Author Archives: Jennifer

Decorating With Nautical Style Knot Decor

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Decorating Items With Nautical Style Rope
One of the easiest ways to give a room a nautical flare is to decorate with rope. Objects made out of rope can also help recycle old vases and lamps that seem like they could never have a second life.

One nifty idea is to take bright white nylon, blue nylon or yellow nylon rope and wind it around the base of a lamp. You simply use a caulk gun to glue the rope as you coil it around and around the lamp until it is completely covered.

You can also dress up an ordinary pillow by taking a handworked clothesline and sewing it to a pillow. You buy white nylon rope and then make it into a series of slip knots. The next step is to hot glue it onto a pillow or pillow case and then give it some hand top stitching to make sure that it is secure. Pillows that are navy or cherry red look with this type of “braiding” attached as trim.

You can also give tablecloths and lampshades this type of treatment as well. Simply make the slip-knot trim out of rope and then glue it to the top and bottom edges of the lampshades.

Yet another way to decorate your home with nautical style rope is to make a Sisal-Lattice Bulletin board. This is a board that is covered with diamond lattice into which you can stick photographs, cards, reminders or whatever is necessary.

The best type of board for making this type of bulletin board is homasote board which can be ordered online if you can’t find it in stores. You then cover it with fabric and sisal rope that is spraypainted gold. This sisal rope is hammered into the fabric covered homasote board with brass upholstery nails.

Another rope project is a Sailor Knot Trinket Box. This is a twine-edged box that stows cufflinks and other odds and ends. It is a very male looking storage box because the handle is made from knotted twine that is affixed to the top of a simple wood box that is stained in the color of your choice. You can then also paste the rope in a design on top and on the edge of the box. For an added bit of kick you can also line the inside of box with a bright red or blue gingham fabric.
If it has a rim, you can line it with rope. Try using your creativity and imagination to attach rope to the rims of garbage cans, jars, pencil holders and whatever else you think could use a bit of a hint of the Maritimes in your décor.

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.