Pepper Design Blog

{Guest Appearance!} Nesting Newbies Take 4

Happy Thursday! I received the perfect ‘blogiversary’ email yesterday – Nesting Newbies has released it’s fourth issue, complete with a Pepper Design Blog feature in it’s Nestimonials section! It wasn’t the surprise that I hinted at yesterday {nearly finished coding that one} but it was the sweetest treat to see the finished product.

In this issue, Nesting Newbies asked several bloggers fun, design-related questions on everything from back to school finds to summer entertaining inspiration boards. I was asked to share my must-have home decor accessories and {while it was difficult to narrow down…} was thrilled to list my favorite five and why.

This issue is once again chock full of delicious design & inspiration in the home, party and food arena – be sure to head out to Nesting Newbies and check out each of those beautiful 200+ virtual pages {and of course – stop by page 185!!}.

{Vintage Carnival} Inspiration

Designed to offer a vintage spin on a carnival-themed celebration {bright colors, pinwheels, paper rosettes, ribbons…} this party is full of inspiring ideas. The very first thing that caught my eye was the bright pastel colors that adorn everything from the handmade ribbon table runners to the swinging two-sided paper rosettes.

Chris over at Celebrations At Home featured this beautiful Style Me Pretty photoshoot a while back and I loved every detail.

The dessert table is beautiful, and simple treats such as popcorn cones, store bought cookies (just add the custom icing) and covered apples make a delicious spread.

Personalized carnival invites pull the theme together, as do the white ceramic animals and the vintage decor that’s casually mixed in.

The above easy ribbon runner and set of handmade rosettes tops the list for favorite details. I created a similar backdrop and table decor out of paper pinwheels/rosettes for this vintage nesting shower and loved the result – they’re very easy to whip up and always look great!

Shoot designed by Moira Events with photography by Tangerine Tree Photography.

Summer Fruit Beverages to Keep You Coooool

From Watermelon Basil Margaritas to Bing Cherry Mohitos, Martha Stewart has whipped up a delicious list of fruit-inspired summer recipes for a party, family dinner on the patio or to pack up and take for a picnic. Here are a few of my favorites:

Clockwise above: Watermelon Blaster, Tropical Ginger Punch, Strawberry Hibiscus Tea Lemonade, Cucumber Lemonade, Mint, Cucumber & Vodka Cocktail, Strawberry Lemonade

A little inspiration to help us all beat the heat…

Whirl It, Twirl It Custom Lampshade

This is such a clever project! Pickles made this diy lampshade for her dining room with a single bulb pendant – and it turned out great! I would love to create one of these for my office, or a series of smaller versions for an outdoor party.

Who knew that a giant balloon, wallpaper glue, yarn and vaseline could create this?

I’m back from my beautiful week in Canada and it feels like the projects are taking over… but it’s good to be home and back to work with so much to do! We break ground on the kitchen renovation soon – very excited to get moving on this one.

Diy instructions for the Whirl-It Lampshade found here.