Hello Everyone!

Here is Part One of our new entertaining series-filled with lots of fun and easy DIY painting tricks to bring out the host/hostess in you all! Im drumming up some ideas for an outdoor bridal shower brunch I’m planning and wanted to add some special touches within the placesettings!

PAINTED MINI CUTTING BOARDS WITH YOGURT PARFAITS

WHAT YOU NEED

Mini Cutting Board

Painters Tape {in various widths if possible}

Paint Brush

Paint Color {whatever colors preferred}

Jar or Individual Bowls

Yogurt, Fruits, Granola, Jam, Herb {depending on flavor profile you are going for}

DIRECTIONS

Cut painters tape and apply on the board, creating any designs desired. Here I went with different width lines for a more fun and carefree look. If you don’t have different widths in painters tape, you can cut the one you have in half and then double it up to create various thicknesses. Place them how you’d like, and your ready to paint!

Brush on your paint, using the same or multiple colors depending on style and theme you are going for. Go for a 2nd coat if it seems too thin of a layer. Let dry for 20-30 minutes for quick drying paint, and slowly peel off the painters tape as not to raise the paint of the edges.

While you can use these boards for anything-serving baked goods, snacks, etc. I used them to serve my yogurt parfait. Create a layered look with all your ingredients, adding in the topping and any garnishes.

And Viola! Such a cute and fun idea, hope you enjoy.

xoxo

Jess

Hello All!

I wanted to share a fun easy project with my new favorite plants-succulents! These Cacti are so easy to care for and pretty much impossible to kill. So if you don’t have much of a green thumb, you will love these pretties:) Just a drizzle of water once a month and some direct light is really all you will need.

Head over to your local florist or nursery and pick out succulents. I asked them to transfer it into a clay pot unless its already in one. I like the tiny white rocks they use to fill the top so I had them add some for me too.  Here is what you will need:

• Succulents or other Cacti
• Clay Pots
• Various Size Paint Brushes (depending on how many and what size pots you purchase)
• Acrylic Chalk Paint OR Acrylic Paint (I mixed regular acrylic paint with chalk paint to get the color and texture I wanted)
• Plastic Paint Palette Mixer (will help figure out your colors and combinations, easy clean up and can be disposable)

Wipe down and dry your clay pots, then your ready to start painting! I went with 2 coats with each, leaving about 20 minutes dry time in between (some paints are faster drying than others). If the color doesn’t look right you could also mix up a new color for the next coat.

I went with more of a pastel palette with a soft peach, light pink and aqua blue. Hope you like it!

xoxo

Jess

Styling & Works By:  Jessica Boskoff from Twenty Three Layers

Paint & Paint Supplies:  Michaels

Succulents & Pots: Scarsella’s

Hello Everyone,

I created this fun gallery in my Den so I thought Id share! Its easier to do than you think-so lets give it a try!

The first thing you need to do is buy framed artwork (elephant shown is from One Kings Lane) or empty frames and add your own art. For framing-you can either purchase individual ones or purchase a set of gallery frames (even more than one set if you want to mix and match).  West Elm has great gallery frames, but you can get less expense sets from Amazon or other online sights. The gallery frames will most likely come with a mat inside which means that you can choose 2 different print sizes. Mix it up. Alternate between using the mats and filling up the whole frame. This helps create another cool dimension to the gallery!

Sometimes when you purchase gallery frames they come with photographs you can choose to use or replace. So I usually keep those in and replace them as I  purchase or print pictures. You can purchase cool prints from Etsy or print the image yourself-either to match the size frames you ordered, or the other way around if you already have the prints. You can also use inspirational quotes as artwork  and mix it up!

Once you have all of your frames, choose an area close by and lay it all out so you can create your gallery. When you have situated the gallery to your liking, start from the center frame and work your way out to the sides. Keep pulling individual frames and hang them one by one until you are all done. I don’t have much patience so I preferred to put my picture gallery up first! Then as I started collecting images, I replaced the photos one by one.

ALL DONE!

Keep in mind, you can chose a smaller area to start with-maybe above a dresser, on an accent wall or even on the wall above your armchair. I have a smaller gallery of mirrored frames above my bar cart with family photos-looks very glam:)  The possibilities are endless when created your Gallery!

Hope you enjoyed!

XO

Jess

Styling:  Jessica Boskoff from Twenty Three Layers

Frames:  Amazon

Artwork: Etsy

Framed Artwork: One Kings Lane

 Hello! I wanted to share photos of a Winter Wonderland themed dinner party and how you can create the look too!

So for this look-I used mostly clear elements. The glassware, chargers, place cards and vases were all clear. The plates were a beautiful iridescent color which lent itself to the winter wonderland theme! With clear charger plates you can see right thru to the beautiful sequin tablecloth. So pretty and sparkly-thank you Sparkle Soirée

For the place cards we used round iridescent ornaments from Anthropologie which sat on a simple white cloth napkin. The plateware is from Ten Strawberry Street which you can find from Wayfair

My best advice is to set the table in advance! This way you won’t be stressed the day of when you realize you are missing something. Start moving around any furniture and set your table up to a week in advance! A cool trick for flowers-you can buy them fresh a couple days, even a week prior if you have a very cold place to store them in cold water. These tight tulips lasted almost 2 weeks in my garage before I brought them in from the freezing cold garage and they instantly started to open up as soon as the climate changed. To keep them bundled together I used iridescent pipe cleaners I bought from Michaels.

 It does help that I also have clear chairs for my dining room set! You can see straight thru the table right to the small dessert display I created. Which will be coming up in the next post-creating a cool (and very easy) dessert display.

Happy Holidays!

XO

Jess

Event Styling:  Jessica Boskoff from Twenty Three Layers

Iridescent Ornaments:  Anthropologie

Plateware: Wayfair

Custom Sequin Tablecloth: Sparkle Soirée

Hello Party People!

I had a small holiday soiree at my home this past weekend and decided what would be more fun than a photo booth? A fun idea just in time for the holidays!

I picked a corner of my living room where everyone was hanging out. Using a bench (you can use your sofa, loveseat, even chairs), I created a photo booth-it was that simple! I had a sign made in my favorite handwriting font-Always & Forever, and stuck it on the wall. You can buy poster board or use various materials and write “Photo Booth” on yourself. (thats why I like handwritten font, it looks like I wrote it!). I decorated the booth with paper goods from Etsy-one of my have shops, Charmingly Kristen. Tell her Jessica from 23 Layers sent you!

I bought a bunch of confetti poppers and push pops from Anthropologie and some basic photo booth props from Amazon

For another fun winter prop that guests can take home, I ordered these cute and inexpensive hats from Amazon for each of my guests! I had a Polaroid camera (or you can use a regular camera as well), which I left on the table so everyone was able to take a turn and snap some shots.

I had a white cage frame and pinned the polaroids to the board with festive glitter clothespins for everyone to see! You can also take a hollow frame and tie a wire from one side to another to hang the pictures from.

.

Hope this inspires you to create your own DIY photo booth!

XO

Jess

Event Styling:  Jessica Boskoff from Twenty Three Layers

Materials: Amazon, Anthropologie, Etsy

Hi All!

I wanted to share pics from the 2nd tablescape we did with Anthropologie last week during our holiday workshop! Heres an entirely different look than the first look (from our last blog post). Hope this gives you some fun ideas!

 Here is a close up shot the beautiful Anthropologie tableware. We used tree ornaments as an accent for the napkin-you can easily tie a placecard/name tag thru the ornament and wrap it around the napkin as one option. Or use a glitter clothespin and fasten the placecard to glassware like we did! We used ombre silverware to help pull out those smokey tones from the tablecloth and mixed and matched glassware together to create this gorgeous look!

Here’s a full shot of the tablescape! We added in some lovely frayed tulips, a couple of clear candelabras (from the 23 Layers closet), and of course the DIY mini champagne splits. Stay tuned for how to paint the bottles and other DIY tricks we used for the holiday workshop!

ENJOY!

xo

Jess

Event Styling:  Jessica Boskoff from Twenty Three Layers

Tableware: Anthropologie

Florals: Banchet

 Hi All!

So we are in full holiday mode here at the 23 Layers HQ. As the holiday entertaining workshops continue I wanted to share some photos from Tuesdays “Entertaining for the Holidays” event with Anthropologie at Soho House New York. Hope this can inspire you to get you started on your tablescape!

For this table we used a beautiful farmhouse white tablecloth and a gold sequin runner to add that special holiday touch. Very glamourous and fun! Gold silverware to keep within the theme as well as gold accented glassware. we mixed and matched plates, as well as napkin styles to add a bit of creativity to the look. You can keep the napkin on top, put it between the plate or hanging from underneath the bottom plate if you want to switch up the look! We tied it all together with an ornament which serves as the place card holder for the name tag.

And here is the result! Adding in ornaments and candlesticks as the centerpiece to complete the look. Very chic and fun for the holidays!

Thanks so much to those who attended the workshop, hope this helps start you out on the right track-stay tuned for the 2nd tablescape we created for the holidays.

xoxo

Jess

Styling & Design- Jessica Boskoff from Twenty Three Layers

Tableware-Anthropologie

We all know that holiday entertaining can be super stressful, so of course I’m here to help… Follow these tips on how to create the perfect tablescape and you will be more excited than ever!

Tip 1: Above is the first tip, which should get you off the ground. You can even pull accents from around your house you might think will work within the look.

Tip 2: This should be the fun bit. Pull out various sets of tableware you own and see what works. You will be surprised to find out how many combinations could be made from what you may already own! If you don’t have much at home, buy tableware and do some collecting throughout the year. So once you are ready to entertain you have lots to choose from.

Hi Everyone!

With the holidays coming up I wanted to share a rustic tablescape we created for West Elm during our workshop this past Saturday! Lots of fun, easy entertaining, and great ideas for your Thanksgiving table! Above are items we used which are good to keep on hand for when its your turn to host a dinner…

Here is the rustic tablescape we created mixing and matching various sets of dishes, placing small pellegrino’s at each station along with mini baguettes with a sprig of rosemary tied together with jute. It makes a perfect place card, and edible too! We also had tiny bottles of individual olive oil which allows guests to pour them into their mini dish already containing sea salt and herbs. Looks adorable, screams rustic, and the host doesn’t have to worry about the first drink or having something for the guests to nosh on!

Here is a shot featuring the printed menu we made and slipped right into a frame so guests know what they are having, without having to keep asking the  host!

We alternated 2 different styles, while staying within the same overall theme. For this pacesetting I used a slate placemat, different napkin pattern (which was placed underneath the plate, instead of on top) and a different appetizer plate.

A long shot of how pretty the table came out!

And here is the final result! Hope we gave you some fun ideas from our table to yours!

xo Jess

Hello Everyone!

I think its pretty clear that I love any sort of shelving-just so much fun to design!

Here are a few images of my guest room decor. My vision was something modern and playful, with pops of color, keeping it nice and fresh! Instead of packing the shelves of this bookcase the look was a bit more minimal. I used a picture frame, faux flowers, colorful candles, books and even a pillow for my accent pieces.  It looked quite nice against the cool and calm colors of the bedding and wallpaper, with the pink rug to tie it all in!

Or for another look, you could stock up the shelving piece with an array of pillows, trays and throw blankets. All usable pieces for when guests are looking to get comfy and settle in! Yep, you heard right, I have the same bookcase in the family room-its so versatile and can brighten up any room!

OK, happy designing:)

Styling By Jessica Boskoff

White Bookcase by CB2