Hot Chocolate And Cookies Christmas Party

Time to finish the Christmas decorating for the hot chocolate and cookies party

....One weekend every year the lake behind my house is decked out for the holidays with luminaries.  I host a hot chocolate and cookies party for friends and neighbors then we all walk the lake.....We'll get to that in a minute..First the decorating

I always put my Christmas decor in the same place every year...Since I just redid my living room, I had to figure out where everything goes in the new living room layout.  I also had to sort through my decorations picking the ones that would match with the new style.

My white tree has turned an antique white since it is stored in my hot Florida attic... I kind of like it's vintage coloring.

 

I made new Christmas stocking to reflect the Hollywood Regency look

Ok, now the hot chocolate and cookies party...I made a large crock pot of hot chocolate then put out some "holiday cheer" whip cream and marshmallows, for people to add to their hot chocolate

And some cookies and candies

It was 85 degrees the evening of the party so I turned the air down to make the house a little chilly.  Then the hot chocolate made sense lol!

We all took our drinks and walked around the lake

It was such a fun get together!

So that's it, a little Christmas decorating, a little party, and a little Holiday Cheer!

Happy Creating

Carol

Hollywood Regency Living Room/Dining Room Reveal

I'm finally finished....My Hollywood Regency living/dining room reveal

It was a long process adding crown molding, painting, stenciling, re-upholstery, accessorizing, rearranging, and getting it just right!

I removed every speck of pink...No you didn't...Yes, I did!  It is very calming.  At night it sparkles with all of the mercury vase candles lit!

I have been asked in the past why I don't have window coverings. Since I have plantation shutters they don't really allow for drapes since they swing open wide and my personal preference is the clean look. 

This area rug was the jumping point for the whole living room.  This gorgeous area rug is from Shaw .  I met the very kind folks from Shaw Flooring at the Haven blog conference I went to in July.  I was in their booth and there....THERE it was....The rug I knew would be perfect!  Shaw rugs are available at many big retailers.

You can see the tutorial I did on mirroring the side table HERE

The whole living room was fashioned around Billie and her gorgeous china blue eyes lol

The kerosene heater table tutorial is HERE  Aging a new dress form tutorial is HERE

Adding crown molding really helped finish the room...I wish I had added it years ago

LOOK CLOSE.....I stenciled the Cutting Edge "Flock Of Cranes" on the wall.  They  flew in the front door and trailed sporadically across the whole length of the entrance wall.  It is very subtle and shimmers as the light catches it.....I wish you could see it in person.

The stencil was from Cutting Edge Stencil and painted with a silver metallic paint.  Cutting Edge has so many unique stencils.  Once I looked at the price of wallpapers... I ran....Not walked... to their webpage!  For a fraction of the cost of wallpaper you can stencil any pattern, in any color.  Take a look at the Cutting Edge Stencil I used in my Hollywood Regency bedroom redo HERE.

The wall paint is a beautiful grey blue color by Sherwin Williams

I found old Hollywood glam pictures on the internet 

When they tore down the 1925 house across the street, this old heavy mirror was on the curb.  It was old and spotted and the mirroring was missing in many spots......It was perfect.   I added a plaster ornament above it.

Polka dot fabric was used as a backing in the china cabinet ...Tutorial HERE

So, there you have it....Finally...finished!  The new seating arrangement makes the whole room look bigger, it is calm and relaxing and I am really happy with the final results.

I am slowly redoing my house in the Hollywood Regency style.   You can see my:

 Master bedroom HERE

Master bath HERE.

Thank you for hanging in with me while I did this huge summer project......Happy Fall.....It's 90 degrees in Orlando today!

Happy Creating!

Carol

I was compensated with product from Shaw Flooring and Cutting Edge Stencil...The opinions are all mine 

An Inexpensive Way To Mirror a Table

I've been working on my Hollywood Regency Living room remodel and want to share a quick and inexpensive project....Mirroring my side table.

After searching for a new mirrored side table, I decided to use the one that I already had....

OK...Now, how to make it fit in with my new decor?  I already had a can of silver spray paint and picked up a couple packs of mirror tiles from Joannes for $1.99 each

I sprayed the table silver.....

....Then using tile adhesive, I applied the mirror squares.  After they dried, I grouted them.

Then added a mirrored knob from Hobby Lobby

And TaDa....My glamorous...May I add inexpensive..... Mirrored side table!

Don't you just love it when a plan comes together!

OK, next up, I've got to tell you the story of the perfect rug I got for the living room......

.......Then I promise... I will be ready to show you the whole room!

Happy Creating 

Carol

Joining Betsy's party at
My Salvaged Treasures

Progress On My Hollywood Regency Living Room Redo

I've been working hard on restyling my living room and dining room to reflect a hollywood regency style.

I've painted the living room, kitchen, dining room, and hallway with Sherwin Williams Mountain Air, it's a beautiful blue grey color

I also had crown molding installed.  The hollywood regency look screamed for the elegance of crown molding.  Since my ceilings are 8ft tall the molding is only 3 1/2 inches width.  I worried crown molding would make the ceiling look lower, but it actually made it look higher.  The cost for the living room, kitchen, dining room, and hallway was  $750 all inclusive, supplies and labor.  I thought it was a great price for the incredible impact it made.

I have removed every speck of pink from the room.

The cover on the dining room bench has been replaced 

    

The chairs have been reupholstered

Along with the valance in the kitchen

I could not find any fabric that I liked in my budget and then....Yea, I found a king sheet set at Tuesday Morning for $45 which saved me a ton of money and provided a ton of fabric

I recovered the ottoman in white denim

 Oh yea...I found the perfect rug...I will tell you that story in another post

I moved the TV to the entrance wall so it would not be immediately visible when you enter the house.  After a long hunt for a TV stand, in the end I repurposed the hall table by painting it white and trimming it with silver.  I pulled out the drawer and inserted the DVR

To cover the flowered wallpaper on the back of the china cabinet I used the same fabric and method I used on the headboard in my bedroom.  Fabric, foam board, and double stick tape.....You can read the tutorial HERE

I'll be back with more projects and the final reveal...Right now I'm removing 3 layers of fabric from my bar stools...yuk.

Oh yes, this had been a much bigger project than I had originally anticipated, I'm excited to show you the final results....Oh I'm loving it!

Happy Creating!

Carol