Decorating Your Chandelier: Creating Holiday 'Masterpieces'

Dining room light detail

This Christmas (you know, the month I wasn't actually blogging) I was busy decorating my house for my favorite holiday.

When we moved into our house 25 years ago it was new and I chose all of the lighting fixtures along with most everything else as the house was being built. But as usually happens, our tastes change with time and when we redid our kitchen a couple of years ago, the dining room chandelier and kitchen lighting fixture badly needed updating.

Back in the late 90s my husband and I took a trip to Italy with some friends. On the trip we scheduled a visit to Murano, a tiny island near Venice noted for crystal and glass. Ornate chandeliers were everywhere and I remember turning my nose up (as if I could afford one anyway) at them thinking they were terribly ornate and hopelessly old-fashioned.

In the kitchen..
a more modern look.

Back to the kitchen redo. Three years ago crystal lighting was enjoying a reniassance and I jumped on board. I chose a 'shabby chic' two tier clear crystal light with blue accents for my dining room. A decorator who helped with the kitchen chose a modern looking fixture to be used in a peaked ceiling area of our kitchen.

These fixtures have become centerpieces of my holiday decor and I'd like to share some tips and photos with you today.
















WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

• A couple of branches of white birch sold in most garden stores around the holidays. 
• Inexpensive silver and bright green (or any color to match your room) ornament sets available in stores like Michael's, Target or even your local supermarket.
• Low-cost crystal and mirrored garland from Pottery Barn. 
• Ordinary silver ornament hanging hooks

HOW TO GET THE LOOK:

• Start by inserting the branches in the chandelier. You might have to cut them down a bit depending on the size of the fixture. 
• Drape the mirrored or crystal (or both) garland around the light creating scallops. 
• Hook the ornaments onto the branches catching spots where they can hang without sliding back and forth.

Really, that's about it. It's probably important to step back a bit now and then to see how it looks but randomness is good and probably essential to creating an artistic 'masterpiece'!

OTHER HOLIDAYS

• Now that Christmas is over I purchased some hot pink ornaments on the reduced table in Target and will remove a few silver and green balls and fill in with the pink to celebrate Valentine's Day.
• For Easter:  I created a similar arrangement using pussy willow and cherry tree branches. I hung pastel Easter eggs instead of Christmas balls and covered the center with green moss. I didn't photograph it back then but will do so this year and share it with you.

Happy decorating.
I'm already looking forward to spring!

Being A Grownup

King George VI

Full disclosure: I used to work for the Wall Street Journal for ten years (leaving 6 months ago) and I am still a big fan of the paper. One of my favorite columnists is Peggy Noonan and it is her column from this weekend that I wanted to give mention.

The column titled "The Captain and the King" was referring the Captain Owen Honors, recently removed from his command of a United States aircraft carrier for making and showing raunchy, homemade films in which he was featured. The 'king' pertains to King George VI (Queen Elizabeth's father) who was afflicted with a debilitating stammer and is the subject of a very fine movie called "The King's Speech" which I was lucky enough to see this past weekend.

But what I love about Ms. Noonan's columns (and what I usually relate to) is the 'calling out' or 'common sense' approach to tackling societal ills be they political or personal.

In this week's column she draws an analogy between the recent inappropriate behavior of the American ship's captain and the Englishman who didn't really want to be king back in the 1930s just as Hitler was coming to power.

Regarding the captain:

"A captain has to be a captain. He can't make videos referencing masturbation or oral sex. He has to uphold values even though he finds them antique, has to represent virtues that he may not in fact possess, he has to be, in his person, someone sailors aspire to be."

....a bit further on:

"when no one wants to be "the establishment", when no one accepts the role of authority figure, everything gets damaged, lowered."

An again further on, regarding the afflicted king:

"He will stutter, but this is England and England can't stutter. It can't falter, it can't sound or seem unsure at a time like this.....he sacrifices his desire not to be king, not to lead, not to make that damn speech. He does it with commitment, courage, effort. He does it for his country."

Both men had an opportunity to lead, the inspire, to make a difference. Both had so much promise. One succeeded, one did not.

There are many lessons to be learned from these two stories, these two men. As parents, the greatest job we have is to make our children accountable for their actions and to make sure that they know their actions have consequences. This is how leaders are formed and 'grownup' parents should also be held accountable.

I urge you to read the entire column if you can gain access to it. I also urge you to see "The King's Speech". It's a great movie full of unknown details about a man in crisis in a time before news became 24/7. 

Refreshing to say the least.

Creative and Cheap Cake Topper: It's All In The Numbers

A friend of mine arrived at a recent New Year's gathering with a homemade cheese ball. It looked as delicious as it tasted because of two shiny silver number '1's' embedded in the cheese ball and tied together at the top by a decorative wire with holiday trimmings. I asked where she purchased the 2011 decoration and was laughingly informed that the numbers were ordinary house numbers she purchased in a dollar store. Unfortunately I didn't photograph the original presentation so I placed them atop a cake server to illustrate here.

Inspired by a well-known decorator giving holiday decorating tips on television, she crafted this clever topper and impressed all of us at the event. Of course I was intrigued and thought about it for a bit to come up with some other applications just as clever.

Birthday parties immediately came to mind. How many of us purchase those wax numbers year after year and save them never to reuse again? I know I'm guilty and even with my best intentions, used, waxy digits always look a bit forlorn to place on someone else's special cake. So today I went to the dollar store and purchased the rest of the numbers for a lifetime collection.

Using some ribbon and some stick on rhinestones, I made a set suitable for a sweet sixteen party. One of the things I like about these silver numbers (they also come in gold and probably black in some stores) is their reflective nature. I don't think my photo does it justice...it real is quite pretty! Best thing is that you can easily remove the paint or decorations for another event customizing as you go.

This is a real money-saver and a great way to add creativity to any occasion.

A Nifty and Easy Ribbon Holder

Readers might remember my recycled baby furniture that became a gift wrap center. It took me a couple of days to complete the project and to be perfectly honest I never actually attached the rods that were to hold my many spools of ribbon. Procrastination is oftentimes my middle name!

Imagine my surprise then when I spotted a nifty looking ribbon holder hanging from my daughter's kitchen curtain rod yesterday. It was a very simple device crafted using a 2-inch piece of plastic piping, a 2-foot length of cording, a small metal ring and a small length of ribbon to finish off the bottom.

Attach a length of cord to the ring. Add ribbon spools and hold in place with a 2 inch hollow tube laced through with the cording at bottom. Cover the tubing with a decorative ribbon.

Instead of the tubing an empty wooden thread spool (if anyone is lucky to still have one of these gems around) or a plastic one could also be used. But other than that suggestion I wouldn't change a thing. It's handy and attractive and can be made in about fifteen minutes.

I vow to get back to my wrapping center but this simple ribbon holder could do the job just as well.














HERE ARE SOME OTHER CLEVER RIBBON HOLDERS
(a bit more involved but inspirational to look at)    
 
http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2007/02/sugar_jar_cord_or_ribbon_organ.html
http://allendesigns.typepad.com/blog/2010/05/ribbon-holder-tutorial.html
http://shakinstyle.com/2010/01/diy-ribbon-holder.html
http://www.pollywantacrafter.com/2010/11/making-ribbon-holder-for-your-craft.html

A Brand New Child's Room: Painting An Undersea Mural

My blank 'canvas'.

Back in November, a friend of my daughter asked me to paint a mural for her 20-month-old son's bedroom. The house, located in Brooklyn, was in the process of being totally refurbished by the family of the young boy and thusly, the walls were new, smooth and freshly painted a bright blue that would serve as the backdrop for the marine life I would be painting. The carpet wasn't installed yet and even though I masked the bare floor anyway, it was nice to know that a small slippage of paint wouldn't hurt anything new.

The client asked specifically for an octopus, a crab, a turtle and a starfish, the rest would be up to me and the challenge was finding enough friendly, colorful looking fish to fill out two walls of the room.

Being an optimist, I originally estimated the job as taking two, possibly three days. I was so wrong! The extra days (seven in all) were mostly due to the intensity of the blue wall color. While it was nice to have the background in place, I had to paint the fish two and three times over to cover the color even after using 'kill' paint.

An early sketch.

I bordered the lower edge of the walls with a sandy bottom that had exotic (and very imaginary) plant life growing there. I placed the starfish in the sand and planted a large clam shell with a bright and happy crab hiding inside. Later some shells and sea horses were stenciled on top to give it a rich and lush finish.

On the main wall, the octopus became the mural's focal point and would be centered over the little boy's bed so I had to make him really friendly looking! I added a dolphin straddling the two walls in the corner of the room and lots of schools of fish to fill it out.

In the end I added spatter paint to give the mural movement and depth. I suppose I got a bit carried away, the client was a bit taken aback by the amount of 'bubbles'. I had to make another trip back to de-bubble the mural a bit.

A not so crabby crab.

It was great fun and I admit I had new found respect for Michelangelo who painted the Sistine Chapel while on his back over several years. It was hard enough to paint standing up and my job certainly took a lot less time that his masterpiece.

Check out the results...would love to hear your comments!

Hearty Bean Soup, Sour Cream Biscuits: Recycling Holiday Leftovers

White Bean Soup With Spinach

Like most everyone I know, I am always guilty of over-ordering or overcooking for a party. I'm not sure why...would any of my guests really go hungry if I didn't have a backup pasta dish or an extra chocolate layer cake? These 'extra's' rarely get served and most times, I'm embarrassed to admit, they get tossed a day or two later because I just can't look at them anymore.

This year, minimalism is my mantra and wastefulness an fading shadow of my former self.

Over New Year's weekend, I ordered two 3 foot heroes for company. In addition, there were two different pasta dishes, a green salad and a large order of eggplant parmigiana. Let's not mention the desserts! The main meal was preceded by an array of delicious hors d'oeuvres provided by my guests. Yikes! You'd think we hadn't eaten for weeks!

Leftover bread from a 3 foot hero....

Needless to say we had a lot of leftovers that even an impromptu 'lefttover' party the next day didn't take care of. But with all of my resolutions still intact, I decided to do something about it. First up: dissecting the hero sandwiches. One of them was 'Italian' style, the other grilled chicken. I had luckily asked for dressings on the side so the bread and meats weren't soggy.

I removed all of the meats and threw away the cheeses. I placed the bread on cookie sheets and baked them in the oven for about an hour to dry them out. After they cooled, I grated them with my hand grater to make fresh breadcrumbs. Placed in plastic bags or in airtight containers, these will keep for weeks and add a freshness to anything fried or requiring breadcrumb toppings.

...is  toasted and repurposed into fresh breadcrumbs.

I diced the grilled chicken and made chicken salad using some chopped celery leftover from a cold vegetable platter. The Italian cold cuts were separated and bagged for freezing. Some of the ham was used in the soup I made today when I realized that I was out of pancetta which the recipe called for.

It was a little work but I felt better about my former wastefulness. I'm not sure I will be cured of over- ordering but I'll be more recycle-friendly in the future as I was today.

The soup I made for dinner tonight is basic white bean soup. I substituted the leftover Italian ham for pancetta and used fresh spinach instead of escarole which was unavailable in my supermarket today. I recommend this soup as a lighter variation of a 'fagioli' type soup that's every bit as tasty even with the substitutions.

I made biscuits to accompany the soup using another leftover: a sour cream dip infused with leek soup. It gave the biscuits a richer taste and were still as light and fluffy as you might expect!

White Bean and Spinach (or Escarole) Soup
Ingredients
2 cans of a navy beans
1 box of beef broth
1 can chicken stock
1 large stalk of celery diced (another leftover)
1 cup fresh spinach (or escarole if available)
1/2 cup chopped pancetta or other Italian ham
1/2 onion finely chopped
4 cloves garlic finely chopped
2 bay leaves
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions

• In a large pot, place beans, broth, chopped celery, garlic and onion and simmer for about an hour.
• Blanch pancetta (or substitute meat) in boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain and add to soup.
• Wash and dry the spinach or escarole and set aside. Add to the soup about 5 minutes before serving.
• Salt and pepper to taste. 
• Remove bay leaves before serving.
• Serve hot with warm biscuits

Sour Cream Biscuits
Ingredients
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup sour cream (mine was flavored but plain is fine too)
1 tablespoon water if needed

Directions

• Mix all ingredients to form a soft pastry. Add water if needed to moisten.
• Roll out to 3/4 inch thick and cut biscuits with a round biscuit cutter (or a beverage glass as my mother used to do)
• Bake at 400 degrees for about 12 minutes. Serve warm.

Starting Again, Catching Up: 2011 is Here

One of the gifts with tag from the Giving Tree.

Was Thanksgiving really almost 40 days ago? Back then, when Christmas was being annoyingly ballyhooed it seemed so far away. But now Christmas has come and gone and 2011 with all it's promise, not to mention snow, is here.

I took a blogging break for the month of December. Truthfully, my computer was giving me a problem and I am now blogging from my brand new iPad courtesy of Santa (read, my husband!). I have lots of new ideas, recipes and decorating projects but before I get to those things in the days ahead, I wanted to describe an activity that took place in December that I feel is worth mentioning.

In my September 24th blog, I took stock of goals set for myself upon leaving my full-time career as an newspaper art director. I wanted to start a food basket and establish a Christmas Giving Tree in my parish. I had already approached the pastor of my church and the organizational part of it was waiting to be done (by me!!). The ideas were simple. A basket would be placed in the rear of the church and parishioners would be encouraged to bring one non-perishable food item each week. Once an announcement appeared in the church bulletin the program would begin. Not everyone participates but the response is good enough to gather about 15 bags of groceries each week. I pick up and deliver the donated food each Monday morning to a church in a financially needy section of Staten Island where I live.

The other idea, the Giving Tree, was advertised for the Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend. A Christmas tree was placed in the rear of the church near the exit. The tree was filled with name tags (not using last names of course) and ages of children in need and parishioners were invited to take a tag and purchase an age appropriate toy, wrap it and return to the parish with the name tag attached. The gifts were picked up over a three week period and when all were returned we had 175 beautifully wrapped and very generous gifts for children in two centers on Staten Island. Friends and family helped deliver 50 large clear bags filled with gifts to a very grateful pastor and Catholic Charities program director.

I can only imagine the delight with which these gifts were received. It was a great program that was extremely popular in our church and certain to be repeated next year. The fact is when you see people with very little you appreciate what you have even more.

I encourage you to look for a project if you have the time. Whatever your religious or non-religious affiliations, there are so many ways to make a difference. In each of the three places which were and are the beneficiaries of these small projects, I saw families taking clothing and food out of bins and boxes with their children, teens, infants, toddlers, in tow. It breaks your heart.

To whom much is given, much is expected.

Happy New Year to all and it's great to be back!