Creative Dining {Round 2}

Happy Wednesday! I shared last week a few images from my Creative Dining piece for LPF Mag featuring items solely from your local hardware store. As promised, I'm sharing some more insight into the shoot as well as some tips and tricks for recreating it at home with you today. I want to focus on the items used in the place setting. A great find was acrylic wine glasses on clearance from the summer. I was struggling with what to use for glasses until I found those. Next on the list to be found were plates, napkins, escort cards, and napkin rings. This is where the hunt began and where the tips and tricks jump in…

Tips and Tricks #1: A great option for plates are plant saucers. I used chocolate brown terra cotta ones that worked out fabulous. This was actually an idea from my mom that worked out perfectly. Another option is to use duct cap covers (like I used for a serving piece as seen last week). They are a bit deep but will work just as well.

Tips and Tricks #2: The painting section of the hardware store is your best friend! The napkins are actually cotton painters rags. I picked up a pack of 12 and used them for everything from napkins to decorative covers for the escort cards. Also found in the painters section are flat paint scrapers that make for excellent serving utensils. You can even wrap the base in twine to make it more decorative.

Tips and Tricks #3: The napkin rings are my favorite idea from the whole shoot. I found a medium gauge steel wire (with the screws, nuts, bolts, etc..) and bent it to spell out the word "enjoy". I then cut a 3" piece, bent it into a circle, strung it through the "enjoy" and connected the two ends. All that was left was to put it over the napkin. Another option is to spell out guests names with the wire. 

Tips and Tricks #4: For escort cards, I found cute little succulents in the garden section. From there I wrapped the bottom in 1/4 of the white rag used for a napkin and tied it with twine. I created the first letter of each person's name out of the medium gauge steel wire and attached it to the succulent to sit at each seat.