A Bit Bookish....

A great resource for visual presentation is the Pottery Barn series of decor style books. Created by the talented designers at PB, nearly every room in a home is covered - plus some. Most of the series is pictured above - it's my own collection - tho I have yet to grab the 'Kids Rooms' available at PB Kids stores. (Personally, I'm waiting for the 'Garages' book.... ;o) ) EDITED TO ADD: I just got in from shopping, and found the PB Kids book on sale for $14.99 - so I bought it! Hey, I have a grandson to decorate for!!!)
I've been building my collection gradually, and I received two more editions as Christmas gifts!

FABulous ideas for outdoor furniture, plants, tabletop, and event decor.

Innovative presentations for office supplies, furniture, and it will come in VERY handy when I undertake my own 'Office Makeover: Extreme Edition' next month. (Sans Ty & the Gang, darn it....hey, I helped YOU guys out when you were here in Washington!!!)

This was the first book in the series that I purchased, and I consider it one of the best for my purposes. Great ideas for merchandise/product displays of any type, as well as home decorating tips.

One of my favorite authors is Alexandra Stoddard.

I admire her innate design sense and infallible use of color, and I am inspired by her philosophy of design, decorating, and living. I have all of HER books, as well, and was excited to read in the January issue of Country Living magazine that Sandie's new book will be available soon. Here is the blurb from the mag:

I highly recommend a visit to her website www.alexandrastoddard.com.

image credits: Alexandra Stoddard photo and book photo/information from Country Living magazine, January 2007 issue.

Damage Control...

So, let's just say, somewhat hypothetically, that 'Acts of God' ruin your Holiday sales.
Record-breaking rainfall for a month, snow & ice shutting down the roads for days, historical windstorm knocks out power to the entire region and snarls traffic (EVERYTHING snarls traffic here...what is that all about?!!!), shuts down businesses, and keeps customers huddled at home under fifteen blankets to keep warm in their powerless abodes for a week.

Hypothetical, of course. There is no WAY all of that could happen to one area in a two-month span of time.
Unless you live in the Pacific Northwest.

So, amidst all of Nature's Rampage, retailers are expected to continue to sell the merchandise in their stores to keep the valuable fourth quarter numbers in the black.Easier said than done!
One local independent retailer, Molbaks, is running registers off of generators in order to stay open. The huge building is all greenhouses, heated by steam, so there is warmth and light and apparently, enough people who are willing to go out and find both. Plus shop in the process! But many others, like the wineries, are still in blackout. Generator power is minding the tanks and humidity systems, in order to save the wine. Sales are at an all-time low for this week of the year.

But what can you do? Throw out the spoiled food and wait for power. Slash prices to 50/75/80 percent off, and hope for the best. The same thing everyone ELSE is doing. I've been chatting with the buyer for the winery, who is none too happy with this nasty turn of events. She'll do the markdowns when the shop reopens, but then, I suggested something else....

Let's salvage all that we can and turn it into winter/spring displays. Like, for example, those ornaments above.....silver, with red felt dots. Some others in the collection say 'Love'. So they didn't sell....well, then let's make lemons into lemonade and create a big red Valentine's day display! Those ornaments will be heaped into a huge heart-shaped box I have, made to look like bon bons. And the red table, below, will fit right in:
So will the red cyclamen flowers and the linens with white snowflakes..
And some of these Seasons of Cannon Falls snowmen, below, are 'non-holiday specific', so I'll use them, too. It's still winter - they still work!!!! The newsprint snowflakes from the collection can hang from tree branches above.

The winery stocks a line of pottery in multiple colors year-round, and I'll pull the red pieces to round out the display.
Some of the white Vietri poettery with the lacy edges will work nicely, too. Then just add some fab Seattle Chocolates in Valentine's boxes, some red wine, a few red velvet wine bags, and you have a new look with almost all 'leftover' merchandise. It's a way to get more than clearance prices from things that didn't sell, keping your profit margin high.

Once I get the display installed, post-Holiday, I'll share a photo. But I thought that perhaps sharing a solution would be helpful right now. And even if you don't have to deal with a bad sales slump, sometimes products just don't move like you expect them to. Rethink them, restyle them, recombine them with other merchandise to create a whole new story. Don't think that the way they were displayed in the showroom is the ONLY way to merchandise them! Sometimes, your creativity can mean the difference between clearance and sell-out.

My best to all area retailers struggling this year....hang in there. It really can't get any WORSE!!!!

Head Toward the Light.....

Deb's Daily Musings, Post-storm:
Today, the sun was shining. The sky was clear.
Last night, it was a crisp freezing winter night with a million stars twinkling above.
A lovely and welcome respite from the past week's devastating weather...

Thursday it was 'the Mother of all Windstorms' that nearly swept the NorthWest off to Siberia, along with torrential rain yet again to swell the rivers and bring hillsides crashing down.
Friday, it was the Big Freeze as temps dropped and power outages affected almost every county in the state.
Saturday it was gray and cloudy and still getting colder, the threat of SNOW hanging on the lips of every weatherman on the news. We all shuddered just thinking about it. 'White Christmas' has a lovely nostalgic tone to it, but not when you have been fighting the ravages of Mother Nature for two months straight. You want clear, dry, warm, CALM weather.Then there is the memory of the LAST snowstorm, which hit during rush hour on the Monday after Thanksgiving, when people were stuck on the roads for hours, even overnight, just trying to get home from work (Or the Seahawks game, for the diehard fans).

People still without power have started burning everything they own to keep warm....holding out hope that the PSE, PUD, SCL, and assorted other agencies will be able to get the lines replaced, the transformers repaired, and the grids operational again. FAST. It's getting there, bless the utility company's hearts (they are working non-stop) but there are still areas in blackout...about 200,00 households still.So many people without power and warmth....please keep them in your thoughts and prayers. While this might not be as horrific as Katrina or the Tsunami, it is awful for those families who are struggling to survive the cold and darkness. Especially at this time of year.

Just a note to anyone reading this: Remember this, and tell your loved ones:
DO NOT EVER BURN A BBQ FIRE (charcoal, etc.) IN YOUR HOME TO KEEP WARM. Carbon Minoxide poisoning results, and it kills. More people have been hospitalized here due to this than ever before...including babies.Hubby is a contractor, and he says that homes are built so airtight now, that there is no venting of toxic fumes. Even if you have a gas fireplace or burn a Prestolog, etc. in your fireplace, you should crack a window open to help vent the fumes.
DO NOT EVER LEAVE A BURNING CANDLE UNATTENDED. Fires result, and fires kill people. Get handcrank or 'shaker' flashlights to use in a blackout, not candles. And if you DO use candles, place them inside glass hurricanes or deep vases for safety.

Vintage Ornaments on Parade...

One of my residential clients has these AMAZING ornaments...they are vintage, made of velvet and felt and silk and rhinestones. Just incredible detail. Karen and I add them to her tree in 'stories' , color-coordinated groupings, so that they will stand out. There are groups of gold, white, yellow, peach, and two shades of green. Hanging them this way really makes a statement on the tree, too, rather than having them all spread out.

I love this one the most - look at the sweet little girl in the hot air balloon! The client's two year old daughter just adores it! (So we hung it low enough for her to SEE, but high enough that she can't TOUCH it!)

The story on these ornaments is that our client got them from her husbands' mom. Well, mom was there this year when we decorated, so we asked her to tell us the story - were they made by family members, handed down thru generations of women?

Nope! They were made by a group of women in West Seattle in the 1940's & '50's, and sold at Frederick & Nelsons' Department Store here. (I love it - enterprising women with a cottage industry back then!) Mom's MOM had bought them for herself, then handed them down to her daughter, and once her son married, she passed them on to his wife. What a lovely tradition!

I just thought I'd share these lovely treasures with you....

Vintage Tea Party Theme

Okay...the final theme. Finally! Thank you for being so patient with me.
I have been so busy, my head is spinning. Completed my last residential decorating installation yesterday, so now I can catch up with the blogs and my own holiday prep...and cleaning up the office here, which looks like Hurricane Deb swept thru on a rampage.

This theme is all about nostalgia, memories, childlike wonderment.
Reminiscent of Grandma's kitchen (yes, I have a grandma theme going on in my life! and it SO reminds me of my Grandma Fritzie's kitchen that I hung out in as a kid), you can almost smell the sugar cookies in the oven when you look at the vintage linens, sweet treats, and fun accents.Family treasures & heirlooms are the focus - and no, that does not mean 'valuable' heirlooms. It means cooky cutters and embriodered tablecloths and handmade ornaments. The look I created is in the 'traditional' red, white and green (with the green kicked up to chartreuse, just because I can!) - and yet, it would look equally as sweet done in 'Shabby Chic' colors like pastel blues, pinks, silvers, and whites. Or try the uber-cool red, white, and aqua blue combination for a hip rendition! By adding in MORE colors, like maybe every conceiveable color in the rainbow, this look is perfect for a childs' room, playroom, or party.


Things to do with ornaments:
Well, yeah, sure, you can hang 'em on the TREE....but that limits you to a certain number. I mean, when the tree is FULL...you're done. But start filling up other containers, and you'll have an endless supply of decorating opportunities! Those yummy 'bon bon' ornaments above are simple to make and display: plastic resin ornaments (www.dollartree.com) get a pom pom hot-glued in front of the hook (hides it but you could still hang them) and then gets displayed in several ways: sit them in layered cupcake papers as I did, and fill up a cupcake stand or a baking tin; OR hot glue them onto the tops of REAL ice cream cones - those can be displayed on the tree (just hang from the ornamen'ts hook) or by sitting them into cute little sundae glasses at each place setting. Great favor! And unbreakable, so terrific for kids. This is a fun craft project for them, too. but get lo-temp hot glue.

Heaping bowls and candy dishes full of ornaments is a fabulous way to display ones that are heavy or broken - if the top is gone, no problem: flip it upside down. If part of the ornament is missing, nestle it among others to hide the damage. I have a few old bells that are really just half bells - no one knows it, tho! For big, tall vases, get more resin ornaments so they are lightweight, then pile them in there. Add lights for sparkle.

Or, take something that is not a 'holiday' item, and foof it up! My wire mannequin has become 'Miss Holly Daze' for the season, with vintage aprons, a garland 'boa', and some more resin ornaments as giant pom-pom trim under her apron. I filled her with lights and she now stands in the corner of my (very messy) office to cheer me up! Note the apron used as a chair cover in the first photo, too - great idea for a girls' tea.

Tabletop ideas....snug the flatware & napkin into miniature stockings. Works great for buffets or place settings, and is an idea that people go GA GA over every time I show it! That sweet cupcake pincushion favor is my version of Amy's cupcakes that she was selling last year...I DID ask her permission to copy it, I swear! (She doesn't have any on her site right now, but maybe in the future?!!!) I made mine in a teacup, and it's a lovely little goody for the girls to take home after you host a Christmas tea for them at your place. They also double as placemarkers. You could create dough ornaments that look like cookies, or give bags of a special blend of tea as favors, too, to coordinate with your theme. Just be ready for the 'How SWEET!!!!!' comments you'll get!

Wishing you all the merriest of holiday seasons...and whether you celebrate with a tree, a menorah, or something else, let's all remember that the reason for the season is LOVE...

Babies & Birdies!

First, the reason there have not been any recent posts from the Diva....

I've been busy becoming a GRANDMA!!!!
Let me introduce you to Troy, my daughters' son, who arrived on Wednesday night and was instantly greeted by a crowd of family and friends - all with cameras! The hospital called us 'the Paparazzi'! It was a joyous celebration of life and I am so blessed to have been in the delivery room with my daughter to hear his first cry, be there to hold him, and to hand him to his daddy to hold for the first time. This is truly the best gift I have ever been given!!! Thank you, Bethy.

okay okay I'll stop gushing.....

Now, as promised, installment two of the Holiday Hullaballoo: 'Bird in a Gilded Cage'

This design is all about opulence, glamour, and bringing nature into decor.
Gold, mossy greens, browns & bronzes make up the color palette - but you could certainly adjust them to fit your own surroundings. This idea of making your holiday decor match your existing home decor has so many benefits - you can use many items that aren't necessarily 'holiday' items, like putting the wreath and candles inside the giant birdcage (which I found for just 19.99 at Goodwill!); the continuation of colors makes spaces seem larger than if you interject new ones (like red in a room that is normally soft colors); and you aren't overcome by the 'holiday' feeling - it is a 'cozy-ing up' of your surroundings without overwhelming them.

While this look is glitzy, you could take the whole outdoors theme another direction - use burlap, twigs, pinecones, rustic birdhouses, bark balls, and snowflakes, and a color scheme of greens, browns, and whites - maybe bronze or silver, too - and you've got a NorthWoods look. (Without the ubiquitious red & black hunters' plaid!) Or, maybe you like the Mediterranean idea but not the birds - substitute bunches of grapes, wine glasses, wine bottle ornaments, grapevines twisitng thru the tree, and some rich burgundian colors, and you've got a wine theme worthy of Bacchus!

This is the 'cagelet' tree topper I created to illustrate the theme, with credit and my undying thanks for permission to lift the idea going to Alicia at Posie. Hers are ever more detailled with vintage treasures, so check them out. I love using atypical things on tops of trees - those spiky glass toppers look so much better displayed on candlesticks (slide the ornament over a thin taper candle for stability) PLUS that way you can use more than one of them!!! Stars and Angels are fine, but sometimes you just want something spectacular. A ready-made cage or hat or birdhouse would have worked perfectly here, as well. I've used small lamps and even chandeliers as toppers - just use wire to suspend them for above for safety.


I made a few ornaments to illustrate the concept of using large-scale items to fill up a tree.This is a great way to make an impact AND get your decorating done faster! Cluster ornaments in groups of threes (using pipe cleaners to fasten them together and to the tree) or create 'bouquets' of silk or dried flowers, berried stems, and tie it up with ribbon - then simply lay it on a branch. This is a way to prepare things in quantity ahead of time - something we simply have to do for corporate and retail installations, in order to maximize our time. You can prep while watching all of those Christmas specials on tv!!!

The birdhouses are simply made paper boxes, using sheet music. (Jingle Bells!) That hole in front isn't real - I drew it on with a marker. And I shoved a toothpick in as a perch. We'll call this one 'Fast, CHEEP, and Easy'....ugh......sorry. The cones are made from gold embossed & foiled florist paper (it reversed to a gorgeous green and I had intended to use that too - but it didn't show up against the tree) and I added a drippy beaded trim at the top edge (which barely shows in the photo). The trim was pre-made for use on lampshades, etc. And then I plopped one big huge hydrangea blossom into each cone. Easy-peasy, as Amy would say! A yarn 'handle' is used to hang them from a branch as they are not too heavy. You could easily substitute a silk flower or even fake snow as filler for these.

You'll also see some silky sheer fabric swathed thru the tree in that photo - everyone asks how to do this. Fabric or fat ribbon needs to be about 12 to 18 inches wide, and as long as you can handle - several yards. Fold the fabric in thirds width-wise so the edges don't show, then TWIST it losely. Start at the top (after lights!) and swirl it in a diagonal pattern down the tree. (Not straight across - your tree will look short and fat. Same principle as dressing yourself applies here! Think TALL and Slender!) Tuck it in, pouf it out, make it MOVE like flowing water as it drapes....you need to keep it from being tight, stiff, and laying across the surface of the tree for it to look opulent. Get lights behind it so it glimmers (chiffon and georgette are perfect for this). And have enough so that you can continue to swirl it UNDER the tree as a skirt...a lovely finish, especially if you nestle some lights under it. You can use ribbon along with fabric, too - either add the ribbon the same way in the spaces BETWEEN the fabric, or loop the ribbon around the fabric. Use ribbon that is about 3 or 4 inches wide to keep it 'fluid' in appearance - keep it twisting, turning, and swirling all the way down the tree.

I'll post the final photos of theme three in the next few days...right now, I'm off to daughters' house to get in some baby cuddlin' time! ;o)