Christmas Open House- Holiday Decor Inspirations

best selling nut bowls with Nest Christmas candle

muslin bags filled with snowy greens and berries

elves on reindeer

pastel feathery balls in vintage champagne glasses

flocked cabbages - so pretty

one of a kind life size Santas by a local artist

parchment covered tubes in Venetian inspired tree

icy blue and ivory

red and green frog pin on iced moss ball- pretty under a cloche

Here's a few more pictures from our Christmas Open House this past weekend.  Hope they inspire you to start thinking about your holiday decor this year- Christmas Day is only 50 days away! 

Sweet Cinnamon Biscuits and Apple Caramel Preserves

I just found a new treat at Fresh Market last week - Callie's Cinnamon Biscuits - in the frozen section.

Finally I had time to try them this morning and they are a little divine bite of deliciousness!  Petite little biscuits are filled with a cinnamon filling and the tops are dusted with cinnamon. These fluffy flaky little morsels are simply warmed in aluminum foil in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes and then promptly devoured.  I served them with Rare Bird  Apple Caramel Preserves  which I found at a local farmer's market. However you can purchase it on-line and I highly recommend it  ( one of my friend's also thought she saw it at Whole Foods) . Big pieces of crisp apple float in this divine caramel sauce and it is awesome on hot biscuits.  I think I will try it on warm brie and a baguette slice for a great fall appetizer. Pared with a couple of applewood smoked bacon slices,  both of these products are great treats for a lazy fall Sunday brunch.

Our Christmas Trends 2012

Natural greens with snow covered berries, cabbages and moss balls
accented by architectural urns and burlap covered bags

realistic iced branches and berries

love this wine barrel with realistic greens and berries

cutest little gilded and wood owls hide in the trees

elves busy in the gourmet food area

Our best selling strawberry jam from France

hand made one of a kind 3 foot tall angel

golds and silvers with etched glass cloches

one of a kind decorative arrangements from old pins, buttons and millinery trim

Baroque reds, greens, golds and blacks- love the new peacock!

warm rabbit fur collars on the pretty female busts

sun streaming through the store windows in the late afternoon

Yesterday the entire crew was in the store setting up Christmas.  Today is our 16th Annual Christmas Open House and we are so excited about our 2012 merchandise.  It seems our manufacturers just get better every year by producing more realistic products.  Our new green garlands are fabulous and you have to touch them to make sure they are artificial.  This year we focused on three distinctive trends -  Natural and Fresh with greens, berries, owls, elves and potted amaryllis and paper whites.   Baroque - golds, Burgundies, and lots of glitzy touches. and finally our version of an European Christmas. This year we chose Venice and adorned a tree with authentic Venetian masks, scrolls, and blown glass ornaments. Our Open House is today and tomorrow from 10 to 5.   Thanks to my amazing girls for the fabulous job setting up the store- such a talented group of ladies. 

our embellished Santas riding the sweet reindeers in the store

love his vintage button on his forehead

The etched cloches - copies of antiques - are simply gorgeous

our flocked cabbages - so pretty with berries and greens for the holidays

pretty angels on the grillwork of the center display cabinet.

Christmas Embellishments

mailing tubes covered with old sheet music and copies of old engravings

adding embossed stamps, old trims and rhinestones to give each one character

unadorned angel

"gussied up" angel

now embellished with old trims and jewels and of course a crown

love his new rhinestone and silk ruffled vest.

French inspired burlap stockings now enhanced with rhinestone details

Yes , I know it's Halloween, but our Christmas Open House is this Friday and Saturday!  When I purchase Christmas at market, I try to find a few things that we can embellish and make a little more special for our customers.  We have made the mailing tubes to look like old parchment paper and will add gold floral elements to the ends and tie into a Christmas tree with special wired ribbons.  Many of these have been custom made for a very special customer's tree, but some are still available for sale.  We will be using them with music inspired Venetian masks and a wide black and cream music note ribbon for the tree in her living room.  I have embellished them with trims from an old trim book that was discontinued, rhinestones, torn gold doilies, ribbon,  gold glitter and crests.   While it is hard to see in the pictures, they have a lot of sparkle and should be very glittery in the tree.   Simple muslin angels now sparkle with new embellishments and will be joined by the Santa elves at the Holiday Open House this weekend.  We are  closed on Thursday to set up the store and will open at 10 am on Friday morning all decked out for the  Christmas season.