Mad about decorating with Poinsettias! (in my own home)

My kitten has her eye on something. And that's those pretty red poinsettias at the bottom of the stairs.

But I did lots more than just place them there. They landed everywhere. :)

Please come visit that post HERE to see the place all decked out... with poinsettias!

All parts to this series are HERE

Part 1 - an ultimate lunch at Little White House in Langley

Part 2 - a poinsettia greenhouse  tour with video

Part 3 - We decorate Tamara's barn store 

Part 4 - Mad about decorating with poinsettias! (on my sponsor blog)

 

Favorite things for $30 or less

 I would wither and die if I didn't have some of these favourite consumable things for under $30.

If you're a Keurig coffee fan, try the Mexico variety. LOVE it. (Black Silk is nice too) Add less water for more kick and you have one kickin' homebrew to start your morning off right.

But then again, ya gotta have a fav when out and about. Some love it, others hate it, but I need it. Starbucks pumpkin spiced latte is my method of madness. Grande, 3 pumps instead of 4. It just makes me HAPPY!

If you'll note on my blog sidebar, I don't have a Shaklee sponsor so I'm not pumping this just because. But I USE to and she got me absolutely hooked on these products. I no longer buy the average bear out there, I must have these three at the very least. At all times. Or I'm unhappy.

#1. Get Clean Nature Bright - laundry whitener. I can't STAND the smell of bleach and this is just... clean. No fragrance. LOVE. And it works.

#2. Get Clean Dish Wash - there is no other dish washing soap that works this well nor stays this sudsy that I know of. No scummy residue on my counters. It's perfection and I'm emotionally upset when I run out.

#3. Get Clean Fresh Laundry - unscented. I detest scented laundry products. DETEST. Even the stuff that says it's unscented  IS scented. Well, this isn't. I want fresh and clean. This is it. No scent and it works.

If you ever land Brookside dark chocolate covered cranberries, don't hesitate. Not even for a moment. Perfection! I'll take this over higher quality chocolates any day.

Have one of these? It's a garage door keypad. You can purchase them at any big box stores. You jive it in with your auto garage door opener and you're in business! They generally come with a remote that fits on your keychain too. INVALUABLE. I'm able to leave the code with neighbours if they need something and I'm not home. Saves loads of trekking through the house.

I'm not sure if these are under $30 or not, but if they're more, chalk it up to TWO things I love then. Just get one.

Olpha stainless steel knives

Granted, I use these for my work. But I'd buy them even if I didn't. The stainless blades are tricky to find, but if you do, you'll never go back to non stainless again. The blades just stay sharper longer. Not o mention, these are a nice slim fit for a hand, which offers you more accurate cutting for small things. I draw with these things on vinyl. Would you rather cut with a pen or a block of wood? That's why I love these.

I don't have this brand, but the real point is, a real lens cleaner in a cute little pump bottle far outweighs any alternative when trying to quickly clean your glasses. I keep mine by the kitchen sink.

Scentsy Mochadoodle

If you like your house smelling pretty but are hesitant on real flames, this is the answer. And the Mochadoodle scent is my alltime fav.

Swiffer, oh how I love thee! Nothing picks up pet hair on hardwood floors like this. I'm not really happy with having to replace the swiffer pads though, but I use them a few times before I do. If you sweep first, then use this, you can prolong the agony of making more landfill and having to buy them so often.  Then again I don't have a Dyson animal yet do I... but it's over $30 so this is it for now.

That was fun! I needed to write something fluffy this AM and now I did. I'm all better. :) (I'll be adding more as I think of them)

What are some of your purchased fav things for under $30?

Share in comments! I'd love to see what I'm missing out on.

Nester is having an impromptu $30 or less favorite things link party. Come join!

Ultimate girl's day out with Tamara ~ Part 3, decorating the barn store

Imagine if you will, walking into a store with unlimited decorating resources and you could play to your hearts content. Sounds dreamy, doesn't it?

Well, that's exactly what I was able to do  in Tamara's gift shop,  Milner Gardens!

Tamara's poinsettia and gift shop consists of three barns joined together with many others offering storage. They do other things such as host vintage markets on their property so there's always major buzz transpiring!

The store is run by Tamara's sis in law, Fiona, however I've noted on Tamara's blog, that she did much of the decorating herself. And it's beautiful!

Anyway, so after the greenhouse tour, we visited the store. I expected a quaint little shop. 

But instead, walked into THIS.

The store is HUGE and gorgeous and beautifully laid out by color and theme. And I've only shown half of it....

However, there were a few areas that required a few tweaks. Tamara asked me what I'd do with the patio tables on display, one thing led to another and we started playing.

We found some old relics in a neighbouring barn, brought them in and used them as props. And here's what we came up with.

This was my red/rustic themed table.

This little green chair made it's way in and promptly got put to work holding other green related decorations. I placed props along the back wall to bring the items toward you.

Tamara is FAST. See? :)

She created this glam table with lots of sparkle. And is very VERY good at what she does.

And fast. :)

I touched on this one. I placed the chair there which was an extra and put it to work, showing off that really cool icicle garland. So pretty!

Imagine if you will, major space and limitless poinsettias. Tamara put this together in SECONDS. I love the extras she added.

This area was already beautiful but I propped those things in front of the shelving unit to again bring things towards you in a 3D manner.

Tamara found this broken chair and put it to work. LOVE it!

Here's something we both worked on.

The front counter before....

And after. The cool broken chair got moved. :)

This was one of my favourite sections. I just fell in love with the vintage stove prop.

Isn't that clever?!? Love the red and white choice too. The swirly balls remind me of candy canes. Perfectly themed!

And last but not least... 'the light'.

Isn't this amazing? This was created by Tamara and husband Byron for their daughter's greenhouse wedding HERE. It's made out of pot lights and a few hundred glass ornaments.

They aren't new to creating chandeliers by the way. They've made 3 to date that I could find. It's now a family wedding tradition. Brainstormers these two are!

Well Tamara, I loved building these posts. They had me reminiscing about our ultimate girl's day out and wishing for another. I'll be callin' ya. :)

Tamara generously sent me home with two large and two small poinsettia plants for me to decorate with. So next up in this series, you'll see a little Christmas prep I've been busy working on the past few days.

More to come!

All parts to this series are HERE

Part 1 - an ultimate lunch at Little White House in Langley

Part 2 - a poinsettia greenhouse  tour with video

Part 3 - We decorate Tamara's barn store - this entry

Part 4 - Decorating my own home with poinsettias (will be on my sponsor blog)

Join Tamara's Great Poinsettia Decorating Challenge linkup for a chance to win a  fab $50 dinner!

The ultimate girl's day out with Tamara - Part 2, an amazing poinsettia tour

 

What object gives you a pop of instant Christmas?

That would most definitely be a poinsettia. Nothing but nothing comes closer to that statement as a stand alone element than one of these specialty flowers.

Especially if you line your ceiling with them...

Or... just leave them on the floor of your hallway. :)

No matter where they are or what they do, instant impact is their middle name.

Meager beginnings - this was the first greenhouse that's still in operation. All the tables were 100% DIY projects built by Tamara's husband, Byron.

And no one knows that better than Tamara Jansen, of Darvonda Nurseries, a family run poinsettia wholesale business located in beautiful Langley, BC. Tamara invited me over to her place to tour the workings of her poinsettia operation after I was chosen to be part of a compensated joint blogging venture on decorating with poinsettias which you'll see in Part 4.


Tamara didn't expect nor compensate me for this post nor video, I just wanted to do a little extra. :)

So Tamara, what's the deal anyway? Why tour a poinsettia facility?


I had been noticing a decline in the use of the traditional poinsettia plant for decorating at Christmas both in print and television. I have been concerned that our industry hasn't been actively encouraging designers/bloggers/magazine editors to include our FABULOUS products as part of their decorating palette. I would like to see the flowers that we market become a larger part of every home's entertainment budget, bringing color and life into homes across North America.

(don't you LOVE that she included bloggers in the mix? Hello... she gets us!)

This is one big place! How large is it anyway?


We currently have 4 separate growing facilities in Langley which includes 15 acres of outdoor mum production, and 20 acres of glass and poly greenhouse production. Staff has increased from only 2 in the first year, to over 100 full and part time employees during the seasonal highs in Spring. We've been in the wholesale business for 25 years and retail for 4 years.

In a nutshell, what's the start to finish of a poinsettia?


In July, a cutting is taken from the "Mother' stock plant. It's then dipped into a rooting hormone, then planted in oasis or soilless peat. They are then misted regularly until roots begin to form and then moved to their final pot size. After a number of weeks, the tips of the cuttings are removed to encourage branching, using growth regulators to keep the crop even (no bolting). 


Flowers begin natural coloration in October while in total darkness, then are shipped early November. 


What's the REAL proper way to care for them once you get them home?


* Keep them away from drafts. 
* Don't allow them to stand in water nor dry out completely.
* And don't place them too close to a high traffic area. Poinsettias are fragile and can damage when people or pets bump into them.


I can attest to that one. I broke one of mine by trying it in too many areas. :( Easy does it...

So, I have pets. Do I need to worry about bringing these lovelies into my own home?

They aren't poisonous. You and your pet would have to eat a "boat load" of poinsettias to feel sick, however they are not poisonous.


What's the lifespan of a poinsettia?


They can just keep growing and growing. It depends on YOU. :)


...gulp! :)


So here's a little live action video where Tamara takes you for a quick 6 minute tour on how these beauties are grown and prepared for shipping. It's really quite a cool process!

Sorry about that still shot, Tamara. Blame it on You Tube! You're cute regardless. :)

Here's a shot and post from Tamara's blog on the process they went through designing the gift baskets from scratch. Amazing and so inspiring!

And be looking for their stock in big box stores and Costco!

That was a very fun and incredibly gorgeous tour! 

And next up? Tamara and I spent some time yanking old stuff from one barn and putting it into her store barn to decorate with. You'll love her store... wait till I show you the massive light they made... oh my... get your pin fingers ready, it's quite amazing!

All parts to this series are HERE

Part 1 - an ultimate lunch at Little White House in Langley

Part 2 - a poinsettia tour - this entry

Part 3 - We decorate Tamara's barn store

Part 4 - Decorating my own home with poinsettias (will be on my sponsor blog)

Join Tamara's Great Poinsettia Decorating Challenge linkup for a chance to win a  fab $50 dinner!