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Fabworthy: Yarborough Silk Satin Ribbon Jewelry

FabSugar — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 08:00:22 -0700

Lucky for us, former book editor and Gen Art Fresh Face candidate Elizabeth Yarborough left the corporate book world and started her own jewelry line, Yarborough, in 2006. This collection of Silk Satin Ribbon Jewelry (call for price info) from the Spring/Summer '08 collection is just delightful. Each piece would instantly doll up any drab outfit and make you look as adorable as a ribbon-tied gift. If gold is not your color, request them in pale pink, champagne, black, olive, silver, or pale blue.

Simple Tip: Satin Ribbon Makes Affordable Place Setting

partysugar — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 10:15:00 -0800

At a party, Diffa's Dining By Design event, I saw the most uncomplicated yet sophisticated place setting. A plain linen napkin was lined with a single satin ribbon. The color palate was muted and the ribbon had an elegant twist. This budget-friendly technique can easily be re-created at your next dinner party! Here's how:

Head to the local craft store and purchase a spool of satin ribbon.
Carefully fold a cloth napkin and lay across the plate.
Measure the width of the plate with the ribbon and cut to size. Stretch the ribbon across the plate, twisting once.

Voila - instantly chic table setting. Do you have an economical place-setting tip? Please share with us below!

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Exclusive! Few Fab Words with William Tempest

FabSugarUK — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 10:00:18 -0700

Last week at London Fashion Week, I was milling around backstage with BellaSugar UK who was getting the scoop on the hair looks for the William Tempest show when I bumped in to the man himself. I grabbed him for a quick chat about his latest collection and was pleasantly surprised to find him acting calm and looking very together.

The young designer missed out on Fashion Fringe in 2008, but did manage to bag himself a Vauxhall Fashion Scout sponsorship ensuring him a place on the schedule for three seasons. The Cheshire born designer studied at London College of Fashion and despite only graduating two years ago has already won critical acclaim from The Telegraph's Hilary Alexander and Vogue's Dolly Jones.

He spoke to me about Emma Watson, his Spring inspiration, and influential designers. To hear what he had to say, just read more.

You seem very calm
Yes, very calm. Well, we were casting all day yesterday so their outfits are sorted and everything.
What has been your inspiration for Spring 2010?
It’s been very Bond inspired and I was also looking at the Crazy Horse in Paris (the burlesque show). So I went to Las Vegas and took photographs of the dancing ladies and that inspired the print for this season. I also looked at 1940’s underwear advertising.
Do you have a favourite piece from the collection?
It’s probably the first look which is like a peach satin corseted bunny suit which is playful and there’s a lot of ribbon detailing. It’s kind of like a ribbon of fabric which sticks out from the body to create shape and different pockets on the body.
You've gained celebrity support from Emma Watson who wore one of your designs to The Tale of Despereaux premiere. Did you know she was going to wear the dress?
Yeah, Emma’s got quite a few pieces from me and I got a text just before she was on the red carpet saying she was going to wear it. It was really exciting and a big moment for me, I mean, the press after that just went insane. I think it’s really good because Emma’s young, and I’m young and it’s nice that we can kind of support each other.
Is there anybody that you would like to dress that you haven’t yet?
Yeah I would love to dress Dita von Teese. She actually has some of the pieces from the last collection, but I’d love to work with her again. I’d also like to dress Cate Blanchett and Julia Restoin-Roitfeld.
Have any other designers past or present influenced you?
I really like Claude Montana and Thierry Mugler so maybe slightly inspired by those. I also really like the brand of Chanel and admire the drive and ambition of Gabrielle Chanel. I find that very inspiring.
Have you started thinking about Autumn 2010 yet?
Well, I’m going to Dubai tomorrow and then I’m going to Paris to sell the collection so it’s going to be a bit hectic. Hopefully I will get some time in Dubai to start thinking about the next collection.

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Come Party With Me: My Birthday Party - Invite

partysugar — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 12:50:55 -0700

Well folks, it's time for me to plan my favorite event of the year - my birthday party! Since I threw a blow-out bash at a bar for 27 and a big picnic at an oyster farm for 27.5, I've decided that, for 28, things should be more subdued. Thus, I'm hosting an intimate dinner party for me and my 20 closest friends. The dinner will be served in my grandfather's gorgeous backyard, but before I can think about the menu, I have to send invitations. To learn how I made the ones seen here, read more.

I wanted an invite that looks clean, fun, and is representative of my personality. After searching several paper stores in San Francisco, I decided on a navy, cream, and turquoise theme. I purchased the majority of my supplies at Paper Source. Here's what I used:

Dark blue cardstock
Decorative paper
Glittery paper
Satin ribbon
Single hole punch
Sequins
Glue
Cream printer paper
computer
printer

Here's how I made the invite:

First, I decided on the long rectangular shape (4 1/8x9 1/2 inch) of the envelope. Next I cut the navy cardstock down to 4-x-9 inches. This would be the base of the invite.
I created a stencil of the word party by opening a blank workbook sized at 4-x-9 inches in Photoshop. I made the font as large as it could be (to fit in the space) and printed on regular paper. Using a pencil, I carefully connected the letters and cut out the word. I traced it onto a thick piece of cardstock and cut out again to create a stencil.
I traced the stencil onto the glittery paper and cut out 20.

Next I focused on the text. I opened another blank workbook, this time sized at 3-x-8 inches. Then I wrote the following message:

Your presence is requested at a birthday dinner to honor PartySugar

Saturday, September 19, 2009
Cocktails begin at 6:45

Al Hogan's House
Alamo, California 94507

Dress your best!
Regrets only: 415.444.4444

I printed this out and had FabSugar check for spelling and grammatical errors. When I was satisfied with the text, I printed it with a thin border on 23 sheets of nice paper. I cut these down to size.

To create a border for the back of the invite, I cut the decorative paper into 1-inch strips.
Next I cut the satin ribbon down to 3-4 inch pieces. I needed 4 ribbons for each invite, in total 80 ribbons.

Once I had all of the elements ready, it was time to assemble. I punched a whole in the glittery word Party and the base navy cardstock in four places: at the bottom and top of the P and the bottom and top of the Y. I used the ribbon to tie the glittery party stencil to the navy-blue cardstock, and repeated until all the invites were complete.

Then I turned the invite over and glued the decorative paper strips onto the edge of the navy cardstock to create a border. I trimmed off the excess and used this to fill in the remaining sides, repeating until each invite back had a border.

I glued the text to the middle of the back of the invite and repeated until all the invite backs were finished.

To give the invites some sparkle, I glued several sequins to the front (the side with the word party) of each invite. Then I set all of the invites aside to dry for several hours.

I slide the completed invites into the envelopes, addressed them with a nice navy pen, and sent!

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Satin Ribbon Makes Elegant, Affordable Place Setting

partysugar — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 09:56:01 -0800

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Come Party With Me: Outdoor Concert - Dessert

partysugar — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 13:00:31 -0700

Picture this: it's that wonderful time of day when the sun has just set and the weather is perfectly comfortable. You're enjoying the merry sounds of a symphony. After devouring a delectable steak sandwich and tomato salad, you are satisfied, but desire something sweet. Your wish comes true when you take one last look into the picnic basket and see, individually wrapped in parchment paper and tied with satin ribbons, luscious apricot tarts. You pass them out to your friends who marvel at your culinary creativeness. Doesn't that sound like fun?! Thanks to this fabulous recipe, you can live that scenario in the near future. If apricots aren't your cup of tea, substitute cherries, peaches, plums - whatever floats your fancy. Check out the recipe.

DIY: Vibrant Pom-Pom Napkin Rings

partysugar — Wed, 20 May 2009 07:50:44 -0700

After helping one of my friends with the flowers for her big day, I was asked by another friend to put together the festive napkin rings for her wedding. Rather than waste money on buying 60 rings, we made these flower-inspired pom-poms to adorn each napkin. These pom-poms can easily be customized to suit any color scheme. While mine were for a wedding, the fun napkin rings are great for any special occasion, be it a baby shower, engagement party, or dinner party! To learn how to make them and check out my step-by-step photos, read more.

This idea was adapted from something I saw in Martha Stewart Weddings. To make the pom-poms, you will need colored tissue paper, floral wire, and satin ribbon.

Cut four sheets of tissue paper into five- by 10-inch rectangles. Make 3/8-inch accordion folds.
Fold a 18-inch floral wire in half and wrap around the middle of the folded tissue paper and twist.
Trim ends into a rounded or pointed shape.
Carefully separate the layers of the tissue papers, pulling each layer toward the center.
Use the extra wire to make a loop on the back of the pom-pom. Insert a 12-inch piece of ribbon through the loop.
Tie ribbon around the napkin. Voila: a fabulous flower-like napkin ring to dress up any table!

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Casa Beta: Chesapeake Bay Candle Signature Collection

CasaSugar — Wed, 27 May 2009 05:30:21 -0700

I recently received the Chesapeake Bay Candle Signature Collection ($65) in the mail. The set contains six cream-colored, soy wax candles in six different fragrances. Each candle comes in a clear glass vessel, which is individually wrapped in cellophane and tied with a satin ribbon. I was excited to try all of the scents, but since I knew that it would take me a long time to get through all of them, I enlisted some help from my Sugar friends.

To see what we thought of the set, read more.

I loved the gift box that the candles arrived in, which features a beautiful tree motif. It's sturdy enough to re-use for another craft project or gift-giving opportunity in the future. However, one problem with it was that some of the oil from each candle was pooled in the cellophane of every packaged candle. This may have been due to the fact that the box was sitting on its side, and the problem could've been remedied by storing the box upright.

Green Bamboo Jasmine: PetSugar reported some pros and cons with her candle. She says, "The candle seemed to burn very slowly - I only had it lit for about an hour and there was barely any noticeable difference in melt rate, so it’d last for a while. When I woke up, I could still smell the effects from the night before. However, when removing from the packaging, this candle was wet/sticky and my hands smelled of strong fragrance even after I washed them. While burning, it still smelled very strong and distracting . . . but part of that could have been the residual scent from the liquid/ packaging on my hands. I think if I loved the scent, or loved smelly candles, I would have loved this. Its potency was but a bit too much for me to handle every day. "

Tonka Bean Fig: This candle was tested by FabSugar, who reports, "I lit the Tonka Bean Fig candle this past weekend and I loved it. It permeated through the house, smelled sweet, and reminded me of men’s cologne. It also burned great and didn’t leave a smoky residue in my house."

Amber Vanilla Hazelnut: Unfortunately, geeksugar's candle didn't live up to her expectations. "The candle was oily inside its packaging, which made it a pain to hold, and to light (it took me several tries and a burnt thumb). When I did finally get it lit, the smell - which was lovely to sniff cold - was very subtle. Too subtle, in fact. Not only did it not waft around the room with its smell, it didn't waft at all. The only way I could smell a scent at all is if I put my nose directly over the candle (far enough away that I didn't burn my nose hairs off, of course). I extinguished it after an hour since it wasn't smelling up my home like I'd wanted it to."

Sheer White Musk: I'm not normally drawn to musky scents, so I was surprised to enjoy this one. It was light, clean, and very earthy with some subtle notes of jasmine and violet. I used it in a room that was smelling a bit musty, and it definitely freshened up the room. But, it didn't really seem to waft well - my go-to candles can normally be smelled throughout the house.

Lily Orange Blossom: I love the smell of citrus blossoms, so I was excited to light this candle. While I loved the scent when it was unlit, once I struck a match to its wick, I had a hard time discerning the blossomy scent. I let it burn for about an hour, and while the scent was definitely there, it was very subtle, unless I was very close to the candle. I'm not a fan of overwhelming scents, but I would've enjoyed a more robust scent here.

Honey Lemon Crème: This candle has a lovely, rich scent that reminds me of sugar (or should I say honey?) cookies. Its scent, too, was quite subtle, but added a lovely, cozy smell to my home. Who needs to bake when you can simply light one of these candles?

Casa Quickie: Fasten With Ribbon For Extra Sweetness

CasaSugar — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 06:15:18 -0700

This photo from phenomenal cake shop Miette in San Francisco features a delicious detail: hanging framed pictures from ribbons. I've seen this technique employed at another local sweet shop in the Bay Area, so I wonder if there's a connection between satin and sugar. Whether or not you serve cake at your own casa, adding ribbons to your framed artwork will sweeten up your home base. To do so in your own home, buy some picture frame hooks, seasonally appropriate ribbon, and get to work. I love the idea of changing out an icy blue or Spring green for a Summer-inspired bright orange or kelly green come June, don't you?

2009 Fall New York Fashion Week: Marchesa

FabSugar — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 13:00:22 -0800

I knew Marchesa was going to be special when, as I ran into the entrance to escape the rain, Diane Kruger's and my eyes met. Only for a nanosecond, as she was on her way back into the rain, she slipped on her shades and was off like Cinderella. Many of the billowing gowns and fairytale frocks inside were fit for princess Diane. It was nasty outside, fantasy inside.

I was a Marchesa presentation virgin and I can never go back. Marchesa, always romantic and enchanting, served layers and layers of tulle, silk chiffon, ribbons, embroideries, bows, sequins, and lace. A celestial theme of shooting stars, sparkle, and unicorns felt fantastical. This lilac chiffon-draped dress with embroidered bodice can easily earn Kate Winslet a best dressed nod at the Oscars this weekend. The shoes, by Louboutin, were satin, super high, and sometimes glittered and laced. While Marchesa's gowns tend to steal the spotlight, a couple pant ensembles were sharp; tuxedo trousers paired with romantic ruffles blouses and sculptured jackets. Smitten yet?

For more gorgeous Marchesa, read more.

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