house of fifty.

A while back I was asked to share my thoughts on the vintage wedding trend with House of Fifty Magazine. It was such a blast to share some details about scout. vintage rental co. and such an honor to be a part of this issue. If you’re looking for some major design/interior inspiration, check out their amazing winter/spring 2012 issue and the rest of the feature here! Thanks House of Fifty!

photo cred: {mo hines photography via house of fifty}

friday find : take a guess game!

Last Saturday I had the pleasure of thrifting through the slushy Salt Lake City snow with another vintage loving Seattleite: Miss Danae of Gather & Hunt! We were able to snag a cab from The Grand despite the snow accumulation and ended up spending the afternoon rummaging through one of the local vintage malls and Decades (only the most gorgeously fabulous vintage clothing store I’ve ever seen!). I’m obsessed with the details, so I snagged a few up close and personal shots of some of my favorite shop finds and I’m hoping you might be able to guess what each item is! ***Answers below : )

I also took home a new yellow enamel pitcher to add to my growing kitchen collection, as well as a super duper fun sequined top in my favorite shade of blue. Let’s just say it was one successful afternoon! I definitely could have come home with a whole heck of a lot more, but my suitcases couldn’t handle the extra LB’s!

Looks like a roadtrip out to SLC is in the imminent future!

Anyone wanna tag along?

Happy weekend friends! *JB

friday find: take a seat.

some fresh finds. that super tall (perfect for a bar area!) chest is one of my favs! the brass detailing is insane!

happy weekend friends!

photo cred: {moi iPhone}

TC Creative snapshot.

What a busy busy week this has been, hence my lack of post yesterday…my apologies! My little Scout. Vintage Rental Co. is in full swing and I’m doing my best to stay on top of my beloved blog in the process.

Sharing a few shots today that I nabbed (isn’t instagram the best?!) during the TC Creative Studio Opening last week. Had a total blast participating in this one! Creating little vingettes with my collection is my favorite part of my job!

Also included some hilarious (and slightly embarrassing) Smilebooth shots above from the fab Sarah & Chris Rhoads. Such a fun night!

Hope you’re all having an amazing week!

xoxo! JB

friday find: a little bit of quirky.

a couple new pretties i snagged while out and about today.

so in love with all things quirky.

happy weekend friends!

photo cred: {moi iPhone}

trophy.

a couple instagram shots of one of my most recent design projects.

trophy cupcakes window displays and decor including some of my favorite pieces from my scout. collection.

some of my fav design details? gold chevron flooring & gigantic confetti too!

if you get a chance, swing by the u-village or bravern locations this month to catch a peek!

photo cred: {moi iPhone}

twelve baskets open house!

January is sure to be a BIG month! I’m already getting geared up for the upcoming open house for Twelve Baskets Catering next month! Food has to be one of my favorite details at any party so I’m super excited to see what Twelve Basket’s has in store!

I’ll be providing a bunch of my vintage goodies from scout. for the evening and will have my own little area of the room. I would love for you to drop by and say hi! There will be a bunch of other fabulous vendors there including entertainment and of course…grub!

Check out all the details here, and don’t forget to RSVP ASAP! Spots are limited and will surely fill up quick! Hope to see you there!

friday find: dressing the tabletop.

I’ve been dying to get back into full time scouting. My vacation and a couple new (although VERY exciting!) projects have slowed me down a bit from finding new items to add to my collection, but yesterday I hit the pavement again in search of some pretty tabletop wares to add to the mix.

My goal is to get plenty of adorable china in all mismatchy patterns, so that any guest count (1 – lots) can enjoy the prettiness that can come from an eclectic table setting. There is such an unexpected charm that comes from mistmached china on a tabletop and I’m so excited to be offering more options to my clients.

I’m actually delivering a bunch of china pieces to a baby shower this weekend and I’ve had so much fun tonight picking out the exact pieces to take. I LOVE LOVE LOVE that they are all unique – they’re all bring their own little flair to the party.

I hope you have a great winter weekend!

photo cred: {moi iPhone}

scout. launch party!

It’s always the best feeling in the world when a design you’ve spent many months tossing and turning about in your mind finally comes to life! Last month, I had the immense pleasure of collaborating with Trophy Cupcakes and showcased my scout. vintage rental co. collection in their adorable party room. The whole evening was SUCH a blast and I was so excited that so many of you came out to see my loot!

When dreaming up a way to share my collection my 1st thought was: “oh my gosh, how will I ever make it all fit?!” and 2nd…”I want people to be inspired.” The whole intention behind my vintage rental biz is to encourage others to find beauty in things that might otherwise be considered past their expiration date. I absolutely adore repurposing old items into new designs, and threaded that passion into a lot of the party details for the launch.

I wanted the overall design to emphasize the immense amount of color that I have within my collection. Blue chairs, green tables, orange enamel colanders. I’m obsessed with color and the party was nothing short of a color explosion!

My dear sweet friend McKenzie who also happens to be one of the most AH-MAZ-ING floral designers in Seattle, was kind enough to offer her own dose of color to the party with some stunningly gorgeous florals. The second McKenzie arrived the morning of setup I was flabbergasted by her floral choices for the party. Are those gigantic neon pink peonies not the most amazing things you’ve ever seen?! So so good. Thank McKenzie!!!

The entire design for the room started with the ceiling. I’ve been collecting vintage fabric for sometime and I really wanted to create a vibrant fabric canopy over the party. After many tireless hours of knot tying the canopy came to life. I also incorporated an installation in the center of the room using the wire skeletons of old lampshades. Thank you Adam, Heather & Kate for your additional hands with setup & prep! Couldn’t have done it without ya!

My green hutch is definitely one of my favorite pieces and I was so excited to use it as one of the focal points of the room. The cocktail & cupcake party wouldn’t have been complete without some champagne and little mason jars & thanks to Hads, Emma & Christa everyone had drinks in hand through the night! Thanks gals!

One of the things that I was really adamant about with regards to my scout. marketing is that I didn’t lose the vintage aspect of the brand in the details. I cringed at the idea of using a modern looking business card to promote my business. So after a bit of deep thinking I came up with the idea of using vintage used postcards (some of the one’s I’ve found have dated back to the early 1900’s!) and placing a sticker on top of them with all my info.

I have this really crazy rad mint colored mattress frame that worked perfect for displaying my biz postcards during the event. I filled the mattress with a bunch of pillows I’ve found while scouting and a few I made on my own from leftover fabric.

I also really wanted the party to be a direct reflection of the personality of the pieces. I’d been dying to name each piece for sometime and figured the party was the perfect way to kind of say “hello my name is” for each unique piece. My buddy Amy (a stellar graphic designer who is currently revamping the scout. brand) suggested I use library cards in bright colors from the adorable paper co. Knot & Bow to display the names and details of my items. GENIUS! I was swooning over the library cards when they arrived in the mail, and after multiple attempts to get that “vintage typewriter” look (I actually begged my printer to cooperate during a 4am debacle) I was incredibly pleased with how they turned out!

Overall, I’m ecstatic with how the party turned out, and I was so grateful for the generosity of all of the people that stopped by. The party left me with visions of my own storefront one day, and I can’t thank Jennifer and her team at Trophy enough for all of their help in making the party a total success!!!

P.S. Thank’s to Mo for all the great shots and for being there to capture the night!

photo cred: {Mo Hines Photography}

APARTMENT THERAPY.

I’m about ready to fall right outta my chair!!! My little vintage rental company scout. is making a its debut over on Apartment Therapy today!!! Woot! Woot!

Apartment Therapy is not only the raddest and most popular design blog out there, but one of those dreams I didn’t think I’d be checking off my list for many years to come. Floating on cloud 9 doesn’t even come close to expressing how excited I am! What a way to end my 1st year in business. SO PROUD!!!

Thank to Miss Andie Wurster of Assemble Gallery & Studio for spreading the word about scout. and the fab Trophy Cupcakes team for allowing us to use their gorgeous space! So elated to share our celebration over on Apartment Therapy!!!

photo cred: {mo hines photography via apartment therapy}

seattle met. yowza!

Okay I would have called them little flutters yesterday. Today I call them mammoth GIGANTO butterflies. Laura Cassidy – editor and chief of Seattle Met Bride and Groom Magazine just mentioned my launch party. On her blog.

Woah.

Check out her uber fantastic overview of scout. and the party details here. Thanks for the mention Laura!

photo cred: {screen shot from seattle met; photograph by mo hines photography}

prop styling.

I’ve always been incredibly drawn to intentionally styled photographs. Whether it be fashion, food, events or interiors there is just something I find absolutely intriguing about prop styling. If I could spend the rest of my life “styling” for a living I’d be one happy gal!

So when I stumbled across some crazy amazing styling talent here, I couldn’t resist sharing some inspiration. Beautiful right?

photo cred: {hans blomquist, lo bjurulf and stella nicolaisen via agent bauer}

friday find: the knot event.

Last night I had the pleasure of participating in The Knot networking event here in Seattle. BreeAnn of Pink Blossom Events and Heather of heathoriginal. asked me to create a dessert display using items from my scout. collection and it was SO much fun to get creative!!!

I used ladders, wooden spools, frames, my favorite brass rimmed trunk and lots of fun little antique goodies & some new finds to add some vintage flair to the dessert table. I had such a blast participating in the event and was so thrilled to meet some new peeps! Thanks to everyone that came! So much fun meeting you!

Up next for scout.? A launch party!!! Yep. I’m stoked. Details coming soon! But 1st….2nd Saturdayz! Tomorrow is the second weekend of the month so I’ll be scoutin’ like crazy.

Happy weekend ya’ll!

*JB

photo cred: {moi iPhone}

a zoo themed baby party.

With only a little over a week to go until my sister’s anticipated delivery of baby Emryk I am over the moon excited with anticipation. As the days have ticked closer and closer, and as Sarah’s belly has grown bigger and bigger, the realization that my sister is about to embark on this grand new adventure in her life is becoming all the more apparent. And it is SUPER exciting!

Back in August I had the total pleasure of co-hosting her baby shower (although we called it a baby party) along with my Ma and little sis Coli and it was SO much fun! I was given full creative liberty which felt nothing less than AWESOME, and was totally stoked to really see where the zoo animal theme could go. The whole design was inspired by these adorable cardboard cutout zoo animals my Mom stumbled upon during her last visit to Seattle, as well as an animal invite I had fallen in love with from my favorite paper company: rifle. Lucky enough for us Sarah was also decorating her nursing in cuddly animal prints so the theme just made total sense. I wanted the party to be personalized and unique but most of all I wanted my sister to feel loved and adored.

I envisioned the use of a bright primary color palette (think red, blue, yellow, green) and intermixed unique and whimsically textured florals as well as little paper details for unexpected pop’s of color. I was so excited about the possibility of doing not just the paper details and decor but also to dip my hands into the floral aspect of the event as well. Let’s just say I loved EVERY second of it. It was one of those designs and weekends that just made me feel totally alive and bubbly with excitement! It was MOST exciting to see the total shock and awe on my sister’s face when she walked into the party. B-E-S-T feeling in the world to have your “client” thrilled with your design!

I used milk glass, as well as eclectic jars and bottles from my scout. vintage collection to sporadically place cheery florals around the party. I wrapped the eclectic vases in varying colors of yarn for added texture and a little extra whimsy. I continued the zoo animal theme onto the paper details by labeling each “station” or table with a different animal….i.e. “w is for walrus, w is for wishes” or “g is for gorilla, g is for grub” for the entrance and food tables.

One of the little details I was most excited about was the cake push pops. I’d found these super rad containers through the adorable party supply company shop sweet lulu. Aren’t they fun?!

We baked some confetti cake, punched out the cake in circles to fit down in the containers, and then squeezed in yummy icing to the containers. Finished ’em off with some sprinkles and voila! SUPER EASY!

I did have to get a little creative to get the little suckers to stand up, but with a little floral foam and one of my antique pepsi crates from scout. they were a HUGE success at the party. Everyone was so delighted by them! The kiddos were gobbling them up!

With sewing help from my ma (I have never been a wiz with the sewing machine) we hand-crafted little favor bags and attached thank you tags to them. I placed them atop the antique high chair that has been passed down for generations in our family for that extra special touch.

I loved the idea of decorating both the inside and outside areas of the party with paper chains. I stocked up on tons of bright colorful patterned paper, as well as a bunch of solid sheets and got cutting. A bazillion hours later I had NO clue how many pieces I had actually cut, but we ended up having enough chains to decorate the entire dining area and the outdoors…3 gigantic fences in all! I also cut smaller pieces to create tiny chains that could be used to accent the chandelier over the food as well as to hang from the umbrella tables outside as a substitute for centerpieces.

The one thing that Sarah said she absolutely had to have at her baby party was a “onesie” station. I will admit that I was just a wee bit nervous to see what type of “artsy” creations Sarah’s nearest and dearest would come up with but I was actually pleasantly surprised! The tiny tees were super personalized and were the sweetest touch to the day.

I wanted everyone to have the chance to display their masterpieces so Coli helped me create a “clothesline” effect with mini clothespins and some string.

I’m so thrilled with how the party turned out and was so grateful for help with the day of prep from my family. So excited for Sarah and I can’t wait to meet Emryk next week!!!

photo cred: {jenn elliott blake} event & floral design + styling: {bow tie & bustle} vintage rentals: {scout. vintage rental company}

inspired board # 7 : around the world.

photo cred: {map bunting via etsy} {wall mural via urban outfitters} {jo metson globe interiors via design sponge} {invitation suite by nothing but bonfires} {map pinwheels via etsy} {map wrapped favors via martha stewart weddings} {escort card display by enjoy events co.} {love globe via forget me knot weddings} {teak globe via hilda grahmat}