Sue Pelley of Decorating Den gives great tips for decorating a table. She explains how to camouflage a card table and chairs, make an all-occasion centerpiece and personalize your tabletop with fancy folded napkins. Pretty fabric custom-fitted to a metal card table and folding chairs creates a special look for any occasion (figure A). Create a gusseted tablecloth and a chair slipcover easily and inexpensively with fabric patterns.
A ceramic pot filled with ivy is the foundation for an all-occasion centerpiece. Leave the pot on the table all year long, and change its appearance with seasonal decorations: American flags in the summer, gourds and small pumpkins in the fall and brightly colored bunnies and eggs in the spring (figure B). A block of foam placed in the center of the ivy provides a base for inserting decorations.
Napkin Folding Sue Pelley explains how to add a finishing touch to a table with decoratively folded napkins. All you need to fold the "pope's miter" and "burning candle" are cloth napkins. Pope's Miter - Place a cloth napkin face down so it looks like a diamond. Fold the bottom point of the diamond to the top point to make a triangle.
- Fold the two side points of the triangle down toward the center point, creating a diamond shape (figure C).
- Fold the bottom of the diamond closest to you three-fourths of the way up (figure D), then fold its point slightly toward you (figure E).
- Turn the napkin over, tuck one side into the other to hold the fold in place (figure F) and set upright.
Burning Candle This fold looks especially nice with a napkin that's a different color on each side. - Place a cloth napkin face down so it looks like a diamond. Fold the bottom point of the diamond to the top point to make a triangle.
- Fold the long side of the triangle up about 1 1/2" (figure G).
- Turn the whole thing over, and starting at one end, roll up the napkin all the way to the other end (figure H). When you get to the end, tuck the tail in the end of the roll.
- Set the folded napkin up, and turn the top lip down. Place a sprig of greenery in the flame top, if desired.
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