A bookworm's thoughts on coffee table styling:

As a proud bookworm myself, I have to say that I'm a little… aghast at the current trend in coffee and console table styling.

I scroll through dozens of posts of beautifully styled homes on countless blogs, Instagram pages and Pinterest boards and although they are all without a doubt beautiful and lust-worthy, I can't get excited about the typical choice in literature that so invariably ends up on all of those oh-so-stylish surfaces.

Many bookworms, I imagine, are introverts. Or, at the very most, what a friend of mine likes to call -- introverts with extrovert tendencies. And, like any introvert worth their salt, I enjoy quiet nights at home with a book or curled up with my dog on the couch watching an entire season's worth of shows on Netflix. I want a comfortable home; a beautiful home. I can't be the only bookworm who feels this way.

So that's why I've become increasingly more confused by the "fashionista's library" trend that has swept the world.

Let's face it, visit any stylish blog and you'll find their home is likely scattered with the traditional coffee table books. Large. Hard-backed. Fashion or home décor inclined. I'll bet you there's at least one silver screen beauty icon featured in at least one of those books neatly stacked in aesthetically pleasing piles. There's probably one or two books dedicated entirely to several decades worth of fashion magazine prints too.

Now before people start hating me for judging them, let me stress that I pass no judgment. I love Audrey Hepburn, Katherine Hepburn, Grace Kelly and Bette Davis. Is it within the realm of possibility that I'll one day have a giant book celebrating one of them gracing my console? Yes. Why wouldn't I want to gaze at their timeless profiles every day? Is it also possible that I'll feel inclined to purchase a twenty pound book I could do reps with at the gym that showcases Vogue spreads over that last several decades? Yes. Do I realize that not all coffee table books are created equal and I should maybe give more of them a shot? Sure.

None of this is to suggest that just because someone might decorate their entire living room with coffee table books instead of Steinbeck, Rand, or Fitzgerald means that they aren't well read. Nor would I suggest that just because I decide to display my favorite novels instead of picture-heavy man-hole covers means that I'm well-read. I don't care about being well-read. I don’t care if others think I’m well-read. I just care about reading a great story; a story so compelling that I want the cathartic emotion I felt upon finishing it to be instantly re-transferred to me by a single glance in the direction of its spine.

Here’s the difference in my humble opinion: the inclination when presented with a book is to read it cover to cover, whereas the inclination when presented with a coffee table book is to browse through it.

If I'm honest with myself, however, I'm NOT going to flip through a coffee table book daily (or even weekly). Why? Because I have more compelling things to read. Nor am I going to lay it open to a different page daily like The Book of Kells. They'll sit there like stylish sentinels, fashionably (and unemotionally) guarding my car keys in their abutting bowl.

Also, I have to confess, the one and only time I attempted to actually READ a coffee table book from cover to cover (because how can I display a book I haven't read?) didn't go well. The book featured Edith Head, who, as any film buff will tell you, was one of the most famous costume designers in all cinema. All information aside, the book itself was remarkably ill laid out. I even found some spelling errors. I couldn't bring myself to finish it.

This is why I promote styling my rooms with my favorite novels – new and old.

I'd much rather have my room strewn with familiar friends than cold, sterile acquaintances that I can't care enough about to get to know better. That's how books present themselves to me. Some I know well. Some I couldn't get to know because of where I was in my life at the time. Some I have to keep in my life and in perpetual close proximity because I can't bear to tear them from my side. I need to know that I can pick them up whenever I want and feel their familiarity. Like any steadfast companion, I need them nearby.

With all that said, I'd like to present my kind of coffee and console table styling; the realistic kind of decorating. The kind of decorating that allows the memory to travel to many worlds while never leaving one room.

[This is not a sponsored post. I was not paid to promote any product in this post.]

Holiday Gift Tags Inspired by Anthropologie //

I was finally getting around to some of my Holiday shopping the other day and ended up stopping at one of my favorite stores -- Anthropologie. Once at the checkout line, the cashier was carefully wrapping up my purchases and bagging them.  I asked if they had any gift boxes and after tucking those into my shopping bag the lovely cashier tossed in some of their beautiful gift tags shown below.

Knowing that if I asked for a dozen more of them I’d look like (and actually be) a selfish jerk, so I decided to make some of my own.

Here's all you need:

Rosemary twigs - the Anthropologie tags just had regular twigs, but I have a potted rosemary plant

                             in my dining room that I'm desperately trying to keep alive for the winter as they

                             are not perennials in my part of The States. Plus, there's the AMAAAAZING

                             smell.

Glitter - I happened to use white and green.

Acrylic Paint in green

Your choice of glue

Thin wire in your choice of color - I chose green, gold and copper

Hole puncher

Scissors

Silver leaf

Paint brushes

Twine - on the thin side

Gold marker for writing

Heavyweight paper

First, strip off most of the needles on each rosemary twig.  Leave about an inch of needles towards the top.

Throw your extra rosemary needles in a soup or in your fireplace.  The whole house will smell incredible.

Next, take your heavyweight paper and cut them into long rectangles to fold into cards.  Size is entirely subjective. My only suggestion is to make them fold on the shorter side and big enough that your whole rosemary twig will fit inside.

Now we're going to paint our trees.  Basically it's one long zig-zag starting from the folded side and getting progressively wider towards the bottom or open side.

My trees compared to the original Anthropologie gift tag in the center

Once your painted trees are dry, throw on some of your glue in an aesthetically pleasing, half-hazard way and sprinkle on your glitter of choice.

Use that same glue and dab it onto the needle-free portion of each of your rosemary twigs. Take small quarter-sized pieces of your silver leaf and place it gently onto the glue covered rosemary sprigs.  Use one of your clean paint brushes to spread out the portions of silver leaf onto the length of the twig.

Silver leaf rosemary sprigs!

Now we add the colored wire.  The original Anthropologie gift tags actually have green thread wrapped around them, but I liked the idea of adding something with its own shine, so I chose thin wire.

I concentrated my wire wrappings on the center of each sprig.  Don't cover the whole thing otherwise the silver leaf will be obscured.

Copper wire wrapped sprig on the left and gold on the right.

That's pretty much it for the face of the gift tags!  Now all we have to do is punch a couple of holes in the back side for the twine to go through so we can wrap them around our gifts.

That's it!  Sign 'em and wrap 'em

[This is not a sponsored post and I was not paid to promote any company or product in this post]

DIY Stone-Adorned Lucite Jewelry Box //

Confession:  I have A LOT of costume jewelry.

In fact, I have such a collection, that I sometimes forget what I actually have.  I know, it’s a sickness; but I do love it so.

Because of my addiction, I found it necessary to adopt a way to display my bobbles; something that would be both attractive and functional.  Enter – the Lucite box.

Yes, I now, I’m a little late to the Lucite craze.  At first I wasn’t so taken with it, but over time it’s grown on me.  Lucite is so much more than just a plastic.  Typically, the thickness of the Lucite {regardless of what form it takes – box, tray, stapler, stationary holder} is about a quarter of an inch, giving the edges of your item a lovely reflective quality more along the lines of glass, rather than plastic.  All the durability of plastic with the crystal-clear look of glass.

Now, some of my favorite retailers sell these exquisite Lucite jewelry boxes adorned with rough-cut semi-precious stones.  They.  Are.  Beautiful.  But -- full disclosure -- they are WAY overpriced.  Honestly, some of them retail for over one thousand dollars.  Now, I have to ask myself, WHO IS BUYING THIS STUFF?  Not I.

So, I decided to make a facsimile.

Here’s what you’ll need {with accompanying links}:

- Lucite boxes with hinged lids

- Rough or semi-precious stones.  I found mine here and here.

This is a geode I found online. It breaks into two halves with the lovely crystals inside.

These agate slices are amazing. The druzy in the center adds sparkle too!

- Clear-drying Glue {that adheres to plastics}

- Something to line the bottom of your boxes.
    
    This is optional, but I thought it was a great opportunity to add a pop of color.  I happened to use some decorative patterned paper I found at a local art shop.  But you could use anything you like -- magazine clippings, wrapping paper, scrap fabrics, old linens.

There's my blue and gold paper!  Fifth from the top.

Many of these papers, like the two silver and gold ones at the bottom,
had wonderful texture as well as color.

I really liked these. They had tiny sparkles embedded within the paper. Really caught the light.

I was very temped by these gold and black striped papers,
but I opted for my blue and gold because I wanted to add color.

At this point, it’s as simple as you think.

Optional Preliminary Step  -- Gilding the Agate Slice Edges:

I’ve come to the conclusion that I love metallic accents.  When the opportunity presents itself to add a touch of gold, silver {pick a metal} I usually take it.  So, when I saw the raw edges of my agate slice, I heard it begging to be painted.

The two polishes I used are shown above.
The first coat was the yellow {left} and the second was the lighter gold {right}.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have any gold paint {how?!}.  But I DID have some gold nail polish!  That’s right.  I painted the edges of my agate slice with gold nail polish.  When in doubt, branch out.  I painted two coats.  Let it dry overnight and continue on with the next steps.

Step One – Arrange Your Stones:

Arrange your stones the way you’d like on your Lucite box.  Once you have it the way you’d like it, glue it in place.  Remember, less is more when it comes to glue.  Yes, it dries clear, but if it oozes out the sides, its texture will still be visible.

Step Two  --  Line Your Box:

Measure the inside dimensions of your box.  Cut your paper {or fabric} to those dimensions and simply line your box.

This was the paper I ended up with -- a lovely robin's egg blue with gold.

The gold was SO reflective; just love it!

Now, I did NOT glue my paper to my box.  I didn’t do this for one simple reason: I may get tired of that pattern and want to change it later.  By not gluing it, I keep my options open.  I can change it any time I want and to suit any décor I may have.

That’s it!

Arrange your bobbles and enjoy!