Thursday, January 26

Grace at Home No. 234


Welcome! I'm so glad you're here for the Grace at Home party, where we celebrate all the ways we make our homes places of grace and beauty.

 Here are some links from last week's party I thought you might enjoy.

 I'm longing for clean-looking spaces these days, so I was inspired by Shirley of Housepitality Designs who made over her bedroom with a beautiful new look for winter. 

Pattie from Olla Podrida shared the recipe for Butter Pecan Cinnamon Rolls. Don't these look amazing?

Amy from Wasteland to Graceland shared 10 ways to cooperate with Jesus. What a helpful post!

Those are just a few of my favorites. Special thanks to everyone who joined the party last week. I so appreciate your being here.

Now for this week's party!  As I said, Grace at Home is a place for you to share anything related to making your home a place of grace. I invite you to link posts about
  • DIY projects
  • decorating
  • recipes
  • hospitality
  • homemaking tips
  • parenting
  • marriage
  • faith
  • self-care
  • soul care
Whatever you do to make your home a place of grace, I'd like to hear about it.  Here's what I ask of you.  Please include the permalink to your post, not your blog's home page.  Please let people know that you've linked up.  No more than three posts per person, please.  Note that if you link a post here, you are giving me permission to share your post, including a photo.  And visit at least one of the other party participants--that's what really makes it a party!
Link up!









































































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Thursday, January 19

Grace at Home No. 233


Hello, friends, and welcome to this week's Grace at Home party, where we celebrate all the ways we make our homes places of grace and beauty.

 Here are some posts from last week's party that caught my eye.

Terri at Designing Wilder shared some practical tips for transitioning your home from Christmas decor to winter decor. 
Marci at Stone Cottage Adventures created a darling kids' play table with some colorful paint and chalkboard paint! Isn't this a great idea?

I'm always looking for new soup recipes in the wintertime, and Debra at Shoppe No. 5 shared one for Black Bean Soup. I'm going to try this!

 Tiffany at Simply for One shared some words of great wisdom about what to do when you're not sure what comes next. 


 As for me, I found myself fascinated by Pantone's Color of the Year for 2017. I love the idea that green is "nature's neutral"--and I proved it to myself in an unusual way. I'd love for you to take a look at this post and tell me what you think.


Now for this week's party!  As I said, Grace at Home is a place for you to share anything related to making your home a place of grace. I invite you to link posts about
  • DIY projects
  • decorating
  • recipes
  • hospitality
  • homemaking tips
  • parenting
  • marriage
  • faith
  • self-care
  • soul care
Whatever you do to make your home a place of grace, I'd like to hear about it.  Here's what I ask of you.  Please include the permalink to your post, not your blog's home page.  Please let people know that you've linked up.  No more than three posts per person, please.  Note that if you link a post here, you are giving me permission to share your post, including a photo.  And visit at least one of the other party participants--that's what really makes it a party!


Link up!


















































































(Cannot add links: Registration/trial expired)
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Tuesday, January 17

Nature's neutral: the color of the year


You may have already seen Pantone's choice of the color of the year for 2017. Although I'm not much on decorating trends, I was thrilled to see this color highlighted:


I've found that many people are a bit scared at the thought of using such a vibrant color in their decorating, though. For years we've been inundated with neutral colors such as white, grey, beige, tan, and taupe. Finding just the right neutral can seem like the Holy Grail of decorating.

A few years ago I became fascinated by something I noticed after I hosted a birthday party for my youngest son. I found these great napkins to use at his party:

The napkins were a perfect fit and match for a green napkin holder I owned. Here's the holder with no napkins in it. (It's not exactly the same color as Pantone's Greenery, of course. It's about the color of a Granny Smith apple.)


As I was putting the napkin holder away after the party, I noticed how well it would go with these striped napkins:

But then again, these soft flowered napkins looked good, too:


So then I started experimenting with the napkins in my drawer. (I have a thing for napkins--have you seen my napkin drawer?) Imagine how great these would be for a Cinco de Mayo party!

And these would be wonderfully refreshing for summertime, don't you think?


But my green napkin holder could go more fallish, too, like with this leaf print:

Or with these autumn fruits:


You could use this green napkin holder with more than just springy, summery, or fallish colors, though. Look how well it pairs with this cool paisley print:


Or with these feathers:


Or with these printed beauties that Melissa gave me:


Can you believe that every single one of these photos features the same green napkin holder?  Even though it's a bold, vibrant green color, it pairs well with all these different napkins.

 I think it's fascinating that this bright green napkin holder--an item that doesn't seem at all "neutral"--functions just the way a good neutral should function. It mixes well with many different colors, allowing those colors to take center stage. Green may not be a "neutral" color, but it is a wonderful background color.

I think I know why this is true. What color do you see throughout the natural landscape? Green, green, and more green--all different shades and tints of greens, serving as a beautiful backdrop for the vibrant hues of flowers. The natural landscape includes an amazingly diverse palette of colors, and all of them pair beautifully with various shades of green.

And of course, the backdrop for all the colors of the earth is the beautiful blue of the sky. I don't have a blue napkin holder to demonstrate this, but the same principle is true for blue as for green.

Pantone called its 2017 Color of the Year "Nature's Neutral." I think they're spot on with that description. 

 Isn't it amazing the lessons we can learn from the Master Designer?

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Thursday, January 12

Grace at Home No. 232


Happy new year, friends, and welcome to this year's first Grace at Home party! After a few weeks away from my computer, I'm so glad to welcome you here today!


As the name of my blog implies, my great passion is to impart grace to others. Although I'd always known this in theory, a few years ago I learned anew that the first place I am called to impart grace is right here in my home.

 The Grace at Home party is a place for you to share the ways you make your home a place of grace and beauty. There are so many ways to do that, and I'm excited to see what you're up to. Nearly every week I choose a few features from the previous week's party so that even more people can benefit from that inspiration.

 I've met so many of you directly through your involvement in this link party, and I'm so grateful to you for participating. Could I ask you a favor? If you know a blogger, could you invite them to participate in Grace at Home? I like the fact that this is a small party. I've been tickled over the years to see that some of y'all have met one another through this weekly gathering. But I'd love to have a few more grace-filled (or grace-hungry!) participants. Would you help me spread the word?
Now for this week's party!  As I said, Grace at Home is a place for you to share anything related to making your home a place of grace. I invite you to link posts about
  • DIY projects
  • decorating
  • recipes
  • hospitality
  • homemaking tips
  • parenting
  • marriage
  • faith
  • self-care
  • soul care
Whatever you do to make your home a place of grace, I'd like to hear about it.  Here's what I ask of you.  Please include the permalink to your post, not your blog's home page.  Please let people know that you've linked up.  No more than three posts per person, please.  Note that if you link a post here, you are giving me permission to share your post, including a photo.  And visit at least one of the other party participants--that's what really makes it a party!


Link up!





















































































(Cannot add links: Registration/trial expired)



Posted by at 15 comments:
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