Hostess with the Mostess®

A great BIG thanks to Holly at decor8 for featuring hostess with the mostess as her blog of the week! Click here to read the interview!

For those of you that haven’t been to the decor8 blog yet, prepare to be impressed with Holly’s great eye for picking out truly amazing “fresh finds for hip spaces”!

When you hear the word “picnic”, do visions of plastic red and white tablecloths dance in your head? I think not!…well, “notNeutral” that is! Check out this cool and very contemporary 7-piece picnic set by notNeutral. Comes with a rectangular tablecloth, 4 napkins, a coordinating apron, and even a lavendar-scented insect repellent soy candle! $65/set at designpublic.com.

notNeutral’s round melamine serving tray would make a great and durable addition to this modern picnic table too. Available in white or 4 other vibrant hues for $18/each.

I have to admit that pretty much anything Jonathan Adler creates makes me smile, but I’m especially loving this multi-color stripe motif right now. Part of his aptly named “Happy Home” line, this striped “Italia” collection includes fabulous items like the unique cheese dome and cheese spreader (great gift idea!), mini square “tidbit bowls” perfect for party mixes or candies, and the vases trio – which would make a super-hip centerpiece for a fun dinner or even everyday! Check out the entire collection at etabletop.com. (Vases trio ($44/set) is also available at wrapables.com)

Tired of the same old baby shower “looks” and ready-made party supplies? Then it’s time to shake things up a bit and add a modern twist to your upcoming event by mixing just 1 or 2 actual “baby shower” items with some hip “anytime” party goods!

Here’s an example:
For this “Mod Mom” theme, you can take just the plates from the “Mod Mom Baby Shower” paper collection and build a funky modern shower theme around them, using unexpected elements like these bold black and white polka dot luncheon napkins, pink and white hanging paper lanterns, pink and white table runners on top of solid black table cloths (yes, you CAN use black tablecloths at a baby shower!), pink dots place cards, and this funky mod “blackberry” gift wrap from Luxe Paperie, which can be used as a cool surface to set beneath flower arrangements, shower favors, or desserts.

Speaking of shower favors, these black takeout containers would make a great favor wrap for this shower. Embellish them with a thick band of pink ribbon wraped around the center of the container and topped of with a sticker, like these sage circle stickers from Paper Source (which are a perfect spot to put baby’s first initial!)

Thank goodness Lotta Jansson fell in love with screen printing (”it just clicked on me”, she says) – because we get to enjoy the results of her passion with her cool line of “Lotta Jansdotter” products – including these great table linens ($12 – $48), dishes ($24 – $46), and aprons ($44 – $58) – all adorned with her signature mod designs!

I’ll have scrambled eggs with a side of “Luv U” toast, please! How cool is this pop art toaster from Urban Outfitters? This very out-of-the-ordinary “toast art” is sure to put a smile on the face of your kids, yourself, or any special someone! The toaster ($40) is available in bright red or white and comes with 6 stainless steel removable plate designs: birthday cake, heart, snowflake, flower, smiley face, and “Luv U”. So cute!