A StoryBook Christmas - My Paddington Bear Tree

As promised, here is the big reveal of my Paddington Bear Christmas tree as part of the Bartow Pell Mansion Holiday celebrations!

Following up from yesterday's post on the inspiration and before pictures of the room where Santa Claus will be greeting the children and taking pictures







Welcome inside, the Bartow Pell Mansion.. the holiday spirit is alive inside this beautiful home along the Sound and so beautifully decorated in every room.

I wanted to honor the English heritage of this story, and stayed true to the red, gold and green plaid theme - especially as this will be Santa's backdrop after all!

and found these very special ornaments, from the English phone booth, tea pot and soldier in Spode ceramics, and my favorite, the English taxi cab!

a few special handmade bows in coordinating ribbon and a dash of love...

I spent a lot of time on wrapping my gifts, using multiple ribbons and tea staining boxes for the extra vintage feel..

I found some great vintage maps of London, and the Queen and Prince Phillip grace another of my gifts, mixed in with child friendly holiday crackers which are always a special part of our Christmas morning celebrations at my in laws.

Paddington is the center piece of the decorations - of course, and I have a feeling he loves the attention!

I would like to share a special thank you to all on the Board of Bartow Pell Mansion for inviting me to participate in this fantastic occasion, and especially, Lynn Byrne for being so very supportive and making it all happen for us.

The trees will be showing throughout the month of December until Jan 6th, so please find the time to visit this gorgeous house and support this jewel in the Bronx.

For more info: visit yesterday's post for list of events or Bartow Pell

Tomorrow - I'll share a few pictures from the trees around the house from fellow bloggers and designers.

A Storybook Christmas Story - Bartow Pell Mansion

As many of you may remember, in May of this year, several of us bloggers banned together to help a local historical home win a fantastic grant to help restore their gardens...
Bartow Pell Mansion in the Bronx,  is one of the few remaining hidden jewels in this area and they are getting ready to spread the holiday cheer as they do every year.

What's different this year?


Lynn Byrne and the team from Bartow Pell have invited me, Tamara of Nest by Tamara Blog, Bryant Keller, among others, to decorate gorgeous 8 foot Christmas trees with a Storybook theme based on favorite children’s stories.



Fresh off the heals of my trip to London for BlogTour, how could I not choose a childhood favorite: "Paddington and the Christmas Surprise Storybook by Michael Bond" as the story to illustrate my Holiday decorations? It is the story of a lovable bear found in Paddginton Station in the heart of London and taken in by the Brown family, and all the mischief that he gets into with the children Jonathan and Judy. Simply could not resist! 

Paddington Bear knows just what he wants for Christmas and is anxious to make sure Santa Claus knows too. A trip to Santa’s grotto at the department store is his perfect chance to make his wishes known – but not everything goes quite according to plan!

Once, my room was chosen, I had the added surprise of learning that Santa himself will be visiting all the children in my room and making sure they get their special gift on his shopping list, while they take a picture.

So of course, the instant theme was an English inspired, plaid / tartan themed color to fit in beautifully with the classical design of the room.

Curious? Here are a few of my inspiration pictures from Pinterest that kick started the design.

Come back tomorrow, to see the big reveal and final results of the Paddington Bear Christmas tree.


Want to know more? There are events scheduled throughout the month of December with the Gala on December 1st to open the event as well as raise funds for this wonderful organization and all that it does to help the community.


HOLIDAY 2012 EVENTS

1. Holiday Luncheon - Friday, November 30, 11:30 a.m.–2 p.m. Booksigning and demo by paper artist Pamela Dalton, New York Times award-winning children’s book illustrator. Call 718.885.1461 for details
2. Annual Holiday Family Day - Saturday, December 1, 10 a.m.–1 p.m. Holiday spirit abounds during this fun-filled day. Children will delight in a shadow puppet show, A Year with the Bartow Family, by French artist Caroline Borderies.

Professional photographs with Santa (additional fee) DECEMBER 1, holiday shopping, caroling, and more. Puppet shows at 10:15 and 12:15; puppet making with Caroline at 11:15. Other holiday crafts and photos with Santa on-going. Space is limited, registration required. Cost $20 children one year and up; member children $15 (adults and children under one year free)

1. Holiday Evening Celebration - Saturday, December 1, 7–10 p.m. Support the museum while enjoying cocktails and holiday fare, caroling, and more! 
2. First Friday! with the Metropolitones - Friday, December 7, 5:30–8:30 p.m. Experience the magic of the mansion decked out for the holidays and delight in the festive, fun sound of the a cappella Metropolitones. Do a little holiday shopping and enjoy refreshments. The free Bronx Seaside Trolley makes a continuous loop from the #6 Pelham Bay Park subway station to BPMM to City Island. Registration requested. Cost $10 adults; $8 seniors & students; members free 
3. Bronx Arts Ensemble Holiday Concert - Saturday, December 15, 1 and 3 p.m. The Bronx Arts Ensemble and Singers present a wonderful holiday concert with music for St. Nicholas. Concert is free, but space is limited and tickets are required. Call Bronx Arts Ensemble at 718.601.7399 for tickets. The museum will not be open for tours on Saturday.
4. Holiday Candlelight Tours and Victorian Carolers Saturday, December 15, 6–8 p.m. Experience the mansion by candlelight with costumed docents highlighting 19th-century holiday traditions. Victorian carolers add to the festive atmosphere while you enjoy light holiday fare and wassail in the Orangerie. Christmas trees throughout the house evoke beloved characters in children’s books. Reservations required. Cost $12 adults, $8 seniors& students 
5. Bronx Arts Ensemble Holiday Concert Sunday, December 16, 1 and 3 p.m. The Bronx Arts Ensemble and Singers present a wonderful holiday concert with music for St. Nicholas. Concert is free, but space is limited and tickets are required. Call Bronx Arts Ensemble at 718.601.7399 for tickets. The museum will not be open for tours on Sunday.

THE TREES

1. Merry Christmas, Curious George Storybook by H.A. Rey; Tree design by Bartow-Pell docents Linda Sacewicz and Christine Williams
2. Eloise at Christmastime Storybook by Kay Thompson, tree decorator; City Island artist Anoosh Donahue
3. Paddington and the Christmas Surprise Storybook by Michael Bond; Tree design by interior designer Jennifer Mehditash
4. How the Grinch Stole Christmas Storybook by Dr. Seuss; Tree design by New York artist Mary Rumser
5. The Velveteen Rabbit Storybook by Margery Williams; Tree design by interior designer Tamara Matthews Stephenson
6. Babar and Father Christmas Storybook by Jean de Brunhoff; Tree design by City Island artists Mary Colby and Marguerite Chadwick-Juner
7. Christmas Eve Blizzard Storybook by Andrea Vlakhis; Tree design by artist and Wave Hill Family Art project manager Ilse Murdock
8. Raggedy Andy Stories Storybook by Johnny Gruelle; Tree design by interior designer Bryant Keller

For more: visit Bartow Pell or call: 718.885.1461 for details

BlogTour London: Dec-a-Porter in Print, in the U.K.

Journal of Society of British Interior Design

There is nothing better than receiving a lovely package in the mail..

and even nicer when it is an international design magazine, right?

Well, now add to that your name in print in that magazine - and you can just imagine how excited I was when I opened the Autumn Journal of the Society of British Interior Design!

A wonderful 8 page coverage of BlogTour London by Modenus, and a few of us having been selected to share our thoughts on this experience.

But first, the coverage of begins with a wonderful article on BlogTour & how far reaching this international event has come. Spearheaded by the team of Modenus.com with Veronika Miller at it's helm, from the inaugural tour to London one year ago, a stop in New York earlier this year and our trip to London this September, you better believe it is only the beginning with many dates and cities already booked for BlogTour2013. 

"BlogTour is not a press tour with the focus on just a brand or two."

"...the brands that so generously made BlogTour London possible, saw "increases in their social media following, site traffic, overall visibility of their brands and ..
they told us that we had done exactly what they'd been missing .. we created the online buzz!"
- Veronika Miller (Modenus)

Want to know what that means? How about over 40 MILLION impressions that reached an audience of 1 MILLION plus just during the tour, and counting! Blog posts, tweets, facebook posts, pinterest pins, and more during the event and way beyond for months of content being shared and thoughtfully curated for design interested readers.

Talk about reaching your TARGETED audience!

It was an honor to be part of BlogTour, to have become friends with all of the fellow London blogistas, and to have the team of Modenus in my life.

as the Founder & President, Vanessa Brady writes..:
" Design has come of age across many genres. It is the added value that changes how we interact in public and personal space. This is the science of design. Interior environments can influence emotions and the conduct of inhabitants in places.. "

I could not agree more. The ever changing landscape of the world of design, most importantly it's growing appreciation and respect is what this blog aims to help contribute to. That conversation.

So here is my article for the SIBD Journal:  "Emotional Engagement"

all about the emotional connection that we feel as we experience a new product for the first time. 

and my fellow bloggers that share their experience as well are James Bedell: Lighting Designer

and Lynn Byrne, of Decor Arts Now.

I hope you enjoy the reporting from one of the BlogTour London events, and in case you missed them.. visit the Page I have dedicated to these posts.