Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Happy New Year!

We hope everyone has a safe and happy New Year!

Merry Christmas

We hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday!

101 Easy Holiday Decorations

Do you need some ideas on how to decorate your apartment for the Holidays? Here are 101 tips for easy, simple, and creative ways to put holiday themes around your home this season.

1. Create a charming display of teddy bears dressed for the season. Gather together three or more teddy bears and arrange them on a table or on the floor in a corner. Dress the bears with touques, scarves and mittens. Place candy canes in their hands or tie bows around their necks. You can even wrap up some small, empty boxes with Christmas wrapping paper to place in the bears’ hands.

2. Display a collection of nativity scenes from different cultures.

3. Make simple bows from Christmas print ribbon and pin them to your curtains.

4. Hang a collection of Christmas stockings on your mantle, a shelf or the wall (even if you don’t stuff them). The more the merrier when it comes to nice christmas decorations.

5. Revisit your childhood. Cut snowflakes from white paper and hang them in all of your windows.

6. Buy a clear plastic shower curtain. Use a hot glue gun to attach Christmas decorations to the outside of the curtain. Don’t use breakable ornaments – instead, try small wooden or plastic ornaments (remove any hooks), bows, garland, etc.

7. Use red and green 3-dimensional fabric paints to trace simple Christmas patterns (like stars, bells, Santas, stockings, etc.) on a white tablecloth.

8. Dress up your house plants – hang small Christmas ornaments on them.

9. Tie a red ribbon around a tall, slim drinking glass. Fill the glass with candy canes and display on a shelf or side table.

10. Purchase plain green or red place mats and attach Christmas ribbons, bows or small wooden ornaments with a hot glue gun.

11. Fill a small glass bowl or decorative Christmas bowl with small cones and display on end tables, shelves, buffet tables, etc.

12. For quick ornaments, hang Christmas cookie cutters with ribbon. Hang them on your tree or in a window so other people can enjoy your christmas decorations.

13. Create a cookie wreath centerpiece for your table. Just arrange Christmas cookies in a wreath shape right on the table cloth. No need to attach them to anything ’cause everyone will want to nibble at them. If you like, place a pillar candle on a small plate in the center of the wreath.

14. Decorate plain red, white, green or gold candles with 3-dimensional fabric paint. Draw stars, bells, angels, snowmen, etc. If you make a mistake, let the paint dry and peal it off, then start again.

15. Pile a collection of Christmas books on a side table.


For the rest of the 101 tips see All Things Christmas.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Great "Geek" Gifts For Your Loved Ones

Do you have anyone in your group of family and friends that love technology and superheros?  Here are the top 6 "geek gifts" for your loved ones.  Harry Potter to Big Bang Theory there are gifts for all ages!

1. Dr. Who pocket watch

Want to give your geeky boyfriend a nice gift that doesn't scream, "I'm cheap"? Check out the Dr. Who pocket watch on ThinkGeek.com. The high quality die cast metal watch is an exact replica from the Dr. Who television series. The retail price is $39.99

2. Superheros are your friends

It's never too late to start accessorizing before the next Marvel or DC superhero movie hits the big screen in 2013. No crime fighter should be without the proper outfit. Check out the Captain America or Green Lantern hoodie on Amazon.com. There's also a nifty Superman comfy throw blanket with sleeves.

3. Afraid of Ghosts?

Your kids ain’t afraid of no ghosts – but just in case they are, the Ghostbusters neon light will work perfectly as a night light to keep away any scary ghosts or poltergeists that dare try enter your kid’s room.

4. May the Force be With You

Battle your fellow geeks like never before with these real laser powered lightsabers. Powered using the same technology in professional lasers, these intense lightsabers are the closest thing we’ve ever seen to a real lightsaber outside of a movie theater.

5. Hogwarts graduate

Harry Potter fans can control any TV with the flick of the wrist with this magic wand TV remote control. This magic wand TV remote control has 13 different gestures to do everything from turn the TV on and off to changing the volume or channel.

6. Big Bang Inspired T-shirts

Thanks to the characters on the popular TV show, The Big Bang Theory, nerd chic is in. Do you have a special someone looking for Sheldon's signiture style of superhero T-shirts or Howard's belts? Then check out this fun website filled with nerd-inspired clothing.

For more information see The Patch.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Experience Snow Without Travel This Season

In this part of the country it is warm throughout the year.  Experiencing snow is very unlikely.  However, you can create a winter wonderland right in your home.  Keep reading to learn how to create snow right in your own home.

With my husband's office Christmas party just around the corner, I have already begun decorating. It takes a while to get all of our Christmas items up and set in stone.

Last year, the main focus of our house for the party was the Florida Room, which I turned into a Santa's Toyland. This year, the focus is once again on that room but this time, I'm turning it into a snow land.

Turning any room in your house into a snow land can be fun and it offers a slightly different twist to the more traditional Christmas theme. I chose the Florida Room because it is the room in which my guests most like to congregate. Additionally, the green curtains and blue carpet lend themselves automatically to the theme.

You can do something similar for your house by using some or all of the following ideas:

Idea #1. Start the theme with the Christmas Tree. This year I scaled back my 8' tree to allow more room for seating. Instead, I chose a smaller, thinner 6' tree, which I decorated in keeping with the snow land theme.

Think about placing cotton batting inside the tree to simulate snow. To make it glisten more, accent it with aurora borealis tinsel. Glittering snowball tinsel round around the branches works well too.

Choose ornaments that fit in with the overall theme. I used old world Santas, snowmen, angels and Christmas bulbs in clear, white and silver. Then, I popped it with color by placing red glitter poinsettias and snowflakes inside the branches as well.

Use a bow made of snowmen or a similar theme as a tree topper or pick out a glistening snowflake or star topper instead. Even an angel will work if you stick to clear or aurora borealis glass or plastic or choose something done in corresponding colors.

Idea #2. Temporarily cover furniture cushions and pillows with snow themed fabric.

The floral cushions in my wicker chairs were inappropriate for my snow land theme. So I used inexpensive ($1 yard) fabric in a snow theme to temporarily cover them. A simple running whip stitch allowed me to complete the job quickly. It will also make for easy removal once Christmas is over.

To pull the fabric together with the curtains, I replaced the curtain on my door to match the cushions. I left the other green curtains in place and simply dangled snowflakes from the tops of each. I also covered throw pillows in white felt and glued matching snowflakes to the front.

You can also replace throw pillows with store bought ones if you prefer. I added a couple that fit in with the theme but also popped in a bit more color.

Idea #3. Cover surfaces with a blanket of snow.

I used several different kinds of materials to achieve the look I wanted. For the large round wicker table in the center of the room I had to use white felt. It was the only fabric I could find that was large enough to cover the circumference. The fabric was around $5 a yard but one yard was all I needed.

Snow blankets can be purchased for smaller surfaces almost anywhere that Christmas decorations are sold. I used that material for my large rectangular table. These blankets retail for anywhere from $4 to $10, depending upon their size the features (e.g., glitter, glisten, etc.)

You can also use cotton pull-apart stuffing to make snow banks on large surfaces to cover really small areas. That material is inexpensive and can be found at any arts & crafts store, at Wal-Mart or fabric stores for around $4 a bag.

Increase the glitter factor with white glitter netting from Michael's Arts & Crafts. It can be draped or round a surface. The cost is about $7 per 84" by 15" piece.

Add snow flakes made from foam, fabric, or tinsel to accent the surfaces. Also think about using glittered white poinsettias.

Don't forget the snowmen. The ones I used happened to be wine bottle covers that will house Christmas gifts for some of our party guests.

Idea #4. Decorate surfaces.

I found cute little cardboard houses at Dollar Tree that doubled as gift boxes for party guests. They were perfect for decorating the top of one of the room's tables.

Add a bouquet of flowers or a plant to bring extra pizzazz to any surface.

Idea #5. Add some stockings on the fireplace.

Even a small fireplace in the room is still perfect for stocking accents. The top or mantel also provides another surface upon which you can place plants or other decorations.

Idea #6. Sit snowmen around the room.

I picked up the giant snowman pictured at a yard sale for $5. He sits inside the door to greet guests as they arrive.

Sit other woodland creatures around on the floor, between chairs, etc. Although they are not pictured, I have the perimeters of the room strewn with snowmen, old word Santas, reindeer and more. They cover up extension cords, trash cans and other things I don't want attention called to. They also add warmth and charm to the space.

Idea #7. Pipe in music with a snow theme like "Winter Wonderland," "Frosty the Snowman," or anything else appropriate. It will help set the mood and help calm the guests and remove the stress of their day.

Have fun with the theme. Get a bit wild and crazy with ideas if you want. The whole idea is to make a fantasy room that you and your guests will enjoy.


For more information see Yahoo.com

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