Monthly Archives: November 2017

November 19, 2017, posted by Gina – We had a client who was hosting an Open House in their beautiful store and wanted a garland made for a particular spot. Time was short and ordering a pre-made garland was not possible so we decided we could make one ourselves. Here are a few photos of our efforts…

We cut all the greens to the same length and laid them out for easy access.

Here is our garland complete and ready for the flowers. You don’t have to add flowers but it does make it so pretty.

The finished product is in the back of my car ready for delivery!

And finally, a close-up photo so you can get a better look at the assortment of green as well as the roses.

The next time we make one of these, we will do a tutorial in the event you ever find yourself wanting a garland. They are very beautiful and have so many uses.

SaveSave

November 17, 2017, posted by Gina – So, what is fun this Friday? We have lots of Christmas items going out and at the same time we are awaiting Thanksgiving and all its glory. Still, the fact is that people are preparing for the season ahead. So just what are we working on?

|  COTTON  BOLL  WREATH   |

It seems that cotton is very popular this year and we are incorporating it into wreaths and other arrangements. We embellished this wreath with some beautiful ribbons, greenery and red berries for a festive touch.

|  TRADITIONAL  CENTERPIECE   |

We were asked to create a centerpiece for a table that would last throughout the season. Our client prefers using traditional colors of red, white and green and this piece will be a nice compliment.

|   REFINED  RUSTIC  |

This rustic toolbox is destined to adorn an outside porch, so we used more natural elements for an outdoorsy look. We added a bit of cotton and berries for a festive feel.

|  SMALL TOOLBOX  ARRANGEMENT   |

This cute little toolbox is the perfect pick-me-up. We added a plaid bow as it just seemed to be the perfect compliment to the box.

|   MAILBOX  SWAG  |

Christmas greens provided the backdrop for this mailbox swag while ribbons, a bit of shimmer and a few cotton bolls provided the finishing touches.

November 8, 2017, posted by Gina – Occasionally, I take a long, hard look at my houseplants and conclude they have seen better days. I try to make them last as long as possible but replacing them at a certain point becomes inevitable. Several of mine had reached the point of no return this week and I bought some replacements. I am very happy with the plants I found.

This Lemon Button Fern is one of the easiest ferns to keep looking fresh. I water it about once per week and I occasionally run the spray water on it.

Neon Pothos is very reliable and easy to keep looking just as the day you purchased it. I water once per week.

This ivy topiary was so cute that I could not pass it up. Ivy seems to be prey for spider mites but one way to keep these pests at bay is to keep the ivy evenly watered. Don’t let it dry out but, conversely, don’t let it stay too wet.

Kalanchoe is my favorite house plant because of the beautiful, colorful blooms and it is the easiest plant to maintain. It requires very little water and its waxy leaves always look fresh. The blooms will fade and when that happens I clip them off and am left with a pretty green plant. These will bloom again but it takes a bit of time.

Asparagus fern is an easy fern to keep alive. This one is on my screened in porch to protect it from frost. Keep it evenly watered and it will become like a family member.

While proper watering is the key to having healthy plants, there are a few products that can help them along…

I use houseplant food, which is a fertilizer, every couple of months and follow the directions on the bottle. Triple Action Plus keeps insects and fungus from killing your plants. Spray this on every other month and you will have longer lasting plants. I suggest you take your plants outside for this spray as it is very strong. And finally, Leaf Shine makes most any plant look fresher and so beautiful.

I hope these tips help you keep your houseplants happy and hanging around for a while. Let us know any tips you have for keeping houseplants alive.

November 3, 2017, posted by Gina with special thoughts from Michelle – Happy Friday! We had tons of Trick-or-Treaters at our house decked out in some great costumes. It made our Halloween so much fun. The very next evening we attended a Christmas Gala. It is crazy how fast things move from Fall inspired decorating and activities to holiday splendor. We love Thanksgiving and, in fact, it may be our favorite holiday. Even with this, we feel it is a good thing to at least begin planning for Christmas, so we will be sharing some ideas and projects and recipes in the next few weeks.

|   H A L L O W E E N    |

Every year my neighborhood passes out these “Boo’d” signs. After you put the sign in a prominent window or door in front of your house you follow a set of instructions. You are instructed to prepare two goody bags/pumpkins filled with treats and other fun items like cocktail napkins, spider rings, pumpkin pencils, etc. Once those are done, you make two copies of each of the Boo’d signs and instruction sheets which you place inside your goodie bag. You then sneak these to two neighbor’s homes in the dark of the night. It spreads like wildfire and is such a fun game for everyone to enjoy.

|    L I N E N   A D D I C T    |

With the holidays on our heels, I decided it was way past time for me to clean out my table linen closet. As you can see from this photo I may be addicted to napkins. While these piles covered my whole island, there were many more that are not shown here. What can I say, I love entertaining and I need a lot of napkins. I can quit any time I want.

|     C O M E   &   G E T   I T    C O O K B O O K   by   R E E   D R U M M O N D    |

The Pioneer Woman’s (aka Ree Drummond) new cookbook is here. It is called Come & Get It and is sure to be as helpful and inspiring as her prior cookbooks. In true Ree form, each recipe has easy to follow, step by step photos of how to prepare each recipe. I just purchased my copy, so I’ll let you know how I like it. If you have already tried some recipes, please share them with us.

|   D A R L I N G   D O L L S   |

I have been working on a design project for a little girl’s room and ran across Cuddle & Kind. These precious, hand knit dolls are so cute and no doubt very soft and cuddly. Part of the proceeds from the sale of these dolls goes to help children in need. How great is that? I have had such a great time working on a little girl’s room. I usually work on the main areas of a home but this time I have the opportunity to step outside of my normal box.

|   I have no idea why Gina thought it would be a good idea to taunt the person who is in total control of this website. I guess first born children aren’t good at thinking things through to their logical conclusion.   🙄|

I could not resist this. I am sure Michelle is not happy with me but still it makes me laugh. I am the oldest and she is the second born. Look out! I am sure she will get me back. It’s a sister thing.

Enjoy your weekend! Set your clocks one hour back on Saturday night and enjoy that extra hour of sleep.

SaveSave