 Believe it or not, the Fourth of July is just around the corner. Is your home decked out in red, white and blue? Or do you prefer a more subtle approach to celebrating the birth of the good ole’ US of A?
Either way, here are some simple and fun ideas to set your table for the week of the Fourth. Before setting the table, take stock with what you already have. You might even think of using some Christmas decorations, if they are in red, silver, or white. Take a look at your holiday table linens. As long as they are in appropriate colors and don’t have any overt Christmas designs on them, they’ll work beautifully. Consider the Classic Table Runner by Sterling Pear, in red taffeta. Its sophisticated embroidered design translates into any home, whether celebrating the Fourth, Valentine’s Day, Christmas or just for a needed splash of color any time of the year.
Once the table setting’s base is in place, it’s time to have a little fun with your table. Collect all things star-related (again, Christmas décor comes into play). Perhaps you have several star-shaped votives you could spread down the center of the table. Weave a bit of wired star ribbon (easily found at your local craft store) through the various star objects on your table, and you have a festive table indeed!
If you have kids, you can get them in on the act, and have them color and cut out small star shapes, which you can sprinkle across the table like confetti. Or they could make larger stars in red, white and blue, and you can tape them to ribbon and hang them, from the ceiling, over the table (you could do this even if you don’t have kids). After all, the Fourth is definitely a fun, casual family holiday.
Enjoy this early part of summer!
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 “Tis the season, for weddings, that is. Are you tired of the same go-to gifts - another place setting, vase, or set of towels? Well, Sterling Pear has some ideas for the stymied gift-giver that will be used and appreciated for years to come.
Why not start the newlyweds off with holiday decorations? Pieces from the Sterling Pear holiday linen collection would be an ideal starting point for any newlywed couple. Consider the Holiday Home Décor Starter Set , which includes sophisticated basics that will go with any home décor: two stockings, a matching tree skirt, and table runner. Even though they may be tying the knot in the summer, they’ll be grateful for the head start on holiday décor when the Christmas season rolls around. With very few other decorations, the beautiful deep red embroidered tafetta would provide any room with holiday ambiance and sophistication. Just these few touches would suggest the holidays, with the table runner across the dining room table, coffee table, or even a piano, the stockings hung by the fireplace, and the tree skirt placed around any tree.
Another unique and practical gift idea is the Signature Ornament Storage Box by Sterling Pear. This could be filled with ornaments you’ve picked out on your own, or perhaps with just a few special pieces that the lovebirds could then add to over the years. Or, they could use the box to store keepsakes from their wedding day. Since the tray dividers are removable, allowing users to customize the box for their own collections, unusually shaped items can all easily have their own place. Consider all that can be stored in the box such as the bride’s carefully chosen shoes, the dried bouquet and boutonniere, the garter, champagne flutes, one of the napkins, or the guest book. The possibilities are endless.
Sterling Pear is the ideal place for a unique, useful, surprising, and memorable wedding gift. It is the source for starting any elegant and beautiful holiday décor collection, which is something every newlywed couple will need soon.
For the month of June, use the following discount code to receive 10% off your next order at www.sterlingpear.com : junebride
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 Mother’s Day is fast approaching. Have you made those brunch reservations? Ordered flowers? Why not add something new and personal to your Mother’s Day traditions?
Why not create a year-after-year memory book for your mother? First, decide who will be the focus of the book. It could be you, you and your siblings, your kids, your family unit, it could even include a favorite pet. Next, collect photos (or copies of photos) from each year of life, perhaps around the same time of year. School photos could work, as could snapshots from a certain holiday each year, anything that provides a sort of timeline. You could do photos for every year, or for every other year, whichever seems most manageable and reasonable, given your family’s age and situation.
Then, choose a photo book that can be added to for years to come. This could be a book with many empty pages, or a book with insertable pages. Just be sure that the book is archive quality, so the photos aren’t ruined over time (none of those magnetic pages!). Put the pages together by year and decorate if needed. Voila, a beautiful keepsake that shows the progression of time, and the changes in everyone over the years. As Mom leafs through the photos, memories from each era will surely be brought to mind.
Best of all, each year on Mother’s Day, add to the book. You can present Mom with a new photo or page to insert into her book. Or, take a photo on Mother’s Day with her, and give it to her afterward to include in her book.
Have fun with this project that is sure to be cherished for years to come!
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 It’s Cinco de Mayo this coming Monday, May 5th! Why not take a regular Monday and spice it up?
Cinco de Mayo is one of the biggest holidays for our neighbors to the south. Enjoy your own mini-Mexican fiesta for dinner that night. Choose your favorite Mexican meal to make (or buy!), and eat it on a table set with brightly colored linens or ceramics. If you have a sombrero, it could make a smashing centerpiece all by itself.
Or, a centerpiece could include traditional brightly colored tissue flowers. If you have kids, this is something they could help make. Simply take a small, square layer of tissue paper, twist a twist-tie (or pipe cleaner, or flower wire) around the center of the stack, and puff up the tissues into a flower, crunching the tissue a bit. Lay them around the center of the table, perhaps surrounding a small piñata purchased for the occasion. Add jalapeno peppers strewn throughout the flowers and you have a spicy table indeed!
Piñatas are the number-one party game at any Cinco de Mayo celebration. You could easily make a normal Monday fun, fun, fun, with a small piñata filled with goodies of any type. After dinner, head outside to break it open! Or, if you prefer, piñatas are available with ribbon pulls instead, making them easy to open up inside or out. This would be especially helpful if there are younger children at home, or only two of you participating.
Don’t forget to add music to your evening, with a selection of traditional Mexican melodies, ranchero music, salsa music, or your favorite Spanish-language music. Have fun!
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 It’s Earth Day! Why not incorporate a few green ideas into your daily life? There are the usual, simple things one can do, including changing to fluorescent lightbulbs, turning off lights, unplugging unused electronics (those pesky LED lights take power!), washing clothes in cold water.
And, there are a few other, everyday ideas that require a little thought and planning. This includes purchasing locally grown produce, either from farmers markets or food coops (there are groups you can buy into for a weekly delivery, even). And, using green cleaning supplies is another way to reduce your ecological footprint. You can make your own, using vinegar or baking soda. Or, you can purchase non-toxic cleaners, at your local store. There are several quality brands to choose from, including Method and Mrs. Meyers.
A fun and really simple recycling idea is to purchase a pretty paper tray for scratch paper, and collect all that paper that has been used on only one side. You can then use this paper for grocery lists, to do lists, event planning lists, and anything else not for formal correspondence. Then, when the lists are old, you can officially recycle the paper!
You can even take the greening of your life into gift-giving. Bamboo, an easily regenerated fiber, is being made into increasingly more products. A beautiful bamboo bowl with serving pieces would make a beautiful wedding present. Soft, silky pajamas could be the ideal Mother’s Day gift. Or, you could give your best friend a luxurious set of bamboo sheets. Bamboo products are available at all price points, too.
And, in this time of rapidly rising gas prices, why not take a walk instead of running up to the drug store a half-mile away?
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Once a week, Sterling Pear will post a new holiday idea. We’ll include ideas for holiday decorating, traditions, planning, and organizing. And we won’t stop with Christmas — we’ll keep it up all year long!