Everyday Celebrating

Cupcake liners not just for cupcakes... part I

photo credit: Mara May

Create a unique topper to your next gift by using cupcake liners.  Stack cupcake liners, pull them apart and either glue them all together in the center while stacking or connect together with a scrapbook brad.

Ribbon touches

photo credit: Country Living

Add fun punches of color to your table by attaching ribbon to vases.  

Match your ribbon to the colors of your flowers and hot glue on.  

 

$2 DIY vase

Well, the holidays are officially over and that means.... we're moving on to Valentine's Day!  LOL   You may have noticed that V-Day decor is already in the stores (can you believe it?)

Valentine's Day is one of my favorite holidays mostly because of the colors involved.  I love red and the good thing is... a lot of the leftover Christmas decor can be repurposed for Valentine's Day.  

If you're planning something special for Valentine's Day, want to give flowers, and plan on making your own arrangement, here's an easy way to create an interesting vase from Dollar Store items.

You'll need a tall vase and one candlestick and a clear, strong adhesive.

Simply glue the two together and you have a modern vase with a bit of a fancy flair.  At $2 per vase, you can make a few and use them as gifts or one on either end of a buffet table, etc.

Sidenote:  make sure the glue you use is clear.  The glue may overflow and seep into the candlestick. Clear glue will go unnoticed.

Final product!

 

Easy New Year's Centerpiece

photo credit:  Better Homes and Gardens

Throwing a get together for New Year's Eve and need something easy after the hectic holidays?  

Go to Walgreens, CVS, Target or the like and buy a plastic New Year's hat (like above).  

Cut a hole in the top and stick a piece of floral foam inside the hat.  

Make an arrangement by creating height in the floral foam.  Stick in noisemakers,  holiday picks you bought on clearance in NYE traditional colors (silver, black, blue, etc.) and even stick in some plastic champagne glasses.  Maybe glue on some mini disco balls (found at party stores like Party City) to symbolize the Times Square ball.

Done!

 

Still time to: create a beautiful Thanksgiving centerpiece

In the November issue of Taste of Home magazine, I stumbled across this tablescape and thought I'd pass it along for those that are still trying to figure out something quick and easy to adorn their Thanksgiving table.  

Easy to recreate!  Get bud vases from the Dollar store or Goodwill.  Fill with wheat and surround with candles. 

Done!

Edible art!

Get ready for Thanksgiving! 

What a beautiful addition to your Thanksgiving dessert offerings than these amazing leaves - and... they are EDIBLE!  Made from wafer paper and edible ink, they are stunning works of art that are meant to be shared and eaten.

SugarRobot also offers other edible masterpieces such as these butterflies. Wow!

 

$8.95 for 20.  You can't beat the price to really impress your guests!

Leaves are $8.95 for one dozen.

The Gratitude Tree

My friend, Mindy Lockard, is a nationally recognized etiquette consultant based in Oregon.  Mindy and I met on Twitter and over time, I really looked forward to her tweets, then later conversations and friendship. In addition to her professional duties, she maintains a wonderful blog where she shares many tips on not only etiquette, but gracious living. 

I love one of her recent posts about the Gratitude Tree she uses in her home during this time of year to remind her family of all the things in which they have to be thankful.  Beautiful cards are filled out by each family member and hung on the tree.

 

Mindy gives a full tutorial of how to build your own potted gratitude tree.  And she sets it with insulating foam!   Very cool!   Now is the time to create your own for your Thanksgiving celebration!

Mumkins!

Create a unique pumpkin type display with these "mumkins".  Better Homes and Gardens provides instructions on these simple, "no carving" centerpieces which could also be used with artificial flowers for a longer life.  Wouldn't these make a great hostess gift?  Great centerpieces for a fall wedding as well!

Using wood

Nestle tea lights inside pieces of wood for rustic fall or Thanksgiving centerpiece or mantle.

Purchase these at ArtWallah.

More Martha Stewart poms - with stems!

Yet another take on the ever popular Martha Stewart pom!  Stemmed poms!

PomLove creates these stemmed poms that are perfect vase fillers.  They come fully assembled and opened.  Just pull them out of the box, drop them in a vase and you have instant decor!

These would be great for tailgating.  Get the in your team colors and no regrets tossing them at the end for easy clean-up before the game.