Adorn Your Door

I have always loved a challenge.  Last spring I was at Pier 1 and saw a beautiful wreath. I looked at the price tag and it was $80. I thought to myself, I can do that for a whole lot less than eighty bucks!  In the beginning I had a few false starts, as a matter of fact my first wreath came out just plain ugly. Finally I came up with a design that I was proud to hang on my door. Below shows a couple of wreaths from different stores to give you an idea of what's out there and how much different wreaths cost.

This not so pretty (tacky) wreath from Michael's costs $60.

This wreath from a place called Roger's gardens costs $150.

It's time for you to make a wreath that would make your Mama proud for only about $30!

You'll need: 

A Grapevine wreath

Artificial flowers and foliage - It's very important to take your time picking out the flowers, foliage, etc. so you can get the perfect ones for your wreath. (I often go to a place like Pier 1 to get ideas.) When looking for adornments, I usually don't see what I really like till I have looked for quite a while. In my humble opinion, Ha-ha, foliage and flowers with small buds look a lot better on a wreath than larger ones. As with the Rogers Garden's one above, the most attractive ones have a lot of foliage and/or flowers on them. (In this case more is more:) 

Garden Clippers or Sharp Scissors

A Glue Gun-( No home should be glue gunless:) You can access Michaels 40% off coupons on your phone anytime. I'm the least tech savvy person I know (under 80), and even I can find this coupon.

Hot Glue Sticks-Get lots of glue sticks cuz you'll use a ton for this project. 

Step 1 Clip a few of the flowers and/or foliage stems to 1-2 inches.

Step 2 Place some of them on the wreath to get a feel for the design you want. (see ex. below)

Step 3 Using your glue gun secure the flowers and/or foliage on the wreath. Be careful cuz the glue gets super hot. (Don't be like me. I probably burn my fingers at least once a wreath:) With a grapevine wreath, you can also tuck the stems between the vines which hides them and secures the foliage even more.

Step 4. You will probably have to make lots of adjustments before you're happy with your work. In the end you will have a beautiful autumn wreath for your door, wall or table!

Another option is using an already put together bunch of foliage.  I trimmed a lot off of the one below and glued it on a wreath. I then added a colorful autumn bow. (See wreath to your right.)

Also I'm not above buying an existing wreath and changing it or adding to it. Hold on to your hat. I got the wreath on your left from my local drugstore, CVS, and it only costed $15!  I simply embellished it with some beautiful orange-red berries!

I have a good friend named Jill Hubbard and she loves color especially orange and kind of an olive green! She even has an orange door. Anyway I had a large "hairy" grapevine wreath and some brightly colored flowers, so I made this! My friends are lucky cuz they get all kinds of cool crafts from me!

Oh Christmas Tree. O Christmas Tree. . .

I was looking for napkin folds and I came across this darling Christmas tree one! To make things even better, it's easy to do! It would really make your Christmas table super fun and special! (Am I excited or what?) 

Step 1. Take a pressed napkin and fold it from the top down, then fold it over again right to left making a square.

Step 2. Rotate the square so that the point with no folds is facing you.

Step 3. Fold the top layer up leaving an inch of the bottom layer showing. (You will want to smooth down each part as you go.)

Step 4. Repeat with other three layers. You also may need to adjust each layer a bit so it lines up with the other layers.

Step 5. Flip napkin over so that the sharpest point is at the top. Take the left hand corner and fold it over, so the point touches the right edge making a triangle at the top. 

Step 6. Repeat with the right hand point. 

Step 7. Flip the napkin over so that the sharpest corner is facing you. Fold the top layer up a little past the top corner.

Step 8. Fold each layer up and tuck the corner into the layer above. 

Step 9. Presto! You have a Christmas Tree.

(Opt.) Step 10. To add a finishing touch: place a tiny bow on top of the tree using a straight pin.

Christmas Memories

I was thinking of past Christmases and realized that we only have a few family traditions. This year I'm forcing our family to each come up with an activity that we can do  together. My activity is driving around the surrounding neighborhoods and looking at Christmas lights. (Something we talk about, but never do.) We will each pick out our favorite houses. (The only requirement for this activity is there is no arguing:) I don't know if you drove around looking at Christmas lights with your family, but I did and it was a highlight

What Are Your Colors? (Part 1)

An ice age ago, there was a craze about "Getting Your Colors Done" to see if you were an Autumn who looked best in warm, muted colors, a Spring (warm, clear colors), a Summer (cool muted, colors) or a Winter (cool, clear colors.) Surprise, surprise I got trained in Color Analysis.  I probably have a hundred color drapes stuffed into the back of my closet. So grasshopper, I give you all my color knowledge. 

Most people don't know "their colors" even movie stars (or their designers that is), and as a result much of the time we walk around looking far from our best. Below I have examples of the difference it makes when we wear the right colors.

Do you see how pale Cate looks in black? To top it off someone put orange lipstick on her. Only Autumns and Springs should even think about wearing orange lipstick! 

On the other hand, she couldn't look lovelier in Summer's soft mint. (BTW I want those earrings:)

Winter's hot pink is not meant for Amy.  Whenever the color stands out more than the person, you can pretty much assume that the color ain't right. This is the case with Amy. 

Here Amy looks radiant in Autumn's orange. Very few people can pull off orange, but boy can she! The orange doesn't take away from her, instead it compliments her coloring.

J. Lo. is beautiful in just about anything, but I'm sure you can see that yellow makes her look yellow.

On the other hand look how ravishing J. Lo. is in ruby red. Everyone but Winters are over-powered by a color this strong.

Gorgeous Rooney's designers didn't do her any favors by putting her in Autumn's ecru. She looks totally washed out. To top it off they put her in a dress that's more poultry than dress.

Miss Winter actually looks better in her "Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" get up. Who would have thunk?

Next week I'll be posting "What Are Your Colors?" (Part 2). We will talk about clues to determine what season you are and look at the palettes for each of the four seasons. 

 

What Are Your Colors? (part 2)

As we talked about last week, there are certain colors that go along with each season, and our type of coloring fits into one of the four seasons. We look really good when we are wearing "our colors" and washed out when we aren't. When I was in my early 20s, don't ask me why, but I wore peach all the time. Later, when a color analyst put a peach drape on me, I saw myself in a mirror and it hit me right away how sick I looked. On the other hand, when the gal put a magenta drape on me, I looked half decent.

Here are some clues as to what season you are: Your natural hair color (did I say natural color?) is a really good clue.

Dark Brown or Black Hair - Most Likely Winter

Medium Golden Brown or Medium Red Hair - Most likely Autumn

Ash Blonde or Light Ash Brown Hair - Most likely Summer

Light Golden Brown or Light Red Hair - Most likely Spring

Also the "cool" seasons (Winter and Summer) are more complemented by silver and the "warm" seasons (Autumn and Spring) are more complemented by gold. As a matter of fact the first two drapes that a color analyst would put on you would be a silver drape and a gold drape to see which one complements your coloring. Below left, you will see that Summer (that is her name) is a Summer (how convenient), so she looks smashing in silvery-gray.  On the right side, my daughter, Abbey, who is an Autumn, looks gorgeous in gold.

Finally, if you aren't sure which "season" you are, you can wear a color from one season then on the next day a color from another. First look in the mirror and see what you think, then see how others respond. A response such as "I love that color" is very different from,"YOU look beautiful today!" or "That color makes YOU look great!"

Where Do We Go From Here?

One thing is to wear the colors that are in your seasonal palette (see below.) You may be thinking I like red, but that is probably not my color. Notice that every palette has a red, a dark blue, etc. The difference is that the Winter palette has cool, clear reds, the Autumn palette has warm, muted reds, etc. One important thing to take note of is: Winter's white is stark white; Summer's white is soft white; Spring's white is soft cream; and Autumn's white is ivory. (Sorry, my palette boards look so weathered. It must have rained in my closet.)

Something else you can do is wear the jewelry that goes with your season. Winters and Summers are more enhanced by silver jewelry, and Autumns and Springs are more enhanced by gold jewelry. 

Another thing you can do is take a picture of your palette and use it when you are shopping. If you want an official palette, you can go to the "Color Me Beautiful" website. The website also has makeup for each season.

Winter: Cool, Bright Colors

Summer: Cool, Muted Colors

Spring: Warm, Clear Colors

Autumn: Warm, Muted Colors

It's All About the Corners

 

If you ask 10 people if they know how to fold a fitted, 9 of them will have no idea. My friend, Peggy who is very fun and funny asked, "Don't you just roll them up and stick them in a closet?" Tragically, Peggy is not alone. There are millions of fitted sheets that have been rolled up and thrown in closets.

One day I was making a bed with my sister-in-law, Chris Steckel, and I noticed that she was masterfully folding a fitted sheet. I asked and she showed me how to perform this difficult feat. I will say that after all the practice I've done, my fitted sheets still don't come out perfect, but they look a heck of a lot better than they ever have! Below I have made a video for your viewing pleasure:

Step 1. Put your hands in two corners making sure that the sheet is running lengthwise. Step 2. Put your hands together and flip the left corner over the right. Step 3. Put the two corners in your left hand and with your right hand find the inside bottom corner. Then pinch the inside bottom corner so that you don't lose hold of of it. 

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4. With your right hand tuck the inside bottom corner into the the outside bottom corner. Step 5. Bring all four corners together, and again flip the left corners over the right corners. Step 6. Next lay the sheet down on a table or bed and smooth things out a bit. There should be a corner that is entirely elastic on the left that forms what looks like a big upside down smile. Then fold the top of the sheet down about 6 inches. 

Step 4

Step 5

Step 6

Step 7. Fold the bottom all the way to the top. Step 8. Fold the right side to the middle then the left side to the middle. Step 9. Fold the left side over and smooth it down on the top and the bottom. You now have a folded, fitted sheet!

Step 7

Step 8

Step 9

FYI: Folding the type of fitted sheet that has elastic all the way around is a more complicated animal. We will tackle that one another day.

 

Put a little Drama in Your Life

I have loved flower arranging ever since I aced my flower arranging class at Auburn University, which was actually part of my major in Home Ec!  (Am I perpetuating the southern stereotype or what?)

Awesome Floral Designer, Kelly Long from Costa Mesa, California, taught a bunch of us this flower arrangement. (It was too many years ago to even count.) The arrangement is super simple to pull off, but comes out beautiful. It is perfect for a centerpiece because it is designed to be low. The best part is that everyone will think it was done by a professional! You will get to say, "no it was moi").

You will need:
-2 kinds of flowers in bunches that go together well.  (Take your time in picking out your flowers.)
-greenery ex. camellia or azalea leaves. (You may need to "borrow" greenery from your neighbors yard). 
-soft oasis (Michaels, of course:)
-clippers or sharp scissors
-a short container. 
-optional: 2 itty bitty pumpkins or apples and wooden skewers. (My neighbor's baby apple tree has a branch that comes over our fence. I think the baby apples are fair game, don't you?)

Step 1. Cut oasis to fit container snuggly, then throughly soak with water.

Step 2. Cut the stems of one kind of flower. Stems should be 3.5 to 5 inches depending on whether container is smaller or larger.

Step 3. Arrange some of the first type of flower in a corner of the container (forming a cluster).

Step 4. Arrange the same number of flowers of the first type across from the first cluster of flowers. (Thank goodness there are pics.)

Step 5. Then take the second type of flowers and repeat steps above. Putting the flowers in clusters gives the arrangement a dramatic effect. You will need to work with the flowers to make the arrangement look the way you want it (cutting the stems shorter, switching the flowers around, etc.). It takes a while to get it right. As they say, "Rome wasn't built in a day". (Wow that rhymes!)

Step 6.  Add greenery where there are empty spaces (esp. around base and top).

Step 7. (optional) Put baby pumpkins or apples on wooden skewers. Then place each one in the center of a cluster of flowers and then the other in the center of the cluster across from it. (This keeps arrangement balanced.)

Step 8. Water the arrangement and continue to water regularly.

Steps 1-4

Step 5

Steps 6, 7 & 8

Do you believe it? All of these three arrangements are the same design.

Here's Something That Will Impress Even Your Mother-in-Law (Or Anyone Else For That Matter)

I have always loved sprucing up a table with flowers, but this whole napkin folding thing is new for me. I first thought about it when a few of my friends and I were failing miserably at doing a special napkin fold. I decided I wanted to learn because it makes a table that much more attractive, and it's totally fun! This particular napkin fold is called the French Pleat. It will look great on your Thanksgiving table! 

Two great places to buy inexpensive napkins are at TJ Maxx and Cost Plus/World Market. (Not sure why they have two names.) As you follow the steps below, don't be discouraged if you don't get it down right away. It takes practice, but the result is worth it. 

Step 1.

Step 2.

Step3.

Step 1. Take a clean, pressed napkin and lay it down flat on a table. (Seam side down.) Then take the two bottom corners and bring them up to meet the two top corners forming a rectangle. Smooth the napkin down. (You can't do this too much when doing a special napkin fold.)

Step 2. Take the left edge and fold the napkin again to make a square. 

Step 3. One at a time peel back each of the top 3 layers from top right corner down to the lower left corner, leaving the bottom layer in place. (Of course smoothing everything down.)

Step 4.

Step  5

Step 6.

Step 4. Take the top layer and fold it back so that it forms a slightly smaller triangle. Then tuck the tip of the triangle under the next layer.

Step 5. Fold the next layer so that it's edge is about 1/8 of inch from the first edge. Tuck in the tip of the 2nd corner as well. The picture below looks very similar to the picture in Step 6, but the top layer in Step 6 is about 1/2 inch away from the 2nd layer. (Clear as mud. Huh)

Step 6. Then take the top layer and fold it so that it's edge is about 1/8 inch from the edge of the second layer.

Step 7.

Step 8.

Step 9.

Step 7. Carefully turn the whole thing over. Step 8. On the right fold in 1/3 of the napkin. 9. On the right fold in the other 1/3. Smooth everything down.

Step 10.

Step 11.

Step 10 & 11. There you have a French pleat. Finally put your knife, fork and spoon into each pouch.

Voila! You have the makings of a very special table.

 

Deck Your Halls,Your Living Room, Your Dining Room....

Last year when I was putting away our Christmas decorations, I realized that they seemed a bit tired, so I vowed to revamp and refresh things this year.  I have had a very fun time.  Speaking of revamping, I have a friend (who will remain nameless) that really revamped her Christmas decorations one year. Instead of decorating her tree with all her traditional ornaments, she decorated her tree with nothing but purple and teal birds. Her grown-up children went bulistic. The revamping I was thinking of isn't quite that extreme. 

Here are a few ideas that may help you revamp this year:

Dress Up Your Tree 

One Christmas season I was at Juliet Kienhle's  from Newport Beach and I was struck by how beautiful her tree was. The thing that made it extra beautiful was the ribbon that she had swirled around it. I decided to swirl my tree that year too and have swirled every since.  Here's how you do it:

Step 1. Buy around 8 yards of very wide ribbon for a smaller tree and 10 yards for a larger tree. (I seem to keep learning the hard way that It's better to get too much than too little.)

Step 2. Put your lights on your tree. I have found the more lights the more beautiful. (Look at Juliet's.)

Step 3. Wrap the ribbon around the tree in a sort of candy cane pattern starting at the top (I tuck the beginning inside our big star)

Step 4. Add your ornaments.

Christmas Stars 

Recently I talked to my friend Lara Lanfried also from Newport Beach. She said that she puts autumn leaves on her tree and that they look beautiful with the white lights. Since I am such a gold and glittery type, I had to add gold and glitter. (Frequently, Linda, my favorite checker at the grocery store, asks me why I have paint on my hands and glitter all over my face? ) Anyway here's how you make them:

Step 1. Gather Autumn leaves and spray them with shellac to make sure they don't whither as much. (Let dry.)

Step. 2 Spray each leaf with either gold, rose gold or silver spray paint. Lara said this combo is really in. (Heck if I know.) Another option is spraying all the leaves one color. 

Step 3. While the spray paint is still wet, sprinkle the leaves with glitter. (I like the fine stuff.) 

Step 4.. Bundle 6 of the leaves starting with the smaller ones to make a beautiful star.  Using masking tape, tape the stems of the bundle where they meet the leaves and go down.

**These stars will look great on your Christmas tree, Christmas wreaths or even in flower arrangements.

Mirror Wreath

The other day I was looking at my my walls and noticed that I had nothing Christmasy on any one of them. I thought to myself, wreaths--that's the answer! By now you've probably gathered that I'm wreath crazy. Well the question was, what kind of wreath and where? I wanted to go with gold over my mantle. So here's what I did. 

Step 1. I went to my local craft store (Michael's) and  got a grapevine wreath

Step 2. I also bought some foliage that I could work with (As I have said in an earlier blog. it takes time to get just the right materials, so you may have to look and look till you get what you like.)

Step 3. I then arranged the foliage on the wreath, so I could plan where to put things. In my case I took the foliage apart and just used some. (See below.)

Step 4. I then sprayed some of the foliage gold. (In this case I sprayed my the leaves gold.)

Step 5. With a hot glue gun I glued the foliage onto the wreath.

Opt. Step 6. Finally I hammered a nail into the top of my mirror and hung the wreath with a  ribbon. Voila!

And Yet More Wreaths

The top of our piano is filled with Santa Clauses, so I made a red and green wreath for that spot. My daughter, Carly, said that my first design was kitch which I think means tacky, so I went about trying to come up with something else. I decided to wrap the whole wreath with a long red ribbon, then I added a bow. (See steps below for making the "perfect bow".  I really don't try to rhyme it just comes out that way.)

The Perfect Bow

Step 1. Get two kinds of wired ribbon and put one kind on top of the other.

Step 2. Begin making the bow by making loops on both sides and holding the center.

Step 3. Cut one type of ribbon and continue with one more loop on each side with the ribbon that's left.

Step 4. Using about 10 inches of ribbon tie the center of the bow tightly, then spread out the parts of the bow and fluff it up. There you have the perfect bow!

Happy Decorating!

Christmas Crafts and Other Stuff

As they say, there is a kid in all of us. So if you have kids around or just like to do kid stuff this post is for you!

Christmas Cookie Tricks

The hardest thing about making Christmas cookies is transferring the cookies to the cookie sheet. The cute little things seem to always lose their shape and sometimes even get beheaded.  I came up with a random way to avoid this! (Plus this method hardly makes any mess!)

You'll need:

A pkg. of sugar cookie mix and other ingredients required or pre-made cookie dough (my personal favorite).

A can of vanilla icing

Red, green and blue sprinkles

Christmas cookie cutters

Rolling pin and cookie sheet

Step 1.  Mix up the dough just as the directions say unless you are using pre-made dough.

Step 2. Put the dough in the freezer for about 20 min. This makes the dough easier to roll out. Use only a portion of dough at a time and keep the rest of it in the freezer. Form a ball with the dough. (You almost can't get the dough to cold.) If it freezes, just microwave it for a few seconds

Step 3.  Here's the biggy: Flip a cookie sheet over and roll the dough out onto the bottom of it rather than on a cutting board (see the picture above). This avoids any disfigurement that could happen when transferring the figures from a cutting board to a cookie sheet. 

Step 4. Another biggy: Using a cookie cutter, cut into the cold dough, then peel the dough off around each shape. (see ex. above) I also use a small metal spatula to remove cookies from the baking sheet when they are done.

Step 5. Follow the directions for baking on the package. Take cookies out while they are a bit soft. (I also use a small metal spatula to remove cookies from baking sheet).

Step 6. For any of the cookies where you want to use only sprinkles, sprinkle them before you bake.

Step 7. After the cookies are cooled, add icing and sprinkle with sprinkles (Very little clean-up).

Step 8. Eat them

Non- Edible Houses

Every year for years, our daughter, Abbey, who is 19 makes a ginger bread house. Here are a few tricks that she has learned over the years. First of all, we always get the the deluxe kit (of course at Michaels). (If you are new to this and don't want to play with the big boys, start with the regular kit.)

Trick 1. To keep the walls and roof from caving in, use a hot glue gun instead of icing.  Abbey says, " If we're not gonna eat the house anyway (the walls are literally hard as a rock) why not use a hot glue gun to keep the walls together?" Genius! It works beautifully! 

Trick 2. After squeezing some of the icing onto the roof, smooth it with a spackling knife.

Trick 3. Put some of the frosting in a separate plastic bag and cut a super small hole in one of the corners. Pressing out the frosting from the bag is great for smaller detail work.

Don't be too discouraged if your house doesn't look like Abbey's. I myself have less than zero fine motor skills and still have fun making one. (Notice there's no picture of mine.)

* My friend, Margy Coleman, of Chicago soaks the edges of their house in tea and "The walls stay together perfectly." Her girls like to eat theirs!

Easy Peasy Homemade Ornaments

Every kid likes to see an ornament they've made hanging on their Christmas tree. Here is an easy way to make them smile.. (Some steps are better for adults to do, like cutting out the ornament).

Step 1. Take some card board (I like to use the cardboard from the underside of a legal pad) and a cookie cutter (the simpler the better.) Trace the cookie cutter, and cut it out.

Step 2. After that punch a hole at the top of the cardboard "cookie" using a hole punch.

Step 3. Thoroughly cover the ornament with glue stick and sprinkle the ornament with lots glitter.  

Step 4. Repeat step 3 on the other side.

Step 5. Spray both sides with shellac to keep the gitter from coming off.

Step 6. Twist an ornament hook, so it will hang right. Hang it on your tree. Beautiful!

Light It Up

My kids and I used to do something really fun to make their rooms more Christmasee. We would put green and red light bulbs into their light fixtures. (I got them at the lighting store.) They just loved it! It gave their room a magical feel.

Happy Christmas Crafting!