I Love New York

New York Paperweight by Nelley Kelley Studio  

We were in NYC last weekend to celebrate our son's 14th birthday.  He brought along two of his best friends for the adventure.  For 14 year olds a visit to NYC is excitement enough but we were able to squeeze in a little surprise during our whirlwind adventure.

The guys walking through Times Square

The boys had a great time checking out the stores and walking through the crowded streets.

Times Square

Times Square was really hopping - it being the weekend before the Thanksgiving holiday.

The big surprise was yet to come ... 

American Idiot at the St. James Theatre

We surprised the boys with tickets to see the Green Day musical, "American Idiot".  If you love Green Day and what teenage boy doesn't?  - This is the musical to see.  It is different from everything else that is out there.  The set is awesome and that brings us to the next surprise ...

Stage Door at American Idiot

The boys were invited backstage to see the set and to meet one of the stars of the show, Mary Faber. 

(all this was arranged by our older son who is a good friend of Mary's - this was the icing on the cake).

The boys could not believe their good fortune and were so excited to be able to go onto the stage, check out the set and meet Mary and the other actors of such an amazing Broadway play. 

Taking a bow on stage at St. James Theatre

Mary and the boys get a chance to take a bow on Broadway.  

fun memories fill up NYC goodie bag

It was a great time for the boys and for us as well.  One that we will never forget.  Who knows maybe one of them might get a chance to take a bow on Broadway someday again.  

see you soon,

Ellen

A Kitchen Gift for Thanksgiving

photos by Ellen McHale

I ran this post last November and thought it would be worth running again a week before Thanksgiving.
This chutney is absolutely delicious and makes a great little take home treat for your guests ...

With the holidays rapidly approaching, the pressure is on to find meaningful and creative gifts.  A gift from the kitchen is always appreciated and more so when you take the time to package your "kitchen creation" with flair. This Thanksgiving each of my guests will go home with my Cranberry-Orange Chutney in beautiful canning jars by The Concord Shop.  For those of you who don't know, The Concord Shop is a cook's dream.  They call themselves "a hardware store for the kitchen" and that couldn't be more true.  Anything you need for the kitchen can be found on their shelves.

photos by Ellen McHale

Presentation is everything and finding some vintage sauce spoons to tie on to my chutney jars is like the icing on the cake.  I found these gorgeous vintage sauce spoons at Thoreauly Antiques in Concord.  You can find similar spoons at your local antique store and they can be had for under $10!

Cranberry Orange Chutney Ingredients

Ingredients:

1 bag fresh cranberries

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1 lg. granny smith apple, cored, seeded, chopped

zest of one orange and the juice of the orange

1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and thinly slivered

1 cup apple juice

1 cup sugar

4 whole cloves

To Make:

Combine all ingredients and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occassionally 5 minutes or until cranberries begin to pop and all sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to cool.  Store and refrigerate in air tight container.  Can be made 2 weeks ahead.

Tags by Nelley Kelley

Display your kitchen gifts in a beautiful basket by the door so your guests will not forget to take one home before they leave.

Tea towel by Nelley Kelley

As a packaging alternative, wrap your kitchen gift in a beautiful linen tea towel.  I promise, you will make someone very happy.  

Enjoy - see you soon,

Ellen

Nelley Kelley Giveaway and Good News

NK bookplates as seen in Daily Candy gift bags

Daily Candy, the super popular women's lifestyle email newsletter and website, included Nelley Kelley in their 10th Anniversary Birthday Bash Gift Bags! The goodie bag featured Daily Candy's favorites from the last decade and it's current must-haves including Nelley Kelley's own Cardinal Bookplates.

We are so excited to have been included and in honor of Daily Candy's 10th birthday - Nelley Kelley is offering the same Cardinal Bookplates to the first 10 people who post a comment in this blog's comment's box.  Happy Birthday Daily Candy - here's to another amazing 10!

Ina Garten and Ellen McHale

Last Friday I met one of my favorite Cooks and TV personalities, Ina Garten, also known as The Barefoot Contessa.  The Natick Mall was abuzz with people waiting online to get their opportunity to say hello.  I met up with two "foodie" friends of mine and we proceeded to wait in line for hours just to see Ina.  New friends were made while we waited for our glimpse of our favorite Food Network star. It was amazing to see how many people turned out to get their 7 seconds or so with the Barefoot Contessa.  Not missing an opportunity to thank her for her years of bailing me out of "what to make" for my dinner parties, I presented Ina with a gift from the Nelley Kelley studio.  The exciting thing was that she accepted it! Notice on the table the Nelley Kelley craft paper box with a lovely little "Eggs in a Nest" night light nestled inside.

Val, Ellen and Ellen wait online to meet Ina

New Friends, Vic and Marylou with Val and Ellen

Paperweights by Nelley Kelley


Be the first to check out my new Travel Series Paperweights by Nelley Kelley.  Paris, London, Venice, Boston, NYC and my personal favorite - The North Bridge in Historic Concord.  Check out the Nelley Kelley website for more information.

Paris Paperweight

London Paperweight

Venice Paperweight

Boston Paperweight

New York Paperweight

Old North Bridge, Historic Concord

I hope you enjoyed this week's posting.  Don't forget to be one of the first 10 people to post a comment to this blog and I'll send you a package of Nelley Kelley Bookplates just like the one's featured in Daily Candy's 10th Anniversary Gift Bag.

see you soon,

Ellen

Before and After: A small guest room gets a makeover

Welcome to a "bird's eye view" of the metamorphosis of a small room in my house.  We all seem to have a room in our home that is in need of a makeover.  The room I chose needed a new identity.

This is the photo of the room before we purchased the house 6 years ago.  It was being used as an office and really had no personality.

When we bought the house, I decided to keep using the room as my office but I quickly grew out of the space.  My business launched and I realized that I needed studio space because this tiny room was overflowing with my supplies.  (only you can't see the closet behind where everything was jammed in)
Secretly, I was only too happy to re-imagine this space and my color choices!

What I really needed was a guest room and even though my space is not very big (9 x 12) it would be the perfect size for a guest bedroom.  So come on down the hall ... it's the first room on the left.

I painted the room a lovely cafe au lait color (it was custom mixed - actually it started out as a big mistake and with the help of Philips Paint in Concord we were able to add a little of this and a little of that to come up with a pleasing shade) and we brightened up all the trim and mouldings with White Opulence by Benjamin Moore.

 Our builder installed bead-board to the back wall to give the room some much needed architecture.  The bead-board also became a headboard of sorts for the bed.  The bed is a regular queen sized bed but appears much larger because we had a custom bed-frame made years ago in London. The bed-frame has the bed sitting much higher - it's kind of like being in the story of "The Princess and the Pea".

Over the bed I installed my new "Egg Series" by Nelley Kelley.  The frames are so sweet - I'm thinking that I will begin to offer select artwork in frames on my website.  The frames are antique white with a gold frame surrounding the artwork.  

The antique mirror on the left is a vintage frame that I found during one of my treasure hunting sessions. When you find old frames (I think the more beat up the better) you should pick them up, refinish them or not and then have your local glass company install a mirror in the frame.  Then you have a custom - one of a kind mirror for your home.  My favorite places to hunt down vintage frames are Nesting on Main in Concord, Ma. and the. Brimfield Antiques Market.

Dont' forget to add some greenery somewhere - it makes the rooms feel so much more alive and welcoming.

Remember it's a guest room.  Don't forget the night light so your guests can see where they are.  I'm using one of my Nelley Kelley "eggs in a nest" night lights.

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you enjoyed the tour and the makeover.  I have to say that I love seeing this room each day that I pass it by.  It is now snug and warm and helps to make the house feel finished.

sneak peek of next week's blog on new products and art

See you next week,
Ellen

Creating Silhouette Paperweights

all paperweights by Nelley Kelley

I thought I could send us off to the weekend with a fun project that could be created with gift-giving in mind.  Silhouette art or "shadow art" seems to be making a comeback of late and I thought the paperweight might just be the perfect place to show off these little treasures.  Here at the Nelley Kelley Studio, I use french crystal paperweights for much of my art work. I thought I would use the same type for my silhouette. One of my favorite companies for paperweights is Photoweights.  

Step 1. Take a profile picture of your subject holding your camera at just about eye level and standing approx. 4-5 feet away.

Step 2. Trim your profile with either a small pair of scissors or an X-Acto knife.  Pay careful attention to the fine details like hairs and eyelashes as they contribute to an interesting silhouette.

Step 3. Trace the cut out silhouette onto dark or patterned paper.  I am using black construction paper and have flipped my subject over for tracing and cutting.

Step 4. Cut out the silhouette that you have traced and flip over.  Your "shadow" will be revealed.

Step 5. Choose a background for your "shadow".  I have a nice collection of vintage ephemera that I use for my collages so I will rummage through them to find the perfect piece.  

Step 6. Remember to make a photocopy of your originals.  I have a lovely piece of vintage French writing that I don't want to part with so I photocopy it and place my silhouette on top.

Step 7. At this point I scan my artwork and resize it in the computer so it will fit into my paperweight.  My paperweight has an opening of 3 inches round so I mount the scanned image onto some decorative paper and then cut out my 3 inch circle shape. 

Step 8. My silhouette with decorative background paper has been cut out.  Fix the artwork to the background sticky paper that comes with your paperweight kit and assemble according to your kit's directions.

Step 9. My finished piece of artwork - ready for gift giving.  I love the dome shaped paperweights.  

Step 10.  I also love the petite paperweights as well - all are perfect for gift giving.  Even if you don't have a paperweight kit ... the silhouette art on it's own is so lovely framed and given as a gift. (although, you might just want to keep it all to yourself!)

Paperweights by Nelley Kelley

Happy Weekend!

See you soon,

Ellen

Take a hike ...

I set out on a hike today - in search of inspiration, motivation and connection.  It was such a beautiful Autumn day in New England with blue skies, crisp air and falling leaves.  Camera in hand,  I decided to take note of all the beauty surrounding me on an ordinary day.

I made sure that I would look up so I wouldn't miss the changing leaves ...

and then I looked down to see the pieces of Fall captured between the rocks and pebbles.

It is amazing when you truly begin to look at your surroundings how the ordinary becomes quite extraordinary.  I loved the shadow play upon the Old Manse.

I walk over the North Bridge almost daily but it is in stopping and taking a moment that it truly begins to reveal itself.

I begin to look for the everyday objects that are passed by each day without recognition ...

and I begin to see Nature's artwork all around me on an ordinary day.

I am feeling inspired and motivated to create some of my own artwork but most of all ...

I am feeling connected again and that is good.  Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Write in your heart that every day is the best day of the year."  I think that is good advice.

see you soon,
Ellen