If you haven’t guessed yet from the shortage of posts, my life has been super busy. But not too busy to wrap Christmas presents in a new way (for me). I decided that this year I would wrap everything with materials I already had on hand. I started with newspaper, and embellished each package with decorations I cut out of wallpaper samples, left-over wrapping paper, etc. I also used rubber stamps and markers (particularly silver and gold).

Every package was unique. I also used a couple of Japanese techniques – origami and kirigami – to make snowflakes out of the left-over gift wrap.

I wrapped some odd-sized things using clear wrap (left-over of course) and the shreds from our paper shredder as a cushion. I also made my own gift cards. A glue stick is a must. I ran out at the last minute. So I suggest buying extra.

I had a few boxes that looked fairly nice on their own. So I embellished them with the wallpaper samples.

I actually had some blank cards in the closet. (I swear I didn’t buy them)! I needed them for my teenaged nieces and nephews who like cash. So I made little pockets and tied the check into the fold with ribbon. The front is my perhaps lame attempt at being cool. I’ll let you know after the New Year if it worked.
Sometimes I found a particularly interesting image on the newspaper. I also liked the contrast between the news and the spirit of Christmas. Most of all, I like Christmas being as much about the thought that goes into the wrapping as the gift contained therein.

So if you run out of gift wrap at the last minute, put these ideas to good use. Let me know if you have a recycled item you use for gifts. I’ve got birthdays coming up!

Have a wonderful holiday and a splendid New Year. I’ll see you then.

If you’re going to spend Christmas with unruly family members, you need to buy yourself a box of chocolates from Olive and Cocoa. Hide it under the bed. This assortment starts at $44.00. When you’re finished with the goodies you can use the beautiful box for socks, or whatever.

Scoot over to Etsy’s Love The Day shop for cute stuff like their holiday-inspired popcorn boxes, bell jar stickers, and lots of other neat printed things.

After you’ve spent all night putting together a doll house, swing set, or bedroom set from IKEA, you’re going to need coffee. The best ever, ever, ever are Nespresso’s coffee makers. Another must-have coffee accessory is their milk frother. It works like magic and is worth the $89.00. Nespresso’s site is just about as annoying as putting together a swing set, but it’s worth the struggle. Once you’ve bought the coffee maker you can buy the coffee pods from Amazon. Misterarthur LOVES his.

I’m loving these food themed pillows from Barney’s. Best of all, you don’t have to put them away after the holidays. Lordy knows I’m a fruitcake 365 days a year ($135.00). Barney’s gets major points for having the coolest online gift guide. I need that web designer.

I’m buying this Cuisinart Smart-Stick immersion blender for someone on my list ($29.95 from Sur la Table). I love mine, so I figure I should share the love with…. shhhh!

Everyone needs calories, so why not brag about it? We all know we’re going on diets after the New Year, right? I’m filling my Jonathan Adler Calorie Canisters ($38.00) with candy.

Michigan’s Great Lakes Tea & Spice Co. has the most amazing teas and spices. Their packaging is lovely, too. My favorite thing are these little tea pots. They come in different colors and are the cutest tea-thing on Earth. And they’re only $30.00. That’s chump change for the cutest thing on the planet.

Is this gift guide helpful? I always try to choose things I’d like to have, or own already and love. My best tip is, if you’re totally stumped just buy chocolate and wrap it up nicely.

Finally, I’d like the thank my beloved husband, Arthur, for helping me out with some excellent posts while I was out of town last month. And thanks to you guys for the great comments on his man-gift guide post. He deserves a very large riding mower, don’t you think?

A ran all the way home (not really), and checked out their site. Nettleton Hollow is now my new favorite floral resource. With all the Holidays coming up I thought I’d share some of their products, and brilliant ideas for creating lovely centerpieces. Here we go!

Many of us are opting for a more casual style of living. That includes losing the formal dining room, and entertaining entirely in the kitchen. I love this kitchen – it’s formal enough for Thanksgiving. Wish I were invited! The arrangement of flowers on the table gave me the idea to replicate the look with year-round options. Try dry fruits and pods. They’re soooo much better than silk flowers, which scream “last century!” PLEASE! Don’t use fake. Use dried. I’d choose a better pot than the one shown with the lavender. Check out the terrific pots available at Jamali Garden.

Back to holiday decor, I’d love to see this lovely and unexpected arrangement on a coffee table or a round hall table. It’s made from three 18″ – 24″ sandblasted grapewood branches, Protea Repens flowers and sword fern – all sold on their site. The grapewood interlocks.

Anyone who knows me well, knows that I am all about accessories. They finish a room. Fresh flowers can be expensive, so dried botanicals are a wonderful and colorful option. You can always pluck a branch from your own backyard. Or, try some long grasses. This lovely arrangement is made from Mitsumata branches and orchids. To learn how to make this yourself,  follow this link.

Okay, I think I went a little crazy here. But it was a lot of fun. Do you think of creating ginormous arrangements? I often don’t. You need a lot of space. Give it a try! Now that the leaves are off our trees, I put together some options from Nettleton’s stock. They include: dyed Oak Leaves, 18″ Willow Eucalyptus branches, preserved, 30″ Myrtle branches, decorative Hops glued to Manzanita branches, and Craspedia pods. Could this work?

Here’s a simple idea – dried oak leaves with red Manzanita branches in a decorative box.  You can make this so easily. Use Oasis or styrofoam to arrange the branches. Then, tuck the oak leaves into the bottom.

Finally, back to more holiday ideas. Sand blasted, Red and (sprayed) gold Manzanita branches are the backdrop for these hanging votives. Check out Nettleton’s blog for lots of ideas and instructions on making your own. Also, check out Jamali Garden for votive holders. Nettleton made their own hanging glass votives using wire. It looks pretty simple.

So, I’m obviously wild for botanicals, and Nettleton Hollow in particular. Their selection is so broad and they have a how-to section.  I just need to add that I wasn’t paid this post. It’s true love. Here is a brief list of other places to find similar products. Do you have a resource of your own? Leave it with a comment!

More Botanical Resources

Nettleton Hollow

Jamali Garden

Crate & Barrel

CB2

Manzanita Bulworks

Have you been using grasses and other botanicals? Send me photos! I’d love to create a post featuring my readers’ creativity.

Let me begin this review by saying that the candle I was asked to sample from Baroness von Neumann is attractive. So is the box it came in. As such, it might make a delightful gift. The scent, Fete is a little overpowering. I prefer a more subtle scent. But that’s a personal thing, right?

I must admit, the Baroness’ “resumé” smells a little well, eau de poisson-y to moi.

I’m sure they’re accurate, but her press materials stress a ready-for-reality-show kind of vibe. Born in Detroit (how gauche!), raised in “Hollywood”, sent to Swiss finishing school following her marriage to the Baron John Von Neumann. He “discovered” her at a party when she was only 18.  (Perhaps Fete is a Baronessian homage to that fateful evening). Her background also includes a stint as a Dior muse, a dancer, and, “international tastemaker”. (I’d love that job title, by the way).

The candles are also claimed to be 100% organic, (which I can’t confirm, as they don’t come with as extensive a C.V. as the Baroness herself), and are purported to burn for 70 hours.

Here’s what burns me up. Why do people feel compelled to buff their backgrounds so hard they glow in the dark? If, like moi, you’re from Detroit, that’s cool. Why not just leave it at that? Heads up Baroness! We’ve got our own royalty here. She’s called the Queen of Soul. That said, there are no Aretha candles for sale as far as I know.

These might make perfect gifts for your jet-setting friends with homes in Geneva, Palm Springs, and Bel Air. But chances are if they do own a home there, they’re already close personal friends with the Baroness.

PS: when you visit her website or online shop, turn down the speakers or you’ll be subjected to an endless loop of Eurotrash club music. Chicka chicka!

Giveaway!

After all that, I’m actually giving away a Fete candle. This is your chance to live just a tiny bit like the Baroness herself! Light your candle, pour a glass of wine, cozy up to the fire, and sneer at the kids. (Just kidding about that last part). This lovely candle comes in a beautiful box and would make a great gift. Plus, it burns for 70 hours.

To enter, simply leave a comment and let me know how six months at a Swiss finishing school would change your life. The contest runs for a week and is open to everyone in the entire jet-setting world! (Unless you’ve won something in the last 6 months. Are you reading this, Sultan of Brunei?) The winner is drawn at random and will be announced next week. Good luck!

A bark basket is filled with pine greens, twigs from a craft store, pine cones and berries. Buy large pine cones and use florist wire to wrap floral sticks to them. Place into oasis to create this beautiful centerpiece for a table or your coffee table.

This is a photo of my sister-in-law’s dining room. She lives in Verbier, Switzerland. You can’t see it, but a beautiful waterfall tumbles behind the window. Here, she’s get a beautiful basket, wrapped with leaves and tied with twine. The basket it filled with hydrangeas. Simple and lovely. If you can’t find hydrangeas, use another full flower.

I made this simple centerpiece using a wood, leaf-shaped basket from Scout, a home store in Royal Oak ($54.00). I used pine cuttings from the yard and layered large pine cones on top. Another cutting from a tree, tied with a satin ribbon, finishes the look.

This is another simple idea you can do yourself. Square, decorative boxes are lined with votives filled with water and a litte oasis. Pine cuttings and wild flowers are placed to create small, simple centerpieces. Make several and line them along the table, alternating votives candles.

I like this more abstract idea. You can use just about any sort of vase you have and fill them will a variety of roses and other flowers to create a colorful setting that matches your dishes. You can spray paint leaves to create even more bling factor.

This lovely idea using paperwhites is from My Sweet Savannah. Check out her blog for even more ideas.

The publisher of¬† The Vintage Table, by Jacqueline DeMontravel, sent me an advance copy to review. It’s very difficult to give this book away. It’s right up my alley. French, vintage and tabletop. If you also collect vintage textiles, you will adore this book. I also love the fact that it covers more than just¬† place settings. You’ll find inspirational ideas for dressing up all kinds of things from end tables to shelves. There are lots of beautiful photos along the way.

Jacqueline discusses collections as well. It’s all decidedly French, so you know I love that. My apartment in Paris is waiting for me. I’ll be there one of these days!

How To Enter

To win this book, simply leave a comment under any of this week’s giveaway posts. I’d like to see if I can get a discussion going about how you like to “decorate” your tables. Do you place photos on the mantle, or do you think that’s boring? Do you have a style secret you’d like to offer us? Decorating tabletops is my weak point, so I need your tips! If you’re feeling shy, just say hello and you’re still entered to win.

The winner will be drawn, at random, on Saturday, December 12th. The contest is open to everyone living in the US and Canada. If you’ve won a giveaway in the last¬† months, please let everyone else have a chance.

Good luck and let’s have some fun!

In the meantime, take a peek at Erin Ruth’s beautifully tasteful gift wrap. It’s now on sale at her Etsy shop.

See everyone tomorrow!

Speaking of Christmas ornaments, (see earlier post) Grosse Pointe’s own Village Palm has donated this top drawer set of Lilly Pulitzer photo frame Christmas ornaments. To enter, simply leave a comment and let me know your secret preppy name. Mine is Tucky. Is yours Biff?

And, if you’re taking the week off between Christmas and New Years, why not use the time to spruce up a room in your home? Benjamin Moore’s Paint Style book will give you lots of ideas and tips on how to paint a room and create a new look instantly. Don’t forget to send me the Before and After photos! To enter, leave a comment and let me know you want the book.

You can certainly enter to win both. There will be two winners, chosen at random. The contest runs through Friday and is open to everyone living in the US and Canada. I’ll announce the winner on Saturday.

Enter now!