Holiday Gatherings - Are You Ready?

Okay, I know we're over a month away from Thanksgiving, but "planner girl" here is already thinking about family gatherings; where everyone will congregate, where the Christmas Tree is going this year, yadayadayada.

The Walters family, gathers in the family room/kitchen/breakfast area, which is all basically one flowing space.  People eat everywhere and it can get loud with my husband's large family!

Where does your family congregate for holiday gatherings?  You want that space to look fabulous right? 

Here are some EASY, CHEAP (but beautiful, of course!) things you can do now to spruce up the space where everyone will gather in about a month (okay, no pressure, don't freak out!)  Don't worry, these ideas won't break the bank, but your house will look fabulous!

1.  Paint - It's the cheapest, but most dramatic thing you can do to any room.  Is your paint looking "tired"?  Are you still living with the builder off white?  PAINT!!!   Okay, even just an accent wall can make a huge difference.  Be sure to touch up nicks and scuffs on existing paint before guests arrive. 

(photos courtesy of BHG & Martha Stewart)

I'm often asked what brand of paint is best.  I will tell you, I've used everything from Sherwin Williams to Glidden and honestly I cannot tell a difference, yet Sherwin Williams is about $10 more a gallon!  The main color in my downstairs common area is a blue-gray color from Glidden called Gravity's Pull.  It has held up beautifully in the 4 years it's been on the walls!  Look, here's a picture of that super cheapo paint below, along with the Pottery Barn knock-off curtains I made!

Also, I ALWAYS buy EGGSHELL finish.  It has a very slight sheen (but not shiny!) and you can scrub spills off it without removing the paint.  I use this finish in every room!

Most of the paint brands have samples you can get custom mixed from $3-$5 a sample.  I highly recommend getting at least 3 colors up on your wall and live with them a few days before you make your final decision.  I've made several mistakes buying gallons off a paint chip (aah, I remember the orange bedroom in my last house!  Cringe!)

Confused about what colors to put together, or trying to create a good color flow from room to room?  www.sherwinwilliams.com is a great resource for color combinations!  They also have an application now for Iphone that let's you shoot a picture of anything with your phone camera (things in nature, your friend's gorgeous paint treatment that you are stealing, ha!), download into the app, and it pops back a Sherwin Williams color and the coordinating palette!  I HEART it!

(photo of Color Snap for IPhone, courtesy of Sherwin Williams)

2.  Accessories - Change out those sad little throw pillows (or better yet, if you have IKEA, they sell pillow covers for CHEAP, that you can just put over your old ones! Genius!!)  Don't be afraid of trying COLOR or FUN PATTERNS in accessories!  "Persimmon", "turquoise", "plum" or "avocado" are fun colors to try for Fall!

 (photos courtesy of CB2)

Get a fun throw to sling over a chair (check out Ross, Marshall's or TJ Maxx) or a try a faux sheepskin for a glamorous look!

More decorating with throw pillows.  Notice that they AREN'T "matchy-matchy"!

(photo courtesy Homegoods)

Ground your living room space with a fun patterned rug, or something really furry and lush! YES, YOU CAN PUT AN AREA RUG OVER CARPET! 

(photo courtesy of JCPenney)

Fill a glass bowl with acorns, pinecones, artichokes, eggplants, pine branches from the trees in your yard, something from nature!  Gather rocks from your neighbor's flower bed (ha!) and make a candle garden on an oblong platter.  Think outside the box when it comes to accessories.  Look around the house for things you can repurpose (spray paint is your friend!), shop Goodwill for bargains, crash your Mom's attic, shop the produce department (yes, you read that right!)

 

(photo courtesy of Pottery Barn and BHG)

Check out the large glass cylinders with all kinds of fruit!

 

(photo courtesy of BHG)

Have some great holiday books?  Stack 'em out or use as risers for lamps and other accessories.  I especially love to put out stacks of Christmas children's story books!

Another CHEAPO cute idea with stuff you already have:  Collect old holiday photos (pics with Santa, Christmas morning, Thanksgiving feast, etc), copy in Black & White (Hint - Sam's has the BEST deal on printing photos!), and mount on colorful cardstock that matches your decor.  Punch a hole in the top and tie to garland or ribbon.  Drape along a curtain top, buffet, or mirror!

(photo courtesy Martha Stewart)

Frame your windows with some simple linen-look panels!  Or, here's a CHEAPO idea that looks great:  Buy natural color muslin dropcloths from the hardware store, clip on rings and hang!  My sis-in-law did this in a house and it looked GORGEOUS.  Wanna get snazzy?  Use fabric paint to add a stencil or freehand design!  Wanna make any window treatment look "festive"?  Drape pine garland over the top!

Make your kitchen counters "homey" in a Martha kinda way:  put out a holiday cookbook on an easel, buy a fun bowl or platter, if you have a nice mixer clean it and have it out on your countertop, fill a cookie jar with homemade chocolate chip cookies, get some fun hand towels, place a cute hand soap & lotion dispenser combo near the kitchen sink (TJ Maxx is a great place to find these for under $10!)

 

(photos courtesy of Williams-Sonoma, Sur La Table, & Zazzle.com)

3.  CLEAN! - Don't forget to clean your windows until they are sparkling, inside and out!  Go in with a neighbor and rent a powerwasher!

Clean out your fireplace.  Buy logs and put in a basket (Goodwill has great baskets!  Don't like the finish?  Spray paint it!)

(photo courtesy Crate & Barrel)

Have your carpets & tile professionally cleaned if they need it.

Clean and use orange oil to make your kitchen cabinets shine. Orange oil is da bomb and can make even the grungiest cabinets look better!

Clean your light fixtures (dead bugs anyone?)  Clean your baseboards! 

4.  Ambiance - Create a festive playlist for holiday gatherings.  Some of my favorite holiday music:  Andrea Bocelli, The Carpenters, Jewel, Harry Connick Jr., Nutcracker Suite

Install a dimmer switch for your lights (easy, really it is!)

Have a few candles burning in cinnamon or spiced apple scent (TJ Maxx, Marshall's & Ross are great places to pick up cheap candles.  They are usually discontinued scents, but who cares!)

(photo courtesy Sunset)

Buy a cheapo fall bouquet and split up into smaller containers to spread throughout the room or group together for an eclectic arrangement.

(photo courtesy BHG)

5.  Special prep for guests - Take a hard look at the bathroom guests will be using.  It should be clean, have plenty of handsoap, towels, and toilet paper.  Some nice extras are a candle burning and hand lotion (you know all the little lotions you get from fancy hotels?  Put those in a little basket, FREEBIE!).

Do you have enough seating?  Card tables draped in a tablecloth can provide extra seating.  Small upholstered ottomans or floor cushions around the coffee table are another inexpensive seating idea.  You can score a great deal on barstools if you are a savvy shopper.  Look for deals at home centers, such as Garden Ridge or World Market.  Craig's List is a good resource to check for extra, CHEAPO seating. 

Keep in mind, that BOGOs are not always the best deal! Take it from an ex-retail person, a BOGO is basically like 25% off.  It's a marketing trick! 

Take stock of your dishes, stemware, silverware and serving dishes.  Do you have enough to accomodate all the guests and food?  SSSHHHH!  It's our secret:  Goodwill is a GREAT place to find extra dishes (white is always a safe bet, and NO, they don't all have to match!), platters and fun serving pieces.  Just clean 'em up and voila!  You have great looking serveware and you didn't spend a fortune!!

I will also let you in on a recent "BUYER'S GONE MAD" (that's ex-retail buyer speak for a "deal" that's incredibly cheap and a good value!) find for stemware.  Dollar Tree here in Katy has $1 stemware in shapes such as: water goblet, red wine, white wine and champagne flute.  They are HEAVY!  I bought 12 of each shape recently for a party and no one could tell that they weren't more expensive glasses!


Happy preparing everyone!

Free Gift from HGTV!

For those of you who don't mind the pumpkin guts, copy and paste the link below into your web browser for FREE pumpkin carving templates from HGTV!

http://www.hgtv.com/holidays-occasions/hgtv-exclusive-pumpkin-carving-templates/index.html

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Fall Decorating with Pinecones!

If you aren't lucky enough to have trees that give you FREE pinecones, you can find these at craft stores. If you have a Garden Ridge in your area, they sell them cheap by the bag! And pinecones have a special bonus. You can put them up NOW and leave up through Christmas! Rock on!


An organic arrangement You could dress this up by tying a festive ribbon around the vase.


Just love these little topiaries! Use gilded pots for a dressier look or clay pots for a casual display. What about reusing those plastic pots that flowers come in from the nursery? You can spray paint them silver, gold, bronze or copper and tie a ribbon around the rim! Cheap, beautiful, and you're recycling something! Awesome!


Add small pinecones to the base of your potted plants for an instant holiday transformation!


String pinecones on fishing line for an easy mantel dress up!

More easy Fall decorating ideas!

Love, love, love this! Drill holes in pumpkin and insert lollipops! Wouldn't these be cool on either side of your front door, to welcome your Trick or Treaters?



Paint any salutation on a pumpkin to welcome guests! Or you could paint "Go away" to ward them off! Ha!


Does this not look like Jack from "Nightmare Before Christmas"??? Love it!

Easy wreath! Use an old empty picture frame and hot glue silk fall leaves to the front. You could also use pinecones, acorns, or even nuts!

You know how we just love our stars in Texas! Use a star form (craft store) or fashion one out of a wire hanger. Attach fall leaves (real or faux) using florist's wire.

Your Thanksgiving guests will think you are Martha!

Planning a gathering? Here are some great table ideas that will have your guests saying "Wow!" while cursing your craftiness under their breath! (photos courtesy of BHG)

Shown above, a great way to dress up your dining chairs. You could use satin ribbon as shown, for an elegant look, plaid or gingham for a more casual table. After Thanksgiving, trade the pinecone for a Christmas ornament!

Spray paint gourds and mini pumpkins and arrange on a cake stand. The bumpier the gourd, the better!


Cool easy centerpiece! Use wine glasses and fill with seasonal fruit, like cranberries, blueberries, rasperries and small oranges. Layer in pine needles and acorns and place a tealight on top. Line several up on your table for candlelit ambiance!

Festive napkin ties. Use real or faux acorns. Pop the acorn out of the stem and replace with a faux pearl. Attach with hot glue to a velvet or satin ribbon.

Freeform table centerpiece! Arrange small gourds, mini pumpkins, pinecones and fall foliage on an oblong or oval platter for a centerpiece that looks great and is simple to make!

Painted Pumpkins - and no more pumpkin guts!

I just love painting pumpkins! It brings back memories of childhood and painting pumpkins with my Girl Scout buddies. Plus you don't have to dig out pumpkin guts, bonus! (photos courtesy of BHG)

Easy peasy pumpkin painting! Freehand stripes, dots, stars, the possibilities are endless. How about your kids' school mascot or logo? What a great way to use up leftover paint from other projects!

Flashy spiderweb! Freehand a spiderweb on the top half of your pumpkin. You can use the glitter paint shown above or paint pens would be easy too! Look for gems to glue to your pumpkin, creating the spiders. Have any gemstone costume jewelry? Great way to use it!


Doilies! Craft stores carry paper doilies in a variety of sizes and patterns. Affix doily to pumpkin using pins or tape and then paint inside the holes with color of your choice. So cute!!

Creepy crows! Okay, this takes a little artistic talent, but I love this! What else could you paint on your pumpkin? A large spider? A bat? Your mother-in-law? (only kidding)

Out of my gourd, about GOURDS!

Continuing with my Fall decorating ideas, here are some wonderful things you can do with GOURDS! I just love these freaky little vegetables, especially the oddly shaped and bumpy ones! You can find these just about anywhere, but my favorite place to buy them (for cheap!) is at a local pumpkin patch. I visit one held at a church here in Katy every year, but local schools often do these too! I decorate AND help a good cause. Makes me all warm inside! (:

(all photos courtesy of BHG)

Gourd or mini pumpkin votive holders. Appropriate for Halloween through Thanksgiving! You could use these as pathway lighting for Halloween or centerpieces for your Thanksgiving table.

I love these apothecary jars! They are such a versatile decorating item. Fill with gourds, mini pumpkins and fall foliage through Thanksgiving and then Christmas ornaments to carry you through the holiday season. Group them in 3's or 5's for a "WOW" display!

Another glass jar idea!

Cute, cute, cute! How about something different for your Halloween party or Thanksgiving gathering: Set up a "Candy Bar" using hollowed out gourds or mini pumpkins for your containers. Fill with candy corn, butterscotch hard candy, caramels, black jelly beans, etc. Be sure to drop a glass votive holder in the opening to hold the treats (okay, that was a "duh" moment!)

Happy Fall Y'all!

I haven't posted in awhile, much to my dismay. LIFE has been taking all of my energy right now! I still haven't completed all those projects I posted about. It's nagging at me, but eventually it will all get done (I'm hopeful!)

In the meantime, I found some easy, inexpensive and absolutely SPOOKTACULAR pumpkin carving projects Enjoy! (all photos courtesy of BHG)

All you need is a drill and several size bits to make the holes! Easy peasy!

Sketch the squares and then use a pumpkin carving or other sharp knife to carve out the square (but only the outer skin. Don't carve all the way through!) The deeper the cut, the more the pumpkin will glow when lit. You can use a knife or a lemon zester to make the lines.

This one take a little skill, but how cool is this?! Craft stores carry a variety of monogram letters in different fonts and sizes. Trace the letter on your pumpkin and then carve carefully. This is a display that could stay up through Thanksgiving. Gotta love that!



Love this idea! Carve out your house numbers on pumpkins. You can stack directly on the porch or elevate with an urn. Again, your craft stores have the number stencils. This is another idea that could stay up through Thanksgiving. I love how they accented with the Fall leaves!

You could also spell out "BOO" on 3 pumpkins. Fun!!

For us technically challenged folk! Who me?

I found the coolest thing at Lowe's today and thought I would share. This is a pendant light that screws into the lightbulb socket of a recessed (can) light. Kit was $15. Glass shade was $12. You just adjust the cord. No electrical involved, yippee! And the best part -- no asking the hubby for help! (groaning & grumbling avoided, YES!)

Tablescapes 101

(all photos courtesy of BHG. Excerpt on Tablescapes taken from www.decoratingfordummies.com)

Tablescapes are arrangements of items gathered in a grouping on top of a table. They're sometimes called tabletop arrangements.
A tablescape can include a centerpiece, or it can simply contain an arrangement of your favorite items. Tablescapes refer to the way things are laid out, like in a landscape painting. And they're not just for dinner anymore. They're wonderful to arrange on coffee tables, end tables, mantels or shelves.
If you want to make your own tablescape, here's a quick formula: Simply gather and arrange the following items, or a combination of them, on no more than 1/3 of your table surface space to make an instant tablescape:

• Light source (lamp or candles — sometimes both).

• Hard line accent (photo frame, book, a collectible item).

• Botanical element (flower, bowl of fruit, plant or other item).

• Fabric item (a table topper, runner, ribbon, a tapestry remnant, a napkin.)

Making your own tablescapes is easy if you keep these few pointers in mind:

• Gather interesting items of different textures together. Good items to have are books, decorative plates displayed on stands, bowls filled with fruit or other decorative items, vases, flowers, candles, decorative orbs, and other home décor accessories.

• Arrange items in staggering heights. Stack a few books and use them underneath items to raise them if needed. If you have a lamp on a table, use that as your tallest height, and work with other smaller items to fill in your tablescape.

• Take up no more than 1/3 of your table with a tablescape unless you don't intend to use the table for anything else but display. You want your tablescape to stay intact, so leave room for people to set down drinks or the TV remote without bumping into your lovely arrangement.

• Use your surfaces wisely. If you set up a gorgeous tablescape on your coffee table but no one has a place to put their dishes, cups, or other items for which that coffee table was intended, you've defeated the purpose of decorating. Decorating is meant to enhance — not to hassle.

If you want to place a tablescape on a surface you may need to use unexpectedly, such as an ottoman, try arranging it on a decorative tray so that you can move or shift the display without having to take it down or rearrange it.