Mary Lu Holiday House Tour

Shalana Here! This is my cute sister, Mary Lu. We are 10 years apart and she is much taller and much blonder than I am but we still get mixed up by people wherever we go. I like to call her the master decorator for the unique ideas she comes up with. She was one of the head decorators for 17 years at the "Emporium" located at Thanksgiving Point. A Utah treasure, Mary Lu, knows how to create that magical atmosphere that invites you to stay and be comfortable.  

She knows how to tie the best bows. She can cluster ribbon like you've never seen. We really love the red, gold and cream combo she had going on with her mantle.

DINING ROOM

As we've said before, fresh green green greens! It's the final touch to fill in and make your decor look full and finished.

Mary Lu and I talk about creating the "Magazine House". That means creating your home into the picture perfect image you see in magazines. Which is not realistic to keep up day to day when you have grandchildren and husbands around. Years and years before the Pinterest era, we would rip magazine pages out and keep them in a folder as our ideas. No pinning and saving to a computer! Our favorite sister date is to meet at Barns & Noble, drink tea while looking at their large variety of magazines.

NOW INTO THE KITCHEN WE GO!

  

Loving the glassware on the counter. The tall gold bottles on the right are wine bottles spray painted gold. A DIY project Mary Lu did for her granddaughter's wedding last year.

Once again, the red, gold and cream color combo is refreshing with her white and grey tones 

in her home. Also, the lights in her kitchen, you will die over! Look below.

New twist to Christmas - Cotton! 

It looks extra cute added in a frosted tree.

A grand tree to walk into! This greets you at the door of Mary Lu's home.

Love the details in the tree - The picture of her as a little girl.

Antique glasses line the top of the mantle.

We are candle people! Burn baby burn!

View from kitchen into the dining room - (Scroll back to the top to see the dining room)

Mary Lu's details come down to the little soap in her bathroom. The container is grey and gold matching the color scheme of her house. The pic above on the right are medallions on the ceiling. Every light in her home are positioned under these.  Details people, they matter!

THE NANA CLOCK

This is a sacred family heirloom from Nana who was our Mother's Mother. She was a classy lady who told us to act aristocratic because we came from that background. She owned very fine things and took good care of them. 

~A message from Mary Lu~

"This clock has been in our family 4 generations. It has seen many things over the years - Sadness, tragedy, happiness and joy! It sat on Nana's buffet in her living room from the time we were little girls and we would watch her wind it every 7 days. I don't think it ever stopped ticking or chiming! We were never allowed to touch it for fear we would wind it too tight. Nana was very sweet and kind to us. She would light up and clap her hands when we came in her door, she'd say "Here comes my beautiful girls!" (Even in our not so beautiful stages of life) Whenever I think of her I always have love and gratitude in my heart & tears in my eyes remembering her unconditional love for us. This has been the gift she has passed on to us along with the clock." - Mary Lu Lund

We wish you a Merry Christmas and hope this can cheer your day wherever you may be!

-Shalana and Mary Lu-

Paper Bag Snowflakes

Here is the video to the Paper Bag Snowflakes above. 

And below is a the step by step instructions you can follow.

You'll want to use 7 snack bags size paper bags. These are 2 different sizes in the pic above. The bigger the bag the bigger the snowflake will be! Which is fun to have a variety. Try to use bags without any writing on them. You'll notice the writing when you open up the bottom of the bag.

Stack 3 bags on top of each other and fold hotdog style (You'll feel like you're in grade school again) Cut into the fold.

Cut 2 triangles about an inch or so apart  

(Not on the fold side)

Then place 1 bag with the fold up onto the table. Glue a "T" and stack 1 bag on top of it. Repeat this step until all 7 bags are glued and stacked together.

Glue a string to the last bag and make the final "T" with your glue.

(The purpose of the string is to be able to hang it as a decor piece) 

Place both hands into the first and last bag and fan open.

Bringing both hands together so the glue connects the first and last bag to finish the snow flake!

These are the different forms you can cut to make a flower or star shape. 

Hang it up in your home all year!

For the Grey Snowflake we used this spray paint but use whatever color you'd like!

For a different style- Follow all the same steps but instead of cutting triangles, scallop the edge to give a more nordic snowflake look as seen in the bag topper pic below. Remember not to scallop the folded side.

Make these for home decor or bag toppers!

Thanks for joining us! 

Happy Holidays