Pre-holiday Decorating {Forcing Paperwhites} and a Winner!

I love this time of year!  Thanksgiving week, all my chicks back in the nest, cooking, baking, getting the holiday decorating and celebrating started.  I snuck into Target early this morning to pick up a couple of things {cold meds for the college one} and there was Christmas music playing, beckoning me back to the seasonal section.  I resisted, but headed straight to Starbucks to indulge in a gingerbread latte. 🙂

Last week, I got a small part of my holiday decorating rocking– something I haven’t done in years!  I was inspired by this wonderful bowl I found while poking around Woodstock Antiques with Charity several days ago.

 

Does it rock, or what?  I knew it would be perfect for these…

Have you picked up your paperwhites yet?  It takes about 6 weeks to force them, so if you go TODAY, you’ll probably be okay for the Christmas/New Year’s holidays.  I had bags of the small rocks from other decorating projects, but since the bowl is fairly large, I lined it with plastic and put a layer of landscaping rocks [from our patio area] in the bottom as a base layer.

Gallon sized ziploc bags are sure handy, aren’t they?  I arranged the bulbs, shoots up, tucking them right up against each other.

Pack them in there, right up to the edges of your container, and then layer on the smaller rocks.

Water them thoroughly!  I found the perfect spot for mine and they’re loving it so far.

Can’t wait until they are blooming!  Now, I’ve read some things about adding alcohol (rum, vodka) to the water to stunt the growth of the stems without sacrificing blooms.  I’ll do a little more research on this before I try it, but I’ll keep you posted.

By the way, the bowl was only $15 at the antique mall.  Because of its size, I knew it would be an awesome versatile piece to have.  I love finding unusual containers, don’t you?

And now– the winner of my Willow House $25 Store Credit and the {simple starfish} $25 store credit is…. Jen at Patient n Kind blog!!  Jen, I’ll be emailing you with instructions on how to redeem your credit and you will hear from Christine at {simple starfish} as well.  Congratulations!!

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Happy Thanksgiving Week, readers!!

Comments

  1. Love the bowl! Really is gorgeous. Can’t believe you got it for that cheap.

  2. The bowl is indeed “a” find. It’s got the perfect size and shows every possibility of being versatile. Love it.

    By the way, i have no idea what paperwhites are! Do you think they will grow here? Oh and is that tradition?

  3. Oh I just love that bowl! I looked for paper whites yesterday, but did not find any 🙁 I still have a few other places to check. I can’t wait to see them bloom in that gorgeous bowl.
    Thanks for sharing.

  4. I love the bowl you found! I hope you’ll post a photo when they’re in bloom. I’m going to have to find some paper whites today. I haven’t done them in a few years. Thanks for the inspiration!

  5. Wow! That pedestal bowl is GORGEOUS and I adore Paper Whites!!! I’m your newest follower!!!

    Hugs, Aimee @ ItsOverflowing.com

  6. that bowl is stunning Heidi! What a great buy- lucky you!!

    I wanted to wish you and your family a very, very Happy Thanksgiving!
    joan

  7. There is a gorgeous bowl. You remind me that I need to start my paperwhites too. Hmm. Maybe after Thanksgiving, or is that too late?
    Happy Thanksgiving, Heidi! It was fun to find your new sight.
    Camille

  8. That bowl is drop-dead gorgeous! Hope you post a photo when the paperwhites bloom.

  9. I keep forgetting to buy some! I really like how you used this gorgeous bowl…. I have a great bowl too -just needs a pedestal! Thanks for the idea.

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