Holiday DIY: Pie of Roses

Yesterday we talked about some great ways you can decorate your home last minute. However, if you have some extra time on your hands and want to make something special I have a beautiful DIY for you to try. It’s blissfully simple, but something you’ll have to make the day of or the day before you plan to use it since flowers are so fragile. This makes a great statement piece on your holiday table.

Materials:

• Ceramic pie plate
• Roses
• Ribbon
• Oasis floral foam
  
• Flower shears

Directions:
1) Prepare oasis floral foam to fit snugly into the pie plate. Make sure the top of the foam is flush with the edge of the plate.

2) Cut stems of roses so that you have just enough to stick into the foam. I’m approximating 2 inches, but it could vary depending on the depth of your pie plate. Place roses artfully all around the foam to fill the pie plate.

3) Take your ribbon and form a lattice-work pattern over your flowers. Cut the ribbon into strips and lay them horizontally across the roses, then lay the other ribbon strips vertically across those.

4) Place on your table and wait for the Oohs and Aahs.

Last Minute Christmas Décor Tips

It’s almost the big day! Here are some last minute ideas for your Christmas decorating:

Tip #1: I always suggest having at least one dramatic statement. I think a great one for Christmas would be to get a small Christmas tree and put it right in the center of your dining table (similar to what we did in the picture above). And instead of covering it with ornaments I would use white orchids to decorate it.

Tip #2: Christmas lights are always fun to work with. I like using all white ones and using them in a non-traditional way. For example they could be your window or wall décor. You could string them up and down a window in very straight lines to make sure it doesn’t look messy

Tip #3: Around the holidays smells always bring us back to childhood. I like to mix cinnamon sticks, cloves, all spice, and nutmeg all together and put into a pot of boiling water so when my guests arrive the first thing that hits them is that comforting smell.

Tip #4: I love Christmas wreaths but not to hang on my door. They are great as the base of a vase or a large hurricane votive holder.

Do you have any tips to share? Let me know in the comments.

Holiday Inspiration Photo: Paper Christmas Decorations

It’s the week of Christmas. You’ve wrapped all the presents and now you have all this extra gift wrapping paper left. What to do? How about incorporating some of that paper into décor for your house? You’ll be surprised at how versatile gift wrapping paper can be (unless, of course, you chose that Sponge Bob as Santa gift wrapping paper—that may be more limited). A few pictures to inspire you:

Here, I used gift wrapping paper as a table runner. I also used the same paper to decorate plain votive candle holders. More on that below.

I wrapped pine tree patterned wrapping paper around votive candle holders and placed them on cake stands to form a faux-Christmas tree.

Another take on the paper as decoration for votive holders, but this time I cut the paper out for the holder to sit in.

Tomorrow, I’ll have some more last minute décor ideas for Christmas (in case you’re still trying to figure out how to make your home look extra special for the holidays).

DIY Thanksgiving: Napkin Décor

If you’re tired of using plain white napkins every year for your special dinner, try adding a little color and surprise with this simple napkin decoration. You can keep it monochromatic like we did, or you can layer different complementary colors to add a rainbow to your table.

Materials:

• White napkin (cloth or paper based on how casual or formal your dining table is)
• Hot glue gun
• Colored Paper
• Scissors
• Small colored poofs (These can be found at any local craft store)
• Colored ribbon

Instructions:

1. Cut your colored paper into any shape you’d like. We used hearts here. Cut two pieces for each napkin you’ll be using (e.g. 16 pieces of paper for your table of 8). After you’ve cut all your shapes, take half of the pieces of paper (e.g. 8 of the 16) and set them aside. With the remaining pieces, take your colored poofs and hot glue them neatly on to the paper. We started by gluing the poofs along the outer border of the heart and worked our way inward. Set pieces aside to dry.

2. Fold your white napkins neatly into a rectangular shape. Take your colored ribbon and wrap each white napkin. Secure the ribbon by hot gluing the ends together behind the napkin. Take the pieces of paper you set aside and place them inside the ribbon of each napkin.

3. At your dining table, place your napkins down next to each plate and add the decorated paper (with the poofs) on top of the ribbon, a little offset, so you can see the other layer of paper beneath it. Finish off with silverware and you’re all set.

As always, please don’t forget to share pictures of your creations. Email them to my editor: Karell@prestonbailey.com, or post on your blog and leave the link in the comments.

DIY Thanksgiving: Fruit Topiary

Here’s a charming fruit topiary for your Thanksgiving table. By combining various types of fruit in shades of one color, you’ll have an elegant and striking centerpiece. (The other nice thing about this project? It’s simpler than you might think to re-create it.)

Materials:

• Foam ball with 4-5” diameter, size could vary depending on the size of your planter (You can find these in a local craft store like Michael’s.) 
• Leftover foam to use as filler, or you could also take old newspapers and crumple them into balls 
• Round planter (Though actually, you could use a square or rectangular one too. Whatever you have around the house.) 
• Plaster 
• Plastic cup 
• Two branches (be sure to choose some that are a little thicker so they can hold the weight of the fruit) 
• Shears 
• Barbecue sticks 
• Various fruit: We used two different types of grapes, plums and cranberries 
• Thin wire

Instructions:

1. The first step is to prep the branches to act as the base of your topiary. We mixed up the plaster (follow instructions on the bag), poured it into the plastic cup and placed the two branches in the center of the cup. Let plaster dry. Once dry, stick foam ball at the top end of the sticks. Place the plastic cup in the center of your planter. Then, take your leftover foam or newspaper balls and fill in the empty spaces around the cup to secure it. If you want to be extra sure the cup will stay in place, you can hot glue the cup into the planter.

2. Take your various pieces of fruit and stick them onto the ends of the barbecue sticks. (See the materials image for an example.) Reserve cranberries (or whatever fruit you’d like) to cover the top of your planter. To secure the grape bunches on to the barbecue sticks, wrap the thin wire around the grape vine and barbecue stick.

3. Once you have all your fruit prepped, start to place them in to your foam ball. Feel free to get creative. If you want to be more methodical, start with one type of fruit (for example: all the plums) and place them randomly around the foam ball. Then, move on to the grapes and the rest of the fruit. There’s really no “wrong” way to do this. As long as you cover all the foam, your topiary will be a success. Once you’ve covered the ball, don’t forget to place the cranberries (or whatever fruit you’d like to use) on the top of the planter to cover the plastic cup and filler.

4. Place on your Thanksgiving table and enjoy.

Don’t forget to share pictures of your creations. Email them to my editor: Karell@prestonbailey.com, or post on your blog and leave the link in the comments.

DIY Thanksgiving: Decorated Ribbon Vase

It’s amazing how versatile ribbon is. In the last project we used it to transform a simple cardboard box into a fruit bowl, and this week we’ll use it to enhance the beauty of a plain glass vessel.

Materials:

• Glass vase 
• Two types of ribbons in complimentary colors. We recommend one thick in width and one thin. Be sure to choose colors that will match or enhance the color of the flowers you’d like to use. 
• Scissors 
• Tape

Instructions:

1. Before you begin, make sure your glass vase is clean without dust, inside and out. Then, you can proceed by taking one end of the wide ribbon and taping it to the center bottom of one side of the vase.

2. Keeping the ribbon flat against the vase, wrap it around the vase, covering all sides until you get to to the top. Once you get to the top, tape that end of the ribbon on to the back side of the vase so that no one will see it.

3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 using the thin ribbon, except when you get to the top of the vase, tie the ribbon into a bow instead of taping the end to the vase.

4. Pick a complimentary colored bouquet of flowers, fill the vase and you’re finished.

Like I mentioned last time, I’d love to see your version of these DIYs. Feel free to email them to my editor Karell@prestonbailey.com, or if you have your own blog, post them on your blog and leave me the link in the comments. Enjoy!

DIY Thanksgiving: Handmade Fruit Bowl

This versatile container is beautifully simple, made from cardboard and decorated just with ribbons. It can be used to accessorize your Thanksgiving table to showcase your fresh fruit.



Materials:

• Stapler
• Ribbon (In whatever color you’d like—we used purple here.) 
• Cardboard container (Dig around and see what you can find in your closet. We used a circular one, but you can use a square, rectangle or whatever you have available.) 
• Scissors
• Hot glue gun 
• Tape

Instructions:  

1) To turn our plain Jane box into something more spectacular, we’re going to cover the surface area with looped ribbons. To begin, cut pieces of ribbon into 4 inch strips. The number of strips you’ll need will depend on how large your container is, so you’ll have to guesstimate on the number of strips to cut. I would suggest 50 to start.

2) Take one ribbon strip and fold it over itself (without creating a crease) to make a loop. How full you want the loops to be will dependent on its relation to the size of your container. Feel free to use the pictures as a reference point. Staple the two ends together. Repeat with all your cut ribbon strips.

3) Starting from the top, glue one loop at a time all around the box. Work in rows. After you finish the bottom, move on to the row below it and repeat.

4) Once you’ve covered the entire surface area, fill the container with fruit. We used grapes, blueberries and raspberries to match our color theme. If your container is deep and you’d like to give the contents some height, you can cut out some foam in the shape of your container and put it inside your box before you put the contents.

 5) Place on your Thanksgiving table et voila! Don’t feel restricted by using only fruit. This can make a beautiful candy dish too!

I’d love to see any pictures if you decide to make this project. Please send any pictures to my editor: Karell@prestonbailey.com.

DIY Thanksgiving

It’s November, so naturally there’s one holiday that’s on everyone’s minds: Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a very important holiday for me. I like to take this day to spend time with my family, design a lavish dinner, reflect on the year that’s passed, and give out holiday presents to my loved ones (around Christmas season, I'm usually traveling, designing wedding celebrations around the world). We’ll talk more about my holiday celebration later, but for today, I just wanted to let you know that throughout this whole month, I’ll be posting one new DIY project per week for a design element for your holiday table.

The picture from above is from my own holiday table last year. We took silk leaves (but you can use real ones from your backyard) and glued them on to a glass vase, layering the leaves to add dimension and texture. Then we took raffia and wrapped it around the vase as a simple finishing touch. Add some flowers and you’re ready.

Here's a close-up shot of the grape centerpiece from the table. 

What’s one of your favorite Thanksgiving decorations? Do you have any family traditions you do every year?

Stay tuned for later this week when we post our first Thanksgiving How-To...

Decorating for Fall

I went on the Today Show today to discuss affordable DIY options for decorating for fall. Check out the video below. If you'd like to learn how to make your own pieces, click here to visit the How-To's page of my site.

And if you have your own DIY tips, definitely let me know. I'd love to hear about them.

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Celebration of Spring

Spring buzz is in the air.

It’s not only the great feeling that I get being outside but also as I walk to work on these busy New York streets; I can sense a change of attitude in my fellow New Yorkers. They have a smile where there is normally tension.

At my gym, The Chelsea Piers, I see everyone with a new resolve to tone up their bodies. There has been such a lack of hope with all the bad news on T.V, it’s all beginning to have a power over us. The beauty of Spring is the promise of hope that we need during these times.

In my table setting “Celebrating Spring,” I wanted to capture the blossom of nature and there was no other flower that represents Spring more than the Daffodil.

I created a centerpiece featuring two swirling blocks of boxwood with an explosion of bright yellow daffodils and bursts of orange spread throughout the design. Complimenting the boxwoods are tall glasses overflowing with more yellow daffodils emitting light like soft spring sunshine.

In harmony with the theme of spring are placemats made with a feathery light bed of leaves, and a ball of foliage placed on the backs of chairs; which add a whimsical presence to the table setting.

Such subtle touches of spring are a simple and attractive way to celebrate a season that for me includes some of life’s most important themes: nature, beauty, and warmth.

Forever Inspired,

Preston

DIY - You can "Do it yourself"

I love designing table setting. Whether the event is large or small it is the one place where people can gather. I enjoy designing tables that are full of visual layers - the details in the napkins, the placemats, the candles, the tableware, and, of course, the tall centerpiece.

Apart from designing for my clients, one of my greatest joys is empowering people to do it themselves. I am always so honored when people come up to me and tell me that they recreated one of my designs for their event. Still, some opt not to create their own table setting because they fear that they do not have the skills or that these statements have to cost a fortune, and include the most expensive flowers, linen, and tableware. It just isn’t true.

In my new book, "Celebrations," I have a chapter dedicated to making simple to challenging table settings using only the most cost effective materials and natural elements. I hope that this chapter inspires all of you DIYers out there to go for it. Here is one of the table settings, the one I call the Wedding Bell:

The beauty of this table and what makes it cost effective is that most of the wonderful layers and details are done with paper.

To further inspire you to create your own table setting, I am going to provide on Monday, April 6th a complete how-to guide and resource manual for you to create the Wedding Bell. There will be a modest cost for the manual because I will only send out 1,000 copies. If you are interested and would like to reserve your copy, please email us at diy@prestonbailey.com with your name, address, email address and telephone number.

Forever Inspired,

Preston

My Country, My Inspiration, My Orchid

Inspiration can be a mysterious and fleeting thing with no clear source, and at other times the inspiration is crystal clear. After a recent trip to my hometown in Panama, I experienced the latter form of inspiration.

I was invited by Las Amigas de Malambo for a project that is near and dear to my heart, which is the Malambo Orphanage. I had the privilege of being honored with the keys to the city and was treated with great love. Amongst the many wonderful celebrations, I attended one of the most glamorous parties in the magical home in the sky, of the infamous architect Nacho Mallol, his lovely wife Sandra and their beautiful family. They hosted a party that was entertainment Panamanian style and was a thoroughly enjoyable event that would rival even the most lavish Hollywood parties.

Another highlight of my trip and the source of my latest inspiration was a visit to one of the largest orchid farms in the world, Hacienda Loma Linda, owned by Juan Arias and Juan Arias Jr. Experiencing this farm is like a visual feast for the eyes with a wide array of orchids blossoming in various hues and proportions. Immediately I was reminded of the splendor of my country and of the connection to nature that I always feel when I visit Panama.

To pay homage to my source of inspiration I created my own version of an orchid composed of wild moss, colorful leaves, and exotic candles. The beauty of this arrangement for a table is that at the end of an event each guest can take an orchid home with them. So not only is the orchid a decoration but it also serves as a wonderful gift; and that's the gift of inspiration that keeps on giving.

Valentine's Day

What better symbol for love is there than flowers? Juliet was aware of this when she compared her affection for Romeo to a "bud of love," that will blossom into a "beauteous flower." Centuries later and it's no surprise that flowers remain the standard gift on Valentine's Day.

But this year why not do something inspired, unique, and absolutely unforgettable for your loved one? The Valentine Bouquet is an arrangement with absolutely no flowers. The bouquet is designed with sweet decadent chocolate, ripe succulent fruit, and exotic nuts; wrapped at the base with a satin ribbon of radiant color. It's simple to make at home, cost-effective in these dire economic times (after all you can eat it too), plus it's a creative and original way to express your love.

The Valentine Bouquet is an arrangement that your loved one will greatly appreciate and never forget. I'm quite sure Juliet wishes she had thought of this idea for Romeo.

Paper Elegance

I love this! We created a beautiful elegant table all made from wrapping paper, ribbons, and small embellishments. You can do this so easily bust out your scissors and glue guns.


We glued ribbon along the edge of our favorite wrapping paper and add some beading to the ribbon to give it a nice finished look. You can see we made our placemats and table runner like this. Then we cut out images of poinsettias and put them on our candles with some ribbon as well. You don’t need tons and tons of money to have a beautiful table this year.