Posts Tagged ‘tabletop’

December 18th, 2012 No Comments

holiday place settings- keep it simple & start now

A lot of people have been e-mailing me asking how to keep their place setting easy to do for the holidays. Instructions for napkin folds and difficult crafts aren’t so realistic during the busy holiday season, I know.  In the evenings leading up to the holidays I try to do at least one task to prepare for the rush of Christmas and New Years. For instance, tonight I’ll iron the napkins and tablecloth so they are ready. A very simple, but elegant place setting is to fold the napkins into a rectangle, and put a beautiful ribbon around the napkin- … Read more

December 4th, 2012 No Comments

tabletop: 2 ways to liven up your place setting

One wooden button, used two different ways. I found these simple wood buttons at Michael’s and painted them red (this took less than 15 minutes using “craft smart” metallic paint in red). The first idea is a classic red and white place setting using white round plates, red linen napkins and red grosgrain ribbon tied through the button holes to make 2 bows. The second idea uses favor boxes at each place setting. Each box is wrapped in wrapping paper, and the button is bound on top of the box with two pieces of burgundy velvet ribbon. I … Read more

November 27th, 2012 No Comments

tabletop: incorporate felt for a wintery feel

This table setting starts with basic elements that most everyone has- a white tablecloth, silverware, clear glass tumblers, white plates… but add in blue felt placemats and white felt favor wrappers with blue ribbon and they make it feel more like a welcoming winter table setting. Combine with our Feathered Dessert Plate from Jars and this is a perfect holiday setting in our blue, silver and white color palette. All tabletop products are available from our shop and for the holidays are 20% off with free shipping! Use code Holiday12 and the percentage … Read more

November 20th, 2012 No Comments

hors d’oeuvres- serve them up in style

Last minute guests? Treat yourself to some stylish servers, bowls & spoons for your dips, veggies and cocktail munchies this holiday season.  I love to use our felt placemats on the table instead of a tray to add color and  place my servers and bowls on these (they also work great as trivets if you are serving something hot). Then I fill our stainless steel hors d’oeuvres bowl with veggies or nuts and I usually fill some individual matte and shiny bowls with dips, peanuts, dried fruit etc. so there is plenty to snack on with cocktails. To … Read more

November 13th, 2012 No Comments

simple thanksgiving decor -burlap & votives

A lot of people stress out about setting a table for Thanksgiving and I get a lot of questions about how to set a unique table without breaking the bank. BURLAP. I love taking burlap from the local garden supply store (about $1 per yard) and using it as a textural and inexpensive tablecloth. It’s simple and unexpected, but it will be welcomed by friends and family as a refreshing change from the usual cloth. My ‘stylist’ secret to making a burlap cloth work is to mix in high and low tableware. Here I’ve mixed in simple wood salt … Read more

October 30th, 2012 No Comments

simple fern placesetting

Having friends over at the last minute and want to dress up your table setting? Place a beautiful fern in the center of your table and snip off some leaves to dress up each placesetting. Most of us have a fern either in our homes or on our patio, so you might not even have to run to the florist or store for fresh flowers. I placed two fern limbs secured with a ribbon at the base at each placesetting on top of a crisp white linen napkin. If you don’t have green ribbon handy even some kitchen twine would … Read more

October 23rd, 2012 No Comments

add layers of texture to your table setting

By layering different textures when setting a table you can add visual interest. Here I set a deep gray wood table with charcoal gray felt placemats. Then I added horn handled flatware and glazed china with a fine gauge gray linen napkin. A little whimsy never hurts either. I love to use these faux birds (see photos below) which you can find at most any craft store. I placed a bird in a cup of peanuts leaning over a glass tumbler like he’s going to take a drink. Individual little cups at each placesetting are a nice detail- whether you … Read more

September 25th, 2012 No Comments

Vanilla apple crush cocktail (by donna hay)

This is a perfect drink for September, created by my favorite recipe expert, Donna Hay and it fits right in our color palette this week. I have a lot of different glasses at my store that would be perfect for this cocktail. Let me suggest a few for you. From left to right:  Basic Glass Tumbler Small, $6.50 each, Idra Tumblers, $295 for set of 6, each glass has a different design so everyone knows what glass is theirs, Glass Family Tumblers, $8 each (for any of the three sizes shown). Enjoy FREE SHIPPING on my site … Read more

August 14th, 2012 1 Comment

tuesday’s tabletop: succulent centerpieces

I was asked to design a table for Hampton Cottages and Gardens for the Hampton Classic (an equestrian competition). It was very last minute and the event was outside in very hot, humid temperatures. Traditional flowers might not hold up in the heat- so I chose to use different varieties of succulents, so I was sure it would look crisp and clean. I used different sized Jars bowls and Mud Australia bowls (available from my store) to plant the succulents in and topped off the dirt with small white seashells to finish the centerpieces. The tables were all … Read more

August 7th, 2012 No Comments

tuesday’s tabletop: tomato placecard holder & corn grit votive holder

Personalizing a lunch or dinner for friends can be very easy and not so overwhelming. Here using the colors in our tomato color palette this week, all I did was take a toothpick, a piece of paper cut into a flag shape with my friends’ names and poked it into a cherry tomato as a place card holder. This could be an easy lunch or dinner for friends and family. I used fresh vegetables along a cutting board as the centerpiece and served corn soup with cherry tomatoes and crackers as the starter. I took dry corn grits and filled … Read more