Sweet Tooth Tuesday: Cotton Candy Edition

Today is the 15th day of NaBloPoMo and I am just squeezing in a blog post with about 2 hours left in the day! It's been a very busy day to say the least. My boys are on "Spring Break" from school, but since they are both rowers, and there is a regatta this weekend, we're having a Staycation.

Thinking about an actual vacation led me to the topic of sweets. I have an incredible love for all things sweet and I can hardly think of anything sweeter than cotton candy. It's crazy unhealthy, bad for your teeth, terrible for your blood-sugar and DELICIOUS! I love the stuff. I realize it's just spun flavored sugar, but sometimes simple is perfect. I collected a few cotton candy ideas I found on Pinterest and I'm sharing them with you today (er, tonight technically).

Do YOU like cotton candy?

none of these photos are mine. please visit each site linked below to read about these sweet ideas!

1. Cotton Candy Popcorn by Craftberry Bush
2. Cotton Candy swirled onto rock candy sticks by Martha Stewart Weddings
3. Cotton Candy Lollipops and Champaign by The Knot
4. Hand-pulled Cotton Candy by A Little Zaftig
5. Cotton Candy Macarons by Life's a Feast
6. Fairyfloss Cotton Candy Jars by Kara's Party Ideas
7. Cotton Candy Mini Cheesecakes by Hoosier Homemade

Sweet dreams!
-Patti

Dream Closet

If you follow Easton Place on Instagram, then you already know my home has been going through some renovations for nearly a year. If you've not visited my Instagram feed, please go have a lookie-lou. We started in May, 2013 with replacing 90% of our windows, getting the exterior painted, changing a french door, adding new garage doors and adding a trellis over. Next we moved onto the boys' bathroom, the kitchen and finally our master bath and bedroom. As the painters will be starting on our bedroom next week (fingers crossed), I realize I would love to have my small walk-in closet reworked. My husband has the larger of the two walk-in closets. We refer to his as the "cloffice". It's actually the same size as our nursery was in our first home and it has a double wide, double-hung window. The reason we call it that silly name is because it's his closest and an office space for him as well.

Back to my simple walk-in... It's a fine size for hanging clothes, but it's not special. I've been looking at amazing examples of closets on Houzz and Pinterest and thought I'd share a few dressing rooms that've caught my eye. (all photos via Pinterest)

I love how elegant and feminine this closet is. I'm not normally a big fan of brass features, but this closet's brass knobs & added elements are perfection. The light from the window is wonderful.

I love the monochromatic feel of this room. The storage to the (high) ceiling is amazing.

I think I will do something like this in my closet. I have a couple extra large Kallax bookcases from Ikea that could serve as an inexpensive version of this shoe organizer.

There is so much about this space I love: It's bright, organized, feminine, functional, and can you hardly stand how perfect the wallpaper is in this space? Swooning!

I don't think this dressing room / closet is a great use of space, but I do love the color and I like the sweet mirror etc. There are several design elements I could see using in my space.

Have a look at my Pinterest board of Dream Closets  to see these photos and others, and let me know what you think! I'll continue to take photos of the Wunder-Renovation and when all is complete, I'll post a full report here on the blog. 

Cheers!

-Patti

Social Media Buttons

One of the more popular items in my branding shop is the set of custom social media buttons. Have you ever wanted buttons made just for your shop or blog? I'd love to work with you to create a set! Below are a few sets I've designed to match client's specifications. I'm currently booking custom work for November. This is a fun way to freshen up your shop or blog!

To Pin Or Not To Pin...

My first negative brush with Pinterest came when I saw someone had pinned one of my creations on her board entitled "DIY".  I politely mention to the pinner that my custom cards were in fact for sale in my shop etc. I heard nothing back from her. That little incident planted a seed of caution. In the weeks following, I started reading article after article about people questioning the legality of Pinterest and their copyright predicament.  A post by Isa Maria Seminega, on her blog The Academy, pretty much convinced me to delete my boards. Isa's article mostly motivated me to read Pinterest's terms of use. Yes, I should have read their terms before agreeing to them. Sadly, I'm one of the many who clicks the "Agree" button without much thought nor much reading. I also decided to read the section entitled Pin Etiquette to see if I was following those rules as well. It's conflicting when you read the terms of use and the Pin Etiquette, one after the other.

The terms state: "Accordingly, you represent and warrant that: (i) you either are the sole and exclusive owner of all Member Content that you make available through the Site, Application and Services or you have all rights, licenses, consents and releases that are necessary to grant to Cold Brew Labs the rights in such Member Content, as contemplated under these Terms..."
While Etiquette states: "Pinterest is designed to curate and share things you love. If there is a photo or project you’re proud of, pin away! However, try not to use Pinterest purely as a tool for self-promotion."
On one hand you need to own the rights or been given the rights to post something onto a board, while on the other hand you should not pin your own items too often.

I'm pretty sure I broke the rules on both accounts and I'm also confident the majority of pinners are breaking the rules daily. If you're not pinning your own items, have you gotten permission from those who own the items you're posting? I would be amazed if anyone asks the owner of a fabulous photo, for example, "Hey, I love your work. Can I pin it for all to see (and maybe copy)?" I just don't think that's taking place. I love the post on Handmade Success that discusses the Pinterest Copycat issue. It definitely struck a chord with me.

Pinterest isn't the first site to come up against copyright issues. An article on Kikolani notes other sites who face the same questions. Since Pinterest is the hot social networking site at the moment, they're getting all the attention on the subject.

The article written by Kirsten Kowalski of ddk portraits was the final push I needed to delete my boards. The information supported what so many before had stated. Copyright questions. Copy-cat frustrations. Possible legal expenses. etc. Interestingly enough, the article ended with this:
P.S.S- Pinterest, I love your site. Call me.
And Pinterest DID call. You can read that follow-up post here. As you might imagine, with a follow up post about a talk with Pinterest founder Ben Silbermann, there was quite the response. So Kirsten also offered up a post on her top 50 responses to readers' questions.

I will wrap this up by stating I love the goodness that Pinterest has to offer. Virtual pin boards filled with creativity, inspiration and beauty as far as the eye can see. I'm just not sure my stomach can handle the bumpy ride that might take place along the way. I've never studied law nor have the interest in beginning so now, but I do know I don't have time to be part of any litigious actions because I didn't get permission to pin someone's work. And I also know I don't want to offend anyone by pinning their work just because I'm guessing they want the recognition. I don't judge others for continuing in their Pinterest love affair. I promise :) Bowing out of the Pinterest fun is what's right for me.

Thank you for reading. I will be going back to the regularly scheduled programming now.

xoxo
-Patti

Thanksgiving's Almost Here!

My family does a great job of splitting up the holiday hosting duties. I happily host Thanksgiving every year. It's my favorite holiday! I've put together a couple of inspiration photos (found on Pinterest) along with the invitation I sent out and this year's menu. I'd love to hear about your Thanksgiving plans. Feel free to share in the comments.
Happy Thanksgiving, friends!
xoxo
-Patti