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| Alternative Table Settings |
| Crafty ideas to add some style to your table. |
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Creating a special atmosphere when you're entertaining can be just as important as the food and wine. With a few clever accessories and simple techniques Features editor of the Our House magazine, Julia Richardson shows Rebecca how to set a table with style. Whether you're having a formal dinner party, a casual meal or a laid-back BBQ, these alternative table settings will certainly give you inspiration.
Julia's main objective was to keep each setting simple and cost effective.
Look 1 — Pen and Paper
Julia chose a black and red theme for this very cheerful setting.
1. Placemats — Personalise your placemats with the names of your guests. Ours were designed on a computer, with a large, bold, black and red font. The placemats were taken to Officeworks and laminated for $1.50 each.
2. Napkins — Julia took plain white napkins ($3.95 from Bed Bath N'Table) and used black and red fabric pens to write personalised messages to each guest. A quick iron sets the ink. The Dylon Colour Fun Pens are $14.95 per set.
3. Vases — A great set of vases were made using old jars and glasses. All you need to do is roll an A4 sized sheet of black, corrugated cardboard (from Lincraft) around the glass or jar and secure with a red elastic hair-tie.
Look 2 — Rocky Road
Transform the ordinary into an extraordinary setting.
1. First you will need to gather some gravel, a brick, white household candles, a bunch of lilies, and as many small glass bottles, tiles and metal plant tags as there are guests.
2. Fill the small glass bottles (we used tiny soft drink bottles) with gravel and tie a metal plant tag onto each. Use a biro to indent the guest's name on the tag.
3. If you don't have a brick in your shed, you will be able to buy one from a hardware shop, ours was 60 cents from Hardwarehouse. Simply pop a candle in each hole of the brick.
4. Create a floating flower arrangement (the flowers will be submerged in water). Begin by tying a string around three or four pebbles. Now, place a pebble beside the vase, hold the string up and determine where you want the flower head to sit. Attach the flower head to the string at that point and trim the excess. Repeat for the other pebbles, making sure the flowers will float at different heights. Fill a large vase with water to within 2cm of the brim and drop in the flowers. If flowers float on the surface trickle water into the open flower heads and they will sink.
5. Use leftover tiles as placemats. Make sure you attach felt to the bottom of the tiles if they are to be placed on a surface that will scratch.
Look 3 — Nurturing Nature
This is as easy as walking into the garden to collect a few necessities but you'll need to prepare this setting weeks in advance of the big night.
1. Save clear wine bottles and use them as water bottles. Grab an acorn, conker or any type of seedpod and push into the cork. Use a drop of wood glue to fix it in place.
2. To create this placemat, you need as many plain white tiles and dried fig leaves, as there are guests. Paste the dried leaf to the tile with Craftsmart Glaze Paste. Using the same paste, paint over the surface of the leaf. When the paste dries place the tile on a tin or a jar over some newspaper and pour Craftsmart Liquid Gloss over the top. The liquid gloss will spread over the surface of the tile; if it needs help, it can be coaxed towards the edges with a clean, dry Paddle-pop stick. Find a big cardboard box and invert it over the tile while the glaze is drying, to keep the surface free of dust. The glaze will be touch-dry overnight but will continue to cure for days. It is best to wait at least three weeks to use the tile as a placemat.
3. Use a bamboo blind as a tablecloth — you can paint it or leave it natural.
4. Instead of using a floral centrepiece, Julia placed duckweed in the bottom of a large glass vase quarter filled with water.
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More Info
For more of Julia's table setting ideas see the March issue of the Our House magazine.
Contact Numbers:
Officeworks 13 15 05
Bed Bath N'Table 02 9232 5011/03 9387 3322
Dylon Advisory Line 1800 025 021 (toll-free)
Lincraft 1800 640 107 (toll-free)
Craftsmart 03 9560 2042
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Disclaimer
All Fact Sheets and other material on the Our House website are provided as a general information service only and should not be relied upon as a substitute for the advice of a properly qualified tradesman. Neither ninemsn nor its licensors (including the Nine Network) assume or accept any responsibility for, and will not be liable for the accuracy or appropriate application of any information whatsoever in any Fact Sheet or other material on the Our House web site. Your use of the Our House web site is governed by this disclaimer and the ninemsn's Terms of Use.
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