6 Easy-To-Make Holiday Centerpieces

Need some inspiration for your holiday table? Here are some ideas you can do yourself, or take to your florist.

A bark basket is filled with pine greens, twigs from a craft store, pine cones and berries. Buy large pine cones and use florist wire to wrap floral sticks to them. Place into oasis to create this beautiful centerpiece for a table or your coffee table.

This is a photo of my sister-in-law’s dining room. She lives in Verbier, Switzerland. You can’t see it, but a beautiful waterfall tumbles behind the window. Here, she’s get a beautiful basket, wrapped with leaves and tied with twine. The basket it filled with hydrangeas. Simple and lovely. If you can’t find hydrangeas, use another full flower.

I made this simple centerpiece using a wood, leaf-shaped basket from Scout, a home store in Royal Oak ($54.00). I used pine cuttings from the yard and layered large pine cones on top. Another cutting from a tree, tied with a satin ribbon, finishes the look.

This is another simple idea you can do yourself. Square, decorative boxes are lined with votives filled with water and a litte oasis. Pine cuttings and wild flowers are placed to create small, simple centerpieces. Make several and line them along the table, alternating votives candles.

I like this more abstract idea. You can use just about any sort of vase you have and fill them will a variety of roses and other flowers to create a colorful setting that matches your dishes. You can spray paint leaves to create even more bling factor.

This lovely idea using paperwhites is from My Sweet Savannah. Check out her blog for even more ideas.

DH Giveaway: Enter To Win “The Vintage Table”

I think The Vintage Table is a book a lot of you will be interested in adding to your library. Or, perhaps you know someone else who would. Now you have a change to be one of the first to own a copy – before its official release on December 29th.

The publisher of¬† The Vintage Table, by Jacqueline DeMontravel, sent me an advance copy to review. It’s very difficult to give this book away. It’s right up my alley. French, vintage and tabletop. If you also collect vintage textiles, you will adore this book. I also love the fact that it covers more than just¬† place settings. You’ll find inspirational ideas for dressing up all kinds of things from end tables to shelves. There are lots of beautiful photos along the way.

Jacqueline discusses collections as well. It’s all decidedly French, so you know I love that. My apartment in Paris is waiting for me. I’ll be there one of these days!

How To Enter

To win this book, simply leave a comment under any of this week’s giveaway posts. I’d like to see if I can get a discussion going about how you like to “decorate” your tables. Do you place photos on the mantle, or do you think that’s boring? Do you have a style secret you’d like to offer us? Decorating tabletops is my weak point, so I need your tips! If you’re feeling shy, just say hello and you’re still entered to win.

The winner will be drawn, at random, on Saturday, December 12th. The contest is open to everyone living in the US and Canada. If you’ve won a giveaway in the last¬† months, please let everyone else have a chance.

Good luck and let’s have some fun!

Erin Ruth Gift Wrap

I’m taking the day off to catch up on some personal stuff. Be back tomorrow! Don’t forget to enter by giveaways!

In the meantime, take a peek at Erin Ruth’s beautifully tasteful gift wrap. It’s now on sale at her Etsy shop.

See everyone tomorrow!

DH Giveaways!

Have you entered to win one of the two giveaways I’m running this week? Why not?

Speaking of Christmas ornaments, (see earlier post) Grosse Pointe’s own Village Palm has donated this top drawer set of Lilly Pulitzer photo frame Christmas ornaments. To enter, simply leave a comment and let me know your secret preppy name. Mine is Tucky. Is yours Biff?

And, if you’re taking the week off between Christmas and New Years, why not use the time to spruce up a room in your home? Benjamin Moore’s Paint Style book will give you lots of ideas and tips on how to paint a room and create a new look instantly. Don’t forget to send me the Before and After photos! To enter, leave a comment and let me know you want the book.

You can certainly enter to win both. There will be two winners, chosen at random. The contest runs through Friday and is open to everyone living in the US and Canada. I’ll announce the winner on Saturday.

Enter now!

4 Beautiful Holiday Place Setting Ideas

How do you set the perfect table for the holidays? Here are four ideas I dreamed up to help and inspire you. Plus, a few of my usual tips so you can create your own special table.

Traditional Christmas

Owning a set of Christmas dishes is a wonderful thing. It adds to the traditional atmosphere of the day. A special set, like Grenadiers (Bernardaud, $67.00 dinner plate) becomes a family heirloom.

For this place setting I started with a cotton place mat with holiday embroidery (C&W Imports, $7.00). To show off the dinner¬† plate I placed a burgundy charger underneath to create contrast (Picard, $99.00). The salad plate (Decor Or from JL Coquet Limoges, $124.00) in a style that complements the plate. I’m not a master napkin folder, I made a simple fold using a matching embroidered napkin (C&W Imports, $7.00) to finish the setting.

For accents, keep things traditional with cut crystal stemware. Candles candles should match the plates. Different heights are nice.

Vintage Simplicity

Sometimes the best things in life come from garage sales. That’s where I found these napkins. They make great placemats. Because they’re not a traditional size, I’d start with a white tablecloth with the placemats on top. The dishes are vintage Lenox – the Cretin pattern from the 1960′s.

I kept this simple, with stainless flatware and a vintage, handmade wine glass I bought on a trip to Venice. The “focal point” is a handmade Christmas ornament.

A Sophisticated Table

I wrote about the nxt two place setting last week, but decided to put them all together in one post. Hope you don’t mind! I wanted to show how you can dress a place setting by creating a focal point. A small dish in the center of the dinner plate focuses the eye on the center. I added a matching glass ornament, tied with a satin ribbon to finish the look.

The dishes are a charger (Anciennes Manufacture Royale, $150) topped with one of the most beautiful dishes in the world – Herend’s Elizabeth ($250.00). The focal point dish is Gold Leaf by Bernardaud, $79.00. I used a contrasting napkin at set it above the plate just to be different. A snowflake napkin ring is a nice touch.

Casual Christmas

IF you own a nice set of everyday dishes, you can dress them up for the holidays with linens. At yet another estate sale I found this handmade lace tablecloth. That adds some nice texture. Christmas colors set the holiday mood. I used a green placemat (Bodrum, $15.00) with a country-style red and white napkin (Williamsburg, $5.50). The beautiful dishes are from Juliska. I centered the look with a cutting from the garden, tied with a red satin ribbon.

Jennifer’s Tips

• Use natural fibers. All cotton, linen and satin are the key to a perfect table setting. Synthetic fabrics don’t have the same look or feel. Satin or grosgrain ribbon are good choices because they don’t look like gift wrap.
• Create a focal point with a small dish and a napkin or Christmas ornament. A dreidel is another perfect choice.
• Buy a set of matching wine glasses. You can find stemware at the grocery store!

I’d like the thank The League Shop for lending me all the pieces for my place settings. They sell things both contemporary and traditional. If you live in Detroit, pay them a visit. We all need to buy locally. If you live elsewhere, you can still call the shop – they’ll be happy to place an order over the phone.

Do you have a favorite place setting idea?