The holidays may be over, but that's no reason to stop giving—or celebrating! Attention Atlanta-area bloggers (and readers too!): This Saturday the 9th, instead of wallowing in the winter blues, why not put on something pretty, give the kids to the sitter, and join us for a dazzling tea party and framing extravaganza, sponsored by Larson-Juhl? It's free for bloggers and just $10 general admission. Simply email
Jaithan
(jaithan@eddieross.com) for a spot. Now to entice you even more, here's my inspiration for the spread we're doing, a fully catered array of tasty tea sandwiches, gourmet teas, chilled Sauvignon Blanc, and delectable miniature desserts.

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After nibbling on brownie bites and lingering over linzer torte, we'll start the program! When it comes to art and framing, I have plenty of delicious eye-candy in my collection to inspire your creativity. To start, here's a page out of Living with an orderly grouping of seaweed specimens hung from a picture rail. I love the idea of framing non-traditional objects—here, a cool, colorful collection of natural curiosities—in more traditional ways. The look feels fresh, sophisticated and modern.

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This grouping, on the other hand, is more chaos than order. It's a view into Thomas O'Brien's Manhattan apartment, as seen in House & Garden. Thomas I've known for years, ever since my days at House Beautiful. This wall of images I love for his deft use of color—black, white and navy—together with a curated collection of graphic and figural art. What could easily unravel in chaos comes together in beauty.

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Now for those beholding beauty at lower heights, I love the idea of a shallow shelf kids can see (and rearrange) themselves. It's a rotating gallery where artwork is stacked and shuffled, layered and overlapped.         

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Then, once the little ones have grown up a bit, trade in the toys for a look that's elegant and fresh. Here's a room out of House Beautiful that designer Mary McDonald created for a little girl with big girl appeal. A symmetrical grouping of images, framed minimally with vivid green mating, feels done but not overdone. I love the way uniform matting can create instant collections.   

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Here's another page out of Living I styled myself. Thinking inside the box, I turned sterling and silverplate flatware from the flea market into works of art perfect for a kitchen or dining room. The shadowboxes I customized with pretty yellow paper for another instant collection.

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So I hope you've enjoyed a sampling of what's to come at Saturday's event enough to join us if you're in the area! There's plenty more in the works including door prizes as well as custom-built room vignettes I designed with Larson-Juhl frames in every shape, style, and color.

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Finally, the part you've been waiting for, especially for those of you in far and distant places from Atlanta! To enter a giveaway for one fantastic framing of your choice, courtesy of our generous friends at Larson-Juhl, simply leave a comment describing the object or artwork and why it's meaningful to you. Good luck, everyone! Hope to see you in Atlanta!