Carnation Centerpiece

I'm absolutely smitten with how my Christmas table setting and carnation centerpiece turned out!  This is definitely a project I will keep in mind for future dinner parties - it took about  30 minutes to make and still looks beautiful 5 days later.  Inspired by a Martha Stewart centerpiece I posted about last week, I purchased a white compote from Home Goods for $15 then filled it with floral oasis and 60 red carnations.   The large mound of red in the center of the table made for the perfect pop of color.  What do you think?  I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!  I'm truly enjoying my week without work.  Cheers!

Carnation Comeback

Every year I help my mom create a Christmas centerpiece.  Talks about the Christmas table setting usually start around Thanksgiving.  This year, after much deliberation, we've decided to construct our centerpiece with fresh flowers, namely, the carnation.  In recent years carnations have gotten a bad rap.  It wasn't always so.  For centuries the carnation was a dignified, sought-after flower, adorning everything from royal weddings to Oscar Wilde's lapel.  In fact, D. Porthault's famous Carnations linens were commissioned by the Duchess of Windsor. So, I figure if Oscar de la Renta can send the frilly flower down the Spring 2011 runway, I can use it front and center on my table.  

Individually, carnations are nothing special.  However, when grouped together they form beautiful mounds of strong, vibrant color.  To construct our centerpiece we are going to buy several bouquets of carnations in shades of red then cut them down to form low, tight arrangements.  I'm thinking we'll arrange them  in various mint julep cups or one large urn.  Who knows, we may even get crazy and make a topiary or two.  Above are a few centerpiece suggestions found on the Martha Stewart website.  I'll share our final creation soon...