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Archive for the ‘Centerpieces’ Category

Jelly Bean Centerpiece

Posted in Centerpieces, Easter, Entertaining Ideas, Holidays, tagged , , on April 20, 2011| 1 Comment »

Sorry for my lack of detailed photos today. I could give you 17 excuses why I don’t have any, but we’ll just go with the fact that it has been a bit of a crazy week so far.

Today, I wanted to share with you a fun and simple idea for Easter entertaining.

If you have no talent for arranging flowers or want something different as a centerpiece, find three or five wide mouth jars or vases (you can use however many you like, but keep the number odd).

Put a glass votive holder in each vase and put an unscented votive candle inside. Pour jelly beans all ready the votive holder, right up to its edge. Spread this out down your table or group together in the center. Use a strong fruity or spicy flavor of jelly beans. When you light the candle and the votive warms, the scent of the candy will fill the room. I don’t know about you, but some fun candy scents definitely make me think of Easter and baskets filled with goodies!

You could also use a large, flat shaped bowl and place in several votives then fill with jellybeans. This could also work with a hurricane vase and a larger candle.

Have fun with this and see how simple and fun entertaining at home can be!

She Who Needs to Find Some Jelly Beans

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Asparagus Centerpiece

Posted in Centerpieces, Easter, Entertaining Ideas, Holidays, tagged on April 19, 2011| Leave a Comment »

When I saw this centerpiece idea from Good Housekeeping, I was intrigued. Finally, a good use for asparagus!

I love the color combination of the purples with the green and it is just simple, beautiful and the raffia gives it a touch of country whimsy. If you follow the link above, you can get complete instructions on how to make it.

As you may have guessed, I am not a big fan of asparagus. As a matter of fact, I think I was probably 10 the last time I was forced to take a bite of it.

Asparagus used to grow wild along the ditchbanks on the farm and it was a great rite of spring to go find asparagus to pick. In my little 6-year-old head it was quite an adventure to wander along and pick the asparagus with mom or to tag along with dad irrigating and pick it while he worked.

For whatever crazy reason, my mom thought I should want to eat it once it was brought home and cooked. I hated it.  It was slimy and mushy and so green. Over the years she tried to get me to eat it but rarely could I choke down more than one bite.

I know most people think it is delightful and delicious and perfectly wonderful. I just wouldn’t be one of them.

So for me, this fun little centerpiece is a perfect way to utilize asparagus!

She Who Won’t Touch the Slimy Green Stuff

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How to Make an Easy Holiday Centerpiece

Posted in Centerpieces, Christmas, Entertaining at Home, Entertaining Ideas, Holidays, tagged , , on December 16, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Ever wanted a show-stopping centerpiece but just didn’t want to spend a small fortune or know how to make one?

Let me show you how! It is so easy. I spent about $5 on the materials on the day after Thanksgiving sale at our local craft store.

The materials you will need to make this centerpiece. A wreath, poinsettias (I used velvet), fake berries, some sparkly stems and ribbon. And don't forget the hot glue!

First, fluff up the greenery so it looks a bit more natural. If you are using a live wreath, make sure you set it on top of something that will catch sap and needles. I like artificial because there isn't any mess involved. After you've got your wreath all flouncy, start placing on the poinsettias.

Get them situated where you want them then hot glue them on (you can wire them, but glue is so much faster!).

 

Once you have the poinsettias glued on, start adding in little sprigs of berries. You can keep it sparse or go with my theory that more is better! (I use that theory with chocolate... a lot!)

The next step is to add some sparkle. You can use glittery branches, sparkly stems, whatever tickles your fancy.

Ribbon is the final touch to your centerpiece. You can weave it around the wreath, or just tie a big bow and attach to the front. I would recommend wiring the bow on because it is easier to handle than trying to glue.

Finish with a hurricane and a candle. If you don't have a hurricane, use a footed bowl. If you don't have one of those, just put in a clear glass bowl and filled with ornaments or nestle in some votives.

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Limes and Flowers Make Centerpiece Magic

Posted in Centerpieces, Entertaining at Home, Entertaining Ideas, Quick and Easy, tagged , , , , on May 18, 2010| 3 Comments »

If you are looking for a centerpiece that brings a “Wow” factor to your table, think about combining unusual elements together.

One combination that I love is a vase filled with sliced limes topped with a bouquet of flowers. Not only is it a striking visual element on your table the smell of the limes mixing with the florals creates an appealing scent.

This centerpiece doesn’t take that long to put together, but really makes a statement.

To create it you will need:

6-8 limes (depending on size)

a hurricane vase

a plain glass  florist vase

6-8 stems of a “drapey” flower

6-8 stems of a “stalk” flower

10-12 stems of a “blooming” flower

To assemble, start by slicing your limes. I make the slices pretty thin.

When you are finished with that, put the plain florist vase inside the hurricane. It is okay if the florist vase sticks up a bit because the top will be hidden anyway.

Once the vase is in place, start layering in the limes until you’ve got them going up to the top of the hurricane. Fill both the hurricane and the plain vase with water.

Start arranging the flower stems inside the plain vase. I use the “drapey” flowers around the outside edge of the vase in particular,to hide the edges. The “stalk flowers” create some texture and height appeal while the “blooming” flowers add bright pops of color and texture.For this arrangement I used cuttings from a snowball bush that had not yet bloomed for my “drapey” flowers, lavender stems for my “stalk” flowers and peonies for the “blooming” flowers.

Have fun with this, be creative and remember there aren’t any rules set in stone about how this has to look. You could also substitute lemon or orange slices and you could use any combination of flowers and greenery. If you want dramatic height, you could even throw in a few tree branches.

Happy Entertaining!

Shanna

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