I became a US citizen 2 years ago and for the first time I had the honor of voting yesterday. I think it is a great testament that we as Americans can evolve so far from that once divided us so deeply. Congratulations Barack Obama and Congratulations United States of America!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Now this is my idea of a Halloween Party!

Have fun tonight and be safe!

Bouquet Noir

This Halloween I am going to have my “Bouquet Noirs” delivered to all my friends.
Halloween is such a great time to let your creativity go wild, anything goes!



This is elegant and creepy!
You can make your own at home easy and affordably.
Get yourself some silk flowers, black spray paint, a glue gun, ( of course) and some other fun things to throw in like spiders or snakes, this list could go on forever.

As you can see I used some extra butterflies and birds I happened to have.
We broke the butterflies in half and let some of the green of the birds to show through to make it extra creepy.



Spray paint everything first before you put it together this ensures you don’t have any unsprayed areas showing if the bouquet moves around. After you have pulled it all together you can finish it off with the hot glue gun to create a cobweb.
I just lightly pressed the handle of the glue gun and went crazy over the top.



Cant wait to hear from friends after their ghoulish gifts arrive!

An Autumn Affair

I love entertaining in the Fall, the colors are extremely rich and luxurious. On a cold night it is great to have friends over and put on a pot of boiling water and sprinkle in a a holiday spice mix to create an amazing smell that screams coziness. I create my own spice infusion and make extra and put them in little jars and give them to my guests.

Below are some of my favorite fall décor pictures that I wanted to share with you to give you some ideas for you next fall themed party.

In this image you can see we glued desiccated leaves onto our votive holders. Leaves have such intricate designs to them and with the glow of the candle light behind it you can see all the details.

This sunflower topiary is so fresh and fun you can recreate this with any flower but I love the way sunflowers look and they are big so you don’t have to buy too many

Orchids are my favorite flower to work with because they are so hearty and come in a huge variety of colors. I love this color it is so sophisticated. I also frequently group candles into fours on my tables to create patterns on my tables.




I think creating individual topiaries for each guest is a great way to jazz up your table as well, and your guests can take them home with them. Here I made individual topiaries out of kumquats but you could use mini artichokes, pomegranates, or crab apples. I like to experiment with all different types of fruits and vegetables. Get creative at the supermarket!

Last Minute Elegant Table Setting

Hello everyone I know it has been way too long since I have posted in my journal. For the last 3 months I have been traveling like crazy, I went to India, Bali, Jakarta, Paris, London, Milan, The Maldives, Iceland, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar!

It was absolutely amazing and I have tons to share with you.

Today I wanted to share this elegant table setting I made using items I found in my flat with you. I had to pull this together last minute when our plans suddenly changed from dinner out to dinner at my house in 30 minutes!

I rummaged my cabinets and found various shaped vases and decanters that doubled for vases. Decantors come in such interesting shapes I love the way flowers look in them. The trick to making this look pulled together and elegant is making it monochromatic. As you can see I used all white flowers with green accents.





If you have any flowers left over create a napkin detail to really impress your guests.



I happened to have some crystals in a drawer that I added for an extra pop.

There always seems to be last minute affairs right around the holiday's so take a look in your cabinets and see what you could create just in case...

Tabletop Garden

My team and I made this extraordinary tabletop garden the other day for the entrance to a spectacular wedding.

I had 2 tables set up on either side of the entryway and set up 2 very large versions of this centerpiece. As I am sure you can imagine this made a very dramatic first impression!

You can create this at home just need to scale it down. It works great on any table! A side table, console table, coffee table or you could make an entry way display as well.

To have an arrangement of this nature on a console table is surprising and different that what you regularly see. For me that is the exciting part of entertaining, mixing it up a bit.

I do like it as a main centerpiece too, it gives off a picnic feel which is always fun in summer.



I like the way this looks like a garden is growing out of the table. To achieve this look you are going need low containers and succulents.

No need to go about and buy some pricey container.
Take a look in your cabinets and see what you have that would work.
I would suggest cakes pans, casserole dishes or inexpensive aluminum roasting pans.

Make sure you use cascading succulents. Put them completely around the centerpiece to create a border to your garden. Succulents don’t need much water, put them in dry oasis on the outside of your containers.

Now the fun part, picking your flowers!
You could use anything you like but I would recommend using at least one filler type flower like Hydrangea to keep your costs down. For the other flowers you are going to need to soak your oasis and cut to size to fit in your containers. Drop them in and then start the creative process of placing your flowers in the oasis.



We used Hydrangeas, Ranuculas, Lady Slipper Orchids, Hyacinth, and Viburnum.

Like I said use anything you want for this, but as rule of thumb try to pick more hearty flowers so they will stay beautiful all night long.

If you do decide to make this centerpiece or any other ones on the my blog, I would love to see what you come up with! Please send your images to
info@prestonbailey.com

Refreshing Summer Centerpiece

In the dead heat of summer this centerpiece is perfect!
It looks difficult but in reality it is very do-able.
SHHH don’t tell your guests…

Now that you have those you need to decide what kind of flowers you want to use, I chose all white ones to go along the lines of refreshing but I think color would look fabulous as well. Don’t forget to get flowers to float as well I used gardenias which are perfect little floaters and smell terrific.

Next you need to cut your flowers but make sure to do them in all different heights as it adds layers to your centerpiece. Tie your different bouquets up and sink your vases in the water and add your flowers. Since you can see the little vases we tried to add some texture by wrapping them in beeswax and putting a ti leaf in the bottom to hide the stems.



Don’t forget to coordinate your table setting with your flowers!
Your guests are going to be so impressed!