Nell Hill Excursion

Before the Luncheon with Colin Cowie began, I was able to capture some shots of Mary Carol's Kansas City store. All along the front of her store, big wreathes hung at each window-love the apples!The interior is quite beautiful....go ahead, take a look...

I love this chair!

Look at these linens!!

I am always inspired when I leave this wonderful place! If you can get there, do....you'll be happy you did.

If you didn't win, look for my cute gingerbread men over at my Etsy Shop, I've got them listed! Click on my sidebar!

Thanks for coming by!

Boy, after the luncheon with Colin, next week is going to be b.o.r.i.n.g! ;)

Luncheon with Colin Cowie

Luncheon with Colin Cowie.
First, I would like to say that this man is the James Bond of Party Planning! From his dashing good looks and charm, right down to the world travel and cocktails, this man is oozing 007! Throw in tablescapes and I was a doe eyed girl!! Hold on til the end of the post...you'll see a picture of me with that very look on my face.....
Secondly, picture quality is low due to low lighting, but you'll get the gist.

I think this man has been in front of a camera a time or two....whatta ya think?

The next three pictures are some of the centerpieces done by the Nell Hill staff designers-beautiful!

A portion of the tables

The atmosphere was high energy, fast paced music, lights, and mingling....not me though, I'm taking pictures! Some one actually asked me if I was a photographer for the event......hmmm...my lens isn't THAT big! :)

The 70 tables were set...10 people per table...and the event was sold out The menu was very nice, I cleaned my plate!Pistachio Cheesecake for dessert
Colin showing interiors, hotels, tablescapes and party planning, and his own personal homes...it is hard to photograph the screen...




Colin on stage

OK, now I must tell you just how incredibly nervous I was...hence the look on my face, and don't ask me what was going on with my hair! * H e l l o * Earth to Michelle, your limbs do move, brush that hair out of your face before they take the picture..................

oops too late!

Along with Celebrity nervousness, I was experiencing anxiety watching a total stranger hold my camera...I don't care if you're a Bond girl or not...do not drop my camera!

Thanks for visiting! This was a great experience! I am so lucky to be able to go to such an event!

Come by again soon, I took even more pictures inside Nell Hill's...I hope to post them soon!

Gingerbread Man Giveaway Announcement!

It's Saturday morning and you know what that means!!!

I would like to announce the winner of the Gingerbread Man trio! Thank you to everyone who commented (and followed)! This has been great fun and with out further ado.................

Jessica @ The Cozy Kettle~You are the winner!

Please contact me with your mailing information!

E-mail me at sweetsomethingdesign@yahoo.com

Congratulations !

If you didn't win, look for my cute men over at my Etsy Shop on Sunday!

Colin Cowie Luncheon

What do Colin Cowie and I have in common?

We will both be at the same luncheon today! Ask me how excited I am...go ahead ask....I am TOTALLY excited!!! He is the keynote speaker at a luncheon at Nell Hill's in Kansas City and I will be in attendance! I am super excited and I'm taking my camera!

(Can this guy get any cuter?)

I really don't know what to expect, I don't usually get to go to such events, but I feel very fortunate to be able to go! If all goes well and I don't pass out with the vapors, I hope to be able share some pictures next week!

Also, there is still time to get in on the Gingerbread Man Giveaway, winner will be announced Saturday morn!

Tablescape Mosaic

Hello everyone!

Welcome to Tablescape Thursday!

Celebrating my 100th post this week has been really fun and I am enjoying all your comments and those of you that have joined to be a reader: Thank you!

I picked the most hectic week to have a giveaway....The {Christmas}countdown has begun! I have been so busy at work that my hands hurt....doing fall and Christmas arrangements and Christmas trees and wreathes and lanterns......etc, etc, etc...It gets pretty crazy around the holidays! I mean that in a good way, I really love what I do!

For this week, I've pulled some of my favorite pictures together of all my tablescapes thus far in celebration of my 100th post.

Thanks to Susan at BNOTP, I have had more fun playing with dishes, linens, glassware, flatware, than I could ever imagine! To be able to share a common love with this incredible community, is such a wonderful experience! Thank you Susan for hosting this wonderful party!

Thanks for visiting! I think this is my shortest Tablescape Thursday post in history!!

If you haven't already, check out the Gingerbread Men giveaway~They are super cute!

Shipping Tag Placecards

Do you remember my shipping tag place cards? Well I'm finally getting around to showing you how to do them. It's pretty cut and dry, but I think the result is very nice. I like the handmade feel of them. I think I just might get a nod from Tim Holtz, the tag master, himself!!! Just kidding, this is pretty elementary stuff for him! But if you have limited time, limited resources, and limited funds -this is perfect!

Shipping tags are available at any office supply store, very inexpensively. I purchased a couple of different sizes. I keep them on hand for quick gift tags, scrap booking, or leaving my husband little love notes...no not really-scratch that last idea...:)

In my rubber stamp collection, I have a number of leaf stamps, I selected the maple leaf in 3 sizes. Any motif of your choice would be fine.

Coffee staining is super simple, I feel kind of silly explaining it, but just in case you don't know......make yourself a 'coffee' bath (with instant coffee & hot water) in a bowl or dish large enough to completely submerge the tag(s) in. Be sure to have a kitchen towel ready to lay out the tags, I like to do a lot at a time and you'll need some space. After the tag has had a dip, and is laying flat on the towel, sprinkle some coffee crystals on while it's still wet...I like to wait a few seconds and blot off the excess liquid. After the tags are dry, which is a surprisingly short time, you are ready to stamp! Go for it!

I used actual printer blocks, but if you have alphabet stamps, that works great too. I used them on the smaller tags

I stamped the first initial of our names and then used a sharpie to hand write the rest



On the smaller tags, I stamped an entire name

This is a very simplified kind of tag. You can get as creative as you want. Can't you just see these on your Thanksgiving table?

So there you have it: Super simple place card tags in a jiffy! Thanks for visiting me!

Don't forget to get your name in the hat to win my Gingerbread Men!

Blogged for Susan at Between Naps on the Porch

and

Kimba at A soft Place to Land

Mosaic Monday

Welcome to Mosaic Monday where great things happen at Mary's Little Red House. Check it out!

I just had to do a mosaic of my boys! We went out for a 'photo shoot' and I got some really nice shots of Keegan and Logan! Keegan


Logan

Thanks for visiting and don't forget to get in on the Gingerbread Men Giveaway!

Thanks for hosting Mary!