I am happy to announce the winner of my Christmas book giveaway.... I used random.org and plugged in the number of entries each participant got and the number chosen was 85 and the lucky person to have that number is .... Preppy Cricket! Congratulations my friend!!!
(Stay tuned for more... the next giveaway is for current followers only and it's a Beaut!!)
(recipes over at the Entertaining Kitchen)
If you've been reading my blog for a while now you know that I love to bring the outside inside. I love to use nature as a tool and an inspiration to my decorating. It's beautiful and it is free!
A couple of years ago I made this centerpiece. I gathered pine cones in assorted sizes, as well as acorns and painted them gold, silver and white using regular poster paint. I then took a few really cheap plastic apple ornaments that frankly were quite ugly. (My mother is famous for giving me everything she wants to, but cannot toss!) I painted them lightly with a coat of the gold poster paint as well. And finally added a few of the smallest ball ornaments I could find lying around the ornament boxes in the basement.
A few pine cones have broken over the past few years but there were still plenty enough to create a new centerpiece!
If you want to recreate this at home you will need:
* One or two foam paint brushes. These are disposable. I don't want to ruin a good brush on the pine cones.
* A bucket filled with pine cones and acorns of assorted shapes and sizes
* Newspaper to work on
* Gold, silver, white or whatever color paint you desire
Paint your objects and let dry several hours on newspaper.
Find a pretty bowl, platter or large plate and arrange your items to your liking.
And, for my fabulous southern and coastal friends, fear not! I have a delightfully wonderful ornament for you!
This brilliant idea came from my friend Maya at Completely Coastal. I adore her blog and have to see what great things she has on there daily! Maya, in turn, got the idea from The Stories of A to Z... a new discovery for me... I'll be back for more!
I just love this ornament! I have some small pieces of sea glass that my 8 year old collected in Maine last summer. This will be his project for certain!
In order to make this ornament you will need a plain glass ornament, some sand, some shells or beach glass and a funnel to use to pour the sand in to the ornament. It doesn't get easier or prettier than that! (I'm thinking a pretty pink or lavender bow to tie on to the tree!)
Now I am waiting for Maya to come back to me with a creative way to use my 30+ oversized clam shells the kids collected in Newport this past summer! No pressure Maya... I'll wait... and wait and wait and wait! ;)
Don't forget to enter my Holiday Giveaway in the post below!
Even though Thanksgiving is still less than a week away, I am ready for the Christmas Carols. I am ready to deck my halls! Every year on Black Friday I head out to the basement and take out all our Christmas treasures. I adore it so!
This year I will have to wait before I bring out most of my loot. The painters are scheduled to arrive the Monday after Thanksgiving and they will be painting the three rooms that get used the most: Family Room, Kitchen, Bathroom off the Kitchen, and the Master Bedroom.
There is no reason why I cannot start decorating in the Dining and Living Rooms though!
Last year, our first Christmas in this house, we decided we would have two trees. I have always wanted two Christmas trees! The Christmas tree in the family room is a casual, fun tree filled with the children's ornaments and antique toys. It has a playful feel to it. The tree in the Living Room is formal by contrast. It's all white, silver and gold with a few glass and crystal ornaments as well. It's spectacular!
Last year, unsure as to how many ornaments we would need for our formal tree I sent Daddy and the kids to Target to get a few fillers. He bought so many that we had two spare boxes. Yesterday I found those boxes "hidden" under the tea cart that houses the my great grandmother's sterling tea and coffee set.
So I decided to have a little fun. I used a glass cake stand without the lid and $15 worth of ornaments. I love that the colors, white and gold, go well together and I love the different textures, shapes and sizes of the ornaments. What's more is that this looks lovely on the buffet in the dining room! Don't you think so?
I saw this idea below and fell in love!
I will be doing this on the stairs in our foyer. I'll keep to a simple color scheme here and I will look for plastic balls in case some Certain Four Year Old Boy decides to see if they can bounce!
And the nature, recycling side of me loves the simplicity of the wooden snowflake below... I would paint the sticks white or silver or gold, however, and turn it into a gift tag... A project to try with the kids today!
And I must, simply MUST do this to my front door! (Different initial though!)
How simple and lovely these oranges are... I love the bow and the bells... Ahhh, the Christmas decorating possibilities are endless!
And now, the best part of this post... This fabulous Christmas Entertaining book I found! I loved it so much I picked up two copies! This book is filled with mouthwatering recipes, desserts, appetizers, cocktails and crafts so you can add your perfect, personal touch for the Holidays! Luckily winner will also receive a package of Spode paper napkins to use for her little get together!
You all know how I feel about Mulled Wine!
Put those cranberries to use before the season ends! Chin-Chin!!!
To enter leave a comment...
You'll get TWO entries if you are a follower
You'll get TWO entries if you BECOME a follower
You'll get TWO more entries if you follow me on Twitter
AND
You'll get TWO more entries if you ALREADY follow me on Twitter ;)
So, so far you all earn 4 entries... mention me on your blog or side bar and I will throw in an extra entry!
Giveaway will be announced on Thanksgiving!!
Because you asked!
This is kind of like the blind leading the blind, except I now have one tucked under my belt for experience! I bought a cork board when our local Blue Tulip was going out of business. (Luckily Swoozie's now occupies the space!) I think I paid $2.50 for it! It sat in the basement for over 6 months until I picked it up one day this past summer and painted it pink with white polka dots. She loved it. But I did not. The pink was too bright for her walls. So I let it dry and tucked it back down into the bowels of the basement until yesterday, when I resurrected it to try to think of something better to do with it.
I grabbed all my grosgrain ribbons, some fabric swatches that I picked up at AC Moore, my Mod Podge, my glue gun, some push pins, scissors, and the Lilly Originals postcards that I hadn't wanted to toss!
I played around with the design on the cork board to see what looked best where... I did it all freehand, though in retrospect should have used a ruler and done a little measuring!
Once I figured out where the fabric swatches and postcards were going to be, I secured them down with glue. The Mod Podge did not work so well and caused the post cards to curl up. I used the glue gun instead. Perfect!
Then I measured some wide grosgrain ribbon to cover the ugly metal frame. I made sure to cut too much so that the ends could be trimmed at the end. Here the glue gun did not work, and here is where I brushed on the Mod Podge. I brushed the glue on to the metal frame and then carefully applied the ribbon. When the ribbon was on and secured onto all 4 sides, I trimmed the ends. I happened to have a few silk flowers and glued (with hot glue) them on to the corners. I removed the push pins and applied then to where the ribbons met, crossed.
Then I took thinner strips of grosgrain ribbon and measured length-wise and cut three strips.
I took the end of each strip and carefully tucked it under the wider ribbon at each end, then I secured the ribbon using push pins. I did this three times. And again from top to bottom. I found a few iron on flowers and a wooden alligator that I secured on randomly with the hot glue gun.
There are a few bare spots that I will fill, then I will wrap the board and place it under the tree!
The background of the memory board can be anything really that matches the decor of the room where it will be placed. You can use post cards, material remnants, wall paper remnants, wrapping paper... the possibilities are endless... add a few personal embellishments and your memory board is done!
I went in for one of these... just because there is no better feeling than holding a Red Cup in your hands!
And then I saw this on the shelf!
so I snatched it up! Christmas Blend in the morning makes me even happier than a Red Cup!
and then I whipped out my Red card to pay...
and asked if I wanted one of these for free!!
So I went in for this
and got all of this!!!
And I finally got motivated to start Rebecca's memory board. The same one she has been begging me for for months! And I went at it freehand... (perhaps next time I'll use a ruler and be more precise!) But I'm pleased so far... just a little more to add... It's totally Lilly inspired. Can you see what I used with the swatches? She loves all things Lilly... I'm going to add a few more things, find some pictures of her friends, add one of my cartoons and wrap it up and put it under the tree!
I saw a bird feeder kit in some fancy toy or gardening magazine last week... and upon looking closely the tube looked like a toilet paper roll! What a scam! So I thought we would replicate the craft ourselves, save a few pennies and use items already lying around. I had to buy a bag of backyard bird feed that cost $3 at most!
We used two paper towel rolls and I think they came out really well!
Anyone can make these bird feeders. All you need is a paper towel or toilet paper roll, a few thin sticks from the back yard, some peanut butter (soy bean butter can be substituted for those with nut allergies) and some bird seed.
You'll need to make 4 holes in your tube. 2 at the top through which you will thread something to tie the bird feeder on to the tree, and 2 in the middle through which you can thread your stick to serve as a perch for your little birdies!
Then all you will have to do is apply the peanut butter with a knife. This is very easy to do. And gently apply the birdseed to the peanut butter. Believe it or not peanut butter is very nutritious and there are quite a few birds that do eat it.
I think there is more peanut butter on Alexander's sweater than on the feeder!
Christopher is my bird guy... he'll watch with binoculars from his bedroom for hours. I bought him a New England bird reference book recently and was amazed by the fact that he sat right down to read it cover to cover.
We do have the most amazing birds on our property. Hopefully he'll be able to capture some for Christmas after he gets his digital camera! (Shhhhhh!!!)
We placed all the feeders on the back of the house so that we will be able to watch when we are in the family room or kitchen.
I love cranberries! I love the look, feel, smell and taste of them! They are perfect in so many ways. I love cooking with them, baking with them, tossing them into drinks for a lively and lovely festive effect. I love snacking on them (dried and sweetened) and I love decorating with them. Their color is perfect to carry you from the fall to the winter festivities. What's more is that cranberries are so good for you.
Admittedly, I might have overdone the pumpkin a bit this year. I'm not saying I won't return, but for now we're shifting to the perfect little cranberry!
Photos and ideas courtesy Better Homes and Gardens
Cranberry, Tangerine and Pomegranate Punch, photo and recipe courtesy Martha Stewart Did you know that the cranberry is a cousin of the blueberry? These tart, bright berries can still be found growing on shrubs, but when cultivated, are grown on low trailing vines in great sandy bogs. The American cranberry, the variety most cultivated in the northern United States and southern Canada, produces a larger berry than the wild cranberry or the European variety.
Fresh cranberries, which contain the highest levels of beneficial nutrients, are at their peak from October through December, just in time to add their festive hue, tart tangy flavor and numerous health protective effects to your holiday meals. The cranberry season is short, so stock up and toss a bunch in your freezer! When the season passes and you have run out of these fresh berries, you can still enjoy cranberry juice and dried or frozen cranberries both of which have still have many of the wonderful health benefit that the fresh berry contains.
So Bon Appetit and Chin Chin! Enjoy your cranberries this Holiday Season!
Cranberry, Apple and Maple Phylo
Cranberry Upside Down Cake
and Cranberry Lemon Squares,
Alexander had a full out tantrum. Hitting. Screaming. Punching. Crying. I didn't have the patience. His request for white chocolate chips was denied. Over and over and over again. And then I heard my friend Maria's voice. "Oh come on, give him a couple. What's the harm?" And I never would have in the past. But I did today. Because life is short.
It's been a rough week of battling pneumonia and swine flu and, today we lost our dear friend Maria... I just don't have the words to express how I feel.
Those of you who knew her know that Maria was a ray of light... never without a smile... one of the kindest most wonderful people to grace your presence... she leaves behind her wonderful husband and two sons... She passed much too soon... She will be gone but never forgotten. She will be missed.
To all of you who are reading this. Take care of yourselves... take care of your health and please don't take it for granted. Your children are important. So are you. If something doesn't feel right, get it checked out. Even if you are not sure. Don't delay. Hug your kids... hug your girlfriends... your sisters and mothers...
Gone Too Soon
Like a comet
Blazing 'cross the evening sky
Gone too soon
Like a rainbow
Fading in the twinkling of an eye
Gone too soon
Shiny and sparkly
And splendidly bright
Here one day
Gone one night
Like the loss of sunlight
On a cloudy afternoon
Gone too soon
Like a castle
Built upon a sandy beach
Gone too soon
Like a perfect flower
That is just beyond your reach
Gone too soon
Born to amuse, to inspire, to delight
Here one day
Gone one night
Like a sunset
Dying with the rising of the moon
Gone too soon
Gone too soon
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