April 2010

Boring Vases Get “Hosed”

Flower arrangements are usually delivered in basic glass vases. I think we all have that moment when the flowers pass and we wonder if we should chuck or donate the left over vase to a thrift store. Recently, I came up with a simple way to transform these generic vessels into something you might actually want to display…

Having A Party? Bring Out The Laundry Basket

A vintage laundry basket is transformed into a wine cooler with the addition of a plastic liner. You’ll need a laundry basket, plastic drop cloth, jute, a large sewing needle and scissors…

Grapefruit Planter

My daughters love grapefruit – it’s their favorite breakfast. As I was cleaning the morning dishes – I couldn’t toss this leftover skin – the cheerful yellow color and the perfect shape reminded me of brightly colored pottery – which got me thinking…

Make Your Own Bottled Water

Instead of placing a pitcher of water or a bottle of San Pellegrino on the table – try reusing a great looking wine bottle to hold your water. Every so often, I find old wine bottles at resale shops and I can’t resist buying them. The older, Italian wine bottles have a lovely shape. I clean them thoroughly with a bottle brush and fill them with chilled tap water…

More Candlestick Tricks

I love to have something interesting on the table when I entertain. I filled a crystal decanter with water, placed a clipping from our pear tree inside and stuck a candle into the opening to create this look…

Toast Spoons On A Sunday Morning

Toast spoons – not the everyday breakfast, but certainly fun for a Sunday morning treat for the kids…

Candlestick Tricks

I found these ceiling fixtures at a garage sale this weekend – I paid $8.00 for the pair. Using a candle adhesive – I stuck candles into the socket and gave these old fixtures a new life as candlesticks…

Twine Vases

I love the look of spools of twine – I decorate with them often. To make these – I dropped a plastic shot glass into the center of a spool of twine, filled it with water and added short cut flowers…