Happy Monday, friends! As promised, I’ll be sharing four brand-new gift guides this week, just in time for last-minute purchases! Since pretty much all of my gifts are best for girls (or are what I’d consider gender and age neutral), I decided to continue with my tradition of color-coded guides. I also kept everything under $50 (with one exception), because honestly, I very rarely give a gift that costs more than that. Just trying to keep it real. Most of the gifts are things you can pick up at a store or online, but I tucked a few DIY projects in there, too!

Today, the brights!

1. Set of two yellow chevron pillow covers from ElemenOPillows ($30)

2. DIY watercolor confetti via Oh Happy Day (approximately $8)

3. Design Sponge at Home ($23.10)

4. Small diamond notebook from C Wonder ($8)

5. A flock of chicks from Heifer International ($20)

6. Pretty custom calling cards from Minted ($30 for 25 cards)

7. Super soft and thin striped scarf from Turkish T ($45)

8. Extra large chevron serving platter from Adriel Originals ($34)

I’ll be back tomorrow with cool-tone gifts, but in the meantime, I would love to hear your favorite bright pick!

P.S. Don’t forget to enter my Minted giveaway!

P.P.S. Last year’s bright gift guide here.

I have recently decided that it would be brilliant to embroider something for our wedding reception, mainly after seeing the above two images. Do I know yet what I want to embroider? No. Do I think anyone would actually notice at the wedding itself? Not really. But, I don’t really care. Plus, I think it would make a beautiful keepsake framed after the event.

So! I don’t know how to embroider. Do any of you know how? Have any tips for me, or can you point me in the direction or a great book or tutorial?

I’m thinking this will make a cozy winter project…

First image by Em the Gem, second via joettamaue

I love how classic paper poppers are as wedding favors, and several neat variations have been popping up lately. A few of my favorites…

DIY by Posh Paperie, photo by Jackie Wonders

Martha Stewart Weddings

Styling by Joy de Vivre, photo by Michael + Anna Costa, via Style Me Pretty

Styling by Lisa Vorce, photo by Aaron Delesie, via Once Wed

Martha Stewart Weddings


Styling by A Field Journal (DIY on The Bride’s Cafe)

This Saturday my friend Megan and I introduced our friend Nancy to the wonders of our local flea market. We had a great time, and came away with some great finds! My favorite was this guy:

A faux bamboo bedside table from Thomasville! At just $50, I consider this a HUGELY lucky find. (Especially since I just checked out the Thomasville site, and their least expensive end table/side table/bedside table is $350!) It’s in great shape construction-wise, and will be positively beautiful once it’s cleaned up and painted. I’m still contemplating a color scheme for our guest bedroom, so I’m not sure which shade to go with just yet, but rest assured, as soon as I figure it out, that baby will be colorful and glossy. In the meantime, I thought I’d share a few pieces of bamboo inspiration…

These last two are particularly for John. We were discussing what colors we might paint the table, and I suggested red… to which he said, “NO one has red furniture!” :)

I also took home an adorable salt and pepper shaker pair for $3. I was just telling Nancy about how I was inspired to start collecting fruit and vegetable salt and pepper shakers after reading about them in the June issue of Martha Stewart Living, too! They also had an onion pair, but I resisted.

Now tell me: what color would you paint my table?

Image credits, top to bottom: personal image; Plum Cushion via Little Green Notebook; unknown, F.E. Castleberry for Matchbook Mag; unknown, Cottage Living Magazine via Honey & Fitz; Patrick Cline for Lonny; via DecorPad; personal image