Christmas Cheer in July

Be merry all, be merry all,

With holly dress the festive hall;

Prepare the song, the feast, the ball,

To welcome merry Christmas.

~William Robert Spencer

rooms & walls were built inside a large showroom for our product showcase
-- the created 'rooms' didn't have ceilings, unless they were built for lighting purposes.
The Door Mat is from Target.

There is something about looking at Christmas pictures, ornaments in the store and football on the TV that causes the temperature to drop 15 degrees . . . or is that just me?   I ran to Hobby Lobby today to pick up some materials for our next Flower Power Happy Hour and made a point to avoid the Christmas section.  I can't bring myself to do it . . . it will be here soon enough.  

Willow Sprig Centerpiece hung as a lantern with our Simone Double Old-Fashioned as candle holders.

I can't resist sharing these (So Darn Creative) Pictures taken at the Willow House Annual Meeting (we affectionately call WHAM!) -- our creative team is the best!  They always surprise us with clever decorating ideas, and it is one of my favorite get-togethers of the year!

Turquoise door (Benjamin Moore - Baltimore Sky 760)

Our French Wire 3-Tier Stand created a Snowman Wreath - by separating the tiers.  

Boxwood garland was wired onto the tiers to form wreaths, 

and metal Bows, from our Berry & Bow Door Buckets (see mantel) adorn each one. 

These Holiday Door Buckets are adorable metal stockings -- so cute adorning a picket fence!

I'll limit this post to just a few Christmas highlights -- to bring all our temperatures down a few degrees (yes, even as we watch the Olympic Athletes sweat up a storm! 

Is the fake snow making you feel cooler?  I think it is time for a frozen margarita, or at least a snow-cone :) How about it I start reciting The Night Before Christmas . . . 'The stockings were hung . . . '

Shingle Paint Color - Benjamin Moore - Louisburg Green HC-113.

If I could have . . . I would of packed Mr.Snow in my suitcase!  Isn't he adorable?  

Mr. Snow (my affectionate name for him) is made from 3 sizes of glittery plastic ornaments glued
to 3 different sizes of Styrofoam balls.  His scarf if a satin ribbon with felt eyes and a paper cone nose.
He is resting nicely in our Odessa Planter.

Our Odessa Angel gracefully joins our Jackson Square Mirror (with boxwood star wreath),
Lady Jane Bottleneck Vase (large) and Wireweave Baskets with an assortment of turquoise ornaments.

Coronado Stone Planters are shown on the lower level with hydrangea blooms & berry picks.
Two Montcrest Adjustable Hurricanes adorned with ribbon stand at attention like nutcrackers.

Come into my Favorite Christmas Room!

Do you also LOVE all the color?

Red Rug:  Crate & Barrel.  Large Red Ornaments are from Hobby Lobby.
Slip covered Chair from IKEA and the trees are handmade - covered in fabric!

Very striking, yet easy to duplicate - right?  

Wall Color:  Benjamin Moore - Dune Grass 482
Mantel Painted: Benjamin Moore - Northern Cliffs 1536

Even with a 'fake fire' you'll want to show off your Cordova Firescreen :)

I adore the fabric covered trees -- I am already looking at our tree's many branches 

and thinking which one will make the best colorful tree for the game room . . . 

I suppose they could be wire & paper mache and not real branches underneath.

Mental Note:  Solid Bright Colored Wrapping Paper for Christmas this year!

The wall above the mantel is an instant attention grabber!

Three Portico Accent Plates with our Holiday Hanging Trio - each accented with red satin ribbon.

These bold pieces look striking together as a grouping!

11x14" frames filled with solid paper, looks like they added a little Rub'n Buff to the frame.

The Door Buckets are hanging from our Fireside Stocking Hangers, and our

Athena Crackle Vase is dressed up with Kermit Mums (thriller), 

Oversized Lollipops & Candy Canes (filler) and Green Berry Picks (spiller)

Remember the Berry & Bow Door Buckets that donated their metal bows to the front door's snowman?  Here they are . . . filled with tulips, carnations and kermit / button mums (so pretty!)  

I'm rethinking when I will actually 'hang' our Christmas Stockings now.  

I think I will hold them until Christmas Eve, and hang door buckets as a placeholder for them this year.

If Santa does make it down the faux chimney, he'll have some delicious sweet treats waiting for him.

The Wirework Treasure Box Ornament comes in an assortment of 3, with $2 from each set sold going towards CUT IT OUT, an organization dedicated to helping battered women escape abuse and rebuild a better life for themselves and their families.  We are PROUD to support CUT IT OUT!

Cordova Nesting Table topped with two of our Riverstone Platters and Harmony Tea Cups.

Off to the next 'room' -- a little Christmas breakfast nook!

Doesn't our Athena Crackle Vase make a perfect lamp base?  

See my facebook album for How To.

Teal Table from Nadeau Furniture.
Walls are painted:  Benjamin Moore - Smoke Embers 1466

Our Odessa Angel appears again - this time dressed up with a Pink Paper Cone for an 

added PoP of color, she is resting on our Jackson Square Pedestal next to our 

Belle Meade Entertaining Stand, Tuscan Accent Plates & Maribel Clock.  

The Zella Notice Boards are the perfect spot to display cards & holiday wishes.

I am in love with the Tinsel Tree (hobby lobby) tucked in our Lady Jane Vase, Small.

The tinsel tree is adorned with some of our large and small Prism Glass Ornaments.

Chevron Table Lines (Love these!) are from Smith Variety Store in Birmingham, AL
(wonder if they ship?)

Also shown on this colorful table ::: Adair Ruffled Glass Cake Stand, Simone Highballs, Amelia Thimble Domes, Piedmont Votive Caddy, Riverstone Tapas Platters, and Adelaide Flatware.

Lastly the dining chairs were adorned with our Avalon Accent Trees 

holding fresh flowers and silver tinsel for extra sparkle!

Silver Chairs are Custom Made -- cute, especially with the pink linen seat!!

I hope you enjoyed this Cheerful Christmas in July tour.

Is it making you rethink what color palette you use to decorate for Christmas?

It is, most definitely, for me!

I am Joining Cowgirl Up's Christmas In July

and Linking Up too!

We never need a reason . . . to celebrate (+ a GiveAway!)

Close your eyes and quickly bring up a couple of your warmest childhood memories.  I bet ya dollars to two Krispy Kreme doughnuts that what you remembered involved small details.  It might have been the way the tooth fairy always seemed to wear Mom's perfume or personal pizza night, where your brother concocted any combination of toppings that his belly could tolerate.

Happy childhoods are made up of moments -- and many of them don't have to cost a dime. 

Take last night for instance.  My son just finished up several days of school required STAAR testing (State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness) and I thought I would set a special table to celebrate - and give us a chance relax and DooDLe During DiNNeR . . . every need one of those triple D nights that Macaroni Grill provides?   We are big doodlers :)

I simply wrapped the our round breakfast tabletop with the back (white side) of cheapy wrapping paper.  Took a remant of bright paper and folded it on itself many times into a pie shape and cut a curved petal shape out of it -- unfolded it and set it on the center of the table . . . . keep reading for more detail on that . . .

Our kitchen table is typically set for just the 3 of us (We have chairs for 6 & a large round topper that are added for entertaining).  VERY Informal -- if you can't tell.  I was cooking spaghetti, garlic bread and salad -- which just needed a fork and a plate (we're casual!).

Sorry for the poor pic :( . . . the Petal Straws were completely unnessary, but fun just the same.  From Martha . . . 

Link to Martha's Idea

. . . to put these in perspective, I used a few leftover cupcake liners and mini foil baking cups, a bendy straw and scissors.  So ignore all the special tools her site suggests for making these -- completely unnecessary. 
I used this same folding technique for the blue wrapping paper petal in the center of the table. EASY! You can see the fold lines in the pic below . . .

I wrote & doodled directly on the blue wrapping paper with my Bistro Chalk Marker (love it) that I have used many times before.  I have bought them from Amazon & craft stores (bring a coupon).

It may seem a little girlie to have flower petals, but it was VERY Quick to pull together and it certainly didn't matter to my son.  It made him feel special.   

The 'centerpiece' is a caddy filled with Markers, Crayons and Strawberries -- oh and some orange fiber that a bouquet of flowers Mr. V brought me one time were wrapped in.

Willow House

It is a wonderful clutter collector and perfect for your family's homework spot (most commonly the kitchen table :). 

We've also used it for entertaining though too . . . 

MyStyleShare

Use it on a buffet and serve away!  The 5 removable glasses are food safe, and candle-safe too - gorgeous with fresh flowers as well.  The metal rings and center rod can be removed, so you can use the tray alone as a riser -- or flip it upside down as shown above.

What would you use it for?  Would you like to WiN a Willow House French Wire Carousel Caddy for your family?  Of course you would!

Here's How to Win One . . .

created a Google Doc form for entries. This prevents any of our email addresses from being harvested by blog-crawling harvester bots (ooooh!), 

Simply leave a comment with your email address for one entry. (Make sure you leave your e-mail address, so I can contact you if you win!)

• For a second entry, visit my facebook page and if you like what you see, become a fan -- Come back to this post and leave a second comment letting me know you are a NEW Fan!
• For a third entry, subscribe to my newsletter and leave one last comment letting me know you have (or already do.) The subscribe box can be found here or within my website here.

The giveaway will run through Sunday, April 29, 2012, at midnight EST. It is only open to readers over the age of 18 and living in the lower 48 US states.  One Winner will be randomly chosen and announced on Monday, April 30.  

Go ahead . . . give yourself a mother's day gift :)

Psst -- I am using Random.org's integer generator to choose a random winner.
THANK YOU in Advance & Good luck, everyone!

I am linking up with Between Naps on the Porch's Tablescape Thursday and Hookin Up with House of Hepworths :)