Guest Blog Exchange with Blue Velvet Chair

Today I’m excited to introduce you to Michael, the inspired blogger behind the Blue Velvet Chair.  Her creative talents and sparkling style have made her one of my favorites and I’m honored to participate in this blog exchange with her today.  Please give a round of applause to Mike!!!

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Hello to everyone here at Home Sweet Homemade…all the way from Sweden! I’m Mike with Blue Velvet Chair, and I want to send a huge THANKS to Diane for trusting me enough to be her guest blogger today. It was Diane’s own button flowers in her blog header design that inspired me to make my button bouquet some weeks back. Have you tried your own yet?

Today’s inspiration is tomorrow’s royal wedding.

All of Europe, and particularly England, waits with baited breath for the royal nuptials of Prince William and Kate Middleton on Friday…it’s the event of the year and will certainly bring out Europe’s royal families as well as dignitaries and celebrities the world over. We know the who, when, where and how – but we still don’t know what she’ll be wearing!

In honor of the most talked about wedding this year, I thought it would be fun to bring you a selection of ‘royal’ goodies from Scandinavia that ooze the essence of royalty. Enjoy the show!

Let’s start with Susanne Demåne from Sweden. What I wouldn’t give to have one of her life-sized princesses gracing my home!  I’d even take one of her ladies in waiting! Her site is also in English so please take a moment to be inspired by the colors and creativitiy of her work where she has set up shop in an old Swedish schoolhouse.

(photo loan from Susanne Demåne)

I think these pillows from Christina Lundsteen in Denmark are fit for a queen. She uses the most scrumptious fabrics – I would be a lifetime member of the couch potato clan with a room full of these!

(photo loan from Christina Lundsteen)

Even a princess needs an exquisitely styled raincoat. Cecilia Hammarborg may be located in England now to promote her designs, but there’s no mistake that she is 100% Swedish! I can see this sassy wax coat on soon-to-be Princess Kate.

(photo loan from Cecilia Hammarborg)

Let’s not forget our precious mini princesses with these cleanly designed wool dresses from BraWo Design in Norway. BraWo is pronounced ‘bravo’ in Norwegian and I find these little cuties to be quintessentially Scandinavian.

(photo loan from BraWo Design)

There’s a crown for everything in Sweden, including these fabulous ceramic beauties from Monica Johansson. Need somewhere to drop your keys? Collect coins? Hold a plant? The possiblities are endless.

(photo loan Monica Johansson)

We also love to put them in the garden! Ulla at Keramik i Fokus in Sweden made this ceramic version…love it!

(photo loan Keramik i Fokus)

The fact is, we LOVE our crowns here in Scandinavia…especially in Sweden.

We have our own royalty in this part of Europe and these past few years have hosted several Scandinavian royalty weddings. Can you name these pairs?

1. Crown Prince Håkan and Princess Mette-Marit (Norway)
2. Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel (Sweden)
3. Crown Prince Fredrik and Princess Mary (Denmark)

I hope you enjoyed my Scandinavian homage to the royal wedding tomorrow in England. And another thanks to Diane for the guest blogger spot.

Until next time…
Michael
bluevelvetchair.blogspot.com