My White Winter Wonderland Tablescape-How To

 

These are a few photos of my mostly white, gold and silver tablescape I created for New Year’s Eve. As you can see, I got a little carried away and decorated my whole dining room in this white-winter wonderland theme. But I had so much fun, and I love this look!

Here is a daylight shot when I covered my drapes with a soft gauzy fabric for a dreamy effect. What do you think?

If you remember from my last post, I got inspired when I found this miniature clock ornament at Pier One, and it became the centerpiece for my New Year’s chandelier. Click HERE for this post.

Then I saw this bag of “village” snow on sale for $1.39 a bag after Christmas that got my creative juices flowing…

and I thought, “What great placemats for a white, ethereal looking tablescape!” And I was off and running. 

I got a sharp pair of scissors and simply unrolled the “snow” and started cutting. This is a shot in daylight on my wrinkled tablecloth. Can you start to see the potential?

I brought out my gold chargers to coordinate with my gold clock, and set the table with white dinner plates.

I thought white and silver poppers would make perfect name cards for a New Year’s table setting.

A single bell tied with a incandescent pipe cleaner serves as a napkin holder. Just wrap it around the napkin, tie, and clip it if it’s too long.

Here is a close-up photo of the fluffy placemats taken in the late afternoon sunlight. I used incandescent snow on the table that looked beautiful in the evening candlelight. This picture looks downright yummy… I could eat it.

Because I used white feathers in my chandelier, I bought a pair of white feather boas from Michael’s Crafts Store and simple laid them in the center of my table on a cream colored runner that had a satin ribbon border. I think I bought it from Target. I already had my mercury silver candlesticks and I used my white carnations that were leftover from Christmas. A very pretty and inexpensive centerpiece, don’t you think?

And I made a decorating discovery. Look how lovely the buffet looks when white lights are placed underneath this village snow blanket and topped with sparkly flakes of snow?

 

I wish I could invite each and every one of you to this dinner table. I would serve you a fattening, red cocktail and we could laugh about quirky, inane things and talk about Life until our cheeks got warm and rosy.

But do you want to know something funny? I’m not having a dinner party at all. No, I’m really a New Year’s bore and with two teenage boys who DO go out, I’m usually a nervous wreck underneath my calm-looking exterior.

Plus, I usually feel lucky if I’m not sick on New Year’s Eve, in fact, I was sick last New Year’s Eve and you can read about the thoughtful “lesson” I learned from being sick, if you click HERE. But that’s only if you find yourself homebound or under-the-weather and you need a little company.

No, this kind of decorating is what I do for fun. (I never said I was normal)  And I do it for all my dear blog readers. I hope you enjoyed some of these DIY tips and I would love to know if you use any of them in your own home. Makes my little ticker feel good to pass on little ways to beautify your life. You deserve it.

Thank you for all your support and kind emails these past months. As a new blogger, I can’t tell you how much EACH bit of feedback means to me. You have no idea.

Happy New Year’s my friends,

May you and yours be richly blessed in 2012!

xxoo

Leslie

Technorati Tags: white holiday decor,new year's eve tablescape

How to transform your chandelier for New Year’s Eve

Hello friends. Do you have something big planned for New Year’s Eve? I’ve got some fantastic DIY decorating ideas for your chandelier today. I’m calling it my “Winter Wonderland New Year’s chandelier.” Whew, that’s a mouthful, isn’t it? But I really think you’ll love it…I know I do.

This is a close-up of my BEFORE chandelier…

…still decorated for Christmas with bulbs and fairies. Each year for Christmas I also pull out my black shades with the little ball trim. This year my dining room was red and white and black. I’ll show you those pictures soon.

I removed everything including shades.

Now you can see how I simply wove fake Christmas garland throughout my chandelier. This was the base. Not too pretty in the glaring daylight, is it?

Step One: Spray garland with a can of Snow. You don’t need much. And make sure you cover your table—plus, I also held a plastic garbage bag in my other hand to catch extra mist while I sprayed.

Step Two: Find clocks and tie them into your garland. Wait, before you give up, here are some quick ideas. I found this little clock ornament from Pier One right after Christmas. I thought these miniature clocks were PERFECT for New Years and I got them at half off their regular price. I still only bought four since they were a bit pricey at $4.99 each.

But I’ve seen small clocks that would work at the Dollar Tree and Big Lots.

Or, here’s another idea. If you’re the creative type you can use small coasters for your clocks. You could spray paint them or find ones like these, already silver.

For the numbers on your “clock,” you could use stickers or stamps. Or you could decoupage a clock face onto them. I originally planned on using these silver coasters in the same way before these Pier One clocks caught my eye.

Step Three: Tie clock and bulbs into garland.

I tied my clocks into the garland with pieces of wire. Then I went around my house and gathered bulbs that were mostly white. I did allow a few that had a hint of gold. And I pulled my white doves (from Target) off my tree. You can choose the ones off your Christmas tree that you like or head to the stores…all the bulbs are on sale right now.

I also put some pinecones into the garland. Can you see one? I had already glittered and sprayed some pinecones last year that I had laying around in bowls. And I thought these fit with my winter wonderland theme.

I used wire for the bulbs and simply laid the pinecones down.

Step Four: Add silver beads and white feathers. I bought the white feathers from Michael’s Crafts Store…and voila!

This is the AFTER photo in candlelight.

And this is a picture of the chandelier over the my Winter Wonderland table setting.

See how easy that was? 

And how do you like this room? Do you want know how to create this tablescape? Check back for my next post on decorating your dining room for New Year’s Eve. And be prepared to hear about my latest cheap and secret material to transform your room!!

I hope you’re all staying healthy …I’m fighting a little cold, but blogging makes me feel better!

 

Les

 

 

Technorati Tags: DIY,how to make New Year's Eve chandelier

 

“Do you believe in Angels or God?”

Hello friends, today I posted on my God and Coffee blog. If you’re interested in this topic just follow this link.

Please click HERE.

Christmas Day…Cozy Traditions and Predictable Chaos….

This is the Grandparent’s home on Christmas morning. Actually the kids call them Mimi and Papa, and this is where we all end up on Christmas day.

 It goes like this. Every Christmas morning we wake up, start the pot of coffee, blast the Christmas music, and head over to our living room where we all get ready to open our Christmas stockings.

 

our living room Before the Chaos

This year, in all the excitement I actually started to pass out a present first and both of the boys said, “Mom, what are you doing? We haven’t opened our stockings yet?!”

Wow. That was a surprise. Isn’t it nice to know that our kids actually like having certain traditions?

Once we’ve had our family Christmas at our home, the guys all start loading the presents in the car as we prepare to head over to Mimi and Papa’s house.

At this point, our living room floor is a mess with wrapping paper and empty boxes everywhere and of course, there’s always some loud confusion about a missing present.

Lately, Somebody is always saying, “Stella, what do you have in your mouth?”

And meanwhile, Mimi will have called to wish us a cheery Merry Christmas and to find out how late we are running. Somehow I’m always the last one out the door (“Does anyone know where my purse is?”) and Jim is dangling the car keys and rushing me… only when we get out to the car, I usually discover that something is missing. So we tell the boys to call Mimi and let her know we’re on our way (a-little-white-lie) while Jim and I head back inside to do “one last look.”

It’s traditional chaos, do you have this too?

But it’s all good. At some point while we’re driving, Mimi will call to tell us that everyone is starving and ready to eat, and Jim will take the phone and tease her and she will give it back. And the boys will enjoy the banter.

Mimi’s the early bird in the entire clan who is up before dawn. No lie. She runs circles around most people half her age and she’s usually on the treadmill by 5:30 each morning. Her little house is always ready and beautifully decorated on Christmas morning.

A Silver and White Christmas

This year she decorated her tree in white and silver. She got inspired by Pottery World’s giant silver bulbs with snowy script on them.

The words on the bulbs are, Joy, Noel and Peace. I loved them.

And this is her beautiful tree.

In her typical grandma style, she has only allowed color from one of Michael’s homemade ornaments. (Do you see it?) No other red or green on her tree this year. Funny.

This is Mimi’s Christmas chandelier this year

…covered with simple silver tinsel. Didn’t she do a great job?

Hmm…she’s inspired me to do an entire post on a white and silver Christmas—what a easy transformation for a New Year’s Eve party!

Oh, One more thing

One of Mimi’s traditions is her Christmas trivia games that she finds online. Games are her special touches at family events and she gives prizes to the winners. Only last year…she accidently put the answer key on the bottom of all the pages.

I can’t remember who she decided the winner was, but I do remember the funny comments and laughter….

 

What are your Christmas Day traditions?  I’d love to hear…

Have a beautiful day, my friends.

LH

 

 

Technorati Tags: white and silver,christmas decor

Twas the night before Christmas….

And all through the house…

 

 

…Not a creature was stirring…

Except for us little mice…(commonly referred to as moms)

 

Well, the presents are wrapped and hidden away until later tonight when Jim and I tiptoe out to place them under the tree.

the house is unusually quiet with everyone asleep and safe in the next room

and my heart is filled with gratitude. 

yes, I’m tired but I couldn’t go to bed without wishing you an incredibly joyful Christmas.

 

Peace and love to you all. God Bless.

Lh

 

Technorati Tags: christmas eve

Beautiful ideas for your Christmas Table

photo: MarthaStewart

Hi friends, how’s the Christmas shopping going?

It’s such a busy time of the year and I thought you might enjoy a visual treat about now. How about some pretty photos of Christmas dinner tables? Are you having Christmas dinner at your home this year? If so, I hope these images inspire you to add a few extra touches to your special evening.

In the photo above bright red bulbs dangle from the chandelier.

To add drama in this red dining room… large snowflakes and stars hang from the ceiling. I want to eat dinner in this room, how about you?

Use miniature bottles and interesting rustic pieces to display your flowers.

photo: barbara noland pinterest

Here’s some Chair-Love in action…make each guest feel special with these little additions!

photo: southern living

Are you one of the lucky ones with Paperwhites in full bloom around your home? This gorgeous look can be copied for your table. Simply line your pots of Paperwhites down the center over fresh greenery.

 

photo: southern living

For your buffet here’s a cute idea. Create a seasonal greeting by spelling out a phrase on small tags. Stamp one letter per tag and tie around a rolled napkin with gold ribbon. Line the napkins on a large platter or on the tabletop to spell out a sentiment such as Happy New Year or Merry Christmas.

photos: Google Images, sandy morgan

How about using common objects like pinecones, sprayed or glittered, as a centerpiece and a simple bell tied with a ribbon on each plate?

photo: jess gordon

Look here… Cinnamon sticks tied with simple string make a rustic place card. What a great idea.

photo: storybookwoods.typepad.com

This creative soul was inspired by a photo in Romantic Homes Magazine. She took vintage napkins and used a thin marker to write out a cookie recipe on each napkin. Then she tied them using old buckles and a ribbon for a country table setting.

And below are examples of tables with a little glamour, lace and tartan for you. Lots of very different choices.

above photos: vignettedesignblogspot.com, Google images, Carolyn Aiken, House Beautiful

What kind of table do you set? Whatever it looks like… I hope the beauty of your day comes from the love and laughter and appreciation of everyone present.

And now I’m off to tackle my growing list of things to do… Enjoy the whirlwind!

 

Technorati Tags: christmas table ideas