paradox

It's this time of year when decorating, for me, seems to become a paradox. A mix of winter (and I mean ND winter), with planning for warm trips. It's the conflict between beautiful crystal trees, shimmering snow, brisk temperatures, vs. seashells, warm sand, and the heat of the sun.

As this conflict of nature surrounds my soul, it amazes me how the two can have qualities that are the same: beautiful clear blue skies, the calming sound of the ocean/wind, and shimmering sand/snow. Sameness in the midst of conflict.  

So how does this work in decorating my home without it looking messy? Calm the conflict by finding common ground. In this case I drew on both color and texture.
  

 

Silver crystal-like starfish and crystal branches= an interesting paradox that brings sameness to conflict. 

 

To glitter starfish use spray adhesive and shake on silver glitter or glass glitter. Use a glitter tray from a craftstore. It will save you frustration and glitter!

 

...and may you feel God's blessings in the New Year,

even when they might not be right in front of you. 

Ele

 

Wedding Reception Part 2

The bride and groom went on a Caribbean honeymoon, so my huge collection of seashells found their way into large glass vases. I am fascinated by the array of whites, creams, and blush colors of seashells, not to mention the textures.

 At the wedding, the beautiful bride wore an elegant gown of lace  with sparkles, so added to the seashells was a little vintage ba-da bling from my jewelry box. It's the "use what you have" decorating style. 

Adding real white roses to the arrangements provided for an elegant and cohesive feel. I didn't want a bright pop of color that would take away from the seashells, and picture displays. The roses were tucked inside small vase, placed in the larger vase. Yes, a vase in a vase.

Silver candleabras and mercury glass candle holders were added to some of the tables, another touch of elegance. Every table did not look exactly the same. For me, it adds interest, and again....use what you have.

Have a blessed week,
Ele

Looking for Spring

It's the time of year when I start to look for Spring and unfortunately, where I live, it's buried under several feet of snow. The logical thing to do is to find a beach in Mexico, a comfy chair, a hardcover copy of Wuthering Heights, and at various intervals stand up, click red high heels together and say, "I don't want to go back home, I don't want to go back home, I don't want to go back home". 

  

Mexico, comfy chair, book...all realized, and wonderful. The clicking of high heels... apparently does not work without a fairy godmother, so back home I go. 

Once back home, I again looked for Spring.

This time I found it in the summer grass of a photograph of  dd,   

     

a milk glass pedestal with seashells,

 a glass vase filled with treasures of the ocean,

 a starfish accompanied by tarnished silver,

 and speckled blue eggs in a white birdcage.

I guess Spring can be found, if we look really hard.

It's not too early to display some of those items that help you "feel" like it's Spring. Do you remember where they're stored? If not, remember, you can always search for Spring on http://www.etsy.com/

PS: Thought you might ejoy seeing a couple of pictures of a wedding reception being set up on the beach. After dark, the torches and lanterns were lit. It was a gorgeous sight.

Blessings,

Ele

White Out

Whites, creams, and ecru combine for white out conditions, and I'm not talking about the kind of white out conditions I'm privy to in the Midwest. The talk is all about decorating with lack of color or hue, and in artsy terms, a surface that REFLECTS EVERY color, thus appears white. 

    

My favorite white basket is filled with an off white china plate, a silver plate, and a distressed thingamajig (thingamajig: item with absolutly no purpose, but adding color or texture). My black pedestal table displays a candlestick, a vintage pottery piece, a children's tea set and a glittered star.   

When putting together vignettes of one color, (or in this case, lack of color), choose pieces with texture and variations of the same color. Think of visual texture as the glue that holds it all together. If all the pieces were glossy or matte they would seem to slide away.  The weave of the basket adds visual texture that allows the sleekness of the pottery and silver pieces to (visually) stick together.  The pottery and the thingamajig add another type of glue due to their distressed appearance.  Even the star contrasts and adds texture against a glossy tea service. I like it simply for the pop of sparkle :) 

I prefer combining white with its complementary color: black. This works well for me because I have touches of black around my home, like the table where this vignette sits. I added silver pieces because black and white mixed together makes gray (silver).  Easy peasy. Get it? But, remember the best rule when combining items, do you like it?   

My friend Mary at Vintage Patina really knows how to use white and creams in her home. The following pictures are from her Christmas post, (I know, I just can't let Christmas go).

 

Look at those textures! 
 This is the kind of white out I don't mind!

DIY: The star in the little silver children's teapot is an easy do it yourself project. You can buy chipboard stars already cut out at your local hobby store. Paint the star silver, and glitter away!

Blessings, Ele