Bring the outdoors in...

My daughter is getting married in January. They are going away to get married and returning to a casual cocktail party reception. Being a winter party, she wants to bring the outdoors inside, without the cold. White and blue, snow and ice. The venue, compliments of my son's friend, is going to be like a winter lodge - wood burning fireplace, slate floors, and lots of windows to the great outdoors.

So how do you create a winter wonderland on a tight budget? You haunt the dollar stores weekly hoping for new items. And you have a wonderful sister-in-law who gives you a BIG box of vases to use from the last family wedding. Vases to fill with candles and cranberries, among other goodies. Here are my latest purchases - toulle, shiny fabric, feathers, crystals. These will be used to decorate the buffet table.

And this idea Jamie and I fell in love with - thanks to Martha Stewart for the directions for large pom poms made from crepe paper. These will be our snowballs hanging from the rafters, along with large snowflakes I got from the dollar store.