties – wrapping paper, flags, streamers are easy to find and easy to string up or tack up on a wall. In the photo above I used a roll of wrapping paper taped up on a closet door.

Props Make Everything Better

Props - I’m always on the look out for props. Halloween, Mardi Gras and Easter are the best time to stock up on silly stuff. I have made some of my props too and I store everything in a vintage suit case to keep everything in one place.

My list of must have props:

Hillbilly teeth, funny sunglasses, lots of wigs, mustaches on sticks, small white board or chalkboard for people to write messages on, scarves, hats, fake bloody knives, nerd glasses, devil horns, angel wings, and of course anything oversized.

Extra special props can include:

Large Picture frames, cool vintage chairs, large beach balls, vintage cameras, guitar, and any hand made props

Capture those real smiles when they aren't looking!

Tips for taking great photos:

Note – I didn’t edit/ crop most of these photos so you can check out my set up. I put up a shower curtain on a swing set and held it in place with some wood planks.

- Feel Free to direct your subjects, but also let people do their thing and have fun interacting with each other in front of the camera.

- A great way to keep people in front of your camera is to suggest actions : “Jump! Keep Jumping! Throw your Props in the Air! Everyone switch Wigs! Switch Again!”

- I love asking people to pose and “Work it!” , ”Love the Camera!” I’m always surprised when I put on a Zoolander type voice and people of all ages respond with the best poses and faces.

- Keep it moving, if you sense a lull in the action tell people to get in front of the camera.

- Groups of friends will naturally find their own ways to use props. In a group setting don’t try force people who don’t know each other into a photo together.

- Set your camera shooting mode from single frame to Continuous so you can shoot many photos quickly. Check out Digital Photography School to learn more about shooting modes and other cool camera stuff!

- Hold the camera in a position that you can get good photos and start to click away, but look away and talk to someone beside you. Your subjects will be acting silly and posing, thinking you aren’t taking photos. This is a great way to get amazing photos of shy people, especially kids.

- If you are using a DSLR with an adjustable lens, set your shooting mode to auto, but your lens to manual. This allows you to keep shooting and get the proper exposure and focus super close to your subject or further away especially if you want to capture a lot of action quickly. Use this in conjunction with continuous shooting mode for awesome “live action” shots!

- If at all possible use natural light. I prefer to shoot outside or by a large window so I don’t have to use my flash. I actually don’t really know how to get really beautiful photos’ with flash/ low light/ night time. I’m hoping to be able to learn more about lighting and flash photography this winter.

Editing and Sharing your photos

- For all my editing I use Picnik and I love it. Pay for the premium version ($24.95/year) which allows you to upload and edit as many photos as you want and allows you to save photos on your computer and to Flickr and other photo sharing sites. I use Picnik for almost all the banners, badges and graphics I design for my website.

Use Picnik's Collage Effect to Make "strips"

- The editing tools I use most are the cropping and re-sizing features. I was taught from a teacher whose philosophy was that a good photo is taken, not edited to look like it’s a good photo. Because I come from a film photography background I remain a purist when it comes to taking the perfect picture in my camera.

Before:

After with cropping:

- You can order prints online right from Flickr and Picnik and many other photo sharing sites like Photobucket and Picassa.

- Upload photos to Facebook or Flickr to share.

- Burn photos onto disks and send them out to friends and family as a thank you for attending your event.

- If you like to scrap book you can create keepsakes and add photos from your photo booth.

Each time I do a photo booth I fall more in love with my camera, photography and the amazing tools available online. Doing photography this way has built my confidence and made me much less shy about taking photos of people.

You can check out the rest of my photo booth photos on Flickr.

About the author: My name is Rebekah Apotre, owner of 504 Stitches where I teach sewing lessons and crafty workshops. Currently I’m in the process of donating 300 pairs of handmade slippers to The Pink Slipper Project – you can sign up to join me and get access to free patterns here. Read all about my crafty adventures at 504stitches.com

NOLA folks – don’t forget, the Speed Dating Style Networking event that Rebekah concocted takes place THIS Thursday, July 14th at 7pm at the AllWays Lounge. It’s FREE to attend – just reserve your spot here.

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How To: Gocco Screenprinting

by MissMalaprop on June 3, 2011

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Ask and ye shall receive! So yesterday I posted about wanting to feature more craft tutorials here and asked for you to submit them if you’d like to share them with Miss Malaprop readers. Julie of Rotten Cupcakes responded to my call almost immediately and sent me over this awesome Gocco screenprinting tutorial! Her tutorial in a second – but first a little more about Julie:

Julie is an Art Director for a magazine in Orange County, California by day, and in her free time she loves to make stuff, learn new things and share ideas with awesome people. She’s got a rad blog, a sweet Society6 studio and a fabulous Etsy shop where you can find not only her Gocco prints but also cute knit hats and her original cupcake paintings! CUPCAKE PAINTINGS, PEOPLE! Isn’t Julie the cutest???? You should totally go be her fan on Facebook.

I’ll let Julie take over from here – now on to her Gocco screenprinting tutorial:

some of Julie's older Gocco prints

Print Gocco! is an amazing little Japanese screenprinter which is sadly no longer produced. I’ve had mine since 2005 (and have luckily ferreted a decent amount of supplies away) but you can still find them on ebay! I don’t use it very frequently (I think the last time I used it was 2008! For shame!) but have been meaning to bust it out and have some fun. You can see some of my previous results in the photo above. Let’s get to it.

Julie's materials for Gocco printing

So I have my stack of cards (from Paper Source); my original art (skulls!); a screen; some RISO metallic ink; 2 RISO flash bulbs; & last but certainly not least, the Print Gocco B6 Model (the shiny silver part if the flash hood; the blue part is the actual press).

making the screen

It’s important that your original artwork is a high resolution (300dpi+) and high contrast (black and white!). It’s also equally important that your original artwork is printed with toner — do not use an inkjet! Once you have the art lined up how you want it, you place your flashbulbs in the hood and attach the hood to the body of the Print Gocco (Fig B). To make the screen, you simply press down firmly on the handle and FLASH BANG! The lights pop (one use only — sadness! See Fig DEF) and your screen has been burned. Generally, your original will be stuck to your screen after the burning process (Fig C). I always think of it as a good thing because it means that the burn was successful!

used flash bulbs

Screen Pre-Inking

I think the screen is really neat. You can clearly see where the toner has “burned through” the screen on all the places that were black. All the area that were white on the original are solid & shiny so the ink cannot seep through.

Inking the Screen

Let’s ink this bad boy! You can see in Fig H that there is a little plastic film that flips over one side of your screen. You want to sandwich the ink in between the plastic film & your screen—this ensures that the ink only presses out on one side & doesn’t get all over your little printer! You only really need to ink the black parts of the design but because this particular design is ink heavy, I ended up inking the entire screen (and using a palette knife to smoosh any extra ink into the right place).

Fitting the Screen

To fit the screen into the machine’s body after inking you have to gently bend the screen/frame to fit in the slots on the top half of the press (Fig J-M). The plastic film side faces your machine & the open screen size faces your printing plate!

Making a print

Let’s make a print! Place card (or paper product of your choice) on the printing plate (Fig N); make sure it’s straight (if you want it straight anyway!). Press the screen down (Fig O). Your printed object will most likely stick to the screen (Fig P). You want to be extra careful when you’re peeling it away from the screen — images smudge/smear and lose their crispness if you aren’t mindful (Fig Q). And tada! we have a print (Fig R).

Drying time!

And then you print madly on whatever you have lying around (I tend to have a collection of blank cards from Paper Source’s sale rack and leftovers from other projects — those orange cards look familiar…) and lay out to dry. I let all mine dry over night. I find that my stacking cookie racks are incredibly useful when I have a high volume of printed pieces drying rather than spreading them out over any flatish surface in our apartment.

Potential upcoming prints!

Who’s next? I am thinking the keys are the next up for printing. What do you think?
You can purchase any of the skull prints from my etsy shop!

Want more Gocco?!
Save Gocco
Etsy Labs did a tutorial too!
Flickr’s Gocco group
A company called Northwoods Studios carries a lot of gocco supplies!
DIY Life on Print Gocco

NOTE: As Julie mentioned, Gocco brand printers are no longer produced and can be hard to find. There is another type of printing system still available that some people like, the Yudu Personal Screen Printer. There are also lots of other tools and methods for screenprinting, depending on what you want to do, and many of the techniques Julie explains above work are applicable to other types of screenprinting. Here are a couple of books to get you started if you want to learn more about other techniques: