diy by Grace Bonney 124

happy holidays + happy new year from d*s!


I can’t believe 2010 is almost over! This year has been more amazing than I ever could have hoped — full of fun adventures, hard but rewarding work, new friends and team members and more inspiration than I can possibly put into words. And at the core of it all is you: the amazing readers and friends that join us every morning to share ideas and talk. Without you all, we would be all laptops and no real fun. From the bottom of my heart, and everyone’s hearts at Design*Sponge, thank you so much for your support. We have so many fun new surprises right around the corner (new columns, a site redesign, The D*S Book and an international book tour!), and I can’t wait to share them with you all.

Before we close our laptops for a break, I wanted to leave everyone with some fun ideas for New Year’s Eve, as we won’t be posting on December 31st. Last weekend after our wreath class, Amy Merrick, Ginny Branch and I gathered at Amy Azzarito’s house to toast the end of the year and celebrate all of the exciting things coming in 2011.


To celebrate we made our own (inexpensive) DIY gold and silver-leafed champagne coupes that would be a great way to ring in the new year or just wrap up as a gift for friends. I’ve shared the full how-to steps after the jump, along with more images from our little get-together, which Ginny, Amy and Amy’s sister Mischa so festively decorated.

After this post, we’ll be taking a blogging break until the Monday after New Year’s Eve. It’s the one long break we take all year, and I hope you’ll come join us again on January 3rd when we jump into 2011 with both feet! Until then, I hope you all have a safe and happy holiday and best wishes for a wonderful new year. Thank you again for all of your love and support. I’ll see you in 2011! Love, Grace

*A big thank you to Dustin and Whitney at Oh Darling Photography for shooting our little New Year’s shindig!

CLICK HERE for the DIY Gold and Silver Leaf Champagne Glasses How-To after the jump!


DIY Gold and Silver Leaf Champagne Glasses

Materials

*You can buy a full kit of supplies here for $19. It will last you for many rounds of glasses.*

Steps

1. Clean your classes with soap and water and dry thoroughly.

2. Using your paintbrush, dab a SMALL amount of liquid adhesive on your brush to create a shape or pattern. If you’re doing a longer design, be sure to move quickly because the line will disappear as the glue starts to dry.

3. Let dry for 20–30 minutes. (Don’t worry if you can’t see the glue; it’s still there and sticky.)

4. Carefully take out a sheet of your gold or silver leaf and gently place it on top of your glue pattern/shape. Dab with your fingers until the leaf fully adheres to the glue shape. You can use a soft cloth or sponge to gently press the leaf into the glue.


5. Gently brush away the excess leafing until the shape you’ve drawn is left.

8. Using a clean paintbrush, coat the portion of your glass covered in gold/silver leaf with the leaf sealant (the sealant will dry clear). The design will not be waterproof until it’s coated. Allow the sealant to fully dry, and you’re ready to go!

Note: These are not dishwasher safe. They will be waterproof and safe to drink with, but you’ll want to wash them gently by hand.


Image above: Amy’s living room got some first class gussying-up courtesy of Amy and Mischa Merrick and Ginny Branch.

Image above: Our finished glasses and amazing beignets and biscuits from Goods in Williamsburg.


Image above: Ginny drawing our holiday sign.



Image above: Amy Azzarito’s cat, Freya, performs tricks for the crowd. She’s a remarkably good high five-er.

All photos by Dustin and Whitney of Oh Darling Photography

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124 Comments

Denise

Looks like a fun gathering. The glasses turned out great!

I am in LOVE with the super shiny silver dress somebody is rockin’ in these pictures. Where is it from?

dominiqueb

such stunning photos, you gals look fabulous! loving that
gold leaf idea–> steal! ( high-5-ing kitty ! O_O erm.
amazing!)

Susan

Happy Holidays! I know this is a design blog, but all your outfits are fabulous! Would love to have the sources.

corinne

a big big MERCI to each and all of you for this wonderful
blog… each time I come for visit, I enjoy my time spent with you
and all the ideas you are sharing :) Bonnes Fetes and see you
around in 2011,

kim

Fantastic photo’s! You guys have the best job ever! Happy Holidays!!

Susan

Thanks & cheers for the year. I agree w/those above: you all look fabulous.

joy

love! the metallics & polka dots…bestill my heart! happy holidays grace & the d*s team! xo!!

Karen E

Fantastic. I’ve been following along for years now and this
site is just completely amazing. Innovative *way* beyond the call
of duty.

Caitlin

A suggestion- you could draw your design inside the coupe
with dry erase marker to make it easier to follow as the glue
dries. Wouldn’t work with a narrower flute, though. Happy, happy
new year!

allison

grace ~ where is that most adorable dress from!? you are too cute! happy holidays! and enjoy your well deserved break. ~ a.

liz

Grace, where’d you get that fab polka dot dress? I’m in love. It needs to be in my closet.

kaviya Ravi

Thankyou so much for keeping us inspired. A very Merry Christmas and a Happy New year.

Lisa

Love your blog and can’t wait ’til the new year starts. In the meantime…you all certainly deserve a little rest (or at least time off) so have a VERY MERRY holiday.

PS Mischa, my daughter is Mischa, too. You are the only other one I know of.

Anna Saskia

Happy Christmas everyone at D*S- love all the work you have done this year- so much inspiration for my house and my wedding to come and just pure joy from your columns… may you all have a wonderful break and celebrate well to bring in the new year. lots of love from Anna in Australia!

shashinyc

Happy Holidays to all you Sponge-worthy gals–the festive photos are sooooo cute! Thanks for a year of interesting, intelligent and inspiring design news, ideas and peeks. Keep up the great work. May you grow and prosper in all the best ways in 2011. Cheers!

lalala

Happy Holidays!! You girls look lovely! Grace, I love your hair!! Am so excited about the gold-leafing project, will tell my friends about it! See you next year!! XO

Marisa

you guys are too cute! :)

thanks for brightening everyone’s day with your creativity!

happy holidays!!

Abbey

This is so awesome. How did you get the pictures to do
that? Is it a website? Is it HTML magic?

sara @ the by & by

I don’t know how I would have made it through the last
three years at my job without my daily dose of d*s – thanks so much
for brightening every day! {I can’t wait to see what you have in
store for 2011!} Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays !!

maria

what a fun post!! :D Have a merry Christmas and fab new
year. Looking forward to checking back in 2011 x

Twiggs

fabulous session!!! thank you for doing such an excellent
work!!! you guys rock the place! ;) hugs and happy holidays!!!
twiggs

grace

Thank you so much everyone! I hope you all have a wonderful holiday and a very happy New Year :)

Quick notes: Amy merrick’s gorgeous silver dress is vintage, mine is from a (embarrassingly named) store called nasty gal (I know, so cringe-worthy). The animated gif was made by Dustin and Whitney at Oh Darling photography- but if you google “animated gif” you can learn to make one on your blog :)

Xoxo
Grace

Mustang Sally

Happy holidays to the DS team! Thank you for feeding my
addiction, keeping us in the loop, up-to-date, and in the know. I
start my day with y’all each and every day. See ya in
2011!!!!!!

Sogol

Thanks Design Sponge for inspiring me everyday! You ladies
are lovely and you are truly inspirational! All the best in 2011!
Question where is Amy’s fantastic top from?

Wanda Chudzinski

Thank you, ladies, for all of your inspiration this year. Enjoy your well-deserved break. I look forward to reading the blog in 2011! Cheers!

Jennie

Warm winter wishes to all of you at D*S! Thanks so much for the daily inspiration and lots of DIY how-to. Can’t wait to follow along in 2011.
Grace – I love that dress, lady!

amya

Hi Sogol! Not sure if you mean my top or Amy M’s cute outfit. My top is vintage (as was Amy’s dress). It’s become my New Year’s uniform! Thank you! Best wishes for 2011! -AmyA

Lindsay

You ladies are too sweet! Love the ohotos. Thank you for
your wonderful posts, I look forward to another year of reading!
Linds xo

d*s fan

Thanks to you all for such a wonderful blog! I will
certainly miss my daily dose of d*s next week but I really
appreciate that you all take a week off, down time is important
:)

Miss B.

Oh gosh, anytime you can add a cat doing a high five in a
post you know it’s going to be a success, lol. Happy New Year,
wishing the D*S team continued success in 2011! xx, Miss
B.

Laura

So cute! I love the painted glasses! Merry Christmas and
Happy New Year to you ladies! Can’t wait to see what you’ve got up
your sleeve for 2011!

Laurie Patton Glasson

Ladies, beautiful inside and out. Lovely presentation for 201o/2011 ?!?! New Years!! How is that possible, 2011? But, you are AMAZING and INSPIRING every day. Cheers and Love for this year and next. Thank you for all that you do!!

Berton

Happy Holidays to you all!! I can’t wait to see what you have up your well design
sleeve next year!!

Liz

Thanks for being so inspiring, ladies. You put us all to shame. (Seriously. Stop it.)

Merry merry!

Sweety

Happy Holidays to you all, and i wish you a New Year full of Joy and Love !!!

Cheers from Spain.

Modern Country Lady

Thanks for the tip about the animated gif- so cute !! Hope your Christmas was a lovely and relaxing as mine..Got the best Xmas present ever- a Kitchenaid- I know that makes me sound so sad….hahahaha

Marion

what a beautiful entry! I just love the moving photo-series :)
Thank you so much for all the inspiration you gave us last year and have a happy 2011!

carina nielsen

I adore the ‘living in’ posts. Wish you would do a ‘living in ‘An Education.’ Happy holidays!

Emma

Happy New Year from Brisbane, Australia, fabulous blog
loved every minute of it in 2010

red fox

Thank you for inspiration!!!!! I just want to wish all of
readers a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. I hope everyone
will have a great time with family and got some great presents. I
also hope 2011 brings you all health, happiness, and much
prosperity. Maybe someone finds new ideas for New Year party’s
decoration on this website: http://www.torrentoff.com

mariusssmoke

Christmas spirit must be an inspirational point to start a
new lifestyle. Every day we must improve our way of life including
our home. So feel free to want more from yourself.

Carolina

right back atcha! really great to have d*s as part of my
everyday morning routine :)

Sandy

Looks great. Happy (early) New Year. You gals have been one of my favorite reads! Thanks for all the articles. :)

Deena

I definitely want to personalize my champagne coupes this year..gold is a very appropriate color, and they look very festive

Fernando

happy new year!!
i love this blog and nice photos.

kisses from brasil.

Anna

Thank you very much for your wonderful work!! I love it very much, it’s always wonderful to read your columns and find inspiration!
love & peace from berlin

katie!

you girls are so darn cute. i hope you all have an amazing new years eve with lots of champagne and sparkles!

dasril

happy new year, I am love with your blog whose contents are very nice and helpful, also interested in the photo is beautiful as it the star.

kristi

where did that backless cardigan number come from??? its gorge and sexy! the glasses are precious…are they safe for washing and what not?

Wendy

The movie clip jams. No question you had a blast creating that day!

Chloe

Hi ladies! I would love to know where that table is from. It looks like the Carmichael table from Pier 1, but like ten times better.

grace

hi chloe!

it’s a vintage table from moon river chattel in brooklyn- i’ll see if amy knows any details :)

grace

Eva

D**S makes my day–every day. Many thanks for the inspiration and fun you give to us!

Yanessa

You guys have the best ideas!! I love this one so much I
linked you on my blog. Happy New Year to you all as well!

Anna

Thanks for all your hard work! Have a happy New Years and
enjoy your week off.

dj

I just luvluvluv you gals!! I can troll your blog all day long… Have a fabulous start to 2011!
PS – did I miss how you managed to get motion/action pics into your blog? I would love to know!!

Shelby

What a precious way to wrap up the year and to greet a new one.. Thank you for your inspiration, I look forward to the New Year with Design Sponge!

Gina A.

You guys are amazing. You have such an amazing team! A new year and a whole new blank slate to DIY and make pretty! Thank you so much for bringing your talent to us daily! :)

Karin

Happy new year to you too!
Love the first picture, looks like you had fun (: Let’s make 2011 even lovelier.

Marina

I love your wonderful blog. I follow you from Barcelona, Spain. I’m addicted to your amazing work. Have a nice holidays and happy new year!

Magdalena

Thank you very much for all the inspiration in 2010! WIll come back in 2011! See ya there!

Cheeerio
Magdalena ^^

judith b.

Dear D*S,
You make our day! Every day! Thank you for sharing your collective “eye”, talents, finds, passions, creativity and your darling selves…
A very happy new year to all!

Anders Rent Nielsen

I will soon start a new blog with related content. Can I borrow parts of your content?

The used website is my working email and not my blog 

grace

anders

i’m afraid we don’t allow our content to be reproduced in full on other sites. but you’re welcome to use 1-2 images from a post as long as you credit and link back to d*s.

grace

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