Sunday, March 4, 2012

How to make a spring vignette in 5 minutes




Vignettes are my ultimate decor challenge. I am NEVER satisfied with the final outcome. But hey - you know what they say: "Practice makes perfect". So I practice, practice, practice again and again. I've become slightly better at it. And a lot quicker.
So here is my tutorial for a vignette anyone can create in just 5 minutes.

Step one: Find your inspiration.
Choose one item that you truly love and work your way around it. It can be anything: a nice painting / photo, a color, a vase, a book. Anything - but you really really have to love it, because everything falls naturally into place when we work with something dear to us. And if we try to star something that we THINK is great, but it's not really our personal taste, then it's gonna feel pointless and it's not gonna work for us at all.
I just had these wonderful spring bulbs - all bloomed up and no where to display them! So they were the stars of my spring vignette.




Intermission: let me stop the tutorial for a moment and really enjoy these beauties:






Step two: Look for color coordinated stuff right in your home. 
Choose everyday items, don't try to overdo it. I went with books, because I love to decorate with them on all occasions. Then I also grabbed some boxes from my study, because they were right under my nose and I have to finish in about 5 minutes. And the blooming almond branches by Van Gogh has been one of my favorite paintings since I was 8.
A little tip: 
Not all the stuff has to be the same color, it will look too matchy-matchy. Instead, go for some neutrals that will loosen up the vibe. My books are mainly green, but there are also a purple one, a grey one and a brown one. I only had one green box, but the other two are also light brown. Neutrals are the key to a care-free vignette.



Step three: Make an "A" shaped arrangement. PLAY.
I guess you all know the rule about the triangle disposition of your vignette items. I tried different ways to arrange my flowers and books. I tried to top with the daffodils, then with the art book. Then I added the boxes at the bottom, for extra height on my "A" shape. I love an elongated outline :)
At the bottom of your vignette, feel free to add any little knick-knacks you like. They don't impose on the overall image, so there are no special rules.
My tips:
Don't try to be extremely symmetrical, it will look too stiff. Move the tip of the "A" shape a little to the left or to the right.
Make sure that the height of the "A" shape is a lot bigger than the lateral sides. This will provide an ascending  feeling to the viewer and your vignette will look more ... artistic.




So there you are. Not bad for 5 minutes work!



Bonus pic:  This is what my spring fling looks from a distance. 



HOORAAAY! I've been featured at Romance on a DimeMushki LovesCrafty Scrappy HappyThe Artsy Girl Connection and Hating Martha :) Thank you very very very much!

RomanceOnADime.com Mushki Loves My Stuff Photobucket  


90 comments:

  1. Very cool :-)! Love the A line tip, am very bad at making vignettes but maybe that will help.
    love
    jutta

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    1. Well, you certainly have got a lovely A shaped pink arrangement on the fridge :)

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  2. I love how you showed pictures of all the different things you tried! I love the after! So playful and fun :) Love your little figurines. I've been attracted lately to silly things myself and been worried if I'm starting to be a little too silly :) Thanks for reminding me that it's ok :)

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    1. There's no such thing as "too silly" in my book. I always avoid being too stiff and too serious :))

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  3. "Slightly better at it" e o formă de modestie ...
    Mi-a plăcut mult pata circulară de culoare din a doua imagine stânga ...
    Mi-a dat o idee pentru care am a mulţumi!
    Toate cele bune!

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    1. E un truc pe care l-am inventat singura: de fapt este un "placemat" de la IKEA, pe care se pune farfuria pe masa, numai ca eu le folosesc mai mult pe pereti :)))

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  4. Replies
    1. Thank you, Dinah, I'm so happy you like them :)

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  5. Lovely vignettes!
    Yellow flowers mean spring to me :)
    Thanks for sharing.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Donata! I've always been crazy about ANY yellow flowers, all year long :))

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  6. Thank's for sharing this, so helpful:)

    Visiting for Mellow Yellow Monday- hope you can stop by:)

    http://www.cassandrasminicorner.com/2012/03/roses-for-you.html

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  7. this is so cheerful! i would have never thought to prop a book open! i'm hoping that you'll link up again this week!

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    1. Thank you, I love books so much (inside and out) that it came to me naturally. I can't wait to link this up!

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  8. Spróbuję też takiej zabawy, bo Twoja mi się bardzo podobała. Najbardziej mnie jednak ucieszyły wiosenne kwiaty, ja już tak bardzo za nią tęsknię. Pozdrawiam. *** I'll try too much fun, because your I liked very much. But I am most pleased the spring flowers, so I already miss her. Yours.

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  9. Very cute. Fresh flowers are always a nice touch!

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  10. Wonderful photos. Love the Spring bulbs flowering. Your vignettes are marvellous!
    Please feel free to post you flower photos on my Floral Friday Fotos meme. It opens every Thursday (Australian time) and remains open until the following Wednesday:

    http://floralfridayfoto.blogspot.com/

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, I've been attending each Floral Friday for the last three weeks and loving it :)

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  11. ohhh darling - love the blooms here & there - adding just the right amount of spring!

    fresh new linky party just opened - would love to have ya come play if you'd like!

    www.NorthernCottage.net

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    1. Thank you so much for the comment and for inviting me, but I'm one of your regulars and I've already joined in half an hour ago:)

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  12. These are gorgeous!

    Yummy Yellows at Spice Up Your Life blog, please come and see.

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  13. What great tips. I love the spring flowers.

    I hope you'll stop by my blog. I am hosting a giveaway for a $50 Kirklands gift card.

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  14. Really nice vignette! I would have never thought to use books! Thanks for the tips!

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  15. What fantastic tips! Thanks for linking up!

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  16. What fantastic tips! Thanks for linking up!

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  17. Fantastic, I love it. Great tutorial. Thanks for linking to TTT. Hugs, Marty

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  18. Love this spring look! Thanks for linking up to "Cowgirl Up!"
    :) Samantha @ Crafty Texas Girls

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    Replies
    1. Yay, I'm so happy that you like it! Thanks a million!

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  19. Great tips for creating a vignette. I like what you came up with.
    I'm a new follower, Mary Alice

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    Replies
    1. I'm so happy that you liked it, Mary Alice! I love love love your style - you are truly young at heart!

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  20. I love the way the vignette turned out! I really appreciate you taking the time to offer the tutorial. I learned something new from it....I had not heard about the "A" before. Thanks so much for sharing at Show & Tell.

    Sharon @ mrs. hines class

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much for making time to visit; I'm so happy I could share something new!

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  21. Oooo, this is beautiful! I'm so excited for spring! Thanks for sharing at Cutesy Monday!

    Kathryn
    destinationcraft.blogspot.com

    P.S. Have you entered the uVinyl onesie giveaway yet? I'd love for you to enter!!

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    1. Thank you, Kathryn! I really appreciate you taking the time to visit each entry :)

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  22. Beautiful - and some great tips you've shared too!


    Thanks for linking to a Round Tuit!
    Hope you have a fabulous week!
    Jill @ Creating my way to Success
    http://www.jembellish.blogspot.com/

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    1. You are kind as always, Jill! Thank you so much for visiting yourself :)

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  23. Love your "spring fling"! Thanks for the great tips :)

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  24. Sooo cute! Is that wall paper?? I just think it is adorable! Thanx for coming to the party!

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    1. I'm so glad you like it, Pamela, thank you for visiting! The bicycle background is faux wallpaper (aka stickers on the wall...) and maybe I'll post a tutorial on that :)

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  25. Great tips, thank you! I'm attempting a spring mantle soon, so this will be very helpful!

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    1. Good luck, mantels are tough to pull together!

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  26. i still love it! and i love your wallpaper... did i already tell you that! i think i might love it more the second time around! thanks for linking up last week!

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    1. Thank you, thank you, thank you :) It's not wallpaper, it's... stickers on the wall (I'm beginning to think I should post a tutorial on that too, as I documented the whole process)

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  27. Love it! I wish I had a space like that, I just don't have a good place to create something like this.

    And I love your wallpaper!

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    1. Thank you, Alissa! As you can see, I used a simple IKEA side table against the wall - so you can do it too!

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  28. What great ideas, of course flowers are a wonderful focus for any arrangement! thanks so much for linking up to VIF!

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  29. I love how it turned out. Is that your wallpaper in the background? I love it! Too cute! Thanks so much for linking up and sharing on Blissful and Domestic.

    http://blissfulanddomestic.blogspot.com/

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    1. Thank you, Danielle, you are graceful as ever! That is a fake wallpaper, aka wall stickers arranged in a pattern :)

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  30. Wow....very impressive! So classy! :D

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  31. Love your vignette! Especially the intermission.
    Thanks so much for sharing at our Pin'inspiration Party this week. Hope that you pop by tomorrow to help get ready for spring.

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    1. Thank you so much for visiting yourself, Jane! I'm glad you liked the intermission :)

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  32. Featured this on my Facebook page. And have I asked you where oh where did you get that wallpaper? Swoon!

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  33. Pretty! I'm DYING for Spring! I'm your newest follower and I would love it if you followed and linked up to my little party: www.nutmegplace.com/2012/03/showoff-saturday-5.html

    Hope to see you there!

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  34. These are wonderful tips. Not easy to help others learn how to master this technique, but I think this post is a great beginning.

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    1. Thank you, Mimi. Forget the tips - you just have to do it from the heart and "practice, practice, practice" :)

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  35. This is so cute!! These are some great practical steps. Thanks so much for inspiring me!

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    1. Thank you so much for taking the time and visiting yourself, Betsy! I tried to be practical and concise :)

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  36. So much fun and so unique!! Love it:D

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  37. What great ideas....Thanks for linking up @CountryMommaCooks…..have a wonderful weekend:)

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    1. Thank you so much, Deana, for making time to visit :)

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  38. Aww I love it! So many beautiful colors and I LOVE decorating with books too (after all, I was an English major! haha) Thanks again for coming by my blog!

    -Bonnie @ Revolutionaries
    www.revolutionariesblog.com

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  39. So beautiful! We are just entering autumn in Australia, but spring is my favourite season. Love it!

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    1. Thank you, Amy! I'm a bad case of weather dependency, so for the last 5 months I kept wishing I was in Australia too :D

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  40. Replies
    1. Thank you, Pernilla! For the last 5 months I kept wishing I was in Australia too :D

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  41. Oh..the daffodils are beautiful! What great tips! thank you so much for sharing at Uncommon! Bonnie ;)

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    1. Thank you so much for making time to visit yourself, Bonnie, you are very kind!

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  42. This looks gorgeous! Don't think you need anymore practice.. cause it's just about perfect! Love the bicycle wall paper too! Thanks so much for sharing with the Pink Hippo party.. can't wait to see what you share next!

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    1. Thank you for visiting and for the wonderful support, AmieAnn! I'll soon post a tutorial on the bicycle wallpaper :)

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  43. So fun! The flowers are so pretty! Don't you love Spring! What a great idea to do a vignette! Great job!

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    1. I'm so happy you like it, Melody! Thank you for visiting :)

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  44. What a fun tutorial. Vignettes are so fun to play with. Thanks for linking up to Share the Love Wednesday!
    Mary

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    1. Thank you so much for the visit, Mary, and for your kind words!

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  45. I LOVE this.. So pretty and very easy.. Thanks so much for sharing the lovely tutorial.. I am featuring you tonight via Pin'Inspirational Thursdays.. Hope you can stop in and snag a fun button / link up again.. Wishing you a beautiful day.. xoxo~! Marilyn

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  46. ps: I pinned this awesomeness here - http://pinterest.com/pin/15973773648394877/

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  47. Thank you for joining me at Home Sweet Home!
    Sherry

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    1. You are very ind to visit each link, Sherry :) Thank you!

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  48. Beautiful, thanks for sharing at Bacon Time.

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  49. Great tips! Now following you on the Linky Follower thing.

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  50. I totally love this, that wallpaper is the cutest thing ever too, where is it from?

    www.katiescreative.blogspot.com

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  51. Heard you made the wallpaper-How smart are you 4 get the vignette-dish on the wallpaper

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    1. Thank you, I've also posted the tutorial for the fake wallpaper here: http://meehameeha.blogspot.com/2012/03/how-to-make-faux-wallpaper.html

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  52. Great ideas. I really liked the "A" shape tip. And I noticed the wallpaper too - so cute! Thank you for linking up to Fabulous Friday at Faith, Trust, & Pixie Dust. You're invited to come back again next week!

    Warmly, Michelle

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  53. Featured you on my blog tonight. Cause your wall is the coolest!

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