Tag Archives: wine

Decorating With a Supermarket Bouquet

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Flowers can be very expensive if you order them from a real florist. That is why so many of us buy our flowers from supermarkets. They are often half the price even though they are also grown en-masse in a hot house.

These bouquets come in some pretty standard looking bundles, such as four roses with a strand of baby’s breath or a mix of mums with a couple of green spiky leaves. For more variety buy a mixed bouquet because these can sometimes give you more opportunities to be creative. For instance you can separate daisies from the lilies and make two separate bouquets from a mixed bouquet.

How a bouquet looks depends a lot on the pot you put it in as well. It is all in the presentation. Let’s just say you have brought home a cheap bouquet of a dozen bright red mini-roses. Try putting these roses in something less orthodox than the usual vase. You can bundle them with raffia and ribbon and set them upright in a tight glass vase. You can also place a bowl with water inside an interesting gift box of some kind with just the tops of the flowers peeking out. Yet another nice touch is to put them in old tea cans or copper molds. The idea is that you want to create a hedge using the roses.
The more roses the better.
You can also make stunning combinations by playing with rose colors. Go for an unorthodox combination like pink and red together for a bit of a contemporary touch.
If you want to make an incredible display buy an antique birdcage and cultivate a supermarket bouquet inside. You can make chains of flowers to decorate the sides or have chains of flowers hanging from this type of display as well. Orchids look lovely in this type of presentation.

Another nice and easy presentation is to spray paint a vintage looking wine, medicine or food bottle in celadon, dark blue or bright orange and then stick single peonies or a triplet of carnations in the top.

One of the nicest of presentations is to take mums and citrus fruit and make a pyramid. Pile the fruit first and then stick the mum stems in between the fruit. Limes look great with orange or green mums and you can make a gorgeous display with blood oranges and brilliant pink mums.

The next time you buy supermarket flowers keep in mind that it is not enough to just plunk them in a vase. They also offer you boundless opportunities for creativity.

How to Decorate for a Sweet 16 Victorian Party

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The ideal number of girls to invite to a Sweet 16 Tea Party is of course 16. There are tons of Sweet Sixteen party ideas out there, but the classic tea party is probably the most romantic and also the most intimate. The format for this party is based on a proper Victorian tea party with lots of angels, fairies and cherubs as themes. If you want this party to have a bit of a dramatic edge you can ask your guests to wear “Angel’s Wings.”

Another idea would be to ask each girl to wear a tiara and phrase the Sweet Sixteen Invitation as “Have Tea With The Queen of Sweet Sixteen.” Otherwise you could phrase your Sweet Sixteen invitation like this “You are invited to My Sweet Sixteen Party. Dress: Big Hats, Victorian Dresses, White. Gloves.”

Also on your Sweet Sixteen invitation you will want to include the Menu, which is modeled after a proper British tea.Of all of the Sweet Sixteen Tea Party ideas, the Victorian inspired party is one of the easiest to realize. Using lace tablecloths with pink or floral linens and china can easily achieve the prim and look of the Victorian era. The china can be pure white, but a floral china or silver tea set suits this party perfectly. Botanical illustrations of flowers, dragonflies and bees are also symbols of the Victorian era. For each guest, you will need a teacup and saucer, dessert plate, silverware, napkin and placemat (a lace doily would be an elegant touch.)

As this party is going to include a lot of finger foods, make sure you have lots of platters, lazy susans and three tiered platters upon which you will serve your tea sandwiches and little cakes. A serving cart also lends a genteel quality to the scene.

This is also a good occasion to make use of any crystal that you have such as ornate crystal sugar bowls or platters. You can also dangle crystals in the windows and angel or fairy shaped placards from chandeliers and balustrades. To create even more atmosphere, filter any light coming through the windows by hanging sheer curtains and play music by the favorite composers of the Victorian which included Mendelssohn and Strauss.

As far as flowers go, the more old fashioned the better. Pink and white roses are a good choice as well as African violets, peonies and bleeding hearts. English Ivy (fake or real) can be entwined around balustrades and around the edges of the ceiling. In fact a small potted African violet or a pot of English Ivy is the perfect party favor for these girls to take home. You could also put a packet of seeds for growing herbs in their pockets as they leave. A particularly elegant gift would be a small ornate picture frame with your daughter’s picture in it.