home decor and garden are very famous in the world

i always try to do something special each year when it comes to wrapping my presents.  i like for people to know that i put a lot of thought into wrapping their very special gifts.  last year when i was working with the hospitality company i was really busy during christmas and pretty much a slacker when it came to wrapping my gifts.  i think the extent of my special wrapping was using a wide ribbon…not so special, right?  this year i’m still pretty busy but i’m going to make time to wrap my presents with care.

i’ve been browsing my favorite online spots to see what ideas are out there.  burlap is huge in the design world right now and i think that these gifts wrapped in burlap are quite lovely.

i think that tags and bows are the areas that you can be most creative with your gifts.   using your special someone’s initial for a tag is a really cute idea.

i would feel so special if i got a gift with this tag on it.  it’s so easy to make too.  just type out your message, print it, cut it out and apply some double-sided table to the backside.  use pinking shears to cut out the tag.  that would make it even better.

take a look at these cupcake carnation bows.  martha you always have the best ideas.

a great way to incorporate your kids into gift wrapping is to let them make the wrapping paper.  take a look at the gifts below.

if you can bake try baking gingerbread name tags. 

this package is so beautiful but i’m not sure i’ll have that much time on my hands.  looks like it would take quite a while.

here are just a few others that caught my eye.

how do you wrap your gifts?  do you use gift bags? do you have a theme each year?  do you tie an ornament onto your bow? let me know.

**photo credits – southern living and martha stewart

i hope all of you had a wonderful thanksgiving.  i sure did.  mine was filled with family, fun and lots of food. 

i put my christmas tree up on wednesday night and i love having my house decorated for christmas.  while i was at target over the weekend picking up a few extra decorations i took a stroll through the home decor section and found a few christmas decorations that caught my eye.  it was mainly the colors that caught my eye. 

i’m in love with the color scheme.  if i hadn’t already decorated my tree in red, black and white then i would have definitely opted for this color scheme of fern, light olive, oyster, pearl, silver and wood tones.

maybe some of you haven’t decorated yet and can use it instead of me.  send pics if you do.

happy monday!

Like most people, I never show up at a party without a gift for the host and hostess. One of my favorite simple holiday gifts is a paperwhite in a vintage tea cup. I purchase the tea cups throughout the year and save them until Thanksgiving. Here is what you do.Supplies:
Paperwhite bulbs, river rocks, tea cups, water and rubbing alcohol, cellophane and raffia
Instructions:

Fill tea cup about 2/3 full with river rocks. Place bulb, root side down, on top of rocks. Fill around the bulb with additional rocks. The rocks help anchor the plant once the roots begin to grow.

Fill tea cup to bottom of bulb with a mixture of 10 parts water to one part rubbing alcohol. The rubbing alcohol will keep the paper white from growing too tall. Place in a sunny location until ready to give. Note - you will have to monitor the water level of your tea cups almost daily.
When ready to attend a party, simply wrap your tea cup with clear cellophane, tie with raffia and add a tag.

i’m guest blogging for the first time today over at the blog bargains in buckhead.  bargains in buckhead is a local atlanta blog and anna and claire give tons of tips for saving money around town.  stop by and check it out if you get a chance.  it’s my first time doing a video for a blog too.  it took a lot of takes but i finally got it done.  the guest post is about bargain christmas decorating ides.  hopefully you’ll find some that you can use.  click here to go directly to the post.

i’m signing off for the week to enjoy time with my family during the thanksgiving holiday.  i hope you and yours have a very happy thanksgiving.  eat lots of good food, and have fun with your family and friends.  see you back here on monday.

image – here

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

thanks to everyone who entered a comment to win the giveaway of the book the comfortable home.  i really enjoyed reading your comments about the most comfortable part of your homes.  the lucky winner of the autographed book is….

comment number 16, camille r. from the etsy shop blue dogwood stuidos.  congratulations camille! 

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planning a party this holiday season….don’t know what to do about not having a bar….no worries.  create one.  here’s how. 

grab a console table, desk or small dining table and set it up like either of these.

both images – domino

beautiful right?

and here’s a great link if you are trying to figure out how to stock your bar for your party.  it tells you exactly what and how much to buy.  click here to go directly to the site.

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here’s my own personal sangria recipe for you to add to the mix.  it’s so yummy.

cristi’s festive sangria

ingredients:

-2 bottles of red wine (merlot) or white wine (chardonnay).  don’t  buy expensive wine.  i always buy the cheapest biggest bottles.  with all the other yummy ingredients no one will be able to tell that it’s cheap wine.  swear.

-juice from 1-2 lemons

-juice from 3-4 oranges or 6-8 tangerines

-juice from 1 lime

-4 1/2 Tbsp. sugar

-2 “liberal” shots of vodka (i use raspberry flavored vodka)

-1 small can of chopped pineapple

-2-3 cups of ginger ale

-3-4 tangerines sliced or 1-2 oranges sliced (skin included)

-strawberries – as many as you want

-secret ingredient: my extra special, super-secret ingredient is a dash of cinnamon.  the cinnamon makes it oh so good.  you’ll have everyone wondering why it tastes so good.

preparation:

-pour both bottles of wine into a large pitcher or bowl and squeeze the juices from your citrus fruits into the wine.  (make sure you don’t let any seeds into the mixture.) stir.  add sugar, cinnamon, vodka and extra fruit.  ***the amount that i have shown is just a guide.  you can add as little or as much fruit and vodka as you would like.*** chill for a few hours or for the best results chill overnight.

when you are ready to serve pour in ginger ale and stir.  add ice to wine glass and pour.  top with choice of fresh fruit.

***for easy transportation just pour the sangria mix, minus the fruit and ginger ale, back into your empty wine bottles.  once you get to your party pour everything back into your pitcher and serve.***

you’re going to love it!

xoxo,

cristi

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on saturday this past weekend i went to the indie craft experience(ice) holiday spectacular 2009 at ambiance plus studio.  the indie craft experience is pretty much an etsy art show.  it’s wonderful.  each booth is filled with hand-made crafts from jewelry to artwork.  it’s the perfect place to get unique one-of-a-kind christmas gifts.

my good friend tanya owns a company called mod meadow studios and she had a booth at the ice-atlanta spectacular. 

tanya is an amazing jewelry artisan and artist as well as a great interior designer.  i met tanya a few years ago when we worked together for the same design firm.   she was just starting to build her jewelry and artwork company but now she has a full line of both jewelry and artwork.

her jewelry line is filled with unique stones, felt and vintage finds.  each piece has a style all its own.

i loved how she styled these rings in little birds nests.  they were so sweet.

she also hung necklaces off of bird cages with painted birds in them.  she did a great job styling her booth.

i love tanya’s artwork line.  it’s so funky and fun.  perfect for children’s rooms.

tanya also makes these amazing faux cupcakes that look good enough to eat.  they are completely fake but you’d never know by looking at them.

tanya accepts custom orders, and she also is available for jewelry parties in the atlanta area.

if you want to check out mod meadow studio's website click here.

if you want to check out mod meadow studio’s etsy site click here.