J-E-L-L-O! Centerpieces Bill Cosby Would Love!

Having a casual wedding or a wedding shower and looking for a memorable and fun way to decorate your tables? Why not try these JELL-O centerpieces from Rachael Ray? Ya gotta know Bill Cosby would love these things! 

The folks over at Kraft Foods can help you make this easy and inexpensive centerpiece that use six boxes of their J-ello, a few flowers and some vases from your favorite craft store or dollar store. Evette Rios, one of the design gurus at Rachael's show, elevates this jiggly, translucent dessert to an artistic centerpiece. 

Directions from Rach's web site say: Combine six boxes of Jell-O powder with half the amount of water specified, chill the mix in a glass vase for half an hour, then just push flowers into the semi-firm gelatin. How easy could it be? Use flowers, sliced citrus, anything your imagination can think of for this JELL-O-istic fun centerpiece.  I suggest sticking with lighter colors because darker ones won't let the flowers show through as easily.  Bet you all your guests will be asking you 'how to' make them after the party. 

Even if you don't use this for a wedding related party think what fun it would be to make with your kids for the next time Grandma comes to dinner! A totally kid-friendly project!

Yellow Orchids For Your Wedding

WDW has some great yellow and white ideas for your wedding flowers, but here are two more, courtesy of MSW.  As usual, Martha shows us all just how to do it RIGHT!  The bouquet has yellow Phalaenopsis and Miltonia and orange Oncidium orchids combined with wild flowers, abutilons, bunnytail grass and loose roses.  

Here this large centerpiece (also from Martha Stewart Weddings) features Cymbidium, Masdevallia, and Miltonia orchids, plus yellow tree peonies and garden roses. Smaller terra-cotta pots filled with Cymbidium and Masdevallia varieties, set on either side, carry the theme down the length of the table. It keeps the centerpiece low enough so that guests on either side of the table can easily see each other and converse. 

Wow Flowers!

Planning on having long tables at your wedding? Think about this hydrangea 'hedge' running down the center of your tables.  Talk about WOW factor!  The low 'hedge' of flowers run down the center with tiny votives at each place setting.  This photo is courtesy of Brilliant Event Planning.  I'd love to know how they made the flower 'train' at the end! I know this is going to be expensive but... I think I'm in love!

White Pumpkin Centerpieces

Fall weddings are the perfect time to use white pumpkins in your wedding centerpieces. While not as widely available as their orange cousins, the white pumpkins add a bridal look to your tablescape. 

You can hollow them out and use them as a vase or hollow out the centers and add a votive candle for the center of your tables.  Decoate them with bling -- Options are only limited by your imagination.

 Photo from April Hiler Designs (faux flowers)

Where can you get white pumpkins? Last weekend Whole Foods in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania had a huge stack of them outside, but I'm sure there are other places to pick some up.  And if they had them in that store, they're probably widely available at other stores. 

If you want to use a white foam pumpkin try the design by April Hiler Designs shown above.  I'm not usually a huge fan of silk flowers or faux anything, but love this design! April has other great designs available in her Etsy Shop.

Photo from Wedding Party Centerpieces

Easy DIY Rose Topiary

This DIY rose topiary (just click link for exact directions as well as for other great projects) is easy to make and you can keep costs down by ordering your roses in bulk.  The trickiest part is taking the rectangular floral foam and shaping it into something resembling a ball (don't worry, no one gets theirs to look like a ball, more a rounded octagon! But as you add the flowers it will round out.) The different shades of roses give the topiary extra depth.  You use a candle holder with a prong at the base to hold the foam in place and tie a ribbon around the bottom for extra decoration. 

My criteria for DIY projects is can I (the queen of messing up DIY projects!) manage to pull it off.  The hardest part of this one is cutting the foam and anchoring it, so as you can see, that shouldn't be too hard for even the DIY challenged like me! Give it a try.  You don't have to experiment with roses for your trials.  Also you can put the balls and holders together well in advance so you aren't overwhelmed closer to your wedding.   Add a couple of candles or votives to the side for an extra accent and a variation in height.  Enjoy this fun project!

Flowers as Living Art

Design and photo courtesy of Designs By Ahn

Victoria Ahn is a floral designer who takes floral design to the next level.  She is an artist with color and texture as well as flowers.  This photo is a beautiful design composed of textured flowers like hyacinth, leucadendron and dusty miller placed in a tall circular vase with a leaf insert. 

Victoria has a background in modern dance and ballet as well as interior design which she translates into floral designs best described as 'living art.'  Look for Asian as well as European influences in Ahn's designs.  Visit her web site at http://www.designsbyahn.com for some ideas of some of her designs and to find out how to contact her to make an appointment for a consultation.