Photos: Christmas Displays 2011

They say this weekend is the official start of the Christmas shopping season, so it's hard to believe it's been nearly a month since I first started setting up our holiday displays here at The Blue Pear. Luckily, sales have been good, so I keep adding to and rearranging things as the days go by. I've tried my best to snap pictures as the shop has evolved, though I can already tell I missed a few things. I'll add more later. Enjoy for now!

Small Business Saturday

Thanks to everybody who came out to support us on Small Business Saturday! It was a huge success! And of course it didn't hurt that Santa Claus was in the house. He'll be here every Saturday until Christmas. Also, The Blue Pear will be OPEN ON SUNDAYS throughout the rest of the holiday season! Stop by when you're in town!

Santa Claus is Coming to Town - Literally!

First, let me thank everybody who came out this weekend for the Courthouse Holiday Open House! It was an amazing weekend! I opened The Blue Pear in January, so this is my first holiday season in the courthouse, which not only makes it extra special, but it's also been a learning experience. One lesson I learned is More Is More when it comes to being a retailer during the holiday season: more product, more bags, more tissue, more extension cords!  More time to accomplish everything wouldn't hurt either.

Back to Santa...
He will be arriving in town via helicopter (yes, it's true) this upcoming Saturday. He already has a big comfy chair set up in the rotunda of the courthouse - just down the hall from my shop. He and The Missus will be in the courthouse every Saturday afternoon throughout the rest of the season. Come visit him and then swing by The Blue Pear for holiday decor & an amazing selection of gift ideas!

Big Holiday Weekend!

Without a doubt, the holiday season is in full swing here in Crown Point!  The shop keeps evolving on a daily basis - with even more product still to be put out!  Tonight, right here on the courthouse lawn, we'll be lighting the Crown Point Christmas Tree. They'll also be serving cookies & hot cocoa.

Sunday is the big Holiday Open House for the courthouse shops from 11 - 4.  This will be my first Christmas in the courthouse, so I'm not sure what to expect, but the other shopkeepers say it's the busiest day of the year. Plus, all the shops will be serving lot's of goodies - so be sure to stop by! If I have time I might even bake up a couple batches of my Lemon Love cookies.  

Also, photos coming soon - I promise!

'tis the Season!

Let the shopping begin! Today is the first day of our Holiday Open House at The Blue Pear! This is our preview weekend, but our specials and goodies will last throughout the entire month of November. The shop looks amazing - I will try to take some pics before I leave tonight. I actually still have some holiday product to unpack and tag, so there will be more to come!

Pink Spiders

Pink Spiders! This was a project I had planned to do last Halloween, but never got around to it. As a designer, I'm a big sketcher, and I always have a handful of different sketchbooks floating around. They're great for somebody like me - I tend to have lot's of ideas but not the time to actually get them all done. Now that I have my own store, I have an outlet for these ideas, and my sketchbook is one of my best resources. Scribbled in one of my sketchbooks from last year was this idea for the pink glittered spiders, and I knew they would be perfect for my "good witch" display this year.  I brought in a bunch for my Fall Open House and they sold out within a week! I made some more - come check them out!

Facebook...Finally

Ok...so I've been resistant to join Facebook. I attempted a few years back but never really got into it. Though as a business owner you have to look at things a bit differently and I do admit I like the idea of being accessible to my customers. I just set up the account - haven't had a chance to make it all fancy yet - but search for it if you'd like. I tried setting up a link here but Blogger is giving me some trouble at the moment.

Christmas is Coming! Really?

We're literally just a few hours into the month of October and yes, I'm talking about Christmas already! (In fact, believe it or not, I'm already sketching out some ideas for my Spring 2012 displays!) But back to 2011...

I've selected the dates for our 

Holiday Open House at The Blue Pear.

Thursday November 3rd

Friday November 4th

Saturday November 5th

We'll have tons of new merchandise

including Christmas Decor

& Great Gift Ideas!

No Peeking!

We'll be closed Oct 31, Nov 1 & 2

so we can transform the shop into a

Winter Wonderland.

A Few Last Treats

A bit time consuming but worth it. I handpunched these paper spiders out of old book pages, vintage sheet music, black glitter paper, and other decorative papers. You can sprinkle them like confetti or use them in various halloween projects. You could probably even bend the legs and make them three dimensional. I used some doublestick tape and have them crawling up the back of a cabinet.


Package of 50 is $5.00



The spiders crawling up the back of a cabinet.



Owls & Vintage Goodies

This is probably the third incarnation of this display. It morphed together as I moved merchandise from one corner of the shop to another. The black owls arrived at the last minute and it all just sorta worked together. Owls have been everywhere the last few years (I think Hedwig started it all) but this year they seem to be more popular than ever.

Owls, Owls Everywhere.
Glass Cloches filled with Twine Balls

Everybody Loves Glittered Gourds

Owls in Old Bed Springs

Giant Twine Balls, Vintage Brackets, & Handpainted Sign.

These ghosts have been flying out of the shop. Each one holds a real skeleton key.

These canvas pillows are awesome!

More canvas pillows, plus numbered bottles.

A Collection of Old Shutters

Metal Numbers & Vintage Trunks