Color of the YEAR: Tangerine Tango

Happy Saturday! I always look forward to hearing the color of the year prediction from Pantone. It's been announced for 2012. AND, it's TANGERINE TANGO. LOVE.

I recently started pinning on pinterest. I know I'm one of only a million to jump on this midnight train ride. How about you? Are you pinning? Are you overwhelmed by all the options, ideas, and trends that you're seeing on there? Sometimes I am too, but after the color of the year was announced, I immediately wanted to blog some inspirational rooms etc., but then quickly realized that "my personal" pin board on pinterest was already a bit covered up with tangerine.

SO....

Here are some pinterest pins I made of my tangerine dreams.

Hope you're having a wonderful tango weekend.

xx
sharon

Little Women + Gift Wrapping

We're about to get "Crafty" in the house tonight for our chic gift-wrapping party. Special guests Elsie and Emma will be bringing their own collection of unique wrappings and bows to share with several of my sweet customers, friends, and neighbors.

So, the workspace is set! Long tables, scissors, and buckets of stuff to use. I think the cover of this Little Women book is so cute and it reminds me to get that movie out again. The movie gets to me, does it you? Speaks to some of my fondest memories of growing up in a house full of mostly girls. A strong, strong Mom, roughing it, long work tables for crafting, and proud things that we made.

If you weren't able to make it to this workshop, no frets... I'm anxious to announce all of our WINTER workshops very soon.

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Stay tuned for photos of our good times. My sweet and talented friend, Adie of Twin Town Studios will be sharing soon!

xx
sharon

Annemarie's Christmas Party

Hi All. Are you staying cozified? I've got my new sorel boots on for the soft blanket of snow...It's amazing how much these boots put me in the mode for "getting 'er done" today.

Okay, so I'm happy to introduce you to another one of my special interns, Annemarie. Her time is almost up here at Pickwick House and I am not so happy about. She's been wonderful, funny, full of ideas + tons of tips on style.

Today, she's sharing her idea of the perfect Christmas party. And, she's using my fave color...RED.

For cocktail hour, this setting is my favorite.  I love the use of red especially the use of cranberries.  The wreath has a natural look with the long pine needles.  If you want to recreate this type of wreath, I suggest taking a wreath and spreading the branches out to elongate the design and create that realistic look. 

A delicious drink to serve would be this cranberry margarita from the website My Recipes.  It can be served frozen or on ice.  For a little extra Christmas flair, add a garnish of a holly leaf and sugar around the rim to make the glass look frosted. 

   

For setting the table for a dinner party, I always believe that less is more.  This setting from Martha Stewart Designs reminds me of my mother’s style with the ornaments hanging from the chandelier.  Again I love the use of the deep red, but if red is not your color; this setting could be just as lovely in an emerald green.  

Make sure your guests remember your party by leaving them with a gift.  These ornaments are unique and easy to make, with the only materials being newspaper, modge podge glue, glass ornaments and glitter.  Your guests will love the gesture and be dying to know where you got them!

Cute ideas, huh?

Thanks Annemarie. I'm going to have to try that cocktail recipe!

Have a cheery-cherry-cheeked week, everybody!

xx
sharon

It's a Wrap!

Happy December-Monday to you! A few delightful details here. We're about to find ourselves knee-high with gift-wrapping as well as wrapping up the year of 2011.

I am really loving these hanging stars and palette for a New Years brunch or bridal shower.

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Do you see stars in your future for 2012?
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I know it's a little soon to already be thinking of next year, but we are so humbled to be booking and looking into planning some of the sweetest weddings for next year. There are more and more roses bloomin in the month of May! We can't help but feel grateful for what this year has brought to us in terms of the fruition for the year to come.

How about you? What are you feeling grateful for?

Have a merry and joyous week! And don't forget about the workshop. We still have room to squeeze a few girls in to our pile of sequins, ribbons, glitter, and bows!

xx
sharon

Fun Before and After

Happy Saturday! I thought I'd pop in on this rainy weekend day to share our new online Pickwick House holiday bazaar that just went up this week. It's here. It's just a small collection of special things I love that I hope you can enjoy per-using from your own little abode. What things are you up to at home? Here's something I've had going...a before and after. And, yes, I'm so happy to say it's already sold. Even though I wouldn't have minded keeping it for myself. I have a sick chair addiction.

Happy Day. Peace & Joy!

xx
sharon

Re-Upholstery: Why It's Worth The Wait

Happy Friday! What's new?

I've had a couple of people call me recently to ask me who I use for upholstering. My answer to that question is: I use whoever I can find that is the most readily available. I think there are three listed in the directory and I actually have had to use those three different upholsterers all on one project. Mostly because I needed to finish by a deadline date and each upholsterer could only work so fast. But, because there aren't too many upholsterers left in town, these craftsmen are always backed up. The wait time is always longer than I like it to be...but it's worth the wait. Bless their hearts, some of them work night and day to please their customers, and the two that I love and trust the most are the sweetest old men with wives as their partners in the trade. They always deliver their craftsmanship with a smile. Their work is really good. Have any of you had any pieces reupholstered lately? Was it a good experience?

To see a few examples of the upholstered pieces I commissioned for a design project, you can go to Boca Mocha to check out several upholstered pieces done quite nicely by all local craftsmen. I can't praise them enough.

Here's my reason as to why upholstery and upholsterers are worth "the wait" in gold...

Pictured below is the perfect example. It's a sofa just waiting to be reupholstered that Will and his mom found at an auction for me to resell at the shop. It has been the comfiest and most rock-solid of all sofas. Have you noticed that they don't make sofas nowadays like they used to make?

While this comfy sofa has been perfect for nursing my baby in my back room...it could be perfect for holding a slew of rambunctious kids or a really tall man who wants it all to himself for a football game. Are you in the market for a sofa like that?

I chose a soft, charcoal tweed. I'm loving menswear for furniture. I think this piece will ranscend all times once it's all done.

Here's a similar shape and styled sofa below from Oly. I love it too. It's just $6,785. A little too expensive for my taste and client's budget.

Do you need a designer to help you with just the little things...like selecting fabrics, paints, or even just to stylize your home for company coming? No job is too small for me! Let me know if I can help you. Please call 417-873-9999

Happy Friday and Have a wonderfully cozy weekend!

xx
sharon

Warming Up for the Holidays!

We're gettin in full warm-up gear at our house. How 'bout you?

Here's Big Girl Syl in her new Christmas coat. The wreath was all her idea. Funny how she never seems to like photo ops, but today she was all about it. I would be too in a coat like that!

Hope you're all having a productive week! Calling all you local crafters and party-wanna-be-ers, I know you won't want to miss the upcoming gift wrapping party at Pickwick House! It's going to be fun. You can find out more about it here.

I'm off now to go meet with Elsie and Emma to plan * design * create...!

xx
sharon