Pet Tree

Our pets are part of the family which is why we celebrated all of their love, devotion and companionship with our pet tree this year!

This tree was a lot of fun to decorate. We focused on using bright, solid colors: red, blue and green and accented with white paw print ribbon. For garland we used a length of chain. For decorations, furry mouse toys and rope bones nestled in the branches.

As far as traditional ornaments, we used our collection of pet photo frames, including our: blue glitter fishbowl photo frame, our red glitter hydrant photo frame, and our red and green glitter Santa Paws frames. All of them with photos of the Gloria Duchin animal family!

In addition to our photo ornments, we also adorned the tree with our pewter woof bone and meow paw ornaments and an assortment of green, red and blue glitter paws.

No tree is complete without gifts underneath and for our pet tree we put together a special assortment using stainless steel pet bowls as gift baskets, stuffed with colored tissue, wrapped in paw print cellophane and tied with "I heart my dog" satin ribbon. As a special package accent, we tied on one of our silvertone glitter paw ornaments that can also be used as a keyring.

Next week: Our Pin-Up tree!

Black Swan & Dreams

We've redecorated the trees in our office to reflect current trends in color, pop culture and design. In total, we have six trees at Gloria Duchin headquarters, and over the next few weeks, we're going to show you all of them, hopefully giving you some inspiration for your holiday decor. First up, our Dreams tree and our Black Swan tree.

Both of these trees are so much fun. The pink tree adds pop to your season and the black tree adds an edge.

For the pink, Dreams tree, we went for a soft, etheral feel, topping the tree with white tulle that drapes down through the branches. Bunches of cotton stuffing symbolize clouds, floating through the tree and also cover the base as a tree skirt. For bulbs, we used primarily silver, both in matte glitter and glossy finish in different sizes for depth. The fuscia glitter bulbs add just a touch of necessary color.

We wanted this tree to be about imagination and fantasy, and selected a group of iconic ornaments that would express that, including our pewter flying pig ornament with pink glitter accents. He soars through the branches along with our dreams angel and silver glitter stars.

Our Black Swan tree is of course, reminiscent of the film, Black Swan, capturing the dark beauty of the film and ballet. Our black tree was a perfect base to capture this idea. We accented it with a white feather topper, the two sides of the swan.

For color, clusters of red feathers are throughout along with bunches of small red bulbs. The floral lights resemble stage lights and the silver bulbs are like small, round mirrors.

The iconic ornaments we used are in pewter and gold finishes. To coordinate with the theme, we have pewter ballerinas, pewter ballet shoes, silver glitter fleur de lis ornaments and goldtone swans.

Next week: Our Pet Tree!

Sunny Disposition

This spring yellow is anything but mellow, popping in bright, sunshine hues on dresses, jackets, purses, shoes, jewelry and even kitchen appliances.

It's a perfect introduction to spring, amplifying the cheerful mood we all have when the snow melts and the flowers bloom. It's impossible to be depressed when dressed in yellow, and as shown, the hue compliments everyone and everything, from blond bombshells to toasters.

One of our favorites is a yellow glitter peep toe shoe ornament we made. Add some spring fever to your Christmas tree this season and compliment brightly colored ornaments with flowers and ribbons.

Fashion photos courtesy of Life & Style Magazine. Kitchen photo from Crate & Barrel.

Red, White, Oh my.

Not much has been appearing on the style horizon as of late. Thank goodness for the Oscars, where everyone showcases their newest and best in gowns, shoes and dazzling accessories. What trended this year? Red and white.

Jewel tones are still making waves in bright and bold solids paired with the ever-classic white. In addition to their coloring, all the gowns featured above have a long, sleek fit and simple elegance, with one sleeve or no sleeves. They might vary in design and draping, but one thing is for sure, classic colors are here to stay.

These gowns remind me of a simple candy cane, like our pewter candy cane ornament featured right. There are certain colors and traditions, like the candy cane, that will be around forever. A tree without a candy cane doesn't seem complete. Just as a wardrobe without classic solids is an empty closet. A traditional Christmas and a traditional gown are two things that will always be en vogue, even as styles change.

Photo courtesy of Star's Oscar fashion spread.