Archive for December, 2009

Here’s a simple last minute napkin ring project you can do in a snap and your kids can help too.

Set a festive table with this quick and easy craft project.

• Start with a paper towel tube and cut into 1 ½” pieces.

• Cut a plaid or other pretty ribbon to fit.

Be sure to add ribbon to the inside for a professional finish!

• Glue the ribbon to the tube.
  
• You can either wrap it around so the inside is covered or simply apply a piece to the front and the inside.

• Glue sticks work best.  If you use spray glue, be sure to spray in a paper bag to avoid getting glue everywhere.

• Tie a bow around a little bell with 1/8” ribbon and glue to the front.

Select matching ribbon and a bell to embellish the front.

Voila!  You have an instant festive touch to your Christmas table.

Red and green may be the traditional colors of Christmas, but why not try something different?  Blue and white are perfect for a Hanukkah meal or New Year’s Eve late night dinner as well as Christmas brunch.

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas right at my table.

This would be a fun setting for a Hanukkah table.

Start with at pale blue snow flake table cloth.  Add snowflake dinner plates and a salad plate or soup bowl in a coordinating pattern.

Snowflake plates were a lucky find at Goodwill

Keep the monochromatic scheme going with blue glasses.

Let your guests take home the snowflake and little ornament as a memento.

The napkin is an ikat design tied with a snowflake and little ornament.  I love to incorporate little gifts for my guests at the table.  They can take them home as a remembrance of a lovely time.

Or you can set the napkin on the plate for a different look.

The centerpiece has white pine and poinsettias, but giant snowflakes or paper whites would work too.  Just stick with blue and white.  A sparkly garland looks just as festive on the table as it would on a tree.

An all white centerpiece keeps the monochromatic color theme going

Enjoy your holiday by sharing your time, your table and a meal with family and friends.  It doesn’t get any better than that!

“The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other.”

Burton Hillis

Patrick’s bedroom was finished just in time for his party.  (We were hanging his posters as guests were arriving!  Who doesn’t work best under pressure?)

Pat's new bedroom has more color and personality.

My husband wasn’t sure about the gold paint on the walls, but will admit it was a good choice.  The color is in the bedskirt fabric and makes the red chair and navy bedspread really pop.  Everything doesn’t have to be matchy-matchy.  Get a little daring when picking paint.

The red chair, a quilted throw and another movie poster make this corner very cozy.

But the walls needed something more than posters, so horizontal stripes turned out to be the perfect solution.  I taped off random widths and bought small paint samples in navy, red and green (also found in the fabric).  Painting stripes is a putzy job, but the results are worth it.

Horizontal stripes add dimension and color to the room.

It took me a while to come up with an idea for the valances.  I ordered cellular shades for the windows, so privacy and sunlight weren’t a concern.  They needed to be masculine and simple.  I used the red quilted fabric and added a strip of the paisley at the top.

Masculine window treatments were in order.

Instead of the usual drapery hardware, I went to a big box hardware store and bought two 40” lengths of galvanized pipe.  Instead of the usual drapery rings or a shirred header, I went with grommets for something different.  I poked around the electrical section of the store until I found some fittings that worked as finials.  Pat has a unique drapery treatment and that cost only a few dollars.

Grommets and galvanized pipes are inexpensive and manly!

Who says drapery and hardware has to be the usual poles and balls? The hardware store has all kinds of fun things you can use.

His bed and desk/TV swapped places in the room.  We had to buy a new desk since the old one sort of fell apart as we moved it.  We chose a desk instead of a TV stand because a desk is taller.

We originaly had the TV on the right side of the desk, but Pat preferred it this way (less glare).

A few coordinating throw pillows, his movie posters and closet door handles and the room is complete.

I found rugged industrial handles for the closet doors.

These Indiana Jones posters and the red chair started the whole redecorating project.

Pat bought this poster during a trip to San Francisco with the band.

Pat's Grandma made him this quilt several years ago and it's very special to him.

The quilt was made by his Grandma a few years ago.  The colors are perfect for the new room.

I wouldn’t have put his two DVD shelves next to each other, but it’s Pat’s room and that’s where he wanted them.

Pat wanted both DVD stands next to each other. I would have put one behind the chair, but it's his room...

I think I will  look for a floor lamp and give it to him for Christmas.  Also a bulletin board for his calendars and notes.  A room is never really done, it’s a work in progress and that’s OK.  Rooms should evolve and change as people and seasons do.  But it will be sometime before we make any changes (quite sometime!).

The room turned out just as we wanted and Pat is very happy.

Patrick is really comfortable in his new room.

Hang vintage mittens in all shapes and sizes

Who says stocking are the only thing you can hang at the chimney?  Mittens may not hold has many goodies, but you get a pair!  Vintage or new hand made mittens and gloves to fit all fingers look charming when grouped together on a garland.

Add berries and lights to your Christmas garland

I happen to collect red mittens, but you can choose a color you love.  If you don’t have a fireplace mantle, drape a garland from a shelf for the same effect.

Vintage ornaments fit right in

Surprise Old St. Nick with something new this year!

Look for new and creative ways to display your Christmas collections.  If you collect ceramic houses or have an entire village scene and always put it under the tree or on the mantle, try something new.

Group your "homes" on the table!

Use your collection on the dining room table for a festive centerpiece!   Group the houses together and add candles, fake snow or pine branches.   Your family and friends will be entertained at the dinner table and you get to enjoy your collection up close and personal.

The village can start all kinds of interesting conversations!

Break the ice with a little village on the table.

The same rules apply to Christmas decorating as those for displaying your everyday collections.

• Display items in groups of odd numbers

• Group like items together

• Collections have a greater impact when placed together

• Put all your santas or angels together on the coffee table, shelf or mantle instead of spreading them around the room.
  

You will love the result!

A good plan is the best way to enjoy a stress-free or stress-less holiday season.

Start a notebook just for December.  Make sure it’s small enough so you can carry it with you.

Make a list of what you plan to accomplish and eliminate the things you don’t enjoy or have time to do.

Gift shopping

• Who you are buying for
• Gift ideas and where you can make your purchases
• Budget, how much will you spend?

Wrapping

• Paper

• Boxes

• Tissue

• Ribbons and bows

• Tape

Entertaining

• Set a date for the party (parties)
• Make out guest list
• Send invitations or make phone calls
• Organize table linens.  Wash and iron
• Check supply of paper plates and napkins
• Do you have an adequate supply of glasses, dishes, silverware, serving pieces

Food and Drinks

• Plan food, appetizers and drinks

• What will other guests bring?

• Shop for food and drinks

• Prepare anything that can be made in advance

Cleaning

• Do a little at a time and skip rooms no one will see

• Better yet, hire a cleaning service

Decorating

• If you spread it out over several days or weeks, it won’t be so overwhelming

• Enlist help from the rest of the family

Cards

• To send or not to send?

• Purchase cards

• Stamps

• Consider New Year’s cards instead

Baking

• Make a list of items to be baked

• Make out shopping list

• Shop for ingredients

There’s something to be said about tradition.  Red and green never go out of fashion at Christmas time. A great table doesn’t mean you have to break the bank.  I found everything on this table at Goodwill SEW stores!

Festive centerpiece

A simple plaid runner works on any size or shape table. I love candle light, especially on a table.  These unique retro red votive cups are a great contrast to the traditional Christmas plates.  Green holly garland makes the centerpiece simple yet elegant.  Be sure to use unscented candles so the scent doesn’t overwhelm the food.

Retro votive cups add to the elegance of the centerpiece

Traditional red and green for Christmas brunch or dinner

The holly dinnerware originally came with matching soup bowls, salad plates and cups and saucers.  But mixing pieces from different collections makes the table much more interesting.  This contemporary stoneware soup bowl offers a striking contrast to the fine china plate and bright red cotton napkin.

Layering dishes makes for an interesting place setting

Who said the napkin has to be placed under the fork?   When placed between the pressed glass compote and bowl it sets off the colors.

Ornaments are perfect party favors

No need to wrap party favors, use them to decorate the place setting and your guests have a keepsake from a great party.  Or use them as place cards.  Select an ornament specifically for each guest.  Let them figure out where they sit by matching the ornament to the person!