StoneGable: 08/01/2010

The Giveaway~ One Year Bloggiversary

I am having a giveaway to thank all of you for your friendship, encouragement and support for the past year!

Click here to view the 1st Bloggiversary post.

The Giveaway includes

~ A StoneGable original Fall Wreath

made especially for you by me

Click here for a Tutorial on the wreath

~A box of Mamelah's FAMOUS Chocolate Macaroons

These are my all-time favorite cookies! Heaven!

Visit Mamelah's to see all their delicious goodies!

~A gorgeous box of Homemade Truffles from Save Room For Dessert

Everyone RAVES about these confections

~A year subscription to "Belle Inspiration" Ezine

A new exquisite on-line magazine!

~ And a caboodle of other treasures

Everyone needs some extra surprises!

1 of the following gives you 1 entry:

*leave a comment

*become a follower or let me know you follow

*become a facebook follower or let me know you follow

(a second giveaway for facebook followers coming Thursday)

* post StoneGable's giveaway on your blog

Giveaway ends Sunday October 3rd at 8:00 pm EST and winner will be announced by Monday.

The Pear Table

It is almost Pumpkin time at StoneGable... Almost! Tucked between the sun and fun of lazy August days and the falling leaves, crisp breezes and pumpkins of October is Orchard Time!

Beautiful apples, luscious grapes and fragrant perfumy pears! September is a wonderful celebration of fruitful bounty!

Apples and grapes have had their 15 minutes of fame and now the pear is in the spotlight. Delicate and dripping with honey-laced flavor, the pear is worth a table all it's own.

The pears are the true stars of this Autumnal table. Hand painted pear bowls grace each place setting. They are recycled from a post last year. Every element of this table is something I had in my cupboards and used on past posts. I just recycled them, so to speak, to create this tribute to the pear.

The pear bowl sits on a trio of eclectic dishes. The edges and shapes of each dish are very different... this adds to the mismatched feel I love. It is the color of each dish that pick up the a color in the hand painted pear and becomes the unifying element.

To continue the natural feel, each place was set with a twiggy place mat. Vintage flatware with smooth, warm amber handles sit between the grooves of mats.

Three seckle pears and a tiny candle sit at each place as a personal vignette. The pears, at their luscious peak, are a take home gift for each guest to eat and remember their evening at StoneGable. I think their form and color are so beautiful!

Two little wreaths work together to make a statement of a napkin ring! Twiggy birch and a faux golden bittersweet wreaths gather up the napkins. This is an over-the-top treatment that I just love! It brings such pizazz! Earthy meets glam!

The centerpiece is shared by 2 pear elements. A large decorative pear sits upright and larger than life.

An arrangement of several varieties of pears are nestled in a twiggy birch wreath on a turned pedestal. Bosc, Green Anjou, Bartlett and Forelle pears become a feast for the eyes!

The pears are real, the leaves faux. Aren't they exquisite. The blush on the Forelle pairs are captivating!

Bubble glasses are a StoneGable favorite. These, in amber, continue the gold color theme in the table.

Green glazed pots filled with popcorn become interesting candles.

The overall look is warm and organic with a touch of old world color and feel.

At StoneGable pears are artistic delights and culinary wonders!

The Menu

Mixed Greens with Sliced Pears, Spiced Pecans and Bleu in a Poppyseed Dressing

Pork Chops With Smoked Gouda and Bacon

for recipe click here and look on Wednesday's menu

Whipped Potatoes

Roasted Root Vegetables

Pear Galette

recipe and how-to's on this week's foodie friday

Chardoney

with pear overtones

Coffee & Tea

I am participating in Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps On The Porch.

Here at StoneGable the change of season gives me a reason to create a new wreath. This fall I wanted to make a neutral colored wreath using corn husks, full of creamy colors and earthy browns... until I visited a Hobby Lobby! I could not resist all the warm, rich colors of pumpkins, berries and leaves. So I left with a bag (several bags) of colorful goodies and my mind swimming with ideas in a new direction.

StoneGable Fall 2010 Wreath Tutorial

2 large wreaths

3 glitzy pumpkins

5 large picks of orange/brown berries

4 large picks of earthy colored ball "berries"

2 packages of crape paper like fall leaves

3-5 picks assorted brambly berries and leaves

2 bags of pine cones and acorns

3 large pine cones

2 large stems, brown gourd pods

3 feather picks

2 packs of assorted feathers

odds and ends leaves and berries

florist wire

hot glue

dust buster

As with all my wreaths, I wire 2 wreaths together for a more full and lush look.

Because I wanted the whole wreath to be filled in, I sectioned the wreath into thirds and glued a large pick of rusty colored berries to the wreath.

Add additional variegated large berry/ball pics in between the original 3 picks.

This now sections off the wreath and makes little areas to work with. I find this much easier than trying to work on the whole wreath at one time.

Add pumpkins up against the original 3 berry pick.

Tuck leaves under the pumpkins, crinkling them to give them visual life.

Add pine cones. I decided to use only 2 large ones and 1 grouping of small pine cones in place of the 3rd large pine cone, again for more interest.

Begin to fill in the gaps between each section with berries,leaves. feather pics, pine cones and acorns. Continue to fill in and layer elements until the wreath is abundant and filled with visual interest.

Hang wreath and continue to fill in while looking at it in a vertical position. This is a very important step. Because the wreath will be viewed in an upright position, make sure there are no gaps or visual unbalance in the wreath when it hangs. I added feathers once the wreath was vertical. It was easier to position them.