13 day countdown- A wonderful time of year

Creating Your Vision Of Christmas!
It's the time of year when images of lovely holiday splendor 
swirl through our thoughts.  

If you're as excited about the holidays as I am, the weeks leading toward your Christmas Holiday celebration will provide wonderful memorable moments as you and your family work together to create a home that glistens and glows with decorated trees, gorgeous halls that are decked with holly, mantles laden with evergreen and provide wonderful aromas of sweets, cookies and fruit that float from your kitchen.  Our homes whether large or small, play an important role in creating an atmosphere of holiday splendor.

Creating beautiful Holiday visions is my passion, and so I want to share a few of my favorite holiday moments with you!  I hope the photos below inspire you and your family.

"Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!"

  "Dreaming Of A White Christmas.

 "Old fashioned sleighs of Holiday greenery.

""Trees all aglow beckon you to sit and relax!

"Stockings hung for one and all.

"Christmas morning, and gifts under the tree.

'Tis the Season for baking!

"Your holiday table is a happy place to gather.

Styling by Karin Lidbeck-Brent for Better Homes and Gardens, 

Country Living Magazine and Good Housekeeping.

Photo credits in order from top:

1, 2, 3, 4: Tria Giovan 

5, 6, 7, 8: Michael Partenio

17 Day Post- Entertaining? Make this Holiday Table centerpiece

Festive gatherings and dinner parties with friends are an important part of our Holiday Season, and its  the hustle and bustle makes it difficult to make time to create a pretty holiday centerpiece.  However,  you can still effortlessly decorate your table and provide a Holiday mood to make your guests feel special!

Making this centerpiece doesn't have to be complicated. During your next trip to the supermarket you can buy all that's necessary, most of which is most likely already on your entertaining list.

The white rectangular plate makes a nice base for the grouping of greens and pears. They can also be placed directly on the table or on your runner with the greens tucked under the fruit.

The greens used in this photo is incense cedar, however any kind of green branch will work. You can also use small sprigs cut from the back of your Christmas tree.

BRIGHT IDEA!

If you don't have the miniature Christmas balls, consider buying a bag a Lindt Chocolate balls wrapped in pretty green and silver foiled papers instead. Now your guests have a lovely after-dinner treat.

Dreaming of a White Christmas: Amazing DIY Snowflakes

Not long ago I was given the assignment to design and style a holiday feature with a snowflake theme for Christmas Ideas magazine.

Snowflakes arrive in many decorative shapes and styles during the holidays, which inspired me to create my own versions in wood.

One of the projects I came up with were these DIY snowflakes using paint sticks, old-fashioned popsicle sticks along with small wood shapes from the craft store.  I loved creating this wintry wall of snow behind the headboard and creating the lacy patterns on the staircase!

Instructions on how to make your own Snowflake coming tomorrow.

Photos by Michael Partenio

Oh, My Christmas Trees

This tree, I created for the cover of Country Living Magazine 2007

The magazine's best selling Dec Issue ever.

Photo by Tria Giovan

In my business, the holiday season is one of the busiest times of the year for me. My associate Cynthia Bogart, Editor of The Daily Basics, thedailybasics.com asked me if I would feature some of the Christmas trees I have designed over the years for an article on their site. To read more, click here.

A few of my favorite designs.

Better Homes and Gardens 2005

Christmas Ideas Magazine 2008
Photo by Michael Partenio

 

Christmas Ideas Magazine 2010 

Photo by Michael Partenio 

 

Christmas Ideas Magazine 2007

Photo by Michael Partenio 

Good Housekeeping magazine 2006

 Good Housekeeping magazine 2010

  Photo by Michael Partenio