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Gold Poinsettia

 

Do you ever have a day when you have an idea in your head but it just doesn't work on out paper.  Well that was the kind of day I had with this card.  I wasn't sure I should post it, but in case I don't get another one made today, thought I'd go ahead and post it.

I started off by double embossing the background.  The left side is embossed with the Sizzix "Winter Botanicals (657261) and the right side embossed using only a small portion of the Sizzix "Winter Words" (65738) embossing folder.  I really like these two embossing folders used side by side.   I had a piece of gold colored vellum and thought it would make a beautiful poinsettia.  I used VersaMark ink to stamp the Penny Black "Christmas Pride" poinsettia and embossed it with Iridescent Ice embossing powder.  This embossing powder has glitter in it.  The poinsettia was stamped three times and cut out so I could layer it.  I usually like to spritz vellum flowers to give them some dimension, but this particular vellum really wanted to curl up tight and I don't feel like I got a very well shaped flower. First time that has happened to me -- the vellum didn't come from Joan's Gardens, maybe that is why it didn't work as well, hee hee. For fillers behind the flower I used Cheery Lynn "Pine Branches" (B146) and Cheery Lynn Holly Flourish" (B148); also pieces from the Sizzix "Festive Greenery" die.  The center of the flower has some small beads added.  To complete the card I added a silk bow. 

All the products in "bold" can be purchased from Joan's Gardens.

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December Before and After: Poinsettias!

Hello! Can you believe it? The final Before and After Party of the year? It’s blowing my mind how fast the year went. As I get older they just go faster and faster. Not sure I’m happy about that. :)

This month I’m sharing some simple before and afters of a lovely little holiday plant you may have heard of…the poinsettia.

I have long loved this holiday plant, but have NEVER purchased one for our home. I have a friend who gets a few every year, and I have always been jealous of her bright red beautiful flowers.

You see, we’ve had cats as long as I’ve lived, and I had always heard poinsettias were toxic for animals. And then…35 years into life, I found out earlier this year that it’s a myth. I gotta say, I felt a bit cheated for all those years I didn’t get any for fear my cats would keel over.

When I found that out, I knew I would have to get some this holiday season, and then the stars aligned when the dear Tamara contacted me and and a few other bloggers.

Tamara and her husband own a greenhouse in Vancouver, BC, Canada and grow 180,000 poinsettias yearly. Wowza!!

How awesome is that? Needless to say, she’s an expert on the subject of poinsettias.

I was thrilled when the folks at Ball Horticulture in Chicago provided me with a few poinsettias to use this holiday season:

I got two Polar Bear Whites, one Mars Pink and one Christmas Season Red. They were hand delivered to my door and I was giddy when they arrived!

I had grand plans to incorporate them into some vignettes, but to tell you the truth, they’re too big and beautiful to fit well into the spaces I have to work with. I ended up just using them alone here and there and I gotta tell you, I think that does them justice. :)

I’m not really a pink girl, but the Mars Pink plant is SO pretty. I put her (yes, her) in a simple white pot near the Christmas tree:

That white pot used to have a fern in it – the ferns were doing fine, but the cats would NOT STOP eating them. It was driving me mad, so I only have one left and it’s where they can’t get to it. Grrr…

I wanted to house each one in something a bit different, but use what I already had around the house. I found an awesome ceramic container at Goodwill a few months ago and thought the Polar Bear White would look fab in it…and it does:

It looks like it was meant to be in my office! LOVE the white leaves with the blue ceramic! This is one that will stay up all year (if I can keep them alive!!).

The Christmas Red one is my absolute fave though – I am all about the contrast of the deep red leaves with a white pot from IKEA:

I LOVE the look of the traditional poinsettia mixed with the modern white container.

I loved the pop of red in the kitchen so much, I decided to use it on the table too. I wanted to cut the flowers to use in the centerpiece, but when I did the first one, it wilted like crazy. Then my friend Beth mentioned that you have to sear them with a candle flame. I had no idea!

She said:

“Searing will stop the milk sap from leaking out of the plant while still allowing the stems to absorb water. When you break off a poinsettia leaf or stem hold the area excreting sap over a candle flame until it bubbles and sears the area. It will turn black in the areas where you do this, but it won’t detract from your decorating. You will know if you seared the stems correctly based on their post perk or droop. If your poinsettias begin to wilt in your vase, try searing the stem once again and return them to water. Also, you shouldn’t see a milky stream in the water. The water should remain clear.”

Did you know that? I had no idea! I did it just how she described and so far so good! I placed a couple cuts in each little bottle I keep in the kitchen centerpiece:

I love how full and pretty these are – you don’t need many to make a BIG statement. Now my little caddy that holds our sugar and syrup is all business in the front:

Party in the back:

;) I couldn’t resist.

The pops of red on the counter and table look so great with my little wreaths that I hang from the backs of the chairs:

I used to go hog wild with the Christmas decor in the kitchen. I’ve been toning it down a little every year, but it looks just as festive:

Little pops of Christmas are just as powerful, believe me! :)

I can’t get enough of red this time of year. Love it!!

So there’s my before and after for this month – the beautiful poinsettias in their plain Jane containers before:

And the afters!:

I didn’t even replant them by the way, just dropped them in. Easy peasy SQUEEZY.

Fun little facts about poinsettias:

* Did you know they HATE cold? I found that so interesting, considering we mainly see them in the winter.

* You can keep them all year round. Check out this article for a bunch of great tips. One of the ladies I used to work with would tend to the poinsettias we got every season and keep them alive all year!

* I know I already mentioned it, but I think it’s worth reminding that they are NOT toxic. (See this article for more info.) Our cat has already nibbled a few times (even though they are supposed to taste AWFUL, he’s so weird), and he’s just fine. I hear the taste deters any animal (or human) from trying them more than once. ;) If you have any hesitation about it, just keep them up high away from your animals and kiddos.

I for one, am THRILLED that we get to welcome these pretties into our home every Christmas season now!

Do you buy a poinsettia every year? Any luck keeping them going all year?

Now I can’t wait to see what you’ve been up to! Link up your posts below, and If you could, I’d love it if you would link back to this post and/or use this pretty button:

Disclosure: I was given four poinsettia plants for this post. All photos and opinions expressed are my own.

 

Christmas Pop Up Thank You Card

Today I wanted to create another card with the Poppystamps "Small Madison Window" (816).  I think there are going to be so many fun things to do with this die. My card is 5.5" x 6".  I used two pieces of design paper from the KaiserCraft "December 25th paper pad.  The background for the window was cut from a piece of white card stock, with the next to largest, Spellbinders "Label Twenty-Two" and I used the same die to cut a piece of design paper from the Kaiser Craft paper pad to layer on top of it.  Next I traced around the outside that same Spellbinders die, using white card stock, to create a mat for the die cut label.  I traced around the die again for a second mat.  Both mats were cut out with scissors.  The window die was also die cut using white card stock.  All the white pieces were sponged with Distress Inks. 

I used the Penny Black "Enjoy Life" stamp set which includes these cute little birds.  The holly is die cut using the Cheery Lynn "Holly Flourish" (B148).  This is such a great die to use with your Christmas cards because the holly is small and fits really well around either flowers or other images.  I die cut the flourish several times and cut it apart to fit in and around the birds.  The corners are from Spellbinders "Lace Doily Accents".  The berries were added with some really old red "Crystal Lacquer".  

Now I need to tell you what I did with the second Label Twenty-Two I cut out with scissors.  I used it for the inside of  this window image. 

As I told you, this is a thank you card.  I used that second image to die cut the  Memory Box "Pop Up Thanks".  This is a small pop up and works really great on the inside of the card.  This picture shows the top lifted up so you can see the "Pop Up Thanks".  A small piece of the Cheery Lynn Holly Flourish was added.  You can see I also used Distress Ink to sponge around the edges of the inside of the card. 

As you know, you can purchase all the products I use from Joan's Gardens.   I hope you enjoyed seeing another way to use this Poppystamps Small Madison Window Die and the Memory Box Pop Up Thanks..

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Metallic Christmas Table

Hello hello! Hope you had a lovely weekend!

I finished up our Christmas dining room today and I am smitten! Layla is kicking off our Holiday Home link ups tomorrow morning, so I had to share what I’ve been up to!

I’ve wanted to change up the centerpiece in the dining room for some time now – I love those glass candleholders in the framed out mirror, but it’s been a couple years now and I was craving something different!

I tried a few different ideas, none which were it. And then finally…it came to me.

I swear anymore I have to sit on a space mentally for about six months before the final idea comes into my noggin. But once I’ve figured it out in my head, I usually love the result. This time is no different. (Thank goodness. Whew.)  ;)

I started with a few trips to a few different Goodwill stores. I was on a mission – a mission for brass candlesticks:

You know – the ones you see gracing the shelves on every trip into Goodwill? And of course when I decided to do this project, they were harder than heck to find. Sheesh. It’s like brass is coming back or something. ;)

I have a confession to make…I actually kind of liked these as they were. Kind of. Kind of more that I’d like to admit. They were more antiqued brass than shiny brass. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

But I had a vision in mind, and that vision included spray paint:

I started by spreading them all out in the garage:

Then sprayed them all with a primer:

Then I put them into three groups and sprayed each one in a different metallic color. One group was Krylon Caramel Latte, one was Krylon Nickel, and one was Valspar Gold.

Let me tell you – that gold color was BEAUTIFUL. It is really awesome – although I hated the new nozzle. It was SO hard to spray with.

When they were dry, I just mixed the different colors in the mirror centerpiece, then filled it with bits of greenery and green and brown ornaments:

I tried to vary the heights as much as I could, but otherwise they are just on there, no rhyme or reason:

The place settings are pretty standard – white dinnerware I got from HomeGoods a while back (I wanted to brighten up the table so I sold the dishes and place mats that we used for years), my goblets from Goodwill and the sparkly brown bulbs that sit in the bowls were from Hob Lob years ago.

When I got it all together, I wanted to add the napkins to the table but didn’t have any napkin rings that worked.

I was standing in the garage when I saw my solution -- I grabbed a cardboard roll that some fabric came on, cut it down on my saw and got these:

After sanding down the edges and then spraying them in the gold Valspar spray paint, I got some very quick, very free DIY napkin rings:

And I gotta say, I really like how they turned out!

I love how the candlesticks give some height to the table, but you can still see through them:

The metallic colors are so pretty and I figure they’ll work all year round – it looks beautiful without the Christmas filler too!:

I wanted to keep the green and brown theme in this space to go with my Walmart ornament vignette I put together last year:

All of the ornaments were a buck and all of them are SO FUN!:

I was totally bummed to see that Walmart doesn’t have all of these ornaments again this year! They still have a bunch of pretty sparkly ornaments for cheap, but not quite as cute as these were.

Of course, just like any Christmas decor – the table looks most magical at night:

Wowza! I love it!!

Candlelight – I don’t think you can beat it! It’s just beautiful.

Makes you want to cook a four course meal at 10 p.m. on a Sunday for your husband and eat by candlelight beautiful:

Of course I don’t keep the candles lit if we’re not in here, which is OK, cause I love it when they’re not lit too.

But there’s some definite magic when the only light comes from the candles and the tree:

LOVE!!

The total cost was probably around $30? The candlesticks ranged from $1 to $3 each and I had all of the spray paint colors but the gold color. I think that one was $5. It took me about an hour to spray paint all of the candlesticks.

Not too shabby for a new look in the dining room – and one I’m a little giddy over:

Do you see those chairs? Yeah…that’s another project I’ve been sitting on (HA! Sitting on…get it?) for the past six months or so. ;) Can’t finish those till I finish the drapes, and I don’t want to finish the drapes till I decide if I’m going to repaint the room.

So…yeah. :)

Can’t wait to see all of your beautiful tablescapes at Layla’s tomorrow!

*You can see how I created the original centerpiece here.

**The December Before and After Party will go up Monday evening!