Ninna Lu

A Vintage Travel Theme Birthday Soiree

 

   The last three weeks has been very busy as my sister and I carefully planned for my Mom's 60th Birthday Soiree. With all of the ideas we had in our minds, it's awesome to finally see it all fall into place. The theme was all about travel and we added in a few well thought out vintage inspired props or party decor utilizing maps, suitcases, a globe, binoculars and many more. Pinterest was also a great resource for inspirational ideas!

   A vintage inspired vanity table was set up to store all the birthday cards and gifts. Decorated with a globe, open vintage suitcase that stores the party favors, binoculars, my mother's picture and the invitation. We cut up a map and spelled out my mother's name to add a great personal touch.

The party favors with the travel theme tag idea consisted of cut out map circles, a red or blue airplane to match the invitation and added my Mom's initials.

 

 Vivian had a great idea of making paper airplanes out of maps hanging from the ceiling above the table of gifts. With the paper airplanes hung at different heights and angles, I thought it also added a great touch to the party decor.

   Our mother is a seasoned world traveler of all sorts. For as long as I've known my mother, she has always been a hardworking nurse, and traveling with her friends or "barcada" (in Tagalog) was her escape from it all. So to go along with the theme of the party, I gathered maps of Northern Europe, The Carribean, and Asia (places that she has traveled) and attached her travel pictures to those maps. It makes a great conversation piece for guests.

 

   My plan for a birthday banner was to take a vintage map and cut out large triangular shapes. I then pasted one letter to each spelling out "Happy" and "Birthday". I ran the five yards of black ribbon through my sewing machine to create a vintage travel birthday banner as pictured below.

   The homemade dessert bar consisted of berries, a three tier cake, chocolate chip cookies, cupcakes and whoopie pies. My vintage inspired cupcake toppers consisted of a 3 inch kraft circle cardstock background, 2 inch cut out circles of vintage maps, 60 numbered stickers, and glued on lollipop sticks.

 

 

Judy created a lovely three tiered cake! The flowers with crystals were added to the birthday cake from Flowers De Amor. Thank you Judy for all your help!

 

 

DJMB Entertainment provided great musical entertainment for the party. The photo booth was a hit with the guests!

Pictured are Owners: Mike and Nola Bowns 

 

 

 

 

Family, close friends and the pups enjoyed the birthday soiree!

 

 

DIY + Other Moments

   It's now mid way through August and it's been quite some time since my last blog post, yikes! I wanted to share some memorable moments in DIY and travel that I've done in the past three months but have never found the time to post.

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   I never knew that I had the skill to paint. Surprisingly actually anyone can! At least that's what the folks at Painted in Folsom, CA can make you feel. I went with a bunch of co-workers after work, sipped some red wine and painted step by step all the way through, until whoa-la! A cherry blossom picture appeared.

 

 

   Also lately, I've been finding myself watching a heck of a lot of HGTV and I've been finding empty walls around my house that need some tlc and I finally found myself doing little projects here and there. Below is the jewelry wall I finally put together. 

 

I ended up perusing a little vintage pop up shop in Loomis, CA one day and bought the vintage blue chair, a bracelet jar, and a necklace holder. That vintage mirror was a find at the Sacramento Antique Faire from 2011, see the past post here.

 

 

   For this vintage empty picture frame, I cut out a piece of chicken wire that was purchased from Home Depot to hold some of my hook earrings for display. Also discovered that idea from a picture I found on Pinterest. Just do a quick search for jewelry wall.

 

 

 

   I was lucky enough that my brother-in-law gave me his vintage yellow bamboo dresser mirror which he had since he was a baby. It was just laying behind a door in my guest room so I decided to paint it with Annie Sloane chalk paint in French Linen. I then bought an affordable vintage industrial inspired console table at Cost Plus World Market and set up my refurbished bamboo mirror near the entrance of the house.

 

 

 Lastly, below are just some memorable pictures I took from my younger brother's wedding at the Oceano Resort and Spa at Half Moon Bay, CA.

 

  My wedding picture collection of all siblings on my family's side is now complete.

Thanks so much for reading! ~ marissa

 

 

 

 

 

Vintage Vixen Summer Giveaway Winner

TGIF! Thank you so much to all the wonderful participants who took their valuable time in joining Ninna Lu's Vintage Vixen Summer Giveaway. Congratulations to the winner and please email me your shipping address at [email protected].

Congratulations!!!

::| Ilana Prudente |::

The vintage vixen winner will receive the following: a Vintage Diane Von Furstenberg wooden bangle and matching brooch, a vintage Christian Dior amber clip earrings and a vintage Emanuel Ungaro silk scarf.

Thanks so much everyone!

marissa

 

Sweet Vintage

 

I'm quite excited to share my latest vintage finds with all of you. These finds are so special because they simply are. It's exciting to me because each piece is beautiful and has it's own story. Rather than sharing them one by one on the Facebook page, it's best to just share them all at once on this blog post.

Each vintage piece comes with a suggested modern twist on how to incorporate that vintage piece to the next Fall 2012 season's top key trends forecast according to Jayne Seward, Fashion Editor of California Apparel News. Yes, it's a season ahead but it's better to be ahead of the game. So here it is:

 

(1) A Vintage Rendl Original Ostrich Leather handbag. A great handbag to accessorize a modern peplum dress in either a lace or transparence fabric, which are three out of the top 10 key trends for the Fall 2012 season.

 {The vintage handbag is available here.}

 

(2) A vintage ivory fur hat with a leather bow tie accent. Capes will be back in full swing next fall season so why not add a vintage fur hat to your ensemble.

 

{The vintage fur hat is available here.}

 

(3) A vintage handmade from France white beaded clutch. Perfect for spring and summer but even more divine with a printed denim in a delicate floral for Fall. Add some hints of metallics from either wearing a shimmery metallic blouse or a very metallic pair of shoes.

 

 {This vintage handmade clutch is available here.}

 

(4) For the dark luxe chic who loves to set the mood.

A vintage faux fur hat can easily be mixed with next Fall 2012 season's luxe leather key trend via a leather jacket, vest, skirt, or pants.

 {This vintage fur hat is available here.}

 

(5) With that biker chic look, add a feminine edge with this vintage black mini shoulder bag.

 {This mini shoulder bag is available here.}

 

That was quite a fashion timeline mash up. What was once old is now new.

Thank you for reading and enjoy your weekend!

marissa

My Simple Ways To Style or Use Vintage Scarves

 

   I hope everyone had a relaxing three day weekend. It was a busy weekend for me trying to help my Mom organize the move for the next three weeks into their new home. I am first starting with my old bedroom and spent that whole Saturday going through my high school memorabilia, college textbooks (to toss mostly),  organizing old scrapbook supplies and even rediscovering my wedding bouquet. What a relief! As it also turns out, I also found a few vintage pieces that I'd love to add to my Etsy shop since it no longer fits me. An 80's cocktail dress, a few vintage belts and a couple pieces of jewelry amongst many other vintage finds.

   Along my roadtrip home, I stopped to pick up some adorable vintage scarves from a secret source. If you love to wear vintage scarves, we have one thing in common! It's such an easy way to add a pop of color to any basic outfit. Whether you're color blocking, adding a hint of romance with florals, or simply love a bold print, a vintage scarf is my go to piece.

   Below are some easy ways (and one or two that I've also learned from others) to style or use any vintage scarf:

1] A typical way: As a double strand headband or a hair tie .

 

2] Add a statement ring to your vintage scarf.

 

Source: instagr.am via Marissa on Pinterest

 

3] A fun DIY Project: Upcycled vintage scarf.

 

Source: instagr.am via Marissa on Pinterest

 

4] For Home Decor: If you love the print, why not frame it on a wall.

 

Source: instagr.am via Marissa on Pinterest

 

   Here is a special incentive for Facebook and blog readers! Use this coupon code "EXCLUSIVE" to receive 30% off your purchase on Ninna Lu Etsy Shop until March 30th! Soon to be listed vintage scarves will be added to the shop this week.