Ring It In With A Spin

If you took part in JG's live New Year's Eve twitter party last year, then you already have many of Jes' favorite ways to ring in the New Year like a rock star in your back pocket. Here are some fresh and fab ideas to throw into the mix as we welcome 2011.

1) Check Your Top Hat At the Door: NYE often conjures up images of top hats, feather tiaras, noisemakers and of course, champagne. This year, we invite you to think oysters; white lights, chocolate, and of course, champagne.

(dailygreen.com)

(legalseafood.com)

Champagne is an acceptable food group on NYE. But oysters and other noshes (we still, and always will, heart Pigs in a Blanket) are a great compliment to the bubbly. If you are fretting the sticker price, Prosecco or another sparkling wine from the United States or Spain (cavas have great value for the taste) are a wallet friendly choice. Personal "poppers" are also fun -- mini bottles of champagne (187 ml) served with a straw.

(Pommery Pop is a notable choice)

Whatever you choose, do attempt to strike up a deal. Many wine sellers will knock anywhere from 5 percent to 15 percent off the price if you buy a case (be sure to browse Wineaccess.com and KLWines.com for deals as well). You can ask stores if they have any "mistake" bottles that are deemed unsellable because the label was damaged in shipping, or there's a harmless chip in the bottle.

2) Mark Your Territory: Once your drink menu is set, opt for fun drink markers so you don't lose your flute in the crowd. Etsy.com is showcasing these Wineglass Collars (set of 6 reversible designs, $12)

We also like these fun movie theater candy box charms (set of 6 for $19.99, etsy.com). To play on the theme, make it a low key night, screen some films and serve up jars of each kind of candy in colorful bowls.

Also, invite your guests to write down their resolutions on note cards.

($5 for 2 cards and envelopes, etsy.com)

Have them place them in envelopes and hang on to them for the year. Ask them to bring them back next year to see if they kept them.

3) Twinkle, twinkle: Tweaking your lighting just a little bit can turn any room into a new entertaining space.

Deck the place with inexpensive twinkle lights; stick to one color (our pick, white lights) if you are seeking a sophisticated vibe.

(celebrations.com)

4) The Invitation is in the Inbox: Whether your event is a last minute get together, or you just love our planet, there are great online invitation options that can get the word out fast ... and we're not talking about Evite. Check out Paperlesspost.com and cocodot.com for great options.

Deck the Halls JG Style

Halloween ... check. Thanksgiving ... check. Hanukkah ... check!

Whoa, that was fast! And now, the season to be jolly is about to fly right on by as well. So make it memorable. Make your mark. Leave your guests talking about your holiday shindig well into 2011.

Allow us to give you your gift early ... some holiday party inspiration from Jes.

Amber Is The Color Of Your Energy: Swap out your existing light bulbs with inexpensive amber bulbs to soften the ambiance. This is an easy way to impact your guests without impacting your wallet.

For a more intimate feel, turn off the lights and make your party room glow with candles set in amber-colored glass votives and hurricanes, or clusters of these fabulous amber silver glassed candlesticks (cohassetcolonials.com $49 a pair)

Or for a less expensive option, these amber blown babies (cohassetcolonials.com $25 a pair).

You could also throw in some hanging glass bottle hurricane holders to line the entryway or even as a centerpiece, depending on your set up.

(100candles.com)

Reinvent the Color Wheel: Stretch beyond the silver bells and traditional red and green palette. Instead, opt for richer hues such as deep jewel tones and muted metallic, or chocolate brown and copper. Reflect your color choice in everything from the table linens to throw pillows and slip covers.

Globe-trot: If you want to mix it up all together, why not create a All Around the World Christmas party.

Christmas time in Costa Rica, for example, demands bright tropical flowers and tons of fresh fruit, so adorn your table with bright pink orchids instead of red poinsettias. In China, ornaments are made from paper in the shape of flowers, chains and lanterns. So break out the paper and scissors and have your guests fashion an ornament for your tree.

Let It Snow: If you live in a cold climate, invite the gang to a "Dashing Through the Snow" bash. Begin the party outside with a snowball fight or snowman making contest. Once inside, invite guests to lounge in front of the fireplace on floor pillows. Give them their party favor early, a monogrammed fleece throw to keep warm (you can buy cheap ones at Bed Bath & Beyond and use iron on monograms). For your table decor, think the great outdoors ... pine cones, twigs and warm white candlelight. Place glass hurricanes with an assortment of nuts and pillars on your table. Or how about a pine cone centerpiece like this one?

Proper Frosty Fun

This past weekend we brought the outside in at the American Museum of Natural History and created a snow day fit for one very special Bat Mitzvah girl.

The Powerhouse venue, which is housed in what was once the museum's power plant, was 5,000 square feet of inspiration staring us in the face just waiting to be turned it into an elegant and playful winter wonderland.

The guest of honor and her friends chilled out in the snow room, which featured two large glow ottomans and an elaborate display of snowflakes from the ceiling. We sectioned off the space with gorgeous crystal beaded curtains.

Snow Room

As the kids progressed from the snow room to their tables, they found fun low tables accented by silver and turquoise pillows awaiting them. The tables were lined with apothecary jars filled to the brim with blue and white candy and floating orchid centerpieces. To

create an icy, winter effec

t, the vases were designed with crystal sea gems and LED lighting,.

Kid Tables

Candy Jars

Kid Table Centerpieces

For the adult crowd, we designed a space complete with sleek white lounge furniture, accentuated by a mirrored coffee table and side tables. Striking turquoise accent pillows and stunning fur throw blankets accessorized the space along with decorative white lanterns. Tall white snow stricken branch arrangements outlined the adult lounge completing your winter wonderland fantasy.

Adult Lounge

Adult Lounge

In order to pop more color into the space, turquoise blue and ice blue lanterns in various sizes were hung across the dance floor.

A Moment in Time

Elegance, romance and the chilly Cali wind swept through Los Feliz this past Monday night as David Yurman invited guests (and the Proper Fun team) to the Ennis House for the West Coast launch of The Ancestrale Collection of watches.

The Ennis House

(Photo Credit: Fink-Foto)

Frank Lloyd Wright designed the home, which is the largest of his textile block designs (below), in 1923.

(Ancient Mayan Temples served as inspiration)

We wanted to highlight the house's unique design elements and true beauty, so we kept the decor to a minimum and opted to instead make an impact with just a few touches.

We softened the interior and exterior with glowing LED pillars that were housed inside of 10 and 14 inch frosted hurricanes. We lit these bad boys up all over the place. We surrounded the pool. We lined the stairs and hallways. From the moment the guests stepped inside, they were enveloped in warmth -- a big part of that was due to The Lighter Side's gorgeous lighting job.

Take a look at the pool, before and after.

Before

After

(Photo Credit: Fink-Foto)

For a sleek and modern touch, Jes opted for arrangements of White Goddess Calla Lilies, which we placed (three) on the dining room table and (one) at the cognac bar.

(Photo Credit: Fink-Foto)

Callas are a great flower choice all year long and are available in many colors and sizes. They have fantastic names too ... Picasso (White with purple throat) and Captain Romance (Dark Pink), among others.

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Rockin the (Random) House

Books+ burgers+fries+ Jungle Juice = House Party! It was Manhattan's young literary crowd's night to celebrate the National Book Awards their own funky way. Check out BizBash's write up of NBA House Party 2010 below. Our team loved working inside Random House headquarters. For us, it was kind of like decorating our very own classroom for Back to School Night, JG style!

http://216.213.87.98/newyork/content/editorial/19552_publishing_association_targets_younger_audience_with_national_book_awards_spin-off_party.php

ICT, Fight On!

Last week Team JG rocked the West coast once again. This time we decked out the USC Institute for Creative Technologies' new Playa Vista home in school appropriate hues of cardinal and gold. Perfect timing for Fall!

ICT's newly designed building is pretty fly. Check it out:



In all honesty, we probably could have placed a couple of votives on the tables and called it a day. But if we had done that, then we would not have done this:


Or this:



We mixed and matched the place with an interesting variety of centerpieces. The first picture is one of our red and yellow James Story orchid centerpieces, while pictured above is a beautiful arrangement of camel roses with hypericon berries . (Side note, both of these would look fabulous on your Thanksgiving table this year).

We also incorporated black magic roses and yellow cymbidium orchids into the overall design.

Let's just say that we think we got the colors down. The marching band certainly thought so. After all, they match!



We especially enjoyed working this event because it gave us a chance to work with our buddies at foodink catering. Below are just two of the delish items that guests got to feast on.

Poached coconut shrimp skewers with cucumber and mint and a tomato sambal dipping sauce.



Cucumber boxes of sesame seared tuna with wasabi sauce.