Hello Lisa. 

Welcome back to another fabulous edition of THE PENCIL CASE! Yay! Each edition focuses on a theme to encourage a fresh look at garden design and graphics, so since the days are getting shorter I thought it was the perfect time to celebrate a magical part of the garden: string lights!

GARDEN SPARKLES. 

I have always been enamored with the magical sparkle of patio string lights. They not only extend our garden time into the evenings, but they also transform the scale of our outdoor spaces in a special way. 

Let me explain. When we create outdoor spaces or rooms, we should consider the design of the floors (paving, lawn), walls (plants, fences), plus ceilings. Ceilings can be open to the sky or we can use elements like pergolas, umbrellas and tree canopies. These bring the scale of our garden room down to a comfortable size day and night. String lights, on the other hand, transform the ceiling from day to night. Placed zig-zag above a garden room they provide a mostly-open ceiling during the day, but at night transforms a space into a cozy, magical place. When the sky is dark and the lights are bright, the lit-up ceiling feels closer to us (and more enclosed), thus making the evening scale more intimate. Pretty cool.

STRING LIGHT INSPIRATION.

I've been in love with the evening garden for a long time, so started this PINTEREST BOARD several years ago to collect as many magical images as possible.

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Ever wonder how you should hang string lights? I found this super-handy post from THE BRIGHT IDEAS BLOG that shows different patterns, plus some other fabulous information to get you started.

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Would you like to draw your string lights in plan view (looking from the sky down)? I drew this IMAGE ON INSTAGRAM showing lights strung across a patio. Draw a straight line, add tiny circles, make circles or squares for posts and wa-la!

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We love the string lights in OUR GARDEN.

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If you would like to learn more about the idea of garden rooms, check out my post on THE POP-UP GARDEN.

LET'S DO THIS!

Have you used beautiful lighting in your garden to ramp up the elegant scale? Please share them with me on Facebook and Instagram by tagging @papergardenworkshop. Or reply to this email with a photo. I'd love to see them!

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If you know someone that needs design inspiration, please feel free to share this newsletter. Anyone can subscribe right here. I also keep a VAULT of past issues in this secret location.

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Thanks for letting me visit your inbox and I look forward to seeing you again in two weeks!

All my best,

Lisa

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PAPER GARDEN WORKSHOP