Christmas Mantel with Candles

Christmas Mantel with Candles

The candles are battery operated.  At first I tried suction cups to hold the bows, but they wouldn't work.  I ended up using stocking holders for the bows.

Elf on the Shelf!

...and that's my 2 cents' worth, Cheryl

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Fall Tablescape II Using Spray-Painted Magnolia

Fall Tablescape II Using Spray-Painted Magnolia

After using these magnolia cuttings on a luncheon table while they were green, I let them dry out, spray-painted them gold, and used them again for a dinner party in November! 

Cut off the leaves that are facing down

Magnolia leaves have two sides.  The side that was green takes spray paint very well!  The back side does NOT, so I just left the brown back sides alone.  The first thing I did was cut off the magnolia leaves that were facing down.  

Then I spray painted the remaining leaves. 

I bought these at Hobby Lobby

I found these fake/replica berry stems at Hobby Lobby.  I used the brown and cream ones for this arrangement.  Can’t wait to use the red ones next month.

I bought this cluster of crystallized fruit so long ago that I don’t remember where I got it… probably somewhere like Country Boys.  After setting the fruit into my gold bowl, I used Spanish moss to “pretty-it-up”.  My “go-to” Problem Solver is Spanish moss!  It fills in cracks and covers anything that is ugly.

I placed the berry stems and a fern stem as shown and did that on each side since my table is rectangular.  

I then used the painted magnolia cuttings to put at the base of the bowl
and cover the bare part of the stems.

After I told my sister Jill that I could add little pine cones or acorns if I had some, she insisted that I borrow some acorns that she had just purchased from A“door”able Creations by Debbie. 

Finished arrangement

Enjoy the holidays!

...and that's my 2 cents' worth, Cheryl

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If you enjoyed this article, you might also enjoy seeing photos of the table in which I used the fresh magnolia: http://cheryls2centsworth.blogspot.com/2013/10/fall-tablescape-using-spray-painted.html


Home page of my blog:  http://www.Cheryls2CentsWorth.blogspot.com

Fall Tablescape Using Magnolia and Spray-Painted Hydrangeas

Fall Tablescape Using Magnolia and Spray-Painted Hydrangeas

 

Fall Tablescape

It’s fall.  The mornings and evenings are cool and the days are beautiful.  The stores place their Halloween candy strategically where you pass it a hundred times as you walk down the aisles.   Butterfingers!  Aghhhh.

My friend Valerie had a big birthday recently, so some friends and I had a surprise luncheon for her.  For the table, I had picked up some artificial, mini pumpkins/gourds.  They looked so real that the lady in the checkout line behind me asked me if they were real or not.  Now that’s a good fake.  I also picked up some burlap garland because HELLO – burlap is IN.  I found some glittery leaves … and what girl doesn’t appreciate a little bit of bling?

Fake gourds, Burlap Garland, Glittery Leaves

I also stumbled upon CARVABLE, fake pumpkins and picked up one of those.

Ironically, it is my friend Valerie who told me that almost every year, she lets her hydrangeas dry on the plants, cuts the stems, spray paints them gold and silver, and decorates her house and table with them. 

Most of my hydrangeas weren’t dry enough at the end of September, so I cut them and dried them on my porch.  I have a great piece of furniture for drying flowers… all I need are clothespins!

Drying hydrangeas on my porch

When spray-painting the limelight hydrangeas, I purposely didn’t cover every square inch because it gives them more texture and you can tell they are real flowers.

I used Krylon ColorMaster Gold, Metallic Spray Paint (WalMart)

I cut a hole (the size of an old glass of mine) in the top of the carvable pumpkin.  I use the word carvable very loosely, because I will be honest – this thing was hard to cut.  Even using one of my new, colorful, sharp knives that I bought on sale from Costco recently, it was HARD.  I stuck the old glass in the hole, glued it in, and then I glued Spanish moss around the edge.  In the future, I can use this for real flowers with water.

It helps to have a sister like Jill who brings magnolia leaves that she has cut from her yard OR from the entrance to her neighborhood...  mum’s the word… what the HOA doesn’t know won’t hurt them…  Jill cut the magnolia so that there were about 6-10 leaves per cluster.

Sweet sister Jill

After putting the magnolia on the table, swirl the burlap ribbon throughout the magnolia leaves.

Add the mini gourds and the glittery leaves.  I used 10 gourds, but 15 would have been better.

I know that the magnolia swallowed up the base of the center arrangement – but I didn’t care – because the magnolia was so pretty.

The finished table

Three things I did after the party…

I couldn’t resist buying this red Glitter Paint.  It doesn’t go on very heavy, so I would suggest using a cheaper spray as a base coat, and then spray this as a top coat.  Love this for Christmas!

LOVE this Krylon Glitter Blast spray paint for Christmas! (Cherry Bomb)

I dried and then spray-painted about seven tardiva hydrangea stems.  I put them in a vase with 3 dried pussy willow branches.

Tardiva hydrangea stems (dried, spray-painted) with dried pussy willow branches

After the magnolia dried, I spray-painted it and I love it!!  I will use it later this season.

Magnolia, dried and then spray-painted

Happy fall! 

...and that's my 2 cents' worth, Cheryl

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Mini Flower Arrangements and Simple Arrangements

Mini Flower Arrangements and Simple Arrangements

Asiatic lilies, Hydrangeas, Twist-n-Shout Hydrangeas

Don’t underestimate the power of The Mini Arrangement.  It’s a little bit of sunshine.  It’s a day brightener.  It’s a happy thing.

When my friend Stefi had a dinner party one time, everyone complimented her on her beautiful flower arrangement.  She said that when she ordered it from the florist, she told them that she wanted it to look like she went out into her backyard, cut a bunch of flowers, and stuck them in a vase.  That’s exactly what it looked like and it was BEAUTIFUL.  It, HOWEVER, takes experience to create that look (with a bunch of different flowers).  The arrangements in this article are truly SIMPLE and a good place to start if you are a newbie in the flower-arranging department.  You may feel like you don't have an artsy bone in your body, but give these arrangements a try.



Gardenias, Garden Phlox, Dwarf Crape Myrtle
The phlox is in a cordial - normally used to serve after-dinner liqueurs
The crape myrtle is in a container normally used to serve cream

You don’t have to have a vase to bring flowers inside the house.  In this article, in addition to vases, I used candleholders, pitchers,  mugs, a mason jar, and a beer stein.



Butterfly bush and lantana. "A good use for a beer stein," said no male ever.

Whenever I would entertain, my mom would almost always come over a day or two early.  She would help me set the table and make a centerpiece for the table.  Years ago, she/we (okay… she) made a beautiful arrangement for a dinner party that I was having.  As we were sitting down, our friend Todd noticed that the arrangement was too high and that it blocked his view of the people across the table from him, so he asked politely if he could move it.  Of course I said “sure” and away it went.  Note to self:  bigger arrangement doesn’t mean better.  When you’re sitting at a table to eat, several smaller arrangements really are better so that no one has to lean over to see another person at the table.

When I spotted this square, squatty vase at Greenskeeper Florist in Pawleys Island, SC, I bought all that they had left (6) – 3 for each side of a candle centerpiece in the dining room OR for a bathroom OR for a kitchen counter OR for a smaller table OR for a dresser… OR for 3 in the center of the table and one on each side, ETC.



These are mostly 'Endless Summer - The Original' hydrangeas.  I cut them at different times and they are planted in different areas of my yard.  In the top-left photo, I added some butterfly bush buds to give it an Asian flair.  In the photos on the right, I used peony greenery because my peonies had already bloomed and I didn't mind stealing foliage from them. Same vase in all 4 photos.



Merritt's Supreme Pink hydrangeas.  In the left photos, I used candleholders instead of "vases".  Top-right - mint julep cup.  Bottom-right, I put it in a bathroom with three votive candles in glass holders.

Being the Safety Nazi that I am, I must caution you to be careful putting candles in bathrooms.  My friend Lynn E caught her bathroom on fire during a Christmas party.  A lit candle on the back of her toilet caught a wicker shelf above it on fire.  Luckily her husband walked down the hall and saw something flicker in the bathroom. Flames were climbing up the wall.  Some early guests helped them put out the fire.   Hmmm… “Come for Hors D’oevres and Firefighting.”  Since they had to open all of the windows, they all froze.  Her guests had to use her “tacky” laundry room bathroom for the party.  (Her words, not mine.)  As if that weren’t enough, for some reason the power went out half-way through the party.  Her brother called it The Party from Hell!

Daylily.  On the left, I added gardenia greenery.  On the right, it is a single daylily blossom in a votive holder.  Simple but beautiful.  I bought this daylily plant [at the S.C. Botanical Garden Spring Sale] because of its name, Lies and Lipstick.  Cool name. 

Tardiva hydrangeas.  In the left photo,  the stems are floppier because the vase has a wider mouth than the vase in the middle photo.  On the right, I used a black, ceramic pitcher and added more greenery from the same plant to make a "skirt".  

Tardiva hydrangeas.  To correct the floppiness in the upper-left photo, I used rubber bands to tie the 3 stems together.  I then used bubble wrap to position it in the pitcher where I wanted it.  The result is the upper-right photo.

My go-to plants if I want to add some greenery are gardenias, rosemary, and peonies.  In the winter, I often do an arrangement with just rosemary.

Why did I use short stems of gayfeather in the following photos? …  those were the stems that I cut because the rain beat them down and they were growing either sideways or crooked or upside down.  Therefore, these arrangements were made basically out of garbage.

Gayfeather.    L: with rosemary and a little bit of gardenia greenery.   R: with gardenia greenery.

The eucalyptus in this vase was the byproduct of pruning my eucalyptus.  I just gathered up what was on the ground, brought it into the porch, and cut some stems close to the same size.  Again, this arrangement was made basically out of garbage.

L: large, plastic margarita glass holding Twist-n-Shout hydrangeas
Middle: this Blushing Bride hydrangea reminds me of an ice cream float!
R: the Blushing Bride hydrangea in the silver baby mug gives it a different look

If you are hosting a bridal shower or a bridesmaids’ luncheon, see what stemware/glasses the bride and groom registered.  You could buy about 6 of their glasses, use them on the table to hold flowers, and then give them to the bride/couple as a gift.  You could also do something similar using coffee mugs.

Annabelle hydrangea.  Top L: Japanese pussy willow greenery. 
Bottom L: Rose of Sharon greenery. Top and bottom R: hydrangea greenery.

Day-lilies and hibiscus need to be cut the day that you are going to use them.  
Cut them in the morning.
L: Day-lilies with gardenia greenery. R: Hibiscus in little votive holders

Hydrangeas.  Top L: This article wouldn’t be complete without a photo of a mason jar!  Anyone who has looked at Pinterest knows that mason jars are IN!  Top L: Green vase with florist marbles.  Bottom L: Fun, fruity, Fitz & Floyd pitcher.  Bottom R: mint julep cup.

Hydrangeas.  Top L: with gardenia greenery in a glass bowl.
Bottom L: container normally used to serve cream.  R: rosemary and gardenia greenery

Limelight hydrangeas.  I cut these for my sister Jill when she was having a big party.  She put them in her kitchen with about 10 limes at the base of the pitcher to bring out the green in the flowers.  I cut all of these stems from the same one-gallon plant that I planted about 2 years ago! 

Had to show off my new black ceramic pitcher. Love.
The greenery with the single hydrangea stem is Rose of Sharon.

Yes, OK, I am obsessed with hydrangeas.  Right now I have 21 different species in my yard and I have 3 more species being delivered next month that I can’t find locally.  I had to make a hydrangea chart so I can keep them all straight and know when to prune each of the species.   I will blog about that soon!

Better look at most of the larger pitchers and tall vases that I used

Better look at most of the glasses, candleholders, and smaller vases that I used

Blooper!  My Tropicanna Lilies are just too WIMPY to use in an arrangement, but I had to post this for my friend Patti, a Georgia Tech fan.  The greenery is Japanese pussy willow.  This is so EDGY but needs a different kind of yellow flower.

If you enjoyed this article, check back to learn how to make this silk flower arrangement.

If you enjoyed this article and like HYDRANGEAS, you might enjoy my article on the 27+ Types of Hydrangeas That I Grow in My Yard...

http://cheryls2centsworth.blogspot.com/2014/02/chart-of-27-types-of-hydrangeas-that-i.html

Happy arranging!

...and that's my 2 cents' worth, Cheryl

To subscribe to this blog (receive e-mail notification when there is a new post), e-mail Cheryls2CentsWorth@gmail.com and write “Subscribe” in the Subject line. Thanks! To stop receiving e-mail notifications, write “Unsubscribe” in the Subject line.

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