CELEBRATE NEW YEARS EVE WITH THESE INSPIRATIONS!

New Years Eve is just around the corner and it's time to celebrate! Celebrate a new year - full of hope & promise - a clean slate to start all over and it's also a time to shine! From edible glitter rimmed champagne glasses to sparkly heels, skirts, necklaces and bubbly: Bring on the bling! Whether you're heading out to toast the town dressed to the nines, or going to a intimate house party - one staple of New Years Eve is having a glass of champagne. From festive settings for your soiree of friends, and even non-alcohol alternatives too, here are a few creative ways to present, serve and toast the new year - even if you're just staying home with the ones you love...

 

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Welcome 2014!

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Make your own big fringe garlands, GREAT for a party backdrop...

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Create your own star garlands... 

 

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Fortune cookies dipped in edible glitter - also great to place on edge of champagne flutes...

 

*** Edible Glitter ***

Make your own here OR just buy here

 

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 Sparking apple cider with edible gold sugar glitter rim - a non-alcohol alternative...

 

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Party favor bags... 

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Clock discs and tulle dress up dining chairs...

 

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Pin metallic balloons to walls or even the ceiling...

 

 

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Start the NEW year off with a silver spoon in your mouth...

 

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 Just as blueberries are great Summer chillers, freeze cranberries to keep champagne cool...

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 Place frozen raspberries in these gold rimmed glasses of champagne to create a whimsical cocktail...

 

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 Fill glass with pink cotton candy and slowly pour Perrier over it (for non-alcohol alternative) or pour champagne over it...

 

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Rock candy in champagne...

 

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A little guidance to picking the perfect champagne...

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Create a mantel filled with clocks for Father Time.... 

 

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Add your own sparkle...

 

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Perfect Party Attire!

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Although this is no longer available from Anthropologie, it's easy enough to DIY...

 

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 For additional inspiration, see my NEW YEARS EVE board on Pinterest.

Happy NEW Year!

 

Having a Clear Direction for the New Year

Hopefully you've been enjoying your holiday season and hopefully it's been Flu-Free! I don't know if I have the flu, but I did catch a Christmas Cold. Be that as it may, I've been taking some quiet time to reflect on the past year, refresh some of my online presence and do a little catch-up reading from one of my favorite motivational writers: Ralph Marston. I very much enjoy reading his Daily Motivator, and through the years, I've collected quite a few of his inspiring quotes. Some of his quotes and passages have inspired me through some challenging times. With the start of a new year - full of hope and promise ahead, and also filled with a list of all the goals plus resolutions you expect to achieve, I thought this Ralph Marston passage in particular could help you in the new year with a different approach...

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Ralph writes:

You have great plans, and yet life is always getting in the way. You intensely wish to move forward, but all sorts of things seem to constantly interrupt and impede that movement.

But do those unexpected and unwelcome interruptions really have to hold you back? The fact is, you don't have to let them.

Sure, you must regularly deal with the urgent, pressing matters that come your way. But that doesn't mean those unwelcome interruptions have to take over your life.

Instead of seeing those interruptions as negative, distracting influences, you can just as realistically choose to see them as positive, empowering opportunities. Just because they weren't in your plans doesn't mean they have to upset your plans.

Decide that there's something positive to be found, and you'll find something positive in anything. Decide that the interruptions won't really interrupt you, but will in fact provide you with additional ways to move forward, and that's exactly what will happen.

Learn to welcome, embrace and empower yourself with the unexpected interruptions. They're always going to come, so make the choice to make them work in your favor. - Ralph Marston

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Clear Direction for the Year Ahead...

Decide where you will go, and then go there. When you live by intention, there is no limit to the rich rewards that life can bring.

To get somewhere, you must first know precisely where that is. To achieve, you must zero in on the specific details of your intended achievement.

Whether it is for an hour, a day, a month, five years or five decades, clear and purposeful direction makes a profound difference. The highest level of fulfillment comes to those who can envision precisely what that fulfillment looks like.

Yes, it's difficult to hone your scattered ideas and desires into a positive, coherent direction. Yet you most certainly can do it, and each time you do the results will be amazing.

Give yourself a clear direction for this day, for this week, for this beautiful and unique life of yours. Give yourself a clear direction and you'll have a workable path to your own special greatness.

In whatever you're doing, choose a direction that will express your highest, most treasured values. Give yourself a direction, and give your very best gifts to life.

Another fave quote...

Best Wishes to you and your family for a happy, healthy and safe new year!

I'll be sharing my 2013 Rewind shortly - Thank you for stopping by and being a part of Focal Point Styling!

NON-MANTEL MANTEL & BOOKSHELF HOLIDAY DISPLAYS

No fireplace? No problem! Besides tuning the TV onto a Yule Log DVD or music channel to create a fireplace, a low-profile bookcase can be the foundation to create a mantel display. We have a Besta unit from Ikea that not only allows me to create a mantel display, it also has adjustable shelving for storage plus space for me to create simple holidays displays. With Christmas being about traditions, one tradition I started last year (thanks to inspiration on Pinterest!) and I implemented again this year was the NOEL book decor detail. I also reused my galvanized tins for pinecone & fresh greens arrangements (great to give weight to the lower shelves.) And this year, I switched our framed photos for two reindeer chalkboard printables I found on Pinterest -- I just converted them to green chalkboard (like I did for our Christmas Kitchen). In addition to converting the images to green, I added holy to the silhouette and named the two deers: Dancer and Prancer.  On each shelf, behind each display, I use my silver chargers and trays I've collected over the years. Doing this is an alternative to painting the bookshelf back or making fabric inserts. Besides the bookshelves being dressed for holiday, everyday decor magazines are stored in trays, extra throws are in baskets, and I also keep my laptop and accessories + papers in a basket tray on the lower shelves.

 

On the unit top, my mantel, gathered and displayed white candles in clear glass containers plus I mixed metals with my taper candle holders. Although these are everyday decor items, I mostly only use them at Christmas time, which makes them look a little more special. Clustering the candles in the one location (the mantel) helps create a heat source in winter for us, plus the glow is really pretty and it makes it easier to put out all the candles (and not forget one). Last year, I repurposed green legwarmers as candle cozies. This year, I left the glass holders clear & simple. To give the mantel some added color, I used fresh winter greens mixed in clusters with gilded pinecones on the mantel.  The centerpiece is the same mirror as last year, but I painted it gold, to work with my other gold mirrors in the living room. I stacked the books again under the mirror, and this year I used a white alabaster pedestal bowl I picked up at Goodwill earlier this year.  The center is flanked by my two bottle brush trees + silver containers (now tarnished because I've had for over ten years, but still look great!)

 

 

 

Behind my holiday style...

Simple bookshelf styling with DIY projects & collected finds from thrift. I kept the fresh greens only on the top and in the two lower arrangements - making the shelves easier to keep clean with a Swiffer during holiday time.

 

Converted black chalkboard printable to green with PicMonkey.

 

Refreshed existing gold plus a black round mirror to gold.

 

The cable channel Yule Log screen saver is too orange for all this green, but Winter greens works great as a TV screensaver, plays holiday music and rids the void of the big black box for holiday. The BESTA unit measurements are: 94.5" W x 15.75" D x 50" H

 Keeping a candle snuffer handy (over on the coffee table) makes putting out all these candle simple & safe.

Although my first Christmases were spent in a home with a fireplace, I've never lived in a home with one to decorate. Using the low-profile TV unit / bookcase is a great alternative to create a festive and still functional holiday focal point. For winter, I'll just clean-up the unit by removing the greens and keep everything else, until my Spring ReStyle.

 

Early on, I was influenced by branches, pinecones, and holiday mantel decor.

My mom, pictured here with me, made the one on this mantel at my Aunt Mary's house.

Hope you are enjoying your Winter Holiday Season!

Be sure to pin and save some ideas for next holiday decorating season!

Merry Christmas!

Thanks for stopping by,

WINTER WHITE & GREEN CHRISTMAS TABLESCAPE IDEAS

Now that both the interior and exterior of most homes are all decorated for Christmas - cards are written and sent, baking has begun and plans for entertaining have been made, it's time to give a little thought to what tablestyling to implement. Will you have a large family gathering, serving your Christmas dinner formal & family style? Or will you be hosting a friendly casual gathering and go buffet style? Even if it's only setting a table for two, a few simple details can create a magical setting to celebrate Christmas. Here are a few tablestyling ideas - from place-settings to chair details, using the very popular combination of natural linens, winter whites, antique silver, nature and fresh greens...

 

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Keep the table simple, crisp and clean - perfect for winter!

 

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Give guests a gift of nature...

 

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A simple olive wreath creates a low-profile centerpiece...

 

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Love this idea - especially for a Southwest Christmas:

A low bed of succulents + gold dipped wine glasses = casual elegance!

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Love this idea too and SO simple to do: Doilies as place-mat under a clear plate.

Great way to utilize your favorite letter-type to personalize your place-settings... and clear plates can be collected from the Dollar Store, a thrift store, even just the grocery store.

 

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Beautiful rolled napkins on a charger presentation for a buffet...

 

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A simple cedar wreath with ribbon for slip-covered chair backs...

 

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More casual elegance...

 

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twine + spruce + cinnamon sticks!

 

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No wreath? No problem! Create a margent to adorn chair backs

(A margent is the vertical arrangement that drops at the ends of festoons - aka a swag (garland).

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Simple table layers for a winter gathering... or be ready with a buffet too...

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 So many wonderful tablestyle ideas... I wish I had family here in AZ to do these for! (I miss doing tablescapes for family who would come to dinner in our FL home.)

All of the above images I gathered off Pinterest and pinned to my Holiday Inspy Board -- which after two years of pinning, has gotten out of control! I seriously need to create smaller categories (wish they had sub-boards!) and relocate some of these pin ideas. While scrolling through the board, and seeing all the ideas I'd love to do, it got me thinking: Do one Christmas pin project per month, which would equal 12 Days of Christmas to share next year.

Happy pinning and tablestyling!

Can you beilive, Christmas is now less than a week away!

Thanks for stopping by,