Decorating Tip of the Week

Seating for the Holidays

Tip:  A 36 inch wide rectangular table is perfect for conversation a round table with a 48 inch diameter seats six, a 60 inch round will handle eight standard dining chairs.

Easter Holiday Recipe

Remodeled French Toast

Frank mentioned to me the other day to keep the topics that we discuss on the blog relating to painting, decorating and remodeling.  Of course!  Well, today I am posting this absolutely delicious recipe for an Easter brunch and entitling it Remodeled French toast!  There, just needed to stay within the guidelines   This French Toast recipe is certainly changed from the usual French Toast recipe so I can get away with saying it’s remodeled.  It is from Marcia Adams’ Heirloom Recipes.

This is the ultimate brunch dish and you make it the night before!  How easy.

Baked French Toast Casserole       serves 6-8

1 loaf of bread- you can use the plastic bagged Wegman’s Italian (no seeds) 1lb 4 oz loaf

8 large eggs

2 cups of half-and- half

1 cup milk

2 Tab granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

Speck of salt

Praline Topping

1 cup (2 sticks)butter,  at room temperature

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

2 Tab light corn syrup

½ tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp ground nutmeg

Arrange the slices in a generously buttered 9×13 inch flat baking dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and beat with a whisk until blended but not too bubbly. Pour over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk egg mixture, spooning some of the mixture in between the slices too. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the praline topping ingredients in a medium bowl and spread it evenly over the bread with a small spatula. Bake for 40 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden. Serve with maple syrup or honey.

Do not cover when baking.
ENJOY!

12 Days of Decorating

Day 10 – Exterior Lights

Don’t forget the exterior lights this holiday season!  This is the area where there are no rules!    I mean, we’ve all seen the Griswold House in “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”. Ok,  so the Griswold house may be a bit excessive but as always, have fun with it – this is a reflection of you!

One of my favorite things during the Christmas season are the exterior lights that are displayed in the village of Spencerport on Union Street.

Here’s another look at some really neat Christmas lighting displays: best-christmas-lights-display.htm

Remember to submit your holiday creation in our Holiday Decorating Contest.

12 Days of Decorating

Day 9 – The Tree

Here are some examples of Christmas tree décor that I thought you might enjoy.  As you see the styles vary greatly.  Personalizing it is what makes it unique and a reflection of you.  I must admit, some of the items added to the trees I would never have thought of. I grew up with the traditional lights, bulbs and garland.  These trees have huge ornaments, vibrant flower stems, and some are so busy with décor that the tree branches are almost lost.  Nonetheless, it’s fun to see.  Enjoy and Have a blessed Christmas.

There is still time! Enter in our Holiday Decorating Contest by clicking here!

12 Days of Decorating

Day 8 – Holiday Entryway

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What better way to greet your guests than with a Holiday Entryway with a contemporary flare?  To compliment this black and white striped wall I chose a bold colored table in turquoise to pop against the wall.  I couldn’t decide if I liked the white or brown branches better so I chose to show both images.  I took tiny colorful ornaments to and sprinkled them on the table and hung a few of them on the branches. Fun!

Happy Holiday everyone!  Don’t forget to enter in our Holiday Decorating Contest by clicking here!

 

12 Days of Decorating

Day 7 – It’s All in the Fold

Setting a holiday table with decorative napkins really gives it a finished look.

The following fun link gives you a choice of many different yet easy ways to fold napkins.

If you don’t have time to fold, then try using nice napkin rings.

The site is: http://napkinfoldingguide.com

Hey, this is something the kids can do while you’re working away in the kitchen.

Have fun with it!

Don’t forget to enter in our Holiday Decorating Contest by clicking here

12 Days of Decorating

Day 4 – Illumination

There is nothing more beautiful than candle light to add warmth to a room.  Bring your own  glass collection together to house tea lights and votives just by using what you have around the house.  Vases, everyday juice glasses, champagne flutes, water goblets and wine stems can be transformed into beautiful scenery for any area of your home this holiday season. Fill the bottom of the glasses with salt,  this is twofold…it will give a holding place for melting wax so clean up is so much easier than scraping it off the bottoms and it looks like snow!  Filling the glasses with water and using floating candles is also an option.  Have fun with this!

Don’t forget to enter our Holiday Decorating Contest!   Click here

12 Days of Decorating

Day 3 – Christmas Morning Spread

Whats better than waking up on Christmas morning with the excitement and the anticipation of this joyous day??  This year create a Christmas morning spread that your family will absolutely love!  We took Christmas themed tea cups and saucers and stacked them to look like they were about to topple over.  Next we grabbed a cake stand and placed coffee/hot cocoa mugs on top of the stand with cloth napkins sticking out of them.  To finish the look we sprinkled tiny colorful ornaments all over the table and added a couple bowls of gigantic marshmallows.  A fun look with a whimsical touch! Enjoy!

We want to see how you celebrate the holidays!!  Show us you creations and enter our Holiday Design Contest!

 

12 Days of Decorating

Day 2 – Cranberry Delight

This is an easy and inexpensive addition to any Holiday décor.

• Use any shaped glass container and fill it with water to about 2/3 full.

• Add fresh cranberries.

• I cut fresh evergreens and push them through the cranberries so that some of the berries are caught in the evergreens.

• Top with a tea light. (Walmart has over-sized tea lights that work great too)

This arrangement will last for about 1 week with the evergreens in it.  After about 1 week I change out the water, and add more fresh evergreens.

Note: if you use frozen cranberries, the water changes to a pink/red color.

Have fun with it and send us some of your creations!

12 Days of Decorating

Day 1 – Holiday Mantles

Tis’ the Season to………..Decorate!

Ok everyone — its that time of year…roll up your sleeves, dig out those dusty boxes from the basement, turn up the Christmas music and get-a-decorating!

Decorating is always fun for me, but at this time of year I look forward to it even more.  I love creating a space that I can share with all of my dearest family members and friends.  Some may think that the Holiday season and the whole decorating thing can get to be a bit “over done” and commercialized which I totally can agree with–but, it also puts me right into the holiday spirit and immediately brings back memories from my childhood that are so special to me.

This article we will focus on creating decorative mantles.  This is an easy way to create an instant holiday focal point in your home and a great way to “set the tone” for that holiday party.  Don’t have a mantle?  No problem,  floating shelves or coffee tables can work as great mantle alternatives.

Follow these 6 easy steps to create the perfect holiday mantle:

1. Clear your mantle of your normal everyday décor.
2. Choose your favorite holiday garland – lay it across the bare mantle.
3. Add a mirror, candle sticks, an apothecary jar with ornaments, a wreath or any tall pieces of holiday décor to add height.  Offering objects at different height adds interest to your décor.  Decorating Tip: The height between your mantle and your ceiling can be visually broken down into horizontal thirds.  The tallest object for decorating that area can reach a height of 2/3 of that wall space.
4. Add color and sparkle – place tea lights or intertwine a strand of lights through the garland on top of the mantle.  Use colorful ornaments, holly, fruit, etc… in your favorite holiday colors. Decorating Tip: Don’t be afraid to create depth on the mantle. Lining the décor objects across the mantle adds little depth.  So, try to arrange the objects two or three deep.
5. Add texture.  Decorating Tip:  Adding texture with different objects always creates more interest.  Garland has a texture all its own so, pairing it with smooth candles, burlap, pinecones, sparkles and color makes a mantle stand out.
6. Personalize your mantle – this could mean adding pictures of skiers for the avid skier (shown below), adding a nutcracker if you’re fond of the ballet, etc…

Remember, part of the holidays are about feeling joy, celebrating and making memories.   So, enjoy decorating and have fun with it, it should reflect you.

Happy Holidays!