Centerpiece Change in the Kitchen and my Pig Takes Center Stage

It was time for a new look for our centerpiece in the kitchen, time for new trim and time to my let my country pig take center stage!

She was a "piggy pink" when my honey bought her for me almost twenty years ago. I painted her to make her fit in with our decor....I don't do pink!

The centerpiece started out like this. Then I made the little changes and swapped the rattan place mat for the pair of green ones to add more green to the vignette

Here I added some fresh cut basil, from our window, to fill the vase some more.

Same exact photo? NOT!

A little secret of mine, that I use a lot is the cloning tool in Pic Monkey. It's the photo editing program that I use for every single pic that I share. 

I hate imperfections and blemishes and since I had no more perfect flowers or basil on hand I just cloned them.

I use it to hide wires and dust and cracks....anything that I didn't notice when taking my shots!

 You can see that I added a checkerboard trim to the lazy susan, to change it up again, and match the stool that I painstakingly painted. I shared it's "how to" in this post.

I shared how I, recently, re-painted it white and added Italian and English words all the way around. It was very apropo for our Italian themed dinner party that we had a few weeks back.

Then came the 4th of July. An American flag band disguised the words and made the perfect patriotic accent.

It's so easy to add any trim...I just stick it on with some "poster putty" which makes it really easy to remove.

"Emma" almost always wears her pearls!

A chicken wire wrapped jar holds some fresh cut summer flowers.....note: petals not cloned...oops!

I think she's happy being center stage, so I'll keep her happy for a while!

And now I'm itching to re-do the bay window, again, with a summer theme. I'm just holding off because I'm still in love with the herb garden look. Nothing beats the handiness of having herbs right at hand in the kitchen!

 Love, Hugs and Kisses,
JP

and Gucci, too!

Can you see him? He's playing "peek-a-boo!"

 
 
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Re-wind to New Year's Eve 2013 a Celebration in Blue & Gold

I'm re-winding to New Year's Eve 2013.....the celebration was a hit and this post didn't get to make the rounds before New Year's to give you some ideas for your own bash...so, maybe this year!

 I was delighted when I was asked to assist in decorating the clubhouse, in River Run Plantation, the community where we have been residing for the past 1 1/2 years, now. 

Reservations for 30 was planned, so what a thrill it was to be able to create some beautiful, decor on a large scale and a wee bit nerve racking...a first time biggie for me!

I designed and ordered this special banner and beautiful new clock to be used for years to come.

  I always edit my photos using Pic Monkey's editing tools. It's a free website @ picmonkey.com

Since I love to play around with editing I upgraded to their Royale package to take advantage of their fun upgrades....it's worth the monthly $4.99 fee for me!

  Frost is one of my favorites to apply along with some fun bokeh effects, like the stars in the two photos above.

The clubhouse is such a great place for meetings, activities and a wonderful space to entertain! 

 

Here's another pic of the space with some changes using exposure, sharpening and frost. 

Isn't the clubhouse lovely all decked out in carribean blue with silver and gold?

 The band soon fit perfectly, in the corner, under the stars.

Seating areas were re-arranged for groups and intimate conversations...

and even a space for the guests to dance.

This pic has radiance effects.

I had a lot of helpers to assist with the execution of the decor. DIY, chair covers were cut and adorned by many. Plastic, dollar store, rectangular tablecovers were used to transform the plain folding chairs into elegant ones for around 50 cents each.

You can see more of how I used them in my Christmas post here!

The Christmas tree was re-decorated with hats and horns and co-ordinated decor.

And I highlighted the star on top of the tree with a little glare.... a fun touch...don't you agree?

A little lens flare, with more bokeh stars, was added here adding a fun festive touch.

This edit was done using the lipstick tool.

And then more of the same, by adding more highlights, to the centerpieces candle flames.

One of the centerpiece pics with a simple, film grain, touch.

More lens flare was added to the ornament in the centerpiece below.

Film grain, exposure and sparkle bokeh add some punch to this simple vignette.

Hats and horns waiting to be worn sat on the dividing wall.

Some lens flare editing was done here with highlights to the star on the chandelier.

This phenomenal cake was a feast for the eyes and the taste buds, too! Created by River Run's special cake decorator, Sandy Wolfe.

And then entertainment was enjoyed, for the celebration, by all!

 Love, Hugs and Kisses,

JP

and Gucci, too!

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Christmas Countdown Frame with Cranberries & Burlap

I managed to cram in one more creation for Christmas... it's a tad bit late, I should have had it done at the beginning of the month. Better late than never!

A, newly painted, large, black frame, burlap accents, cranberry strands, chalkboard tags and Christmas mementos pulled it all together.

It's a perfect Christmas countdown calendar board, above the desk, in our kitchen!

I created tags, in "Pic Monkey", printed them out on card stock and hung them from jute string. I painted this Santa almost 30 years ago. 

As of today there are 7 days left until Christmas.

I removed the tags each day as they passed. If I'd had more time I would have added some seasonal stickers to the backs of each and just flipped them around...next year I will!

A favorite, tattered post card adds to the display.

"Mom's" tiny porcelain bell, a mid century heirloom, will ring on Christmas day.

Christmas will soon be here or may have already passed, depending on when you happened upon this post.

I thought you might like a closer look at this little display that hangs on the wall by our desk. 

He's my sweet, little Santa that was in our terrarium for Christmas here

This year's frame was a take off of my cranberry display frame that I made a few years back.

Cranberry display frame

 

I made a more glamorous one last year....it's back on display in our living room, again, this year.

Glamorous frame with pearls 

 I had to add an extra tag for one, extra special, day after Christmas. It's a birthday countdown for    my youngest, Kristi Marie aka Kris, Miss Kris, Kwis D Mawee (as she used to always thought her name was) Happy 27th Birthday.....I am so proud of you, my single mom of three.....I love you and miss you so very much! xoxoxo

Hoping to get a few more posts in before Christmas passes this year! 

Love, Hugs and Kisses,

JP

and Gucci, too!

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