I found a treasure recently that has stolen my heart and I just had to share it with you. 

Introducing the Dani Bench...by Sugarboo + Co.

This bench is such a charming, skinny little piece of goodness - reminiscent of the antique, primitive chinese benches I've been crushing on in the home decor world  - but this one doesn't cost a small fortune. 

  

How or where did I find this treasure? 

I started following @withlovedani on Instagram - cannot remember how or why or who tagged her, but when I discovered her IG account, she was in the middle of moving from Celebration, Florida - a charming town I've always been in love with back in Orlando.  

I was immediately intrigued + connected to her because of the Celebration community and then she hooked me in for good when I realized she and her hubs, (and their two dogs), were heading to Georgia to create a new life and were diving into the renovation of a newly purchased beautiful, historical home. 

Fast forward a little bit and one day on her IG stories she mentions "the dani bench",  shows a picture of it and references how to get one.

BOOM! It was love at first sight.

Here's what I love about the bench.
I love it's simplistic, primitive charm.
I love how skinny it is and that it doesn't take up a whole lot of space but is still a statement piece.
I love that there are only a handful of benches available at a time.
I love the texture and imperfections.
And I love that each bench is unique in color, size, leg style, wood grain, etc.

I also love that the buying process took on an almost underground, black market vibe...lol...with nothing but Instagram conversations, less-than-detailed images to choose the bench I wanted and a final phone call for making the purchase. It was exciting to say the least.

And I LOVED the surprise of unpacking the bench on the day it arrived on my front porch to see what it actually looked like. (see the video here).

Now...I just need to decide on the perfect spot in the house to put it. 

Or maybe I actually need another one... *wink*

If you love it, come see me on Instagram and message me there: @pnpflowers

I'll put you in touch with the right people.

xoxo,

Jess

PS - Let's stay cozy + connected in-between posts...find me on Instagram for daily inspiration.
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PSS- the bench was nicknamed the "Dani Bench" because @withlovedani keeps referring more and more people from Instagram over to Sugarboo for purchasing their own benches when she shares/posts all about the one she personally purchased and loves. (love how supportive she is of small businesses). 

PSSS - Check out all of the other fun things at Sugarboo...soooo many pretties to fall for.

KEEPiNG iT REAL

I was a bit nervous giving my credit card info over the phone to a complete stranger, but I trusted Dani so much I took a deep breath, said a little prayer and went for it. I'm so happy I did.

HOME | Entryway Photo Art

Yes, it's true...I might not have very many Christmas decorations up around my house just yet...
despite being about two weeks away from the big day!!

I did, however, put something else up this week that is near + dear to my heart and that will add a very special touch to our home this holiday season and far beyond that...

Three new 24x36 photo canvases from Shutterfly of all three of my girls

I've been wanting to do something like this for some time now and finally made it happen using Shutterfly's "Design-A-Wall" feature. It really made the entire process super easy - from selecting the right photos, creating the perfect layout as well as physically hanging the art on the wall.

Since I've been dreaming of oversized artwork of my girls for some time now, I knew I wanted to go BIG and fill as much of the wall in our entry as I possibly could. I was looking for a high-impact result and I got it!! I think color photos would've been really pretty too but I chose to go with black and white because of the timelessness they evoke. 

Want to know how easy it was to make this happen?

PICK THE PHOTOS
Even though I toyed with the idea of using photos of the girls when they were each two years old,  (how fun would that be?), I ultimately decided it was more important to make sure I selected photos of each girl that had similar backgrounds and lighting since they would be grouped together. I narrowed it down to a few of each girl from our Christmas Photo Shoot last year.

PICK THE ART MATERIAL 

Now all I had to do was decide which art material I wanted the photos to be printed on.
There are six different options to choose from on the Shutterfly website - see below. I admit choosing the art material was a little tough because the wood and metal artwork sounds WAY cool but I ended up selecting a more tradional option - canvas. It's easier on the wallet and they are light as a feather which makes hanging them even easier.

PICK THE PHOTO ARRANGEMENT
Shutterfly offers quite an array of pre-arranged photo layout templates to pick from. I measured the wall in the foyer where my artwork would be hanging to narrow down the selections based on what would work best in my space. I went with the 78x36 Layout - see below.

UPLOAD YOUR PHOTOS
Next, I uploaded the photos I'd previously decided on to the Shutterfly website and inserted them into the template.

CROP PHOTOS 

In order to give a more cohesive flow to the photos I selected, I had to crop Ema and Clara's photos so their faces filled up more of the frame/canvas. Notice how it looks as if Clara is tall and Ema is short in the original upload and layout? (see above).

This was super easy to fix by just clicking on the photo I wanted to crop which then took me to an editing window where I created a box around the area I wanted to zoom in on. (There are other editing tools to choose from as well like adding a filter, removing red eye and even rotating the image if you need to).

Isn't that a lot more balanced now after having cropped both Clara and Ema's pictures? (see below)

ADD TO CART + PLACE ORDER
With my photos uploaded and cropped, I just pushed "Add to Cart" and placed my order.

Notice the little exclamation marks in the upper left of each photo? That's a warning from Shutterfly that the resolution on my images may not be high enough for a good quality print. I personally ignored the warning and went ahead and placed the order - hoping it would all turn out all right - and they still printed beautifully! (tossing the confetti)

DISPLAY THE ARTWORK

When the order shipped, there was a handy dandy paper template that was sent separately which also included "Easy Hang Guide"instructions and a small level in a tiny envelope. (see all three below)

I unrolled the paper template right on the dirty floor of the foyer and just followed the written instructions.

Keeping It Real Disclaimer
I was too lazy and too focused on getting these canvases hung to bother moving the pot of wilted mums belonging to Clara or our dog's tennis ball from the photo. 
And all of that junk on the right is spilling out of my studio. 
This is real life folks.

First thing the directions mention is to attach the self-adhesive level to the paper template in the "PLACE LEVEL HERE" spot at the top. So I did just that.

With the level on my paper template, I grabbed some painter's tape and a ladder and managed to hang it up on the wall all by myself since no one else was home. (I recommend enlisting the help of someone if you are hanging something this wide because it would be a lot easier to manage). *wink*

At first I used some cheap painter's tape to attach it to the wall. I somehow managed to get it straight after a few adjustments, a lot of up and down on the ladder and a little huffing + puffing wishing one of the girls was home to help. I even considered putting off the project until someone got home but I was too stubborn + excited and wanted to get it hung up to surprise everyone. Besides all of that, I really wanted to prove to all of you that you could really do this project all on your own.

I stepped off the ladder and because I used the cheap painter's tape...this started to happen. (see below) Oh heck no! After all of that "up and down and back and forth" business, eyeing the level and getting it just right, I found myself repeating the process all over again. So frustrating.

So then I reached for a wider (and higher quality) painter's tape I had here at the house and went to town by applying double strips of tape to all of four corners of the paper template. This was a much better call and I should've just done that in the first place.

Once the paper template seemed nice and level and was positioned on the wall exactly where I felt the photos should be, (and was hanging securely this time),  I referenced the key at the bottom of the template to determine where to place the holes to mark the wall for hanging.

Since I have canvas prints, spot "A" was where I needed to push a nail through the paper. There were 3 "spot A's" because I was hanging three different canvases.

After I made 3 holes in the wall, I took down the paper template I had just worked so hard to hang and proceeded to hang up each canvas using one nail. (the canvases come with a mounting bracket you hammer into the back of the canvas frame - easy). And Voila!! They are up!!

They look awesome and it really was easy - and they were level!!  So important!!
I pushed the antique church pew back into it's position and just added a couple of items to make it seem a little more decorated - just so I could get a final photo to post here. *wink*

And if you are thinking the canvases seem pretty high up on the wall, you are right. And there were two thoughts behind this decision:

1. I wanted to make sure I was adding more height to this space by placing them closer to the ceiling and eliminating a lot of empty space above the photos.

2. My goal is to add some wood work to this entry eventually, perhaps in the form of wainscoting or maybe even some faux shiplap? If I go with the wainscoting, I want it to be pretty high up so that it would be taller than church pew.

I am so happy with how this Shutterfly project turned out.
I love that when someone walks into our home now, they will immediately see the three most beautiful + important things in my life.

If you've been toying around with the idea of creating a space in your home with some high impact visuals of your family, I would highly recommend using Shutterfly to help you create the perfect space.

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THIS IS A SPONSORED POST BY SHUTTERFLY.  

PEN +  PAPER FLOWERS HAS RECEIVED COMPENSATION AND/OR PRODUCTS 

IN EXCHANGE FOR SHARING...BUT FRIENDS…AS ALWAYS...

ALL OPINIONS ARE MY OWN + I ONLY SHARE PRODUCTS + IDEAS  I LOVE + ADORE.

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KEEPiNG iT REAL
Of course, now that I've got some beautiful artwork hung up in the entryway, now I'm forced to have to add a new rug, perhaps paint the inside of the front doors, replace the light fixture and add a little more charm to the space. *wink*

I am fully aware that decorating a home is a life-long project. I giggle to myself when I hear people express their desires to finally be "done" with a specific space they've been working on. Really? Because being "done" never really happens for me. I LOVE changing things up too much to ever think something will ever be final or permanent. Anyone else like that?

HOME | My Studio

Good Morning, friends!!
The other day I snapped a quick photo of one side of my "studio" because it looked somewhat organized and cute. (and it hardly ever looks this clean). Ha!

I have to admit that the only reason it looked this tidy was because I did a quick prep for a Google Hangout (video chat) and the photo you are looking at now is what is behind me when I'm sitting at my desk, which would therefore be my background during the chat.

Anyway, I got to thinking about it and I don't believe I have EVER shared a small peek of my studio, like ever, and so I thought you would enjoy a little visual of where the magic happens here at Pen + Paper Flowers.

If you are interested in some of the specifics about some of the items in this photo, keep reading.
Otherwise...you're good to go! *wink*

The dresser is the same one from The Abandoned Dresser post a couple a years back. I keep paper, party goodies and some Cricut® supplies stored inside.

The antique corner shelving used to be in Ella's bedroom when she was a baby and even through some of her toddler years. It came from Garden Gate Tea Room's gift shoppe before it closed last year. *tears*

The giant honeycomb tissue balls are leftover party decor from The Graduation Party. I then transitioned them into Ella's bedroom and hung them from the ceiling in one corner of her room. They looked like adorable balloons with the tissue tassels from the party hanging from them as well but I recently took them down when we started her mermaid/dolphin/beach room makeover this Summer.

The cute dress form came from HomeGoods a few years back. (here's one similar I found on Amazon).  I have a vintage apron tied onto it that belongs to my mom. (I don't think she knows I have it....I think she left it here one time after one of our annual holiday cooking baking days). *wink*

The camera hanging on the dress form is my first (and only) digital SLR. It's a Nikon D70 - an oldie but goodie - like almost 10 years old.  I keep it hanging on the dress form for easy access and also wrap the coordinating cord around the neck of the dress form for uploading photos to my computer. So see...it's cute and still practical since it stores items I actually use.

The basket on the antique corner shelf came from Hobby Lobby and is what we used at the Graduation Party to collect cards. I now use it to dump all of my receipts for filing later. It actually hangs off the shelf a little bit so I'll probably be doing some rearranging...which I do quite often around my house. You'll find me moving furniture and decor to different areas of my home to change things up since I get bored easily.

And there you have it. A quick peek at one side of my studio!
Here's to a productive week ahead for all of us!!

KEEPiNG iT REAL
I EVEN fixed my hair and put on a little makeup for the chat I mentioned...which is rare for this mama who's usually decked out in a messy bun and no makeup at all. *blushing*

By the way - I know it's been quiet on the blog over the Summer so until the kids go back to school,  follow me on Instagram where I post something almost daily!

OUR HOUSE | Exterior Paint Color Selection :: Decisions! Decisions!

Our house last Spring

Quite a bit on the orange side...right?

Say hello to the "Pumpkin House".
That's what the neighborhood has nicknamed our house...and rightly so.
Of course this name was bestowed on the original owners and then kindly passed along to us when we purchased it some years back.

Anyway, back in 2014 we experienced a rainstorm that produced hail which resulted in roof damage to a lot of homes in our neighborhood - including ours.

Now, when I say roof damage...

HOME | Dried Flowers + Pitcher + Pumpkin Spice

Hello pretty star flowers….

I picked up a bundle of these from Hobby Lobby over the weekend and I'm head-over-heels in love with them. They are tee-tiny dried flowers in my favorite color scheme…creamy white…and in my opinion have "french farmhouse" written all over them.  LOVE them!

I'm feeling more and more inspired with regards to finally decorating my house…after 4 years of pretty much nothing.

I've got more of a vision and direction in my mind AND…the energy to actually take on some projects.


So...my first SIMPLE project this weekend was to fill this pretty pitcher I picked up from HomeGoods.

I also found these Halloween napkins and cute wooden box that unexpectedly fit my napkins perfectly!!

It looks like it's an enamel pitcher but it's really ceramic. And again…it looks completely French Farmhouse to me….which if you didn't know is my decorating style.

I have fretted over exactly what to put on the island in my kitchen for nearly 4 years now. It sounds ridiculous, right? I've tried everything from glass apothecary jars to oversized pieces of pretty pottery. All of the things I've tried have either been too tall…too short…to bleh…or just plain impractical. I'm in the kitchen A LOT and most of the time our dinners are served straight from the island so I needed something I could easily move to accommodate dinners.

That's how I came up with the tray idea. I picked this one up from JoAnn's a couple of years ago.
I have loved it. But I haven't necessarily loved the items I've put on it. That is…until this weekend.

When I spotted the bundle of star flowers at Hobby Lobby I was concerned they wouldn't quite be right for the pitcher. But I decided to try them out anyway. I'm so glad I did. The stems are super thin but stiff so because they were originally too tall for the pitcher, I took my garden shears…stood over the trash can and easily cut them down to where I wanted them. I cut the whole bundle of stems at one time. Easy peasy.

I think what I love most about the star flowers is that as much as they are perfect for fall right now…they really adapt to every season - and that makes me happy knowing I'm not going to tire of them or be forced to change them out with every holiday. I'll only need to swap out the candle scent. And honestly…I'd burn pumpkin spice year-round…and anything with cranberry! I just LOVE those two scents. Actually, my two older daughters have me hooked on the scents that have a "fireside" smell to them. We LOVE bonfires and roasting marshmallows…so it only seems natural to gravitate towards those smells.

Anyway…this new flower-filled pitcher and candle makes this island my absolute favorite spot in the house right now. I'm not even kidding. I must've said to Clara at least three different times, "You have no idea how happy this makes me." while dreamily staring at the island and breathing in the pumpkin spice scent. I also told her if I was bride I would totally just carry a bundle of star flowers just like this. That's all I would need…tied with a pretty ribbon.

Once again…sticking with simple makes me the happiest. A pitcher of pretty flowers and a $5 Heritage Target Candle. Done. Not too tall. Not too much. Easy to move for meal prep. I can't stop staring!

The only problem now is I think the pitcher would look really pretty on my farm table…and in my living room…or on my mantle…or on the side of my tub…or in my bedroom.  Ha! And to me…that's a good thing because that confirms even more that this was totally the right choice. *wink*

I'm wondering if this new-found inspiration and energy are a direct reflection from the Whole90 I've been doing? Maybe? Regardless…I'm on Day 72 and I'm feeling good. So I'll take that.

If you love the French Farmhouse look too…you'll find MORE inspiration on my Farmhouse Love pinterest board. 

KEEPiNG iT REAL
All of these photos were taken with my iPhone because I'm too lazy to get out my real camera.
The top one is pretty awesome because there was actually sunshine this morning when I snapped that one! However, the other two are from this weekend when it was raining. They are okay - but blurry.

I went back to Hobby Lobby and purchased a 2nd bundle of these dried star flowers because I love them so! (I've got the Hobby Lobby App on my phone and used my 40% coupon for both purchases!!)  Not sure if I should add more flowers to the existing pitcher or place them in spots all around the house. Still deciding.

LIFE | My search for the elusive Tendregris

I've just started the early steps towards making over our Master Bedroom.
It's been something I've been thinking about and putting off for a long-time.

My process for transforming this room started with selecting the wall color.
I pulled out the "Country French" magazine I've been keeping for years as a reference for a color
I've been searching for ever since I saw it mentioned in the pages.

"In France, the ubiquitous color called tendregris (soft grey) is everywhere. It morphs to a green or blue depending on the light and the season."

I decided THIS would be the color for the Master Bedroom.
The fact that it morphs into different colors depending on the light/season is perfect for my personality...I'm that person who tires of things quickly and is always rearranging furniture for a new look.

With about five different paint samples...

Ella and I began the process of elimination last week by putting up some swatches of color on all four of the existing "Viva Gold" walls in the Master Bedroom.

The paint colors I gravitate towards are typically very neutral.

So you can imagine the shock to my system when we walked into this home for the first time as potential buyers.

Not only was the outside of the home painted a "pumpkin" color...

almost every single wall in the interior of the home matched the exterior! *gasp*

Want proof?

Here are some of  the "before and after" photos I shared with you awhile back...

I much prefer the various "creamy white" colors I chose to paint over the gold, don't you?

So with the rest of the interior walls of the house painted...

our master bedroom has been the only room left to officially banish the viva gold from our home forever! It's been a painful wait, trust me!

After a few days of looking at the color swatches on all four of my walls...

I have made a decision!!

It's clean, fresh, soft, pretty and something different than my standard "creamy white".

Colors Swatches from Top to Bottom:

Sherwin Williams - Blue Hubbard - perfect - I'll take this one!!

Behr Ultra - Lime Light - really like this one too - a little less color than Blue Hubbard!

Behr Ultra - Pensive Sky - too blah!

Behr Ultra - Contemplation - too dark!

Behr Ultra - Light French Gray - too grey!

I almost went with the Lime Light until I remembered I had a paint sample in the garage from a previous paint project.  It was meant to be! It turned out to be just enough added color to bump the "Lime Light" out of the limelight! *wink*

The Blue Hubbard is a discontinued color by Sherwin Williams.

I'll be having Behr match the color and mix me up some Ultra!

My hopes are to get the room completely painted this weekend!!

I'm not sure that's going to happen though since my sweet Ella has been sick this week with the cold she caught from me.  I'm still not even 100% with a super annoying cough I can't seem to get rid of!!

Stay tuned for more details about the pillows I have found for my bed!!

KEEPiNG iT REAL

Although I don't recommend getting a terrible cold and being confined to bed for 3-4 days as a way to really put thought into the color swatches on your walls before making your decision...

I do have to say it worked out pretty good for me. Ha!!

RECiPE RADAR | Infused Water

Spa Water...

Herbal Water...

Citrus Water...

Fruit Water...

Botanical Water...

Whatever you choose to call it...

I've been toying with the idea for some time now...
to get out one of my pretty drink dispensers...
fill it up with some water...
and infuse the water with some citrus, herbs and/or fruit.

With Summer approaching...
the idea sounds more and more appealing everyday.

Not only will it look pretty on my countertop...
it'll be a great way to encourage myself and my family to drink more water!

I decided to do a little search on Pinterest to see what I could find...
and I thought you might be inspired to create your own in your favorite flavor combos.
There really are no rules!

Here are a few of my favorites...

Lemon Mint Cucumber Water

by Sweet Designs

FOUND | Antique Finds

Had fun on Saturday browsing Renninger's.
Thought I'd share what we brought home with us...

Antique Wire Whisk & Hand Brooms

Small Crate for Apothecary Jars

Antique Church Pew

I have been wanting one of these FOREVER...
and this was a bit less ornate and unique than some of the ones I've seen through the years.

The small crate & brooms will make great props for some upcoming photo styling

and then will transition nicely into some home decor elements around the house.

The jumbo sized wire whisk is part of my collection of antique bakeware and accessories.

And the  church pew...

do you think I should paint it or leave it as-is?

We could go with the ole standby and do a creamy white distressed finish?

or we could go with black distressed?

Or if you have a better idea...

I'd love your feedback.

KEEPiNG iT REAL

I'm definitely intimidated at the thought of painting the pew black.

I've only done creamy whites and the latest RESTYLE I did was a very light Grey-Blue.

Black seems so scary...

I guess because it seems so "final".

But I do LOVE black distressed furniture.

If you don't know...

my home decor style is what I like to call: Vintage French Farmhouse

What do you think?