Wednesday, December 31, 2014

New Year's Wishes


Hello!!  Blogging has been and continues to be a learning experience for me, and I thank every blog I've visited for inspiring me, and for those who've stopped by to chat with me as well!  I truly appreciate it!  Wishing you and yours all the very best in 2015, and beyond!  Warmest wishes from my heart and family to yours!

PDD

Saturday, December 27, 2014

Set Your Table With Flair--A Gilded New Year's Eve


Hello, friends!  Thank you for stopping by my blog.

Are you enjoying the holiday season thus far?  I know I certainly am.  In honor of the New Year which is just a few days away, I thought I'd share an inspirational tablescape with a few tips to make your table shine.  These simple tips are elegant, easy, and most importantly, inexpensive!  I hope you enjoy the post!!


Choosing my color scheme
This year, I wanted to stay even more traditional than I did last year by choosing black and gold.  Black and gold for New Year's is not only a standard, but the color combination really makes a bold statement. 

I began my 2014-2015 New Year's Eve table with a plain black cloth.


Next, I added a strip of fabric to act as a runner.
 

Closer look.  I love these little metallic palettes!  Using a fabric such as this is an easy way to add sparkle and shimmer to your New Year's.


Gold chargers were placed,


followed by tall pillar candle stick holders at either side of the table.


Black candles (with elaborate gold labels I left on) were set in each candle holder.


Clear plates were set next, as to not take away from the color scheme;


followed by dark amber saucers.


Adding some kitsch
For me, New Year's Eve is all about fun, so at each setting, I added a napkin folded into a bow tie.  Who doesn't like to attend a black tie affair?  :)


To complete the napkin fold, first lay your open napkin onto a surface.


Fold to the right length-wise,


and again length-wise.  Turn napkin so that the open fold is facing away from you.


Fold the napkin toward the middle on both the left


and right sides.


Turn over.


Pinch your napkin,


and feed it carefully through your napkin ring.  Fluff.  All set!






Simple details
Simple small champagne glasses for toasting were placed at each setting,





and to complete the setting, gold flatware.  Easy!



Creating a simple long centerpiece
To create a centerpiece that falls length-wise down my table, I began by combining floral arranging foam blocks with a skewer.  You can make a centerpiece the length of the table making it as long or short as you want by using this simple method, just edit to your liking.





I began building the centerpiece by adding faux foliage from the center of the block outward.


I used inexpensive grocery store calla lilies to add drama.  Love the richness of the color!!


Trim,


and add to the foam in sporadic areas along with the foliage.  Violà!


To add a little more dimension, little French candles were added at either side of the centerpiece.


Shown here.






The table is set!




I love the shimmer!!






Close ups of the place setting.






A couple more shots.








From my collection:

Black tablecloth, generic, Target
Sheer fabric with gold palettes, my local thrift
Gold chargers, clear plates, amber saucers, all, generic, from either The Dollar Tree or The 99 Store
Black napkins, generic, HomeGoods
Gold capiz shell napkin rings, Horchow/Neiman Marcus
Gold flatware, Wallace Grand Duchess collection, Horchow/Neiman Marcus
Tall candleholders, small candles, and pillar candles, all, Ross
Small toasting flutes, Ikea

Here's to hoping you all had a wonderful holiday, and wishing you a fabulous 2015!!



Thursday, December 25, 2014

Comfort and Joy

God rest Ye merry Gentlemen, let nothing you dismay....

Remember, Christ, our Savior, was born on Christmas Day.

To save us all from Satan's power when we were gone astray;

O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy.

O tidings of comfort and joy!  






If you enjoy this post, please visit the archives!  You may also visit my full profile to view my other blogs. Connect with me on my Facebook Page, Parsimonious Décor Darling.   You might like to visit my other blog hubs,

The Marvelous Maison, a lifestyle blog hub and 
Frugal Fab Fashionista, my fashion blog hub. 

Follow me on Pinterest!!  Please be sure to kindly follow the board guidelines, as it takes time and effort to find fabulous pins across the Internet and Pinterest!  Thank you!  

Thank you for stopping by! ❤

Monday, December 22, 2014

Five Simple Gift-Wrapping Tips and Ideas




Hello, friends!!  Thank you so much for stopping by my blog today!

Have you finished up your shopping?  If you are like me, it's down to the last minute, lol.  We have just finished up our shopping, and now it's time to get everything wrapped.  Today's post will feature five simple ideas to make your gift wrapping not only unique, but memorable as well!


I.  Who Says You Need So Much Tape?
To give my presents a streamlined, seamless look, I often omit tape almost completely and choose to make an invisible closure.  This technique works best with wired ribbon.  To create an invisible closure, lay your present face-down onto your wrapping paper.  Tape your ribbon onto your box, which will be the bottom of your gift.  Cut your wrapping paper large enough so that it will overlap the ribbon.
 
 
Turn present, creasing ribbon along the box as you go to keep it in place.


When you are on the underside of the present once again, trim the ribbon, leaving enough excess to fold over (or underneath) the paper.


Like so.


Now, using an adhesive roller


or glue stick, glue the paper down.


Press.


You should now have a seamless closure on the underside of your gift.  No visible tape!



II.  Make Your Own Unique Wrapping Paper!
There's nothing like making something that is uniquely yours.  To accomplish this, start with plain brown wrapping paper.  Make it your own by using an inkpad and stamper, or imprint a pattern onto the paper using paint.  Here, I've used a section of an egg carton to dot white paint onto the paper.

 

To make a soft effect emulating snowfall, while the paint was still semi-wet, I used a paper towel to gently smear the paint.



III.  Embellishments Are Key!
Don't be afraid to embellish, embellish, embellish!!  I find The 99¢ Store and Dollar Tree to be wonderful resources when finding items to decorate with.  For instance, one stem costing $1 can be clipped and separated into several pieces for several gifts!



For example:



There are also single items that make great embellishments, such as this star ornament.  Just hot glue onto your present.  These are also great because they are easily removed, and can be reused!




IV.  Use Contrasting Ribbon!
The use of two different ribbons rather than one is another excellent way to give your gifts dimension.
      
Here, I've used one wide wired ribbon and combined it with a smaller thin ribbon.



Another example.  This almost reminds me of the Gucci boxes back in the 80's era, ha, though it wasn't my intent, you get the gist.



V.  Bring Out The Bows!
Bows, bows, and more bows.  Here, a simple transparent ribbon becomes elegant.  To view the tutorial to tie this bow, you may do so in the archives here.




I hope everyone is having a wonderful and blessed holiday!





If you enjoy this post, please visit the archives!  You may also visit my full profile to view my other blogs. Connect with me on my Facebook Page, Parsimonious Décor Darling.   You might like to visit my other blog hubs,

The Marvelous Maison, a lifestyle blog hub and 
Frugal Fab Fashionista, my fashion blog hub. 

Follow me on Pinterest!!  Please be sure to kindly follow the board guidelines, as it takes time and effort to find fabulous pins across the Internet and Pinterest!  Thank you!  

Thank you for stopping by! ❤