valentine's day "Quick....I Need a Tablecloth!"

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 What does one do when one needs a tablecloth and has a particular thing in mind.... no time and no funds? One idea.....make it oneself!

I have a different table in the Dining Room this year than last....the old one was a rectangle, and now it is round. This new (old) table may not be permanent since I think it is too small, but it is doing for now. I had a table cloth in mind....one with bold dark grey stripes. But I certainly did not have time to find it or have one made for the Holidays!

What to do in a pinch? Take out a trusty paint drop cloth....they are huge and very inexpensive....

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 Buy some paint and a 9" roller from Home Depot. The 9" size was just about the right size for my stripes.....

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 Spread out the drop cloth on top of another drop cloth....don't forget! The paint does seep through....

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 If you would like things to be perfect, use painter's tape for making the lines straight. I chose to go a more casual route that ended up being a bit modern looking and "imperfect"...much less stressful! 

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 And in one afternoon....I had the effect I was going for....I draped the table and tucked the extra edges underneath....

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 Then the real fun of setting the table began! I have a pair of hand blown glass candelabras from Mexico...I used one for the center. I added gold chargers and my vintage Tiffany gold edged plates....I kind of liked the simplicity and was thinking to just stop here....but I kept on going.

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 I added some Chinese green glazed plates and my new La Rochere Jacques Coeur wine and water glasses, white hotel napkins and silver....

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 I made a boxwood "ball" using boxwood from the yard to put on the candelabra and some little mercury glass votive holders held more boxwood....

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A few brass horns and pine cones from my Holiday stash....

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Some votive candles, and Mother of Pearl salt dishes.....

All done!



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Dinner at 8:00!

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I hope you all had a wonderful Holiday!

Here's to a Joyful and Prosperous New Year!

valentine's day Holiday Decor at the Denham House

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 The Holidays are about sharing and being with Family and Friends, right? So I wanted to share a little of what's been going on at our house. In between moving Mom in, working, and spending time with my daughter who is home for the Holidays from her first year at college, we have been decking the halls just a little bit.

Last year I made some stockings for the mantle using white burlap, trimming them with a little left over green linen I had from a local Showhouse I had worked on years ago. I added wooden letters to each stocking for each family member's initials. I made them with carved wood letters that I found at Michael's, which I painted black, then added gilding on top of that. I rubbed through the gilt so some of the black paint showed through. Cost for each stocking, about $6. 

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My Mom brought some very fun things with her when she moved it! She had the vintage wire basket (I think it looks like a crown!) and we filled it with crystal bunches of grapes, decanter stoppers, and huge crystal chandelier drops. She also has been collecting crystal balls and spheres for some time, which we scattered across the mantle. I put up a Flea Market painting I found and a copper float that has faded to a beautiful grey-green atop a white ironstone footed bowl. Glass hhurricane lanterns and small glass votive holders, Cedar and Fir garland complete the mantle. Family memories, new and old make it special to all of us.

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Our tree is not very "designer-y". There are so many beautiful takes on designer trees out there, my mind is boggled every year with all of the creativity out there! But our tree remains pretty much the same from year to year. Our kids love to put up ornaments we have collected over the years, many of which I had when I was growing up, some of which my Mom has had since her early marriage since the 50's! All of them hold Christmas stories for us....even the gold paper stars that have been on our tree ever since I was little. It may not be the chic-est...but it is perfection to us!

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I hope you all have wonderful memories of Christmas past and joyful plans for Christmas present!

* Happy Weekend! *

valentine's day Oh Christmas Tree.....

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Living Room Console all ready for the Holidays

It is that time of year again....time to deck the halls and all that jazz. I am finding that this year, the "divide and conquer" method is working for me. I have been working on one room at a time, and so far I am almost done with the Living Room. Granted, I have had help, but the duties are largely up to me. My family has found over the years that I am particular about the tree lights. Guess what? When one is particular, one finds that one is relegated to completing the task oneself. It takes me about 4 hours all together to do the lights.....I know....a bit compulsive.

But isn't it pretty? I do enjoy the fruits of all that labor. I truly do.

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Our tree all finished

It all starts with this:

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And this is not all of it, believe me. I have been collecting ornaments and "stuff" for a long time, and many of the ornaments were collected by my mother and passed on to me. As Mom has downsized over the years, I have become the lucky beneficiary.

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As I said, I did have lots of help, and here are my little elves working away.

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All done!

I decided to use burlap as my tree skirt for the first time, and am not quite sure what took me so long! I love how it drapes and the color is perfect for any color scheme. Best of all, it is very affordable and available.

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And evening all lit up.

The tree was done first. Then on to the console. Every year I do a little something different on this table for the Holidays. One of my very favorite Christmas movies is the musical, SCROOGE. So I decided to add a little Dickens to my decor this year.

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I used ribbon with music printed on it, and brass horns which I have had for many years. I stacked vintage books to add some different heights. I found a vintage star the other day at a shop I love (I will blog about it soon!) covered in tarnished glitter.

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I have added silver candlestick holders leaving them a bit tarnished. I may be alone here, but I love a little bit of tarnish on my silver (unless it is to be used at the table). It has a bit of a romantic quality. I cut some boxwood from our garden and put it in silver baby cups (one was my father's, one was mine and a couple were from other family members.) Derby cups would also be pretty, but I do like the personality of the baby cups.

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I added some votive candles and some evergreen cuttings.

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Oh....and a few gold painted pine cones. (Here's a tip: if you buy wreaths that have pine cones on them, save them for future use before disposing of the wreath after the holidays. They do come in handy and are already pre-wired.)

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As I said, I did have quite a bit of help. We put on the Christmas Carols, had some hot cider and had a wonderful evening making things merry and bright! But now it's time to take a little rest, sit back and enjoy........

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valentine's day It's not too late I hope!!!!!! More Blogger Trees

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I must apologize for being away! Having family stay with us for the holidays and our annual Christmas Eve party put me a little behind. But I have been seeing such lovely trees on so many blogs, I thought it might not be too late to share. I mean....you all keep you own trees up til at least the day after New Years, right? I remember one year growing up, we kept the tree up well into February.

The tree above is by the talented Maison 21 blogger, Christian May. A fairytale in white. Please visit and see Christian's wonderful pets, Richard and Mona, and how Christian translates his love for animals into the Christmas Spirit, here!

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If you haven't seen the Devine Life of designer and blogger Michael Devine, you can check it out here. Michael has conjured up two trees this year. His "city" tree is pictured above.

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And this is his "country" tree. I cannot have just one tree either. (Mine are farther down!) I love that Michael has a celebration with friends to decorate both trees.

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My friend Kevin at Journal 703 has had a particularly poignant Christmas this year. This is his beautiful tree. If you want to find out just what the Christmas spirit is and what a very special person Kevin is, please visit Kevin here and send him your best wishes. Love you Kevin!

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For a very cool tropical Christmas, visit Linda at Lime in the Coconut blog. She has a fantastic house and shows all of her wonderful decorations here. For another very powerful Christmas message from Linda, pause for just a moment .... click here.

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This is blogger Paloma's tree from La Dolce Vita. She has included some pics of her house along with her decorations, so if you LOVE to see what other bloggers do with their decor like I do, click here.

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I have a new blogger friend Lecia who writes A Day that is Dessert blog.....and who doesn't want a day that is dessert?!?!? Lecia lets us in to her warm and cozy life with wonderful recipes and her adventures with her family. She sent me this picture of her beautiful tree, and I hope you have a moment to visit her blog. You will be hooked.

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This is my tree. I love blown glass ornaments, and add to the collection with gifts to my daughters every year. Some of the ornaments I have enjoyed since I was a very little girl.

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This elf is from my childhood.

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And so is this angel on the moon.

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The mermaid was my favorite growing up. The swan and fruit basket have been added in more recent years.

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The reindeer is also newer and came along the same year as this Santa:

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The soldier is an oldy.

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My older daughter loves all things Japanese. I found this glass lantern just last Christmas for her.

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I love this squirrel, a gift to myself, because of the little acorn ornament attached to the hook at the top.

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Like Michael Devine, I have more than one tree. I have collected straw ornaments over the years.... and added more from IKEA lately. I also love carved wooden toy ornaments. So in our basement library/office/kid space, I have this little tree.

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I hope you all had a magical holiday and wish you all a PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR!

valentine's day Christmas and Mercury Glass

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I love vintage mercury glass. One might even call it a bit obsessive. But when it is put all together with candlelight and a miniature Rosemary Christmas tree, one might just consider it a little bit of Christmas magic.

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Mercury glass, or silvered glass was first produced in the mid-1800's as an alternative to silver, and was affordable for the middle classes of the time. It is a double walled piece of blown glass with a hole, usually at the bottom where the silver liquid was poured. If the hole was not well sealed, the silver would eventually wear away. The value of a clouded or faded piece is quite diminished. (I, however, love the clouded pieces. They seem so much more romantic to me somehow.) Mercury glass became mass produced a bit later as it gained in popularity, but production fell off around the turn of the century as it became synonymous with common or bad taste. Because it was not considered valuable, it was discarded and as a result has become more rare. And, as with anything "rare" has become collectible today.

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I gathered my Mercury Glass and put them with a little Rosemary tree trimmed with blown glass candle ornaments that clip to the branches. The tree is in my silver punch bowl. ( I have yet to add the Spanish moss to the punchbowl and the Wisteria mercury glass votive candle holders (here), but I will update you with a new photo when I do!

Just a bit of Holiday Cheer for the day!