Apothecary Jars

Usually you will find large apothecary jars filled with all sorts of wonderful candy and ornaments during the holiday season. But, have you ever seen miniature ones like these? I was asked to contribute some favors for a photo shoot in October that was coordinated by the amazingly talented Candice Dowling Coppola from Jubilee Events. She told me the table would be organic and natural with prominent colors of white, yellow, brown and green. I decided to use these mini apothecary jars which I filled with moss and edible meringue mushrooms. I used copper wire to make a whimsical spiral on the top and placed tiny monograms on translucent paper inside to tie them all together. The shoot was featured on Style Me Pretty and if you look really hard you can see the favors in the background on the dessert table. I adore these jars and am already thinking of other ways to use them for the holidays. What fabulous things would you put inside them?

I'm dreaming of a "green" Christmas!

(photo courtesy of Martha Stewart)

Every year I pick a different theme for Christmas to help me focus and organize my ideas for presents. I am not strict about these themes. I use it as a general guideline, not as an "every single one of the gifts I buy has to fit into the theme" kind of thing. This year I chose a "green" Christmas. I will look for things that are Eco-friendly and made of recycled materials but, also, things that are the color green, or perhaps some lovely Christmas greenery. I adore these alphabet wreaths from Ballard Designs. A perfect gift for friends who have just married or moved into a new house. Or, what about one of these sets of adorable Market Totes from Vera Bradley? Good for the environment and the proceeds from the sales of these totes will help support Vera Bradley's $10,000 pledge to The Hunger Project.

In years past some of my themes have been "Twas the night before Christmas," "Eat, Drink & Be Merry" and "Baby, It's Cold Outside." I usually start thinking about my theme in the summer and like to get a majority of my shopping done before Thanksgiving. This is only because I really don't like shopping when it is crowded. Standing in long lines and not being able to find a parking place just doesn't appeal to me. I prefer to spend the time before Christmas wrapping presents, doing fun projects with my kids, going to holiday concerts and spending time with family and friends.

What will you be giving your loved ones this Christmas?

Trick-or-Treat

Most of the things that I do are not by coincidence. For example, the candy that we will be giving out to ghosts and goblins this Halloween night was chosen simply for the number 5 in its name. I always try and think of something that represents an important event from the past year when I choose our treats. When my husband and I got married we gave out Ring Pops. When our kids were born we handed over Sugar Babies. This year we celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary so, trick-or-treaters that stop by our house tonight will be getting a "take 5" bar. Nobody will know that this was a deliberate decision, but I don't care. It makes me happy! What will you be handing out tonight?

Here's looking at you!

I was asked to make Jello Jigglers for my daughters school Halloween Party. Instead of making the traditional ones using cookie cutters I decided to make jello eyeballs instead. I looked on the web and couldn't find exactly what I had in mind so I made up my own design. I used plastic Easter eggs as the mold and found royal icing eyes at a local cake decorating store. I finished them by putting them in mini cupcake liners so they would be easier to pass out to all of the kids. They were relatively easy to make, looked fun and the kids gobbled them up. Some of the parents commented that these would be just as fun for an adult Halloween party.

Halloween Wreath

I could never find just the right wreath to hang on my door for Halloween so, I decided to make my own a few years ago. I spray painted a grape vine wreath black and then added some leaves, bittersweet vines, candy corn and orange twinkle lights and a few glitter spiders. When I had kids I thought it would be fun to use it as a sort of three dimensional scrapbook, so every year I add a new picture of them on Halloween. When they are older I hope they will enjoy looking back on all of their adorable costumes, I know I will!

Little Pumpkin

Last year we had my sons Christening the week before Halloween. He has red hair so I made this little tree and wrote "Thank you" with much love, from your little pumpkin. I spray painted a branch with black paint and put it inside a chalkboard pail. I hung little paper shopping bags on the branches that I personalized and filled with individually wrapped pumpkin truffles. This year I will be using it for party favors at our Halloween party. It would be just as fun to let the kids decorate it with candy garlands and homemade ornaments. The possibilities are endless!

Want s'more?

Looking for something fun and different to bring to a Halloween party that both kids and adults will love? Make a s'mores platter! I cut chocolate graham crackers into the shape of a bat with a cookie cutter then, loaded the platter with marshmallows, and mini sized Hershey bars. For the final touch I wrapped a brown and white gingham ribbon around a bunch of bamboo skewers to roast the marshmallow on. A simple and fun snack for all!