The Stuff of Life

The most memorable weddings are those that tell a story. The same is true of our homes. In her new book, The Stuff of Life, interiors stylist Hilary Robertson shares stunning images and thoughtful insights on our possessions, and what they reveal about our personalities. If you want to create a meaningful wedding celebration that truly reflects who you are as a couple, it’s as simple as looking around your living spaces and letting the colors, themes, and objects that you love serve as inspiration!

In The Stuff of Life, Hilary shares four methods for arranging the treasured objects and collections that we all seem to gather over time, and later in the book she discusses five categories of collectors and the various ways they approach styling the interiors of their homes. I find myself looking at this lovely book over and over, and I’m thrilled to offer a chance to win a copy to one of our readers! Just leave a comment on this post before midnight CST on Saturday, May 3rd, 2014. Best wishes to all the entrants!

I thought it would be fun to take some of my favorite images from the book and create inspiration boards based on them to inspire your handmade wedding celebrations. I loved the idea of the glass cloches above shown here with a seemingly random display of objects that in fact represent special memories and mementos.

The first board I created takes the concept of the glass jars and turns them into beautiful centerpieces. Gather items that have special meaning to the bride and groom, whether it be favorite books, flowers, childhood mementos, photos, or travel souvenirs, and display them singly or in groups. Click the links below for all the details on the centerpieces shown here.

Cedarwood Weddings

Collage Interiors

Remodelista

My So Called Crafty Life

Unruly Things

If you’re seeking a color palette, look no further than the colors you’ve chosen for your walls, furniture, and accessories! I love the monochromatic scheme of this still life created by landscape gardener and florist Lindsey Taylor, captured beautifully in the chapter “How to Arrange Your Stuff.”

I created a mood board based on the black furniture, neutral accessories, and the soft pink blooms in the photo that creates a marriage of sophisticated minimalism with a soft, romantic vibe. You can do the same for your wedding by taking the time to look at the colors of your home or wardrobe and incorporating those into your wedding decor!

Whether it’s a theme based on your travels or dream destinations,

the objects you gather while beachcombing or hiking,

or the vintage treasures you’ve collected along the way, look around at your home, your hobbies, and your interests for inspiration, and let your personality shine through in the way you style your wedding!

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Summer is the time for sweet treats, whether eating them or stitching them. This collection of patterns is full of designs that are good enough to eat. Almost.

This year of ice creams from Simone Balman Art is lots of fun, and you could also stitch up these treats individually if you’d rather. The full piece is 210 by 300 stitches, though it’s not full coverage. It uses 25 colors and comes out to 13.6 by 20.1 inches, or 34.5 by 51.2 cm, as shown on 14 count fabric.

These mini Popsicles from Mariana Gonclaves ART as super sweet and quick to stitch. These would also be a fun border to another summer project. The full design is 43 by 46 stitches, which is 3.1 by 3.3 inches, or 7.8 by 8.3 cm, on 14 count fabric.

Sam X Stitch has this fun sweet treat sampler, which again would be fun to stitch as individual pieces (maybe on napkins?). In all it calls for 18 colors and measures 153 by 153 stitches. That comes out to 10.93 inches or 27.75 cm on 14 count fabric.

Another great sampler is this one with ice cream and other sweet treats from Cute Patterns by Maria. At 119 by 132 stitches total, working the full pattern would be about 8.6 by 9.4 inches, or 22 by 24 cm on 14 count fabric, and it uses 33 colors. You can also stitch individual designs, which range in height from 35 to 45 stitches, and in width from 11 to 28.

This collection of four sundae patterns from Stichrovia would be fun to make for a kitchen or a teen’s room. Each pattern is around 40 by 50 stitches, so they should fit in a four or five inch hoop if worked on 14 count fabric.

Or stitch up one of the treats from Stitch Chart Studio‘s collection of seven ice cream cross stitch patterns. These range in size and in number of colors needed, but most would fit in a five or six in hoop (and one in a four inch hoop).

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Have you read?