- Garden-fresh flower arrangements
Instead of spending money at the florist for a flower arrangement, pick flowers and greenery from your own garden. If you don’t have a garden, explore the floral section of your local supermarket for bargains on bunches of flowers that are several days old but still fresh. A well-stocked farmers’ market may also have a selection of cut-price blooms. Another idea is to fill in fresh floral arrangements with the odd quality artificial flower. Amid the tangle of blossoms and leaves, it’s hard to see the difference between real and faux.
- A pumpkin vase for autumn flowers
Remove the top of a medium-sized pumpkin and scrape out the seeds and pulp, as you would for a Halloween lantern. In the bottom, cut a hole slightly larger than an ordinary glass kitchen or canning jar that will fit comfortably inside the pumpkin. Fill the jar with water and add your flowers. You can cut the pumpkin a day or two in advance if you have a cool, shaded place to store it (outside, if the weather is cooperative). Wrap the pumpkin inside and out with several layers of wet paper towels, re-wetting them as needed to keep it looking fresh.
- Protect your decorations from the pets and children
Are you worried about pulling out your priceless collection of antique porcelain decorations from storage, only to have your puppy, kitten or a small child knock them over? Just attach a drop of Blu-Tack to the bottom surface of your treasures, display them as planned and they’ll stay put until the celebration is over.
- Don’t hide the silver
Silver was once only used for special occasions, but a great way to add a splash of sparkle to any room is to stand up silver utensils in tall, clear glassware. For a rustic look, place silver-ware in coloured antique bottling jars and arrange the jars together on the sideboard or wherever a bright light might shine down to illuminate the collection.
- An autumn arrangement from the wild
To make a gorgeous dried arrangement for an autumn mantlepiece, coffee table or sideboard, fill a plain, tall glass vase or deep glass bowl with brown rice, dried beans or birdseed —simple staples that will help to support your arrangement and look make it look surprisingly elegant. Or go for a walk and collect dried grasses, wildflowers and other suitable flowers.
- Minimum effort for maximum results
It’s easy to create a welcoming and relaxed atmosphere for your dinner party guests by following these simple guidelines:
- Forget about spending hours cleaning your house before guests arrive; a couple of key details are enough to give the impression that your home is clean and tidy.
- Clear away clutter from the dining area, put fresh flowers in the hall or lounge room, wipe the bathroom vanity and put a new cake of soap next to the sink, and use lamps or candles to create soft lighting.
- A hearts-and-flowers centrepiece
How can you create a romantic dining table without a lot of cost or effort? You’ll need a handful of common household items, a pencil sharpeners and thin bamboo skewers.
- Cut two lengths of waxed paper 45 x 60cm long. Place a larger piece of newspaper on your ironing board and then lay one sheet of waxed paper on top.
- With a pencil sharpener, shave pink and red crayons and then scatter the shavings randomly over the surface of the waxed paper, making sure that there aren’t any clumps or hard pieces.
- Lay the second sheet of waxed paper over the shavings-covered sheet, and then place another piece of newspaper on top. Run an iron on a low—medium setting (don’t use steam) over the newspaper until the crayon shavings are melted and the waxed paper sheets stick together completely.
- After the paper has cooled, use a template to trace hearts in several sizes. Cut them out and attach a bamboo skewer to each heart with a couple of drops of glue.
Add the hearts to your floral arrangement so that they appear to be sprouting upwards. The hearts will appear gracefully translucent in the candlelight and can help to create a romantic atmosphere for a special dinner.
- A creepy Halloween door wreath
Add some ghoulish fun to your home to prove that you’re in the mood when kids come to the door at Halloween. Some of the essentials, including a magazine and droopy flowers, can probably be found in the house or garden.
- Tear pages from a magazine and crumple the paper to make something resembling a chrysanthemum bloom. The resemblance doesn’t have to be close; you’re going for an effect, not realism.
- Glue the ‘flowers’ to cover a wreath form, and then spray the wreath and flowers with black paint. So that you don’t saturate the paper, apply the paint in several layers, letting it dry between coats.
- If you have some dead and dry garden leftovers, such as purple echinaceas, zinnias or magnolia leaves, glue them into the wreath. To finish, tie 1m or more of wide red ribbon diagonally around the wreath and let the ends trail. Or tie a bow if you have enough extra ribbon.
- Hang the wreath on your front door and wait for the arrival of small goblins, witches and ghosts armed with capes, vampire teeth and paper bags.
