Tag Archives: Christmas Lights

How to Decorate a Room With French Finery for Christmas

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There are a lot of festive trends for 2011 that are worth noting if you want your home to look festive and contemporary but one of the most popular this year is going to be the “decorating in French Finery” trend. This is a very formal and opulent look that is a bit retro but also very classic.

Technically it is a shabby chic look. Most things are painted white but walls should be a pea green or a very light yellow. Second hand crystal chandeliers are part of the look as are tall mirrors with window pains. Lace, white chenille and curtains with tiny fringes or prints are also part of the look.

Objects are also showcased on tall Greek columns, that are also painted white and interspersed through the room. Faded chintz chairs and tall painted cabinets help this look come for life. Candles, in white metal lantern cases, also complete this vintage look as do gilded framed portraits of deceased members of the family and pillar candles surrounded by boughs of greenery.

It is also very traditional with this look to place plaster or ceramic busts about the place. To make these busts look more in tune with the holidays try wrapping green and red velvet Christmas ribbons around the subject’s necks.

Rooms done up in French Finery very often feature a Fainting Couch. This is as chaise lounge with a floral print that has a side table that is also covered in the same floral print. A crocheted throw and a few Christmas cushions in green and red complete the look. Usually a framed mirror is hung over the fainting couch and augmented with a big Christmas leaf.

The best Christmas tree for this look is the spiniest and most skeletal spruce you can find that is then gently flocked with fake white now. Decorate it with many yards of thick sheer gold ribbon that are intertwined with very tiny white Christmas lights. You can h harmonize the entire effect with a natural cedar garland that has been spray painted gold. This tree does not have the usual ornaments on it. The idea is that the tree looks wrapped in gold ribbon.

This type of room should have its own formal wrapping dining table. This can be a table that is rate and old and shabby chic in style but painted all in white with touches of gold.

How to Decorate for a Precious Angel Baby Shower

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Babies are considered to be our little angels and each human being is supposed to have his or her own guardian angel. Perhaps this is why this theme is so popular when it comes to welcoming a new person into the world.

Celestial guardians are the theme for this party and the motif of the angel may be reflected in every detail from the invitation, to the tablecloth to images decorating the walls. This is a very popular theme and commercial decorations are widely available to the public.

The mother may also want to use angels as a theme to decorate her nursery, so guests should be encouraged to buy linen, china, clothing and mobiles that feature the heavenly motif. There is a wide availability of wrapping paper and cards on the market that can be used to cover tables and decorate walls.

The party area itself can be decorated with ceramic angels, angels in snow shakers, feathers, cotton batten and stars made out of aluminum foil. Strings of white Christmas lights and new age music also add to the light and airy feel of this kind of party. This shower also suits plenty of white flowers, as well as the scents of frankincense and myrrh. White, blue, pink and silver make a gorgeous color scheme for the angel shower.

Creative hostesses might want to make a halo for the mother or even rent angel wings for the mother or guests to wear. Another touch is to make name tags or dinner placards that name each guest as a guardian angel of the mother.

Angel cake is a definite must at this kind of party, preferable served up with strawberries, blueberries or mangos. Angel-hair pasta is also another witty choice to add to the menu. A nice angelic looking drink to make is called a Snowball. It consists of Avocat mixed with 7-up. The result is a furry, feathery looking drink which looks like the kind of elixir that an angel might drink in heaven. Pale champagnes and pink milk are also a nice touch at this kind of party as are chocolates and chocolate mousses with a touch of edible gold on top.

Small snow shakers, candles or charms of angels wrapped with pink or blue ribbon make excellent party favors for departing guests. You can also buy the guests charms in form of angel wings to wear around their necks.