Simple Holiday Decor

Happy Monday! While we prep for this weekend's weddings, here's a little holiday inspiration: a DBI arrangement featuring a mixed red rose variety in a gold pedestal urn. Add some candles and you have a Xmas table ready for entertaining.

We're Talking Holiday TableScapes

Thanksgiving is officially over (and so is our holiday break), so we're talking holiday tablescapes. If you're hosting or decorating, forget the poinsettias. Instead, mix and match mercury glass containers filled with flowers and candles. These type of containers automatically create a cozy yet elevated environment (and do a brilliant job of sparkling!). Below we've chosen white and silver florals, but any other traditional holiday colors/flowers will look fantastic. Something as simple as red roses mixed with hypericum berries, or highlighting the amaryllis, will all work.

Chic+Easy Holiday Table Decor

Today we have yet another super easy holiday decor idea - this time we're looking to decorate our table top (or even a mantle). What I did is pull cake stands with glass bell tops and added one sprig of red berry branches from the front yard trees to each one - the end result is chic, elegant, and screams holiday decor. You can achieve the same effect - here's what you'll need:

• Any kind of enclosed glass container - apothecary jar, fishbowl
• Red berry branches (e.g. holly, ilex) OR seasonal blooms (e.g. amaryllis, anemones) OR even dried leaves + pine cones (a rustic version of this same idea)

Next, add a small portion of the chosen decor accent (1 sprig of holly, 1 large amaryllis stem, a trio of small pine cones, etc) to each glass container. Line the center of your holiday dinner table with a variety of these glass containers and voila! You have yourself a festive table. 

Safe travels to everyone heading to their holiday destinations this weekend!

Holiday Decor Tips by DBI Events

Hello readers - as we all prepare for this holiday season we thought we'd bring you some tabletop decorating ideas. While most decor can get cheesy (as mentioned below) here are a few easy tips for keeping it festive yet elegant:

1) Focus on keeping it simple - choose 2 of the seasonal colors (red, white, green, blue, etc) and stick with them throughout (we chose red and white...see ours below)

2) Use metallic accents to bring in the extra glamour. If your place setting has gold trimming, stick with gold.

3) Bring Xmas tree decor to the table - those ornaments look fantastic in simple apothecary jars (if you don't have apothecary jars use a simple glass container - see ours below)

4) Not a florist? No worries! Purchase big blooms and use a narrow container to create a full looking arrangement.

5) Make sure the heat is on high! Create that cozy atmosphere!

*all images property of DBI Events

Check back daily as this week we'll be posting our vintage rental items on the blog! And next week we'll be bringing you some ideas and a photo shoot covering NYE parties!

Holiday Decor by DBI Events

Today we're dropping off arrangements for a holiday party and we decided to keep it modern. Holiday arrangements can get cheesy really fast and we wanted to steer clear of that. Here's what we created!

*all images property of DBI Events

DIY Tuesday: Vintage Book Page Tree Topper

This week we've got another simple holiday DIY project for you. If you're looking to add a little vintage flair to your holiday decor, this tree topper is perfect!

Materials Needed:

-Several vintage book pages

-Three different patterned scrapbook papers

-Holiday scrapbooking embellishment

-Scissors

-Glue Stick

-Hot Glue

-A small piece of wide ribbon, about 6 inches long

How-to:

1) Using the book pages, follow the steps from our previous tutorial on how to make accordion paper decorations (each section should be made with half a sheet of book page).

2) After completing the book page accordion circle, use a small drop of hot glue to attach it to a slightly larger circle you've cut from one of the papers.

3) Repeat this step, attaching this circle to a slightly larger circle cut from the second paper type. Cut small triangles out of the entire edge to create a "sawtooth look."

4) Attach a final circle to the last one, cut from the third paper type.

5) With hot glue, glue a small ribbon loop to the back for placing the topper on the tree. Just make sure it's large enough to slide over your top tree branch.

6) Finish off the topper with a scrapbooking embellishment, placed in the center of the book page accordion circle.

DIY Tuesday: Christmas Countdown Calendar

We've got another holiday DIY project for you this rainy Tuesday! Here's a modern twist on the holiday advent calendar.

We found this little project via Country Living. It turned out to be ridiculously inexpensive and very simple to make, and would be a great project for doing with kids. It's really easy to personalize and could be easily altered for other celebration countdowns, like kids' birthdays.

Materials Needed:

-25 small matchboxes, matches removed (found near the grilling supplies in the grocery store)

-5 sheets of patterned paper, each in a different pattern

-Pen or marker or number stamps

-Scissors

-Glue Gun

-Small individually wrapped candy

-Optional: Scrapbooking elements, like stickers

1) Label the "drawer" of each matchbox, 1-25. Make sure the box is vertical before labeling.

2) Glue boxes #1-9, #10-16, #17-21, #22-24 together. Don't glue #25 to anything.

3) Wrap each glued "tier" in a different type of paper. You only need the top and sides to be wrapped. It doesn't take much hot glue to glue the paper to the boxes.

4) Glue tiers to each other in ascending order, #1-9 on the bottom with #10-16 glued to it and so on. Glue #25 to the top.

5) You can accent #25 with scrapbooking elements, stickers, etc. to make it stand apart a bit.

6) Fill each drawer with a treat!

DIY Tuesday: Holiday Yarn Wreath

We came across this Christmas wreath tutorial and thought we'd give it a try. It turned out to be really simple (though it takes a bit of time to complete). It's fairly inexpensive and is the perfect project for doing in front of the TV.

Materials Needed:

-Straw Wreath (available in the floral dept. of craft stores)

-1 skein of yarn

-Several sheets of felt

-Scissors

-Hot glue gun

For the wreath:

1) Leave the wreath wrapped in the plastic it comes in. This makes it easier to wrap the yarn around it. Wrap a piece of yarn around the wreath and tie it in a knot on the back side of the wreath.

2) Continue wrapping the yarn around the wreath until it is completely covered. Keep each piece close to the previous one, wrapping tightly. It won't be wrapped perfectly evenly, but this doesn't affect the overall look. Tie off the final wrapped piece in a knot.

For the flowers:

1) Cut a circle out of felt (bigger circle=bigger flower. Half of the felt sheet makes a flower several inches wide). Cut around the edge of the circle, making a waved look. Pick any point on the edge of your circle and cut in about an inch. Continue cutting it into a large spiral shape, ending up with a long strip of felt. At the end, leave a small oval.

2) Roll up the felt, starting at the point you started cutting the strip. Roll tightly in the beginning to keep it together, but you can loosen your rolling a bit as you go to create a more open-looking flower. Glue the back of the spiral onto the small oval that was leftover.

3) Glue the flowers to the wreath and add extra embellishments like felt leaves if you'd like.

DIY Tuesday: Easy Thanksgiving Centerpiece

Halloween may be over, but if you're like me, you've still got lots of pumpkins lying around. Today we've got a really simple project via Martha Stewart for repurposing those leftover pumpkins, using mostly things you've already got around the house.

Here's how you can turn them into a sophisticated Thanksgiving centerpiece. Try it out for your Thanksgiving celebrations and your dinner guests are sure to be impressed!

Materials Needed:

-Several small pumpkins (we love the look of the more unique colors like white)

-Utility knife

-Melon baller

-Adhesive putty (or our favorite, Zots, found in craft stores in the scrapbooking aisle)

-Tapered candles

-Pie plate

-Fall leaves

1) Cut a hole in the center of the pumpkin, then carve out a space for the candle with the melon baller. Repeat for each pumpkin.

2) If you want a stacked pumpkin look, stack two pumpkins (after doing step 1) and secure together through the holes with straight pins.

3) Adhere leaves to the pie plate with adhesive (turn the plate upside down first). Adhere pumpkins to the leaves. Place adhesive in the hole in pumpkin and adhere the candle inside.

Don't Just Dress Up Yourself - Dress Up Your Napkins!

Table decor isn't just a centerpiece - it's all about the details. It can be as simple as dressing up your napkin. Check out some great inspirations (and easy DIY ideas) below:

Evoke a Victorian Christmas with place cards that resemble elegant paper scrolls.

Napkin holders made from felt holly leaves and a jingle bell - how appropriate!

Ribbon isn't just for wrapping presents.

Crepe-paper anyone?

Tree-shaped napkin rings cut from pretty patterned paper.

Thanks to Martha Stewart for these fabulous inspirations.

Some Delish Holiday Goodies

Hey guys - let's kick the week off with some delicious and season-appropriate goodies for your next soiree. I have a few fun cocktails and canape ideas I found in a recent issue of Financial Times Weekend:

Cocktails:

• Caipiroska: vodka, fresh limes, and caster sugar (simple enough!)
• The Hollyberry: Plymouth gin, creme de framboise, cranberry and raspberry juice, redcurrant puree and lemon. Serve this in a chilled Martini glass (fancy!).
• Negroni: gin, sweet vermouth, campari (called the truth serum for Italians - wowza!)

Canapes:

• Venison sausage with rowanberry jelly on tiny potato rounds
• Affogato: Madeira gelato served in a glass pot with an espresso biscotti on the side and can be served with hot espresso (poured over the gelato or enjoyed as is).
• Golden Beet Brulee: roasted golden beet hollowed out and filled with lentils cooked in olive oil and balsamic vinegar with pine nuts and sundried tomatoes, and topped with carmelised aged goat's milk cheese and blood orange (guess who's making this at her next dinner party??)

Not a cook? Host a simple cocktail and hor d'oeuvres party and serve the items above. It's sure to be a great success!

A few simple Xmas Centerpieces

I've compiled a few fun and easy Xmas centerpieces for your brunch and dinner tables.

This project is extremely simple and very modern/elegant. Take a few glass vases (size and shape don't matter) and fill halfway with sugar or salt. Take a few branches and stick them in. This creates a very "wintery" feel and is beyond easy to accomplish.

Take any glass containers and fill them with mints. Stick a few winterberry branches and you have visual stunning decor.

Don't want to fuss with the mints? Forget about them - just stick the winterberry branches into tall glass vases and you have a dramatic yet modern centerpiece. Sprinkle a few amaryllis heads on the table to add an extra pop of flowers.

Put that candy cane to good use! It's extremely cheap and has a great red and white pattern that is perfect for a glass container. Buy a few different shapes and sizes of this candy and mix and match them into different glass container.

Lastly - fill your favorite bowl with the leftover Christmas ornaments and place it on your coffee table, kitchen counter, or dining room. Filling a few glass containers is also an option.

Images thanks to:

www.celebrations.com

www.glamour.wordpress.com

www.yourdecoratinghotline.com

www.budgetwishhome.com

www.thedesignfile.net