It's Time to Dress Up... the Mantle

Part One: Nothing is better than sitting by the fire keeping warm and toasty to kill of the wicked winter chill that seeps into your bones. With that statement, I guess it's no secret that I live in the North! While you are sitting by the cosy fire, it is even better if you can have a lovely looking mantle to make everything look so picturesque.
There are a couple of things that you need to consider when deciding what you want to put up there:
What is your Theme.
Have a Color Scheme.
Highlight some of your "Treasures".
Pick a Style.

Our Mantle at Christmas, complete with Stockings!
(Click on any of the pictures to view them larger)

THEME: A mantle is the perfect gathering place for setting up a theme. For instance, I bet you all had your mantles decorated to the max for Christmas. I know I do. Every year. Love it. Here's a Picture of it done up for the holidays.
But now, the holidays are over and hopefully you are now faced with a clean slate.
Using the holidays as your theme again, it's time to get ready for Valentines Day.
OR you can use the Seasons as your theme. Right now would be Winter. If you have a special collection, like my mom does of Milk glass, Fenton glass and Lenox Birds, she could use her collection as her theme. 
COLOR SCHEME: Once you've picked your theme, it is time to move on to color. YOu need to have a palette in mind. It can match what furniture you have in the room or coordinate. You definitely do not want to pick something that clashes- everything should compliment the other colors. The only time that that would not matter is if you are going with a color to match you theme. It's ok that you use orange and black when it's Halloween. Just make sure that you use enough of the color together, that it's obvious that it is meant to stand out from other parts of the room. 
This mantle design color theme is picking up on the red colors that took us through Christmas and now through Valentine's Day. I'll give you some close up pictures this weekend of the individual pieces that I'm using. Here are three different versions :

Version One Mantle: RED  color theme.

Version Two Mantle: Red with a Winter theme.

Version Three Mantle: Sea Blues and Butter Yellow Spring theme.

TREASURES: Treasures are things that you collect because they mean something special to you. Why not show them off on your Mantle? Enough said.

STYLE: Everyone is drawn to a specific type of design style. Whether you love Shabby Chic, French Country, Modern or Eclectic; (to just name a few) each of these different styles also looks better with the way you lay them out. Symmetrical or Asymmetrical. Minimal or Complicated Layers. 

Now there a couple of considerations that could pose a dilemma. One is how high off the ground your mantle sits and how much room you have above the Mantel until you hit the ceiling. Also how wide your mantle is from the wall? Both of these were two huge issues for me as the space between the shelf and the ceiling is not very wide. I chose a large narrow rectangular Watercolor painting to hang above it. Then, because my shelf area is not very wide, it limits how much layering I can do. It's not possible to put many of my lovely treasures up on the mantle as it won't hold them, it's too narrow.

Just make a choice and start to play around with different items that you want to use until you get it to look right. You'll know when you are done. It will just feel right to you.
My last piece of advice to you is that rules are nice, to help you to follow, but they are also made to be broken. Don't be afraid to try something totally different!


My next post will detail some of the different treasures I used in the pieces above.
Until next time- Blessings!

Sometimes it's the little things...

...That make your decorating perfect. 
It was hard to think of what I wanted to post about next, as there is just so much to talk about when it comes to decorating. I finally decided that I would start out my blogging with writing about easy simple things that you can do to a room to make it feel like you've changed it up.
You are looking at what you already have and are not very excited about it. You would love to add some new accessories to your room but are going to work with what you already have first. 
So you pull out your candles, vases and containers to see what you can do with them. Although I do love fresh flowers, they can be expensive and they are expendable, or rather they are just temporary. Fresh flowers are always my first choice, but when adding to your decor where it is going to be around for awhile, you need to go with silk or artificial flowers. I'm not going to go into specifics at this time because as the title of this blog indicates: 
Sometimes it is the little things 
that make your decorating Perfect! 
Lets talk about R-I-B-B-O-N-S!

Ribbons may be a tiny thing, but can add that perfect little something you were missing to pull your decorating together.
I love my White washed French Bucket! It is hung right by my front door, on the inside of my house, on the wall that leads into the living room. It stays there all year round. Although it has pretty embossing on the surface, it is still a pretty subtle decoration. I change the flowers in it all the time, depending on what season it is. But when I first got it, it just seemed like it was missing something. I then came up with the idea of putting a ribbon around the bucket itself. That little ribbon turned out to be the little extra that I needed to make this little decoration pop. 

Sometimes a glass vase is really nice as it highlights your flowers, but it may be a little boring, so why not add a pretty sheer ribbon around the glass and it really makes it look like a present! 
Another good example would be a plain candle or candle holder. After putting the candle out, pick a cute little ribbon to wrap around the candle or candle stick. It's always good to go one of two ways- coordinating colors with what's already going on in the room, or colors that relate to the season, or holiday.
Tomorrow I'm going to post a fun picture of all the different types of ribbon that I have. I always buy it on sale and save it for when I need it. Ribbon is a really inexpensive way to add that special touch that turns average into fun and beautiful without breaking the budget!

Pam's Design Tip of the Day

Pam's Design Tip Number One - Designing Tablescapes
You can turn an average basic kitchen table into an inviting place for family and friends to sit, share conversation and enjoy each others company by putting something as simple as a vase with flowers or a candle arrangement with a table cloth, place mats or table runner. 
Remember this tip! To keep the guests at your table talking, remember to place your centerpiece either below or above eye level or it needs to be translucent- something you can see through. This way it will end up staying on the table as well as styling it. Nothing is worse than trying to talk through the hosts decoration!

This photo was taken at the Willow House Idea and Product showcase from the first Willow House National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in July 2010. 

The large glass statement vases are WH exclusive Lady Jane Bottleneck vases modeled after classic demijohn bottles in wine making. WH has two sizes in shades of aqua or apple. The red casserole dish is from our Cinnabar collection, which includes,tidbits, plates, canisters, servers, appetizer tray. In the foreground is the "must have decoration of the Season" our WH holiday Door bucket. 
Check out Pam's Willow House website link for more details on purchasing them.

Hello World! Are you ready for a Sneak Peek?

Hi and Welcome to Create and Decorate! This blog is going to cover everything design related- as well as starting and running your own business. You may not realize it, but  Designers rule the world. There are lots of topics to cover, but then if there wasn't much Creative Design around us to talk about, I wouldn't start this blog! 

Don't you just LOVE this picture of the beautiful Rustic Villa table setting pictured in this post?! The majority of the products beautifying the table are exclusive Willow House products. Everyone loves to learn or buy something new and current to decorate and update their home. The extra touches are the magic that helps turn your house into a Home. It's what makes guests feel special when you entertain or makes you and your home stand out among the rest.
Today I am very excited to start to share a Sneak Peek about my business as a Design Consultant with Willow House. Willow House is a brand new business launching August 4th, 2010. Here's a link to a sneak peek of the catalog. 

http://www.willowhouse.com/sneakpeek

Willow House is Simply Good Design and Simply a Great Opportunity to get in on the ground floor and beginning of the only Community Commerce business opportunity in the world. It is the worlds first social media direct selling company. 

Follow Me as I continue to post more about Design. I plan on sharing a fun and easy decorating or entertaining tip or two every week. Plus, learn more details about the amazing opportunity whether you Buy a Willow House product, Host a Show or Join my Incredibles Team at Willow House.

Enjoy!