Christmas Festivities

So now that Christmas is over I wanted to share a few items that I made for my family.  I hosted my and my husbands family and since this was our second year doing this I felt like I had to outdo myself and make it different than last year. 

Over the course of 5 days we made quite a few meals, breakfast, lunch and dinner.  However Christmas day was truly an extravaganza!

Our breakfast was a cinnamon crumb cake, Paula Deen's french toast casserole, yum, fruit salad with vanilla pudding, fresh bagels and pomegranate mimosas.  

I made quite a few appetizers in between breakfast and dinner to keep everyone from getting too hungry.  I made a baked spinach, artichoke and feta dip with pita chips, roasted tomatoes with fresh basil, mozzarella, basically caprese on a stick.  I also made a roasted cranberry crostini which was to die for. I forgot to take a picture of my Cheese Ball. It was awesome and I made it twice during the holiday season.  

For dinner my brother-in-law helped me set the table.  He is beyond talented.  We used floating candles with fresh pine, cranberries and cinnamon sticks.  I used a plaid tablecloth and a burlap runner.  ( If you read my last post you would see I used burlap with everything :)) We used our Kate Spade China plates, 2 different patterns, and then 2 different napkins.  We folded the napkins with bakers twine, candy canes and cinnamon sticks.  

For the dishes, I forgot to take a picture of the delicious honey baked ham. We also made roasted brussel sprouts, crushed walnuts, blue cheese and olive oil.  Then a quinoa salad with pomegranate, fresh mint, cucumber, and feta.  Then the classic mashed potatoes. 

Lastly for dessert, again, forgot to take a picture, Ooops.   I made amazing peppermint brownies, peanut butter cookies and a no bake cheesecake.  

That's all I've got for Christmas. Did you make anything wonderful for your holiday?  I hope everyone had an amazing holiday and all the best for a happy, healthy, new year!

XO,

GG 

Christmas Decorations

I love the Christmas Season and decorating for my family is one of my favorite things to do.  Our tree was inspired by the Pottery Barn Catalog.  We got the catalog in October, ridiculous, and I thought, "this is what I want our tree to look like this year, but I can make it my way". 

 I used burlap that I had purchased and cut it into 5 inch strips.  Then wrapped it around the tree. It actually doesn't go all the way around but I don't think you can tell.  Then I used the leftover strip to make a bow for the top.  I really like how it turned out.

I was going to stop there but I had some extra burlap.....  So I decided I wanted to make a banner and a table runner.  I went on Etsy and saw some ideas for different banners.  I decided to do a hybrid of two different ones.  Here was my inspiration

I cut out the burlap using a pattern made from cardboard.  Then I made the stencils for the letters of "Be Merry".   I used Martha Stewart fabric paint for the letters and polka dots and then used spray tacky glue to stick it on the ribbon.     I kind of like how mine turned out better! 

What do you think?? What do your Christmas decorations look like??

                                                            XO,

                                                            GG 

Showers of Happiness!

One of my very best friends is having a second child and this time, it is a girl! She already has a sweet little boy, who is adorable and was also my ring bearer. :) I was so thrilled to help host a "Sprinkle" in her honor.  We held it in a wonderful room at Bravo!  We decided to go with the Mommy-to-be's favorite style; shabby chic.

We used burlap runners, ribbon and handmade floral centerpieces. There were also handmade place cards with vintage fabric and buttons.  We also used pink straws which made the table fun and whimsical. 

For the prizes, I handmade chocolate chip cookie jars using ball jars, ribbon, and fabric. I included all the dry ingredients and all the winners had to do was add the refrigerated ingredients. 

I created a handmade burlap "It's a girl" pennant, as well as the tissue pom poms to use as decoration.  She is going to hang the pennant again at their home when the baby arrives.  :)

We had a gorgeous ruffle cake handmade by the Mommy-to-be's friend. I also created a calendar with her due date where people could stamp when they thought the baby would be born and sign their names.  This served as the guest book and decor for the future nursery. 

We also used the Mommy-to-be's old baby clothes as decor for the gift table. 

It was truly a beautiful shower and everything turned out really well! I had a lot of fun creating the handmade elements. I think it made it really special and the Mommy-to-be to be absolutely loved it, which is what really counts. 

Have you ever thrown an event you were really proud of?? 

                                                                    XO, 

                                                                    GG

Delving into some DIY

So the end of summer is fast approaching and I don't know about you but I had a to-do list a mile long at the beginning of summer and I realllly didn't get as much done as I wanted! This project had been on my list for awhile and I wanted to share it with you guys.  

So we inherited these rod iron outdoor seats which used to look wonderful.  However, after being outside for the last 3 years, they needed an overhaul.  

I was planning on removing the entire cushion, however the screws were rusted closed. Bummer! 

So, rather than giving up, I decided to work around them and rip off the old fabric and cover it with the new.  Easier said than done.  I ended up having to rip off the rusted staples holding the fabric down on the base of the chair.  This took awhile but it was the only way I could make it work.  

Once those were done, I cut the fabric to fit around the base of the chair.  I then proceeded to attempt to use the staple gun on the base of the chair.  Again, easier said than done. 

After several failed attempts with the staple gun, I got kind of frustrated and ended up having my husband do it! He's the muscles in the family! 

In the end I think they turned out really well.  I was thinking about changing the color of the chair by painting them as well but I decided I liked the way they looked without it!

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Tonight we will be enjoying a glass of wine in our newly updated chairs! Have you done any DIY projects that you needed someone to rescue? 

XO,

Gilded Girl