Thanksgiving Decor

Since I had guests coming over for Thanksgiving, I wanted to be sure that my house felt like Thanksgiving.  To me, that means warmth, tradition, bringing in the colors of the season, simplicity and of course a bit of glamour.  I saw something online that inspired me to get some Mason jars.  I love that Mason jars are reminiscent of earlier, simpler times.  I tied twine around them (also feels old) and then added some fall colored berries.  I added some sand, rocks, and candles to the inside and used them on the mantle and around the house.  I used the sand and rocks because larger candles would not fit in the bigger jars because of the diameter, but I didn't want the candles to be so far down in the jar.  It turned out that using something in the bottom was the best thing because the candles made quite a mess as they melted.  The wax did not mix with the sand, so it was easy to get the wax out.  However, for the little jars where I just used a candle, I had to throw them away because I couldn't get the candle out.  Not a huge loss since the Mason jars are very budget friendly at $1.00 to $3.00.  I paired the Mason Jars with Mercury Glass candlesticks which were in keeping with the vintage and traditional theme, but added a little glamour to the mantle.  I also added a few small orange pumpkins to bring in some color.  I would have liked some fall colored garland, but I didn't have any on hand.

Mantle

Close Up of the Mason Jar

Added another jar to an end table with a wooden Happy Harvest sign

Coffee Table decor- I used more Mason jars and pumpkins (gotta love the husbands and their remotes)

I ran out of jars and needed something for the breakfast table, so I used a flower vase.

Decorating for My First Thanksgiving- Table Design

This was the first year that (a) I've not been at home in Sheridan for Thanksgiving, (b) that I've cooked a Thanksgiving dish, and (c) that I've hosted Thanksgiving at my house!  While I missed the traditional Thanksgiving at home with my parents, I thoroughly enjoyed hosting my own Thanksgiving dinner.  You know me, always up for party!  I spent countless hours cleaning, finishing up some painting projects, and decorating the house with festive items.  My husband, as usual, felt I was going overboard, but that didn't stop me!  Here's a look at my Thanksgiving table.

I used orange and purple on the table.  I procrastinated in deciding how I wanted to decorate.  Due to my indecisiveness, there was almost nothing fall related left in the stores.  Christmas has officially usurped Thanksgiving.  Anyway, I was able to find these lovely dried orange florals.  I paired them with brown sticks and used large glass hurricanes filled with a pumpkin vase filler.  I like the dramatic and symmetrical effect they brought to the table.   I used crystal candle holders and ceramic pumpkins to complete the table decor.

Of course I had to use my Waterford wedding china and my Lennox crystal and flatware.  There is nothing better to set the mood of a dinner like china, crystal, and candles! 

I brought in the color purple with the napkins.  Since this is a formal living/dining room, I wanted to tie the living side, which has purple pillows, in with the dining room.  I decided to go with a simple rolled napkin held by a silver napkin ring  along with a textured taupe placement for a tailored, modern look that wouldn't compete with my table decor.  I would have loved two table runners in orange or purple, but that had to wait for next year.

Overall, despite the difficulty I faced in finding the decor, I achieved the look I was hoping for.  As soon as my guests walked through the door, they were greeted with a festive, but formal dining table that exudes what Thanksgiving means to me!  I will share some more of my decor tomorrow!

Christmas is Coming!

Oh Christmas will be here in a matter of weeks!  I'm already planning out my decorations for this year.  Last year we added to the Christmas cheer in our home by getting a second 9' tree!  My husband loves traditional red and green, so he really wanted that.  I thought bronze/gold went well in our house, plus my mom gave us a ton of gold ornaments that she no longer uses, so we have the bronze tree as well.  We also got monogrammed stockings last year!  Love these traditional red and white stockings from Pottery (got them on sale after Christmas 2008!).  The stocking holders are also from PB.  I love that you can hang a special ornament from them so you can change up the look every year if you want.  I'm going to have to think of some new creative things for this year!  Feel free to share any ideas you have!

Here are some photos from last year.  We were in our former home then :(

The Traditional Tree

The Topper

Glass hurricanes filled with ornaments on the mantle

Santa that I've had for a very long time- my grandparents gave him to me

The Bronze Tree

Coffee table decor

My stocking holder- depicting the newlyweds

Jason's stocking holder- of course a football...the giant bone was for the girls...not Jason,

but it wouldn't fit in their stocking

More red tree pics

My coordinated wrapping

Dining table.  It did not match the bronze tree, but I already had the red sooo

The finished mantle

The buffet decorated with a mix of sparkly and plain candles

Mrs. Clause baking!  My aunt gave her to me!

Kristin's Touches at Stacy's Wedding

I was fortunate enough to get to make a few things for my sister's wedding that was held on October 15 in Santa Monica, CA.  It a gorgeous and magical wedding and I was honored to have been able to contribute a few little things! 

Sign for the bathroom goodie baskets.  They put these in a silver frame.

Candy cards. They are three layers of paper- black, silver, and white.  She used the fleur de lis on a few other wedding elements, so we continued it on the cards.

I made the cards and the Trick or Treat Sign at the wedding.

 Boxes filled with jelly beans.  She initially wanted a flower on top, so I came up with this design with a small handmade flower.  She opted to go with plain ribbon instead and I can't say I was too upset about not making 175 handmade flowers!! 

Rose Petal Cones- these hung on the back of the chairs along the aisle at the ceremony and were filled with white rose petals.  It is made with velum, wrapped in tulle, and then ribbon threaded through.

I can't make this picture turn, but here is an up close look at the trick or treat sign.  It was a multi-step process.  I started with using my cricut to make a damask stencil.  I used a light silver paint and the stencil to create a subtle damask background.   Then I used a roller stamp in black ink to create the border.  After rolling the design, I used a sponge and black ink around the borders.  Then I used by cricut to cut out 2 skeletons.  One was black and one silver.  I glued the black one on the canvas.  I glittered the silver skeleton and applied foam to the back so that it was 3-D, then put it on top of the black skeleton.  I cut out the letters on the cricut.  I hand flocked the "Trick or Treat" with Martha Stewart black flocking.  I glued on all the letters and the sign was finally complete!  Then I made another one for the other side of the candy bar.  It was really great in person.

A Baby Shower to Remember

In March I had the great pleasure of hosting a baby shower for my friend Maureen!  It was my first baby shower to attend, let alone throw.  Two weeks before the shower I found out I was leaving for China in a few days and would be returning home on the DAY OF the shower!  YIKES.  I, as always, had procrastinated on getting the decorations together so I had to scramble to get things ready before I left.  Thankfully my wonderful husband helped finish some things up while I was overseas.  My mom also came up and helped as well.  I think everything turned out wonderful considering the situation.  Again, I don't have a picture of the invitation but it was super cute.  I'll have to do an invitation post!

I made blocks to spell out the baby's name.  I decoupaged wooden blocks with paper then used 3-d stickers for the letters.

I found these signs and added wording.  One said Thank Heaven for Little Girls.  The other is below.

Tissue pom poms!  Thank you Melissa and Martha Stewart for introducing me to this wonderful decoration!

Jason helping me string the pom poms.

The girls decked out in their pink bows for the party.

The finished centerpiece!

The finished set up.



The cute Rick's Bakery cake



Fruit with pink fruit dip

I put the vintage glass plates, punch cups, and napkins on the buffet.

I put some baby bottles filled with pink beads and some girly books on the coffee table in the den.

These hurricanes were on the entry hall table.

Another view of the buffet.  You can see the full name in blocks here (Zoey Claire).

And some more pom poms to bring pink into the den.