Coffee and a Giveaway!

My holiday decorations are still at the idea stage. Yesterday, I spent a sleigh-load of money at Hobby Lobby, but I have to find the time to put it all together. Since I'm convinced there are only 14 days in the whole month of December, I will get going soon.



I am having a Holiday Entertaining Giveaway, and all you have to do is scroll down for how to enter. But, first I thought you might like a little snack.

This picture was the inspiration for this coffee themed snack!

You can find the recipe for the biscotti here!

One thing I love about this time of year is the Cuties!!!

Holiday Entertaining Giveaway!

This is my very first giveaway and I am SO excited! You can enter through December 7th and the winner will be announced on the 8th!

 Here is the item you will be entering to win:

Present your best recipes on this eye-catching silvertone stand. Decorated with faceted acrylic beads, it is a great way to serve desserts, appetizers or anything in between. Holds three 8" plates (not included). Folds for storage. When folded: 12 3/4"L x 7 3/4"W x 15"H.

How to enter:

If you are already a follower of Creating Wonderful Spaces, please leave a comment that you want to be entered in the giveaway.

Become a new follower and leave me a comment telling me you are now following Creating Wonderful Spaces.

For a second entry become a new follower on my other blog, Elaine's Wonderful World, and then comment HERE that you are now a follower.

Here is an extra twist:

Your entry will help shelter dogs get a
second chance at being adopted!* 

For every new follower of Creating
Wonderful Spaces, I will donate a dollar to

The Misha May Foundation. 

The Misha May Foundation rescues, rehabilitates and finds forever homes

for dogs at risk, regardless of age or breed, issue or amount of time needed,

in conjunction with providing educational services to the community.

* They help cats, too.

Our Gang (from four different shelters!)

Thank you for participating!

Please visit my sister's blog and enter her giveaway at Robin Flies South...

I will be joining Susan's Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps On The Porch.

Holiday Giveaway!

Wow, the holidays are upon us. I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving! I've gained four pounds already, which I think is a personal record for me. How about you?


Holiday Entertaining Giveaway!

This is my very first giveaway and I am SO excited! You can enter through December 7th and the winner will be announced on the 8th!

 Here is the item you will be entering to win:

Present your best recipes on this eye-catching silvertone stand. Decorated with faceted acrylic beads, it is a great way to serve desserts, appetizers or anything in between. Holds three 8" plates (not included). Folds for storage. When folded: 12 3/4"L x 7 3/4"W x 15"H.

How to enter:

If you are already a follower of Creating Wonderful Spaces, please leave a comment that you want to be entered in the giveaway.

Become a new follower and leave me a comment telling me you are now following Creating Wonderful Spaces.

For a second entry become a new follower on my other blog, Elaine's Wonderful World, and then comment HERE that you are now a follower.

Here is an extra twist:

Your entry will help shelter dogs get a
second chance at being adopted!* 

For every new follower of Creating
Wonderful Spaces, I will donate a dollar to

The Misha May Foundation. 

The Misha May Foundation rescues, rehabilitates and finds forever homes

for dogs at risk, regardless of age or breed, issue or amount of time needed,

in conjunction with providing educational services to the community.

* They help cats, too.

Our Gang (from four different shelters!)

Thank you so much for participating!


Be sure to enter my sister's giveaway at Robin Flies South...


I will be joining Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps On The Porch , Debbiedoos Newbie Blog Party, Blog Hop at Easy Peasy Grandma! , Table Top Tuesday! and What's It Wednesday!

A Simple Thanks...

Thanksgiving is going to be a quiet affair for two this year. But, that doesn't mean we won't be in the kitchen all day cooking. We will prepare a feast, as always. Mr. Wonderful cooks the turkey, the sweet potatoes, and the green bean casserole. I do the rest.

The inspiration for my table is a throw I purchased (still in the unopened packaging) from Goodwill. I knew it would make a beautiful tablecloth. I've been wanting to do all white dishes, and I thought this was the perfect time.

I wanted to keep the accent colors soft and muted.

I bought these glittery fall picks at Michael's.

All of these dishes came from Goodwill!

My little polka dot pitcher just had to make another appearance. You can also see it here.

This table was made for candlelight.

These mercury glass votives also came from Michael's.

The water glasses are Waterford and the wine glasses are from Ross.

Just a simple centerpiece--a pumpkin on gold and silver garland.

Thank you for visiting my blog today! I hope you all have a wonderful holiday!

I will be joining Between Naps On The Porch for Tablescape Thursday!

Make sure you pop over to my sister's blog at Robin Flies South...



Holiday Entertaining Giveaway!

Next week's Metamorphosis Monday, I will announce my first giveaway!
Be sure to come back for a visit to see what I'm giving away and how to enter!

My sister is having a giveaway, too!

Customize Your Candles!

I love candles. All sizes, all colors, almost all scents. I love to give them as gifts and get them as gifts. I recently did a black and white tablescape and I wanted the candles to fit the theme. I bought three white pillar candles from Michael's and decided they needed a makeover!

I searched my vast array of scrapbook paper (I don't scrapbook, I just love the paper) and found several patterns that would work. Here is what I came up with:

To see the whole table, click here. Now, I'll show you how easy it is!

For the 6" candles, I just cut one sheet of scrapbook paper in half. If it's a pattern, make sure you have the paper the right way before cutting it.

I'm saving that sheet of scrapbook paper for another project, so I decided to find a design online that I thought would make a pretty candle. I thought this one was interesting! I just used a heavier stock paper than you would ordinarily use in your printer.

I found a few more to make as samples, which you will see at the end. Cut the paper to the size you need for your candle.



Take each one and roll them up tightly (pattern out), using a rubber band to hold them. Let them stay wrapped for about thirty minutes. This makes them wrap around the candle much easier.

I didn't worry about the width of the paper, because I just planned on overlapping it. Just make sure it isn't too short to go around. Before you attach the paper permanently, you may have to trim some of it. Not all candles are exactly the size they say they are. You don't want it to stick up over the top of the candle.



Then wrap the paper around the candle. Use two sided tape to secure it, under the paper so it doesn't show. I didn't have two sided tape so I just wrapped it with regular tape in a loop. Again, if you have paper hanging over the top or bottom, just snip it off with a scissors. Do this right on the candle. Here is the result!



Here are some other ideas for wrapping candles. I purchased some parchment printer paper at Office Depot and printed a few patterns I found online. I chose the color "copper."

I love the vintage look of the parchment paper. Just make sure your design doesn't have a colored background.



  

There really is no limit to what you can put on a candle! I have even used customized candles for marketing.



So, let your imagination go wild!  Use one design but different sizes or three different designs that coordinate well together. You can add embellishment like ribbon or glitter, but if you plan on lighting them, you should stay with something simple. As the candle burns down, you need to trim the paper. And, like most candles, you shouldn't leave them unattended (this is my legal disclaimer!)

Thanks for visiting me! Can't wait to see what all of you are up to!

I will be joining the Before and After Party at Thrifty Decor Chick!

 

Sister Act Elaine!

My sister, Robin, and I decided to have a little extra fun this week. We both bought the same appetizer plates a couple of months ago, and challenged each other to come up with a tablescape using them as the inspiration. We did have a rule limiting ourselves to just black and white. Here is the little plate that started it all!

I hope you enjoy the tablescape I came up with!

Two things I didn't want you to notice--our outdated faux brick vinyl

floor and the leaves that come in with the dogs! Oh well, we're friends, right?

As you have probably guessed, the centerpiece came

from my yard! The leaves were cut from tissue paper.

I used my new silver placemats from Z Galleries.

I paired solid black napkins with print ones I made.

I did add a bird or two.

Let's see what's on the menu. Of course, I stayed with the bird theme. If you don't eat fowl, you are out of luck. The love birds in a cage are a stamp I found at Michael's.

The candles are wrapped in scrapbook paper.

Keeping with the rules, I even hung a black and white Picasso.

Time to light the candles.

I took a few shots after it got dark. Everything was sparkling!

I hope you enjoyed my half of our sister act. Robin and I kept our tablescapes

secret from each other, so as I am writing this, I have not seen hers!

If you haven't seen it yet, be sure to visit Robin Flies South...

Thank you to Susan at Between Naps On The Porch  for hosting Tablescape Thursday and Marty for hosting Table Top Tuesday!