Pepper Design Blog

One More Reason to Throw a Fall Party…

While the leaves don’t really change here in San Diego, I sure do love the idea of a fall celebration under the red and orange glow of an autumn maple shedding it’s summer foliage. So while I can dream, perhaps some of you can make this a reality!

Here’s a bit of inspiration by Sandra Downie Event Designs that has me oohing and ahhing over the changing seasons {sigh}.

I love the fall colors and the simple, elegant designs (such as those beautiful zinnea and hypericum berry arrangements!). Check out these beautiful favor bags – handmade details created from torn book pages, newspaper and the like will always be a favorite.

Thanks to Kim for sharing this beautiful spread!

For the Love of Burlap: Easy DIY Table Runners

I’ve always loved the material burlap. It’s coarse and can be difficult to work with (all that unraveling…), sure – but when you’re in need of a quick and easy classic look burlap never fails.

My favorite burlap accessory is a simple table runner. Burlap has a country/rustic appeal that works beautifully in vintage  tablescapes, but I’ve also used burlap squares under elaborate wedding centerpieces or straight down the Thanksgiving table with all of the festive and fancy dishware.

Burlap is a really inexpensive material – head down to your local discount fabric store (mine sells it for a mere $2-3 yard) and cut desired strips for your table. You can throw a quick stitch on the end in a contrasting color (such as the below image to the right) or purposely fray the edges as I always do. Voile! Instant eye appeal for the table.

If you’re planning on making napkins, I’d upgrade to a higher quality burlap or even a faux version (such as a cotton look-a-like).

Inspiration from top: Apples and Onions, Living with Lindsay and Style Me Pretty.

What’s better then a strip of plain burlap? A quick applique or stenciling to create a truly unique look:

Frog Prince Paperie gives a tutorial for updating standard square napkins – this would look beautiful as a design on the table runner, too!

Thanksgiving is overwhelming enough, keep things simple this year and create a classic tablescape out of floral blooms (paper, fabric or fresh, cut right at the neck), butcher paper and stenciled burlap napkins. I love this beautiful and easy inspiration: 

Flowers by Emerson Made.

Happy Monday! Kevin and I are celebrating a ‘Babymoon’ in Palm Springs today, there’s nothing like disappearing from work for a day to spend time together and to soak up some belly rays. We are overdue! (Plus we figure we’ll be over-the-top too busy to fit in anything like this in a couple of short months…)

A Little Knit Vase DIY Project

I’ve been determined to try this idea out for some time, especially after posting about Recycled Sweater Vases here. Creating my own knit covers for candle holders turned out to be one of the simplest projects to tackle!

I used an assortment of class cylindrical and square vases to hold my candles, and then I purchase Goodwill knit sweaters to create snug coverings for the glass.

Only one large vase required any stitching, the others slipped into the neck and sleeves of the sweaters without any trouble. Simply measure out the length of your vase on the sleeve of the sweater, cut, and slip over glass. I don’t mind the slight fray in the knitted edges, though you could fold these over to create a cuff as well.

For my biggest vase, which wouldn’t fit a sleeve or the turtleneck of the sweater, I cut the body of the sweater to the correct vase proportions, turned inside out and hand stitched the pieces back together. Super easy.

They look quite cozy at night with a flame as well:

While on the sweater hunt, look for interesting edging and variations in the knit. The more variety the better!

These might make it over to the dining room table to serve as a fall runner sometime in the future… I love how soft and fall-ish they look, and how simple they were to create. The entire project took about 15 minutes and cost just about $6 since I had the candles and vases on hand, my only purchase was for the two thrift store sweaters.