Celebrations Archives | Page 14 of 17

Preparing for the Holidays: 10 Things to Do

November 6, 2012

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I’ve mentioned several times on the blog that I’m a pretty organized person. My organization tends to get a little off-balance during the holidays so it’s essential for me to develop a plan, make a list (or two) and employ a few tricks to get me through the season in one piece.

As I’ve begun to pull together my personal and business plans for the holidays, I thought I share with you my list of essential things to do to get ready for the season. These are the things that keep me sane and let me to enjoy all that the season has to offer!

image via BHG

1. DEVELOP A PLAN–Everything runs smoother when you have a plan! My first step in getting ready for the holidays is to outline everything that needs to get done. My list includes things like the areas of my home I plan to decorate, the items I need to buy for decorating, things I need to pull out of storage like holiday linens and dinnerware, and a list of holiday events we need to attend. I usually outline my plan in a little notebook that I can carry with me at all times.

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2. STOCK UP ON WRAPPING SUPPLIES–Early November is the perfect time to take stock of your gift wrap supplies and begin stocking up on the necessities: Gift Wrap, Ribbon/Bows, Tissue Paper, Gift Tags, Gift Boxes, Gift Bags and Double Sided Tape! My favorite sources for holiday gift wrap are The Container Store’s Gift Wrap Wonderland, The Paper Source, on-line paper store Paper Mojo and IKEA (which sell out of their paper fast)!

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3. MAKE YOUR CHRISTMAS CARD LIST–Creating a list of everyone you plan to send a Christmas card to will help you when you sit down to write out the addresses. As you make your list update any addresses and figure our how many stamps you need to buy. I’m planning (as in hoping) to make my Christmas cards by hand again this year so a list will help me identify how many cards I need to make and aid me in purchasing any supplies that will be needed.

4. CREATE A GIFT LIST AND BUDGET–I have some very difficult people in my family to buy for so a list is essential for me. I also like to allocate my spending money as I create my list, so I can stay on budget and make sure I have a little “me” spending money too! As I ‘ve been out shopping earlier in the year, I’ve made notes in my phone of items I’ve come across that would be good gifts for family and friends. This has given me a bit of a head start in the gift buying department.

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5. OUTLINE YOUR HOLIDAY PARTY SCHEDULE & PLAN YOUR WARDROBE–I don’t know about you, but I hate scrambling at the last-minute to find something to wear to a holiday party. Outlining all the events you will be going to, the type of party and the dress code will keep you relaxed and calm as each event approaches. You’ll be able to enjoy the party more if you plan out what you’re wearing (or need to buy) and have everything ready to go.

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6. PULL OUT YOUR DECORATIONS–Plan to pull out all of your Christmas decor a least a week before you plan to decorate. Locate all the extension cords, ornament hooks, the tree skirt, wreath hook etc. Stage everything in a spare bedroom or the garage so when decorating day comes you’ll be ready.

{Believe it or not but my holiday decor will start going up Nov. 20th–that’s the life of a designer whose really busy decorating other people’s homes}

7. DEVELOP A MENU PLAN AND SHOPPING LIST–Hitting the grocery store during the holidays can test the best of us. It is not the time to be wandering the aisles hoping that the item you drove to the store to get pops into your mind. For all of your big holiday dinners, create a menu and make a shopping list of everything you’ll need. When you arrive at the grocery store you’ll be able to go directly to what you need and get in and out in record time. Here’s a great downloadable list you can print.

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8. SET ASIDE A DAY OR TWO TO DO YOUR GIFT SHOPPING–Plan into your schedule one or two days to hit the malls and stores to get all of your holiday gift shopping done! Planning ahead will let you map your route so you’re not wasting time or gas. If you’re buying clothing make sure to list the sizes next to each person so you’re not guessing. And, as part of your planning process gather up store coupons and store rewards cards so you can take advantage of special offers and deals that will be out there.

I’ll be posting my 2012 Holiday Gift Guide starting November 12th!

9. OUTLINE TRAVEL PLANS IF YOU’RE GOING OUT OF TOWN–We will be traveling this Christmas and will probably be breaking our travel time into two days instead of one. That means a hotel room for one night and maybe even needing to make dinner reservations. If you’ll be on the road for Christmas take the time to map out your travel plans, your stops along the way and even sites and attractions you want to see along the route. Plus, make a list of essential items you need to remember to put in the car like bottled water, games for the kids, cd’s and blankets & pillows.

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10. TAKE TIME TO ENJOY & RELAX

One of the most important things you can do this holiday is to make sure to schedule some “me” time. Take some time to enjoy your decor at home, take a ride to look at Christmas lights, attend a holiday play or get together for a casual night out with the friends! Just think of it as a little gift to yourself!

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There is lots to do between now and Dec. 25th, but with a little planning it will all be a breeze!

Thanks for stopping by. See you back here tomorrow with some Entertaining Inspiration…Thanksgiving Style!

If you’d help creating Your Holiday Home, contact me about my holiday decorating services!

Scenes from The Weekend

November 5, 2012

Happy November!

I can’t believe we are in the final stretch of 2012. And, I really can’t believe that Christmas is only 8 weeks away!

I am about dive head first into a super busy time of year so this weekend was spent doing a lot of prep work for the upcoming holiday season.

On Friday the hubs and I got up early and hit the voting precinct at 7:00 am to vote. We only had to stand in line for about an hour and then treated ourselves to a yummy breakfast afterwards. I’m really glad we did early voting because I think the voting lines are going to be monstrous on Tuesday.

After breakfast we hit a couple of flea markets and thrift stores. I scored this awesome vintage tinsel garland which will be available in the Christmas section of my shop later this week.

We also stopped by a wholesale packaging store so I could pick up some new gift bags to ship my items in.

On Saturday, I spent a good part of my day doing Design Workshops at a local retail store here in Atlanta, Smith’s. The turn out was amazing and the group was so enthusiastic! I love teaching and sharing my passion of design and decorating!

I’ll be teaching a new series of classes at their other location on Nov. 17th so stop by if you live in Atlanta.

I did manage a little time this weekend to catch up on some magazine reading. I always look forward to the December issue of O Magazine and Oprah’s Favorite Things. Have you checked out the list? What’s you favorite item?

p.s. The cover of the magazine is gorgeous and Oprah looks stunning in that color combo!

I also kept busy scheduling Christmas decorating appointments with my clients! Such fun. I really never get tired of decorating for Christmas!

And….

I began flushing out my personal decorating plan for Christmas. I’ll be sharing a sneak peek later in the week.

I read this great article entitled 9 Things Successful People Do Differently! Lots of great info you can apply to both your personal and professional life.

I also did a little late night browsing on Pinterest adding to my pin count and spotted this saying which I thought was perfect for this time of year…

Make a little time to Celebrate this week!

Trick or Treat….Adult Style

October 30, 2012

Greetings!

I’m wishing everyone on the east coast safe shelters and well-being!

Just dropping in today to share the sights from the annual Halloween party we attend at my friend Suenette’s house. This is an adults only party with the only requirement being that you have to wear a Halloween hat and you must have fun. The fun part is easy while the hat part is a challenge as we try to do wear a different hat each year. Time got the best of us this year so we went back to a couple of old staples we had in the closet! The hubs wore his police hat and I sported a cute witch hat with veil.

Next year I’ll make it a point to take photos of all the hats. Some of them are truly amazing! Until then, enjoy a few images from this years Spook Fest!

A gathering of scarecrows meet you outside the house!

And here’s the front porch all dressed up for the party! That skeleton moves when you walk by it and his eyes light up.

There are amazing little vignettes all throughout the house.

And just about every table surface and mirror is ready for Halloween!

Suenette has an amazing collection of witches…all shapes, sizes, colors and styles!

The attention to detail is amazing! Don’t you just love this life-size witch and the spooky vignette!

The Halloween tree is stunning and it rotates which makes it even more magical!

This is one part of the set-up on the dining table.

There is a life-size pumpkin ghost and baby floating in the dining room corner. You can also see a peek of another ornament tree which sits on the dining room console.

Another vignette, this time with all paper mache’ figures!

And a collection of characters on the kitchen table.

The party was lots of fun and the fire feature was a big hit this year since the temps dropped into the 40’s as we all sat outside eating chili and treats!

I wish you all could be here in person to experience Suenette’s decor but since you can’t I hope you enjoyed the photo tour.

Next up, Suenette’s Christmas Open House which is another visual delight!

My Fall Table + {a few Tablescape Tips}

October 9, 2012

Boy am I loving this cooler weather. It has really gotten me in the spirit of FALL and all the decorating that comes with the season. Last week I showed you a sneak peak of my fall dining table and shared a few creative ideas of decorating your table with dinner napkins. Well, I’m glad to say that I’ve finished up my table and can’t wait to share it with you. I really love the way it turned out.

The inspiration for my fall table came from Sarah at Upscale Downhome and her use of wool plaid blankets on the dining table of screen porch. I loved the look she created and just when I thought I’d have to hit the thrift stores looking for blankets, I remembered I had one of my dad’s in the back of my car.

When it comes to decorating my dining table I usually opt for table runners versus tablecloths so I folded my plaid blanket and placed it across the center of the table. It provided the perfect pop of pattern and color I needed for the rest of my decor.

Once the blanket was in place I created my centerpiece using items I had stored, sitting around the house or had found thrifting. The centerpiece consists of a brass urn I found thrifting for $5.00, faux pumpkins and gourds, leaf branches and flower stems from the craft store and pinecones from my home state of Washington.

I collected the pinecones in Seattle and brought them to Atlanta when we moved here 12 years ago. The pinecones in Washington are typically larger than the ones you can find here in Atlanta so they provide lots of impact when you use them to decorate. They have traveled across the country still look great.

I nestled all the pieces together on the center of the blanket and then added votive candles around the edges. The flower filled urn is sitting on top of a stack of vintage books to give it more height.

There are a few DIY velvet pumpkins with real stems added in giving the entire arrangement more texture and depth.

I used a pair of tall ceramic candlesticks to flank each end of the centerpiece arrangement.

To create my place settings I used the brown alligator textured chargers I bought at Hobby Lobby in April, on sale for $1.59 each. I love the texture they add!

I then layered my white china on top. The dinner plate is the china from my wedding and the smaller plate is my moms wedding china which she gave me a few years ago. Her pattern has an embossed flower detail on it while mine is plain. I love that they work together.

Next I added gold-plated silverware that has been in our family and was given to me by my mom a few months ago. The mix of silver and gold adds another layer of visual interest.

Then as a whimsical touch to the table, I pulled out a vintage scrabble set I found thrifting and created a different sentiment to sit at the head of each plate.

The napkin was the finishing touch.

Here’s my creative touch with dinner napkins. I was having a hard time figuring out what I wanted to do with my napkins and then it came to me late last night (ok, about 2:30 this morning when I couldn’t sleep)…a simple napkin fold and the addition of vintage pins!

Seems that I’ve amassed a collection of vintage leaf pins so I thought why not use them on my fall table.

I folded the opposite ends of the napkin towards the center and attached a different pin to each napkin. Again, I made it a point to mix gold silver and even threw in a bronze pin for more color.

Here’s a close-up of the dinner plates and the leaf bowl I placed in the center. The leaf bowls are from Creative Co-op and are just darling! Those acorns are from my weekend walks in Piedmont Park.

A little touch of nature never hurts!

{p.s. the leaf bowls would also be great to hold dessert or condiments, or even make a cute soap dish in the powder room}

So there you have it, my Fall 2012 Tablescape!!!

If you are planning your fall table decor, here are a few tips for creating a dynamic tablescape:

* Find one item that can serve as the jumping off point for your table decor. Use it to pull your color story together and to decide the style of your table. In my case, the blanket was the inspiration piece and all the colors and textures I used played against the wool of the blanket.

* Create a focal point with your centerpiece and then let the rest of your decor flow out from there. It is always a good idea to create height with your centerpiece either with the height being the middle elements or the outer element.

* Make sure your tablescape has depth vertically and horizontally…layer from the bottom up and from side to side. My centerpiece provided the vertical depth and layering and the blanket and place setting provided the horizontal impact.

* Candles are a must…they add ambience and everyone looks great under candlelight!

* Personalize your place settings. Use place cards, napkins or decorative element in the center of the plate to add the personality to your table.

* Mix and Match to make the table come to life. While most of my table decor is on the casual side I loved mixing in some refined china and silverware and using a combination of silver and gold finishes. The perfect mix of rough luxe!

and finally,

* Layer, Layer, Layer! I’ve mentioned this before in several post but can’t stress enough how much layering will enhance your tablescape.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you are enjoying FALL as much as I am!

If you’d like help creating a home you absolutely love, CONTACT ME about my design services or check-our my Door-to-Door e-design service for those living outside Atlanta.

Creative Ways to Accent Your Dining Table with Napkins

October 3, 2012

When it comes to setting your table for a special occasion or holiday celebration, it’s the little touches that you do with your tablescape that really make it stand out.

Little touches like incorporating your dinner napkins into your tablescape in an unexpected and unique way….

image via BHG

10. TAKE TIME TO ENJOY & RELAX

Happy November!

Make a little time to Celebrate this week!

{p.s. the leaf bowls would also be great to hold dessert or condiments, or even make a cute soap dish in the powder room}

So there you have it, my Fall 2012 Tablescape!!!

If you’d like help creating a home you absolutely love, CONTACT ME about my design services or check-our my Door-to-Door e-design service for those living outside Atlanta.

A BIG shout out and THANK YOU to Inspired Design for nominating ConfettiStyle for the Liebster Blog Award.

{ ConfettiStyle Christmas Decor, 2011}