CasaSugar

Gift Guide: Serving Trays For the Party Girls

CasaSugar — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:00:24 -0800

Since I'm a design fiend, I think my friends expect to receive decorating gifts from me. But it really can be just as hard to shop for décor gifts as it is for clothes. Year after year, I struggle to find something that appeals to their tastes and lifestyles.

I think I'm onto something, though. A few of my friends are big party girls, in the sense they that they are constantly hosting get-togethers and cocktail parties of all sorts. I've decided that a serving tray would be a great gift for these ladies. It's obviously great for entertaining, but can also be used as wall art or to organize knickknacks day to day. I've rounded up a wide range of serving trays to fit the aesthetic of every party girl you and I know. Take a look!

Before and After: KateDavis's Faux Bois Tray Makeover

CasaSugar — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 10:00:04 -0700

Su Casa member KateDavis bought this white Melamine Serving Tray ($12.99) from Target, and decided it needed a bit of a modern makeover. She slapped on a piece of faux bois contact paper, instantly giving it depth and pattern. Want to see the finished product? Then read more.

Looks great, right?! If you'd like to see another wonderful faux bois contact paper makeover, check out how I transformed my ugly linoleum floors. Have you made any updates to your home accessories? Add them to our Su Casa group!

Roundup: Cocktail Trays

CasaSugar — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 07:00:53 -0700

Every entertaining household should have a stocked bar with an ice bucket, glassware, cocktail shakers, mixers, and a few choices of poison. I recommend keeping these bar essentials out in the open on a console table of sorts, so guests feel they can serve themselves. Sometimes a closet or cabinet is the only option, though. Regardless, a cocktail tray is crucial for keeping all these items in a cohesive, orderly arrangement. I recommend a rectangular tray with a raised edge and handles so you can carry the tray around to guests if you want to serve a special cocktail. See a few of my tray picks when you read more.

Photo courtesy of AMC

Nice and New: Jonathan Adler Acapulco Tray

CasaSugar — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 12:00:49 -0700

It's finally Spring and aside from checking off your cleaning checklist, do you know what that means? Barbecues! Grilling up some burgers and tofu pups for friends and family is quite possibly my favorite way to entertain. But just because I'm not serving a delicacy doesn't mean my entertaining decor shouldn't be cute! I'd love to carry some ice-cold lemonades and potato salad on this new Jonathan Adler Acapulco Tray ($28). Made of melamine, it's durable and dishwasher safe, but its whimsical, Tord Boontje-esque wildlife design is superbly chic.

8 Alternative Uses For Serving Trays

CasaSugar — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 11:00:00 -0800

At The Office's "Night in Morocco" Christmas party, Angela looked quite proper and ladylike serving up cocktails to her co-workers. But, such a festive occasion to put your serving tray to work only comes around a few times a year. On the days that you're not playing hostess, your serving tray can be hired for other duties in your home while you kick back and enjoy the sights.
Photo courtesy of source

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Etsy Find: Pink Mirrored Jewelry Tray

CasaSugar — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 06:15:00 -0800

Double your jewelry collection - or at least make it look like you did. Your pretty things will do a double take when you lay them down on this pretty-in-pink surface. The Pink Mirrored Jewelry Tray ($28) from Etsy sellers Moxie Sisters is Molly Ringwald-worthy and will give your boudoir a new girly touch just in time for Valentine's Day. Who knows? Maybe you'll get a new piece of bling to put down, too.

How-To: Make a Popcorn Tray From a Netflix Envelope

CasaSugar — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 05:30:06 -0700

If you're a Netflix member like Yours Truly, you've probably got a smattering of red envelopes lying around your house. And not the romantic, love-professing kind from your sexy valentine. Although, who knows, maybe you have both! In any case, there's a way you can put that tear-off slip of paper to good use without just sending it to the recycling bin, or heaven forbid, the trash!
Using ancient origami techniques, you can transform that petit papier into a tray to hold your popcorn while you're weeping over The Notebook (Netflix's ninth most popular film). All you'll need is your hands and the tear-off Netflix flap. To learn the steps, read more.

Here are the steps, from Netflix Origami:

Fold the flap in half the short way, then in half the other way, so the flap is folded in quarters.
Unfold it once and then fold the two corners of the folded edge towards the middle so that they meet at the center crease.
Unfold the flap entirely, and lay it so it peaks in the middle.
Push in the folds on the two longer sides towards the middle, so they're folded inward, making a triangular shape.
Fold the sides inward so that they meet at the middle crease. Turn it over and repeat on its other side.
Fold up the lower edge, meeting the horizontal edges of the flaps above it.
Fold it over again, and firmly crease it. Turn over and repeat.
Fold down the peak so it meets the bottom edge, then unfold it. This will define the bottom edges of the tray.
Grasp the side flaps and pull them in opposite directions to open up the tray. Fini!

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Check out Netflix Origami, geeksugar's recent Website of the Day, to learn how to make a dozen other origami shapes from your Netflix flap.
Source

This Just In: John Derian Coming to Target

CasaSugar — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 05:30:19 -0700

On Sept. 14, home accessories dynamo John Derian will introduce a collection for Target based on the découpage pieces that made him rise to shelter world fame. The collection will feature antique print imagery like the fruit, flower, and animal prints that Derian typically layers and pieces together under his glass accessories, but instead they will be printed on melamine. "All my designs tell a story. And the prices allow you to live happily ever after," says Derian. To give you an idea of the fairytale prices, a 12-by-12-inch tray will go for $16.99; a set of coasters, $12.99; and a 5.5-inch plate, $5.99. I always love it when Target gets designers involved, and I'm a big fan of Derian's work. But, knowing how easy and inexpensive it is to DIY your own découpage on glass, I think I'd prefer to create the real thing on my own.
Source and Source

Nice and New: Garden Plan Tray

CasaSugar — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 12:00:16 -0700

Formal gardens have gone out of vogue since Marie Antoinette's time, and most of us can't afford the upkeep anyhow. But, we can still appreciate their beauty. And, now we can do so in our very own homes, with the Garden Plan Tray ($135) from the New York Botanical Garden Shop. The beautiful black lacquer and silver plate tray features a garden plan from Détail des Nouveaux Jardins à la mode, by Georges-Louis Le Rouge, a book published in Paris in 1776. The combination of its silver plate greek key handles and the period garden image balances modernity and antiquity with poise, making it the perfect piece of history for a contemporary home.

Love It or Hate It? Illustrated Melamine Tray

CasaSugar — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 07:00:06 -0700

This Lardy Oval Melamine Tray ($18.95) would look great as a serving tray at a party, or as a melancholy catch all for your landing strip. Do you like it, too, or is it a little too fanciful for you?

GG Collection - $245.00	Faux Python Skin Trays - $22.00
Red Pagoda Serving Platter - $67.00	Inlaid Bone Flower Tray - New! - $199.00
Bird's Eye View Garden Wall Art - Single Tray - $89.00	Mammy / Punch - $65.00
Barneys New York Large Rectangular Tray- White/Black - $195.00	Rectangular Platter (13x9x1-in.) by Le Souk Ceramique - $28.95
NEW - $59.00	Rioja Platter - $32.95
Atticus - $120.00	BÄrbar Tray - $5.99
Indonesia Wooden Giftware, Galaxy Collection - $40.00	A di Alessi Ba-ball, Round tray - $132.00
notNeutral - Triton Laquer Tray - $117.00	Fornasetti Occhi Wood Tray - $758.00
Medium Rectangle Mariposa Tray by Fringe - $37.50	Horchow Antique Floral Tray - $135.00
Juliska Pewter Small Platter - $48.00

Simrin Botanical Large Rectangular Tray - $108.00	GG Collection - $245.00
Barneys New York Mondrian Mini Handle Tray - $165.00	Alessi Recinto, Rectangular tray with handles - $168.00
R & Y Augousti Brownlip Circles Tray- Multi - $115.00	R & Y Augousti Shagreen Tray- Ivory - $396.00
Vellum Mercer Tray - $325.00	Alessi Tau Rectangular Tray With Handles - $220.00
Cork Tray - $39.00	Elegant Lacquer Trays - $125.00
Match - $65.00	All-Over Mother-of-Pearl Trays - $88.00
Mother-of-Pearl Tray - $98.00	Christofle Anemone Large Rectangular Tray - $1,570.00
Christofle Three-Part Cocktail Server - $330.00