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Etsy Finds: Sophisticated Cloth Napkins
I'm a big enthusiast of white table linens. With a basic backdrop, you can be flexible with your other dinner party décor, changing up your palettes and patterns to make each party special. That said, you'll need to bring in color and flair with napkins, napkin rings, flowers, and serving dishes.
Yum's July Must Haves
With the arrival of July, it's safe to say that Summer is in full swing. Currently I'm obsessed with hearty salads, planning picnics, eating outdoors, and homemade ice cream. I've rounded up the month's most important items — I either can't live without them or I'm dying to get my hands on them.
DIY: Vibrant Pom-Pom Napkin Rings
After helping one of my friends with the flowers for her big day, I was asked by another friend to put together the festive napkin rings for her wedding. Rather than waste money on buying 60 rings, we made these flower-inspired pom-poms to adorn each napkin. These pom-poms can easily be customized to suit any color scheme.
Etsy Find: Cinderella Pumpkin Napkins
When it comes to pumpkins, we often think of jack-o-lanterns and pumpkin carving at Halloween, but the gourd-like squash is stylish all season long. There should be nothing preventing you from decorating with pumpkins until Christmas comes along . .
Ecotot: Fabulous Fabkins
When your children are itty bitty, you carry bibs on outings to protect your wee one. When they get older they get messier, but bibs start to get smaller and sometimes embarrass older children.
Instead of wasting rolls of paper towels and stacks of napkins to swipe your lil one's faces clean, invest in a set of Fabkins (set of 5 for $23).
Yummy Links: From Zucchini to Buttercream Frosting
- A surprising tip for making delicious zucchini. — Gourmet
- These cactus napkins are ideal for a hoedown! — CasaSugar
- Fabulous recipes that use Fall produce.
Etsy Find: Cactus Picnic Napkin Set
If a cactus could ever look cute, JackRabbit has devised a means to that end with the Cactus Picnic Napkin Set, a set of four 10-by-12-inch handmade napkins screen printed with a grid of perky green cacti. I can't think of a better occasion to debut these prickly succulents than a backyard barbecue — or perhaps a Park(ing) Day picnic. While the weather is still warming up here in San Francisco, temperatures are turning chilly elsewhere, so you'd better snatch these babies up fast and throw some T-bones on the grill.
Off to Market: Harvest Table
Changing the look of your kitchen table is a great way to affordably update a kitchen. A set of new placemats combined with a few strategically placed candles and a seasonal centerpiece can make a kitchen feel like an entirely different room. To encourage a change of scenery, let's head off to market in search of a harvest themed table.
Origami Napkins: Love Them or Hate Them?
Paper origami is so last year. The newest trend is making shapes out of dinner napkins. This set ($35) comes with a lesson booklet, as well as four napkins, each with printed folding instructions for different shapes: a sailboat, a crane, a carrot, and a snail.
Dress For Dinner Napkins: Love It or Hate It?
A surprisingly large percentage of you say you sometimes wear a bib while eating. So perhaps you will appreciate this more formal bib option, Dress For Dinner Napkins ($5.95 for 20). With a necktie printed on the paper, this napkin dresses up a T-shirt when tucked into your collar.
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