Yes, I'd Love to Shop With Your Money.

My friend Jeanine asked me in October if I would decorate her house for a dinner party she was hosting for her newlywed son and his bride the weekend after Christmas. I said I'd love to, if my mom could help me. Jeanine agreed, and my mom agreed to help. The timeline was set - we would decorate everything by the first week in December so that Jeanine could enjoy it all month and we wouldn't be tied up decorating at the busiest time of the year. My mom and I were both delighted with the prospect of shopping for Christmas decorations and coming up with crafts with someone else's money.

So here are a few of the things we came up with for Jeanine's house.

My mom and dad made this welcome sign and I painted it. I spray painted it using a vinyl stencil, and it turned out awful. Paint bled everywhere. I had to bust out all of my brown paints and my brush skills to fix it. There was also a considerable amount of sanding involved to redeem it. Now, I actually like the effect that all that touch up gave.

One Pinterest idea that I found and fell in love with actually turned out quite charming. It was doilies in embroidery hoops hooked together to hang in the front windows. I started by finding a lace tablecloth at the thrift store, and then my mom and I spent several wonderful hours hunting for doilies and handkerchiefs at antique stores. Then my mom remembered that she had a garbage sack completely full of old lacy doilies and things and we used those too. I made two panels, and unlike the rest of decor that Jeanine was to keep, asked that these be returned when her party was over.

My mom and dad made this trellis that hung in the front entryway. It was the real showpiece. It was stunning!

The nativity scene on top of the entertainment center also turned out really well, thanks to my mom's genius.

It was a really fun project for my mom and I to work on together. We loved the shopping and the planning and learning that we see things just different enough to really compliment each other. So fun, I would totally do it again...