Fun at Salvage

We had so much fun at Salvage this past weekend!

Before we go any further, go ahead and save the date for the next one: September 13 at Ambient Plus Studio, 585 Wells St SW, ATL 30312.

We had such a great group of vendors and awesome food and our wonderful DJ and a cool photo booth and….for the first time ever, the Vintage Style Competition.

Salvage attendees dressed in their favorite vintage outfit, we took their photo and added it to the Wall o’ Style. We invited three lovely ladies to judge the competition: Tranae from Becoming Fab, Cath from AsianCajuns and Liz from Sunday’s Best Vintage. We chose them for their sense of style, fun blogs and enthusiasm!

 

Our three judges chose a 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 2 Honorable Mentions!

1st: Stephanie Cassatt – Inspiration: my favorite pink lucite earrings

2nd: Sarah & Angela – Inspiration: unicorn sailor and riding cowgirl

3rd: Trevor Blake – Inspiration: I like polka-dots

Honorable Mention: Kim Siew – Inspiration: Florals!!!

Honorable Mention: Ebone Smiley – Inspiration: Donna Summer 70s Disco Diva

There was so much great style at Salvage!! Stephanie was still on location when the winner was announced so we got to take a photo with her and some brass bunnies she bought at the event. Full disclosure, Stephanie is a friend of ours…and that’s why we have judges other than ourselves! They had no idea who we know and who we don’t. Look at those bunnies!

Thanks to everyone who participated! We will do the style competition again so be pondering your most awesome vintage outfit.

 

 

The Party Animals Suite

I have a few DIY wedding posts and pretties lined up for all of you, because, frankly, that’s where my brain has been and where my hands have kept busy.

Graduation and my wedding date are looming and the projects keep piling!

I love it.

Cam (the fiancée) and I, being both engineer and artist, had very strong feelings about having a handmade wedding.

However, we also had very strong feelings of not wanting to be crazy people that kill themselves trying to impress the world with our craftiness. When it’s all said and done, we want ourselves, our families, and our guests to remember the process and the wedding as being one filled with FUN, love, special memories and neat lil’ handcrafted details.

So, we picked where we would and would not invest our creative energies:

Food? Leave that to the pros.

Music? Spotify got that. So do helpful musician friends.

Dress? Oh, how convenient, I found a pretty one I love right here in Atlanta…oh! And it’s on SALE.

Decorations? Ok…we might want to tackle some of that. Let’s say 25% is on us to make awesome.

Invitations and paper products? Handmade all the way.

Cam and I dreamed up our Save the Dates last summer and it was such a crazy, intense and fun process bringing them to life.

They are bookmarks made from wood veneer and fine papers. We’ve been calling them “The Party Animals Suite” for the animals I illustrated to remind us of our dearest friends.  They will be cropping back up in our invitations and thank you notes, as well.

It took all of his engineering prowess to make the laser engravers at the GT Labs bend to our will, and I spent more time than I care to admit with a gold paint pen on those puppies.

In the end we made some beautiful bookmarks that are a true reflection of our combined abilities and relationship: art and science, beauty and functionality and paper and wood.

We can’t wait to give them to our friends. They look, smell, and feel so good.

We’ve spent so much time with them that they feel like our children, and I’m a little scared to send them through the big, bad, postal service. But we must!

I’ll bring you some more wedding love soon…

xoxo

Rachel Eleanor

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

My birthday is March 19th so I always look at St. Patrick’s Day as the kick off to my birthday! While I’m not celebrating by showing my appreciation for Guinness and Jameson with quite the same fervor as I did in my younger days, I still love the holiday. Fun facts: I’ve been to St. James Gate, when I someday get a tattoo it will be a peacock that was on the Irish penny pre-Euro, I’ve kissed the Blarney Stone and my first alcohol as a 21-year old was in an Irish pub in NYC.

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, here are 9 greens!

1. I’m wearing this necklace today, made by one of my most favorite people, Cathy Zwicker of Crafty Wonderland.

2. I love this onesie that Baby Emmett is wearing today. It’s a reprint of one of our ICE swag bags and Sarah Keys designed it. Shannon had it printed at Fallen Arrows.

3. I’m going to get to use this shelving unit for a mysterious project soon!

4. It’s almost farmers market season! I went to the year-round Morningside Market on Saturday and got this big bag of organic kale as well as eggs, rutabaga, turnips and sweet potatoes.

5. Outside is glorious! We’re in that awkward time of year where the weather is AMAZING and then gets cold again and then AMAZING and then suddenly sweltering summer is here. I’m trying to soak up the AMAZING whenever I can. Baby Emmett and I went to Piedmont Park on Friday and enjoyed playing in the grass.

6. I’m going to a potluck lunch today and made a spinach salad.

7. My seeds have started to sprout! So far we have cucumber, basil, tomato and nasturtium. No eggplant yet but I’m crossing my fingers.

8. I made a green smoothie yesterday. I just guess with my smoothies and throw a bunch of stuff in the blender! If you want the real deal, tried-and-true recipes, you should get 40 Days of Green Smoothies by Becky Striepe.

My smoothie contained:
Spinach
Blackberries
Banana
Apple
Greek yogurt
Almond milk
Ginger powder (but only because I was out of fresh ginger!)
Honey
Ice

9. I’ve had some of this bamboo for over 10 years!

May the luck of the Irish be with you today!
-Christy

Taking Applications for Downtown Pop-Up Party

We have room for a couple more vendors at the Downtown Pop-Up Party on March 29th at the Sweet Auburn Curb Market, 1-5 pm. These few spots will go quickly so if you are a craft or vintage vendor and you’re interested, jump on it!

Some vendor spaces are inside and some are outside. All will be very visible for this super fun event! Once accepted, vendors will be given the option for inside or outside on a first come, first served basis (we will email you your choices). We will not be offering refunds if the weather is bad.

The application is here. Filling these last few spots will be done on a rolling basis. Meaning, go apply now before it’s too late! The event offers a sneak-peek at some of the pop-up shop tenant who will be located along the streetcar route plus all that the Curb Market has to offer!

 

5 Tips for Choosing a Wedding Venue

I got engaged on January 1st. David and I are super excited to make it “official” after being together for so many years. As soon as we announced our engagement we began receiving the expected questions, When and Where?  I will admit that we are a little intimidated about planning a wedding. I plan a lot of events, so this should be easy, right? Planning a wedding feels different and a little overwhelming. I know the key to planning any event is to take it one step at a time, and so we began! Its always gratifying to start with what you know, and you always know more than you think you do. I spent time talking to married friends about their wedding experiences and researching online. I started a secret Pinterest board, and David and I started a wedding vision board. I will share more on this later.

After coming up with a reasonable budget and a list of “must haves” we started looking for a venue to reflect our vintage “camp style” theme. I researched a ton of summer camps, retreat centers and state parks before someone mentioned Sugarboo Farms. We planned a visit on a Saturday and fell in love. Love is dangerous, and booking a venue is no small decision. Give yourself some time before making it official. We gave ourselves a week, checked out some other options and ultimately chose Sugarboo!

We are SO excited!!

Here are my top 5 tips for choosing a wedding venue.

1. Decide what type of wedding you are planning. How many guest will you invite? You might not have a total at this point but you probably have a general idea. What style are you going for? Vintage, Rustic, Traditional, Minimal? When would you like to get married? What is your budget? The answers to these questions will help you narrow your scope and focus your search.

2. Talk to people about their weddings, what worked and what didn’t. You will be surprised about what people remember most. Plus, weddings make people happy and it’s so awesome to hear their stories.

3. Utilize wedding blogs and sites. They house a TON of information including databases of venues in specific areas, capacity, cost, amenities and photos. This could be extra helpful if you are planning a destination wedding.

4. Think outside the box. There are so many non-traditional venues out there from old barns, art galleries, theaters, restaurants, and warehouses. These places can be worth the extra effort to find, so ask around and keep an open mind. You might be surprised where your search takes you!

5. Once you find a location that you like, ask a million questions. Visit during the time of day that your ceremony will take place. Will you need additional lighting? Is there enough parking? What will you need to provide? Is there lodging nearby? You probably will not think about everything, but try. Once you decide on  a venue so many details will fall into place like magic, and that is what it’s all about.

A Handy Productivity Tip

We are all about productivity here at ICE HQ and we sure do love Miranda July.

“A Handy Tip For the Easily Distracted” by Miranda July – NOWNESS from NOWNESS on Vimeo.

-Christy

Avonlea Tea

The beautiful weather compelled me to give you a Spring-themed wedding post.

I have always been enamored with the Anne of Green Gables movies.  Anne has long been the heroine of my heart and I knew that I had to throw an Avolnea Tea Party for my bosom friends who were to become my bridesmaids.

I gifted each of them with an antique tea trio that I purchased from Nancy’s Tea Shop. Rachel, the owner, has a killer blog all about the history of the teacups she finds across the pond.  It is drool-worthy stuff.

From the handles of those delicate beauties I dangled tags reading “You’re my cup of tea. Be my maid?”

Ironically, no tea was consumed that afternoon, only a delightful sangria–which looked just as pretty in our delicate cups and was a sweet tribute to Anne’s raspberry cordial fiasco.

For a simple, low budget tea party that is pretty as punch, I recommend diving into friends’ attics and basements for the following items:
Embroidered Tea Towels

Floral Bed Sheets

Vintage Robes and Slips

Pretty Gloves

Umbrellas

Tea Pots

Books

Crocheted Doilies

Suitcases

Floral bed sheets tucked like slipcovers turned Margaritaville themed patio furniture into feminine, elegant statement pieces.

I’m sure my grandmother would cringe at the thought of me using her slips as a decoration, but they looked lovely dangling about.

There’s no need for table cloths if you have several tea towels to do the job.

Here’s the biggest secret: pull out all unnecessary furniture and decorations in the room you are using. That way the small table or two you decide to theme up and decorate will stand alone and look grand.

I hope all of my kindred spirits out there have a wonderful week and try a tea party of their very own.

xoxoxo

Rachel Eleanor

Getting there!

We’ve had some ups and downs the past few days with some changes in plans. Ultimately things are working out even grander than originally planned. Lots more info coming soon! Today we are fueled by the Fuzzy Feeling shot from Rawesome Juicery inside the Sweet Auburn Curb Market. This is appropriate because our meeting this morning left us with a fuzzy feeling! #sweetauburn #curbmarket #sweetauburncurbmarket #rawesome #iceatlanta #movinonup

Taking Applications

Have you heard? Atlanta is getting a streetcar connecting the downtown tourist district to the MLKing Jr Historic District.
And did you hear? Central Atlanta Progress has organized a group of pop-up shops along the route.
And BIG NEWS!!!! We are going to have a shop!
More details on that a little later but for now join us on March 29th for a Pop-Up Sneak Peek Block Party held in partnership with Creative Loafing.

Pop-Up Sneak Peek Block Party
Saturday, March 29, 2014
1-4 pm
On Edgewood Ave near Jesse Hill Jr Dr
Across from the Sweet Auburn Curb Market
Music, food trucks, beer and a craft & vintage market!

We are accepting applications for craft and vintage vendors on a rolling basis.
We have a limited number of booths available and once we have enough approved vendors we will shut down this application.
MEANING = APPLY NOW
Before it’s too late!
Booths are 10×10.
Booths cost $55.

GO HERE TO APPLY!!!!! NOW!

Slo Mo Wes

This is sort of (very)(OMG) amazing.

WES from Alejandro Prullansky on Vimeo.

Can’t wait for The Grand Budapest Hotel!

-Christy