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Charity Events
Christine’s Rewind: 2012 Flashback
January 7, 2013
Happy New Year!!! Hope you had a fabulous holiday. I had a busy few weeks celebrating the holidays with my family and finishing up some personal home projects. But now that the girls are back to school, it is time to get back to work for me!!
But first, I thought I would take a quick and fun 2012 rewind to see how Decor by Christine got to 2013. So please bear with me and join in the fun as I recap some highlights from each month!
January
The IDS comes to town every January and once again my gang of interior designers and design blogger friends all got together at the Gala event. I will be attending this years IDS at the end of the month!
Kimberley Seldon launched her Business of Design website. Her first conference which I will be attending is also at the end of the month.
And I finished a client’s dining room. New fireplace, lighting and reupholstered chairs.
This was the dining room before:
And this was the after! Huge difference, don’t you think?
February
I was totally honoured when Urban Barn invited me to design a chair for Urban Barn’s Custom Chairity Competition .
Unfortunately my chair didn’t win BUT it did come in 2nd place for most favourite chair When it was auctioned off, my chair raised approximately $500.00 for the Jays Care Foundation. I still wonder who purchased my chair and where they are using it!
Dabble Magazine turned ONE! And I continued to write the What’s Trending column for this awesome online magazine.
March
The family and I headed to Disney World over March Break. Now that we are proud members of the Disney Vacation Club, we will be visiting a different Disney Resort around the world each year.
The custom furniture and area rug I designed for a client (the same client as the dining room above) got delivered. You’ll notice that the coffee table is missing since my client couldn’t decide on what she wanted in there.
Home Depot launched their latest DreamBook and had a “Match the Look” contest to promote it. Home Depot invited 6 Canadian Design Bloggers (including me) to choose one of their favourite looks or finds from the interactive DreamBook online.
You had to choose which of these products was my favourite look. My choice was the marble Carrera for backsplash and counter tops.
April
This month I attended an event at Bo Concepts furniture store for the launch of a new line of furniture by Karim Rashid, where I got to meet him and crooner Matt Dusk. Yes, I know I am a bit of a social butterfly but I do enjoy attending these kind of events!
My budding equestrian won some ribbons at a local riding show!!
And the built-ins I designed for a client got installed! I’m very proud of these designs and how they turned out.
The office:
Master Bedroom
And their daughter’s bedroom: the handles hadn’t been installed when I took this picture.
For this same client, I also designed this mirror with a floating console table for her tiny foyer.
Here’s the mirror:
And now with the floating table/drawer. It was painted in a high gloss black with crystal knobs…very chic!
I also participated at the media challenge for The Canadian Breast Care Foundation’s annual Yard Sale for the Cure. I try to get involved in as much charity events as I can throughout the year.
May
May was a jam-packed month! My youngest sweetie made me this creative piece of artwork for Mother’s Day.
And she turned 5 years old!!
I went to NYC for Blogfest 2012 with my design BFF Vanessa Francis and got to meet a ton of other design bloggers from North America and some design superstars!
Here’s a bunch of us with Thom Felicia! He was an absolute doll.We called it the Thom Felicia sandwich!
And here with Margaret Russell, the EIC of Architectural Digest!!
Another Dabble / What’s Trending issue came out!
Then I ended the month taking my oldest to see One Direction in concert at the Molson Amphitheatre as an early birthday gift! My ears were killing me by the end of the night with all the screaming and crying!!
June
One of the big design projects I worked on all year was starting to wind down. In this image, the custom drapes for the dining room had just been installed. Excuse the IPhone picture…..I will be getting professional pictures of this project taken in the next month. I haven’t really shown any pictures of this project except for the entertainment unit I designed. The colour scheme is blue and green which is carried throughout the entire main floor. Can’t wait to show you the final reveal.
And another issue of Dabble Mag / What’s Trending went live!
July
This month I spent a lot of time up at Emerald Lake enjoying the summer with my family. However, I did finally got to styling the same client’s family room with her new entertainment unit. Here it is just installed.
And now fully accessorized!!
This is also her new chair from Crate & Barrel. In the family room we decided to add some hits of orange to the blue and green colour scheme. As you can see from some of my pictures I got really addicted to Instagram this year.
And here’s her new custom ottoman nicely styled!
Oh, and we also finished her powder room in this fantastic teal wallpaper!!
August
I spent most of August at Emerald Lake at the Glamper finishing up the Bunkie! I will be revealing the interior in the spring as soon as the new camping season begins.
Here it is getting built:
And painted!!! It’s like my own little dollhouse!
And another Dabble Mag / What’s Trending issue came out!
September
This month I finally got back on Cityline for Dabble Day talking about fall trends in home decor!
Here we are after the show finished taping: Tracy Moore and the guest experts!
And I finally finished my dressing table area in my master bedroom. I posted these pictures onto Pinterest, and I can’t believe how many people have repined my dressing table pics onto their inspiration boards!
October
October was a crazy month because I basically got a new baby – with four legs! Here is sweet adorable Marilyn Monroe who became part of our family!
And I got Project Pink & Orange moving along. Wait till you see what it looks like now! Final reveal coming in a future blog post this month.
And another issue of Dabble Mag / What’s Trending went live online!
November
In the November issue of Canadian Living I was quoted for an article. The article was called Sexual Healing and written by freelance writer Rosemary Counter. In the article I talked about how to set the scene in your bedroom with some helpful tips. Below is a screenshot of the first page of the article.
December
Exciting things happened to end off the year! I got hired as a freelance production designer for a new HGTV show by the Property Brothers called Buying & Selling. In Canada, the show will air on the W Network. I can hardly wait for the episode to air so I can finally talk about the renovation and show you pictures. So stay tuned!
And last but not least, the last issue of 2012 for Dabble Magazine came out and I wrote about gorgeous glamorous gold in What’s Trending! I love writing for this wonderful magazine and look forward to contributing to it in 2013.
Whew! Are you still with me? If you are I commend you for sticking with me as I took this quick rewind tour of my 2012 adventure in home decor…along with some peaks into my personal life.
I really hope you stick with me for another fabulous year with Decor by Christine and my new adventures in 2013!!
Glamorously yours,
Christine xoxo
Posted in 
Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation’s Yard Sale for the Cure Media Challenge
April 25, 2012
Today I am participating at the media challenge for The Canadian Breast Care Foundation’s annual Yard Sale for the Cure which will take place across Canada on May 26th. My team, The Designers will be competing against four other teams comprised of traditional media, ‘mommy’ bloggers, Re/Max agents and more to create the best yard sale display!! So it promises to be quite a fun, but very competitive evening!! 
The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation Yard Sale for the Cure is a series of yard sales that take place on the last Saturday every May in local communities across Canada in support of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. Every dollar raised through Yard Sale for the Cure goes towards breast cancer research, health promotion, advocacy, education and awareness programs.
Nervous about organizing your own yard sale at this year’s event? Below are some top tips from seasoned yardsalers, our favourite how-to articles and our own hands-on experiences to give you the know-how (and confidence) you need to host your most successful yard sale yet!
(list provided by Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation)
1. Make it official
It sounds simple, but the first step is to commit to the idea of hosting a sale. Why? Your determination to make your sale a success will come with a little commitment. Once you register your sale, you can set up your own fundraising page, create a new team, or join an existing one. This makes it easy to share information about your sale and accept financial donations to put towards your total proceeds.
2. Rally the troops
Holding a sale is a lot of fun, but it’s even better when you have someone to do it with. See if your friends and neighbours are interested in hosting sales and ask local businesses to chip in. Its good advertising and you could dream up some fun activities with their help. For example, you can get a local salon to do mini manicures for $5 each, or have a local butcher host a barbeque at your event!
3. Location, location, location
Decide where you want to host your sale. Do you need a permit to host your sale there? Do you need tables or tenting? Where will you put your signs? Think about where everything will go and how you can make it as easy as possible for your shoppers. If you have a big group, consider using the main street or a nearby park. The more sales in one area, the more shoppers will come!
4. Get organized
Start collecting items for your sale. Ask your friends and family if they have anything to contribute. You’ll be surprised at what they’re holding onto and more often than not, they’ll jump at the chance to get rid of it! Organize your sale items by category and pack them into clearly marked boxes. Avoid seller’s regret by doing this a few weeks early – if you don’t go looking for it chances are you won’t miss it.
5. Name your price
People are more comfortable negotiating when they have a starting point so clearly price each item. Use painter’s tape for small items and a sheet of paper for larger items like furniture. A great way to price items is by group, for example, “All CDs $1” or “All items on this table are $.50 each”. Remember, Yard Sale for the Cure™ is a charity sale so don’t undervalue items, but also take care not to overprice them – you don’t want to discourage potential buyers. Here are some tips to help you along:
Clothing – Ask for 5% to 10% of its original value. If the garment is designer or trendy and in pristine condition, feel free to price it a little higher.
Shoes – Ask for 10% to 15% of its original value. Leave out any ratty old shoes, they will reflect poorly on your sale even if all your other items are in great condition.
Electronics – Ask for up to 50% of its original value, depending on how relevant the technology still is. Make sure it works and keep an extension cord on hand for buyers to test it out.
Sporting goods – Ask for 20% to 30% of its original value, depending on condition and age.
6. Spread the word
Tell everyone that you’ll be hosting a Yard Sale for the Cure™ on May 26. Put posters up, mention it on Facebook and Twitter, blog about it, call the local radio station, or use Kijiji and craigslist to advertise your sale. Make sure you mention where it is, what type of items and activities you have, and most importantly, when it starts. Many avid yardsalers will arrive as early as 5am to pick out the best items so be fair to others and stick to your start time!
Want your sale to be featured on our website? Email a description of your sale including any special items to yardsaleforthecure@cbcf.org
7. Give shoppers a reason to stay
The more you have to offer, the more time people will spend at your sale so be creative. Ask the local pet groomer to run a mobile pet wash for $10 per animal, get a fast-talking friend to run a live auction, or get local musicians to play. If you have kids, get them to do a soccer ball kick at $1 per shot with trinket prizes, let them host their own section of your sale, or encourage them to run a snack stand.
8. Don’t forget the change
A day or two before your sale pick up some rolls of coins from the bank. The more change you have the better – you’ll be surprised how fast it goes! Make sure you have some CBCF donation forms on hand so if someone makes a cash or cheque donation, we get all the information we need to issue them a tax receipt. At the end of the day, simply send in the completed donation forms and donations and we’ll take it from there. Please note that buyers are not eligible to receive a tax receipt.
9. Get down to business
On sale day, greet shoppers with a quick hello or a smile. Be visible and available for questions, but don’t hover. If a buyer asks you for a better deal, remind them that this is a charity yard sale and their money is going towards a great cause. Don’t feel pressured to drop prices early in the day because the items that you have then are the cream of the crop! If you plan on dropping prices later on in the day, keep it a secret or people might hold off for a better deal.
10. Clean up and celebrate
When the day is done, it’s time to figure out what to do with the items that didn’t sell. Don’t want to hang onto them? Arrange for another charity to come pick it up, or drop it off at a local shelter. If you live in a busy neighbourhood consider putting what’s left in a “Free” box outside your home where people can see it. Or pack it in and save what’s left for next year’s sale!
Whatever you do don’t forget to reward yourself for a job well done. And what better way to celebrate than a potluck with all the people who helped make you day such a huge success?
Tomorrow I will post some pictures from this media event!! Have a super day!!
Glamorously yours,
Christine xoxo
Picture Sources:
CBCF
Lowes
http://congariel.dormroomdeco.com/home/yard-sale-2
http://bringnephtalihome.blogspot.ca/2011/05/yard-sale-for-nephtali.html
Dabble Mag Dec/Jan
Cityline Sep 25, 2012
Cityline Nov 8, 2011
Watch Me on CHCH TV
Cityline Sept 12, 2011
