Projects Archives - Page 178 of 217

Feast for the Eyes

January 15, 2011 jennifer Color, Decorating

I’ll be honest. I’m not a fan of Las Vegas. I can think of a million other places I would vacation first. When I ended up there early this week I really didn’t do any exploring. I mostly stuck to my hotel room and worked on things that are important to me. I can shop anytime. I can’t be alone anytime.

I didn’t frequent many places, but one thing I noticed in the hotels/casinos I did end up in was the dim lights. It seems they forever want you to live at dusk there… it must dull your awareness of what time it is and how long you’ve been there. Imagine my surprise on Monday morning on our way to breakfast in The Wynn to see something like this:

There was light back in there, and pastel colors, and flowers!

I had to get in there! It’s called The Buffet, and I must now admit that I have a favorite place in Las Vegas. I didn’t have my camera with me, so we ate somewhere else that morning (and discovered my husband’s new favorite smoothie) in order to go back Tuesday with the camera.

I was not disappointed. The Buffet has 17 different food stations with an impressive variety of food. Everything we tasted was delicious. There are large rooms tucked back in the restaurant and off to the side, but we requested a table in what I’m calling the garden room. Eight huge arrangements line this room, reaching from floor to ceiling. The ceiling is arched with a glass ceiling and lots of mirrors high on the walls. I estimated that each of these arrangements was around 20 feet high. To get a feel for how big they really were, notice the scale of the tables and chairs next to the arrangements in the picture above.

Flowers, succulents, fruits, vegetables all used in incredible ways to create the most amazing artificial arrangements I’ve ever seen. The bananas were my husband’s favorite while I loved the light fixtures:

I loved the use of lavender and succulents as well.

My husband insisted on taking somewhat blurry pictures of my left-handed self eating breakfast.

I think the arrangement below (on the right) was my favorite. I love the balls at the top, the red tulips beneath, and the pots of trailing succulents. Gorgeous.

But really, what made each arrangement so beautiful was the variety in them all. Next to one another there was much to admire, compare and contrast. It was all so beautiful and I kept wondering who the designer was.

This one was drenched in flowers. So beautiful.

I found a lot of online food reviews for the Buffet, most of them positive. Our experience was a good one; we would definitely go back. In my mind this experience was about more than the food. I didn’t feel like I was on The Strip. This restaurant was a place of light and beauty. Atmosphere was a huge part of my experience. It was the most fun I’ve had eating out in years. (Or maybe I was just really relaxed after 36 hours away from my children.)

I admit I didn’t want to leave. I wanted to sit and read a book just so I could look around at all these awesome flower arrangements and be surrounded by such color for a while. I commented to my husband that I must be flower starved, and he reminded me that I have 250 tulips coming in the spring. It’s a start.

Last night I dreamed that I created centerpieces for a party with this room as my inspiration. Wouldn’t it be fun to re-create something similar? Lots of inspiration there. You could go a dozen different directions with this.

Have a great day!

Jennifer

One comment Color, flowers

Musical Bells

January 4, 2011 jennifer crafts & activities

I went back and forth in my mind over purchasing this bell set for my children. It sold out in our local toy store, but I found it online and decided to buy them for Christmas.

I’m SO glad I did. We love them.

The bells go from middle C up an octave to C. On the end of each handle is a sticker that says what note that bell plays, and they came with a music page that has each note written in the same color as the corresponding bell.

The color coding makes it easy for young children to easily play songs they recognize, like Jingle Bells and Old MacDonald had a Farm. We got them out in Denver and had a bunch of us gathered around the card, each holding a separate bell.

It’s also been fun to watch two of my daughters play the bells alone, lining them up in order and picking up each bell when it’s needed. I’ve enjoyed seeing my younger children who aren’t currently taking music lessons enjoy these bells and begin to learn about notes and how they work.

I found that the bells make a very pleasant sound. I don’t mind hearing them, which is a plus! It’s been a great indoor activity for the past week, with the exception of moments like this:

Why? Why do teenage boys enjoy things like this so much?

As for me, I love the rainbow of colors. If you’re interested, I purchased mine here . I plan to use them a lot with my preschoolers this winter.

On a happier note, the children decided to use these bells to ring in the New Year instead of banging pots and pans. Happy pandemonium.

Hope your day is great!

Marshmallow Snowmen

January 3, 2011 jennifer crafts & activities

I don’t know what the weather is like where you live, but at my house there is snow on the ground and it’s bitterly cold outside. To make matters worse, the school my elementary age children attend had a water main break just before Christmas and the school flooded. We’ve got an extra week of Christmas vacation as a result. It means we’ve got to keep busy indoors, so I thought I’d share some of the activities we’re using to keep life interesting.

Here’s an inexpensive craft that kids of all ages can make in a matter of minutes.

Introducing marshmallow snowmen.

We made these in Denver, as well, with most of the grandchildren participating. You only need three things to make them: stick pretzels, large marshmallows and food markers.

Here’s how to do it:

Each snowman needs three marshmallows and two pretzels. Choose a marshmallow with a nice flat end to use on the bottom so your snowman will easily stand up. Stick one pretzel down into the middle of the marshmallow.

Add a second marshmallow, pushing down enough that there’s some pretzel sticking out the top.

Add the last marshmallow to the top.

Break the remaining pretzel in half and stick them into the sides of the middle marshmallow for arms.

Using the food markers, draw a face on the top marshmallow. If you don’t already have some, you can find them at WalMart for under $5.00 a set. Just remember that once you open them, they need to be stored in your refrigerator. Remember that these markers are basically food coloring, so do whatever you need to do to protect clothing and remind children how to use them correctly.

And the personalities appear!

I was surprised at how much everyone enjoyed this activity. I loved how fast and easy they were to make. No one lost interest.

Some of our snowmen looked like they’d been playing snowman games.

I like the top hat on this one.

In all, this was a perfect activity for kids. Aside from buying the supplies, there was no prep work. It took me only a minute or two to demonstrate making one for the kids and they were all able to make a snowman they liked. And the cleanup? Easy. Simply eat your own snowman!

I hope you’ll try it on some snowy day…

Hopeful Homemaker