deck the halls with boughs of holly...inspiration

A taste of Scandinavian inspired Christmas style.  Very pared back, very natural, very pretty.

I will be taking a break to spend some time with my family, but check back in January as we kick off a lovely new year together.

Ho ho ho everyone...

Images via: Once Wed | Wreath | Sacramento Street | Dwell | Anthropologie Gift wrap |

Simple, fast & pretty christmas wrapping

Wrap your gifts with button and butchers twine this Christmas.  Simple, fast and pretty - perfect! 

You will need: oversize buttons (Lincraft), butchers twine (Koch), white paper.  
Choose any colours you like, I chose pink and red buttons and twine and then mixed up the combinations a bit.

How to wrap your own gifts:

1. Cut a length of twine, thread through button and wrap around the present (below left)
2. Cross twine at back so that it wraps up instead of down 
3. Thread through button again (below right)
4. Secure under button or at back of parcel.

Am thinking gold stamped white paper would have been pretty too.
This lot are being posted overseas but Miss E has made me promise that I will wrap our gifts the same way too.

10 ways to entertain effortlessly during the festive season

Be the hostess with the mostest this festive season.  I am no Nigella, I can't cook like Jamie, and I never manage to style my food like Donna Hay, but I do love to entertain.  Here are my tips for ensuring that both you and your guests will have a good time, and that's really what its all about.

Hostess with the mostest tips:

• Plan a menu where at least half of the dishes can be prepared the day before or on the morning of your event.  Cuts down the cooking and clearing up you need to do just before your guests arrive.
• Create a drinks station.  I always make sure I get my guest their first drink, but after that its hard to make sure everybody has their glass filled all the time.  A drinks station with fresh glasses, iced water, and ice bucket allows guests to get their own drinks during the evening.
• Decorate with fresh flowers.  Even the simplest bunch of flowers makes your home look loved.
• Set the table the previous evening or in the morning.  After we have done the first round of food prep I spend a few hours setting the table and doing the flowers (can you tell I like this bit?).  This way you aren't rushed before you need to get into the final food prep, and you get to enjoy a pretty house while you are getting ready.
• Load this dishwasher in the afternoon and empty it before your guests arrive.  Not only will the kitchen be nice and tidy but you can pack things straight into the dishwasher during the evening and keep it tidy as you go.
• Team work makes prep easier to do and more fun. 
• Freshen up your guest bathroom with a few flowers in a small vase or bottle, several fresh hand towels rolled and stacked as a smart restaurant does, and a lovely hand soap.
• Tidy the house the evening before your event.  It always takes longer than you think and its one less thing to worry about the next day.
• Create a party play list to set the mood.  Then it's a simple as plugging in your smart phone and enjoying your evening.

Your guests will be more relaxed and enjoy themselves more if you are relaxed too.  So plan ahead, do your prep work early, and remember to enjoy yourself.

Photograph taken by Graeme Myburgh at the Festive Fiesta pop up party I threw here.

Christmas table...pomegranates and polka dots

This year we are having a non traditional table that I hope will still feel like Christmas.  Lots of white linen with a gold polka dot twist, and pomegranates instead of holly.  
See how we made our centrepiece here, I hope it inspires you to make your own.

I am delighted with how it is looking!  I would love to make a feature to hang over the table, perhaps a piece of driftwood dropping with gold baubles, but we will have to see if time allows.

The oranges, pinks and gold look so zesty against the black wall and I am loving the gold polka dot tablecloth, so festive!!  

I used thin slices of reclaimed timber to hide the base of the flower arrangement.  We had these as leftovers from another project but you could buy thin strips of wood at your local hardware and paint them any colour you want.  Simply cut to wood to size and hot glue together at the ends.  

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Flowers by Build House Home

Gold polka dot tablecloth

Gold chargers

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What ever you are doing this Christmas I hope its full of love and peace, laughter, friends, family and fun.  Have a wonderful festive season.

A low center flower arrangement...for a non traditional Christmas table

We are having a big family Christmas and I want to do some special flowers.   
I am planning several long low floral arrangements for a long long table, with a loose Amy Osaba inspired style, and I want to incorporate pomegranates, their pink red colour reminds me of Christmas without being to traditional.

I asked the talented Antonia of Ruby Slipper Floral Design to show me how to go from inspiration to gorgeous arrangement, and boy did she deliver!  So enjoy the gorgeous flowers and skip to the bottom to see how you can make your own.

What you will need:

• Several blocks of oasis, or an oasis block like the one we used.
• 3 large store bought pomegranates
• One bunch each of green leaves, roses, mini pomegranates, kalmia, lisianthus (see below)
• Florists wire

Soaking the oasis:

• place each block in a bucket or basin of water and let it absorb the water
• Do not push the oasis down or you may create air bubbles, be patient!
• The oasis is fully soaked when no dry patches remain.
• If your oasis doesn't fit in a bucket (like ours) pour water over it carefully until you are sure it is fully soaked.

Adding your flowers in the correct order:

• Create initial structure with greenery:  Space it evenly without being to symmetrical (see below). The asparagus fern has been placed in the top, and along the sides creating good depth before even adding the flowers.
• Create a test corner:  This is where you will get a feel for how the flowers look together and how you are going to group them.  Once you are happy with the test corner, place your feature flowers, then work around the arrangement adding flowers in a similar but not identical pattern.
• Add the feature flowers:  The pomegranates in this arrangement.  Antonia suggest grouping them loosely in threes.  In our arrangement they are loosely grouped slightly off the center of the oasis block.  (see tips for the pomegranates below)
• Soften with secondary flowers:   Add your other flowers around the focal elements making sure they are at different heights to create depth and interest.
• Place flowers at different heights and angles:  Create texture and depth by pushing some flowers deeper into the arrangment and allowing others to trail over the edge.  
• Work around the arrangement building up the design: Stand back and look at your design from every side.  It is a centrepiece and needs to look good from all angles.
• Fill in the gaps: Add a final selection of flowers and small pieces of greenery to make sure the underlying structure is hidden and that the arrangement is full all over.  This is a good time to add trailing elements.

Arranging the pomegranates:

• Cut several pieces of thick florist wire 10 to 15 cm long.  
• Push the wire through the skin at the base of the fruit (see below) and push firmly into the fruit.  
• Twist the wire ends together 
• Position in oasis as you would a normal flower.  
• Use the same technique for other fruit, accessories like pine cones, or even succulents.
• This worked impressively well and the pomegranates were in no danger of being bumped out of place.

Antonia gathers several roses and a small bit of pomegranate into a mini bunch in her hand (above), then nestles them into the larger arrangement.  A design within a design.

Work around the arrangement, adding flowers from every side so that it will look good from every side of the table when finished.

How to choose flowers for your arrangement

• Select flowers in different tones of the same colour.  This allows you to have a variety of flowers without the arrangement feeling to busy.  In our arrangement the yellow to orange roses toned with the orange mini pomegranates, and the pink lisianthus toned with the softer pink kalmia.
• Use greenery to create the base of the arrangement.  The greenery sets off the flower colour and is an inexpensive way to bulk out a large arrangement.  It also hides the oasis structure. Some of Antonia's favourites are hydrangea leaves, viburnum, magnolia little gem
• Keep it simple and limit your colour scheme.  Antonia recommends using only one or two colours in an arrangement.  
• Use seasonal flowers  This is going to keep your costs down and also ensure the flowers are fresh and will last longer.

Top tips for arranging flowers like a pro:

• Create your base structure with greenery
• Add the feature plants, the pomegranates to the green arrangement, and then soften with secondary flowers.
• Add flowers at different heights to create depth.  Nestle some deeper into the arrangement, have some trailing onto the table top at the edges.
• Use three or four blooms to make a mini bunch in your hand.  Add the mini bunch as you would a single flower into the arrangement.
• Don't be afraid to adjust the position of flowers, but remember to put them in a new place in the oasis.  If you place the stems in the same oasis hole they will lose stability.

Ready for the table!  We didn't take the flowers all the way down the oasis block because I have made a reclaimed wood frame to hide that bit.  You will just have to wait and see how it looks all complete on the gold polka dot tablecloth.  Next post I promise.  Hope this inspired your and gave you some ideas for creating your own special Christmas day look.  And if you don't have time, let Antonia make one just for you.

All photos by Eva of Build House Home, flowers selected and arranged by Antonia of Ruby Slipper Floral Design.