Saturday, September 28, 2013

A Fall Hostess Gift

If you missed my House Tour Part 1, click here!

Since we seem to have all been bitten by the Fall bug I thought I would share a great idea for a very special fall hostess/host gift.
We have been invited to dinner at friends tomorrow and I want to bring a hostess gift.  There will be children and we will be bringing two of ours so I am keeping the gift young in spirit.

All you need is a pumpkin of any size, flowers (grocery store is just fine and usually quite nice), some floral foam, a bamboo skewer and the imagination of a fabulous florist!!!



Meet my little pumpkin!  About 6 inches across.  I usually make these arrangements much bigger but this pumpkin spoke to me and I listened.




These nifty little tools will also help tremendously!  They save time and best of all they save trips to the ER.  You can pick them up at most grocery stores and most craft stores.



Ya, they pretty much rule during the month of October.





Not quite sure why my pumpkin looks like it has been greased up...I swear no vaseline was used in this pumpkin carving! 



Once you have carved the top off, use the tool that scrapes the bejeebers out of a pumpkin so you end up with this jewel of a vessel.



Now you need to cut your floral foam to fit in the pumpkin snuggly.  It is BEST PRACTICE to fit a glass or plastic cup in the pumpkin and then put the foam in that container.  This helps keep the pumpkin fresher.  I could not find one the size I needed for this darn little fella but please do this because it is super important!









Grocery store flowers.  Gorgeous.




Cut your flowers to the height you think would look good with the size pumpkin you have.  Then just start arranging like that fabulous florist you are!


I used a straw to help my 'pre-drill' the holes into the floral foam so I didn't break the stems of the flowers.


Use the bamboo skewer to attach the top of the pumpkin into the floral foam and there you have a very festive fall hostess gift!!  Don't forget to add water at this point.


In addition to the arrangement I included some incredible Pumpkin Biscotti.  I got the recipe from StoneGable here.









This is the hostess/host gift.  The pumpkin arrangement, the pumpkin biscotti and a fragrant pumpkin candle.



I just put the biscotti in their own cellophane bags and placed them in a paper bag and then tied that bag with an orange ribbon and a name tag.  











Another package of biscotti for the other family that will be there.


So I hope you try to make a personal easy hostess/host gift the next time you are invited to someone's home.  It will really mean a lot to them and it will make you feel great!



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9 comments:

  1. Suzanne of Simply Suzannes at Home

    Hi Lisa!
    I'm also a fan of Yvonne's over at StoneGable!
    Your pumpkin arrangement is adorable with the top stem attached. I've never seen that done before. Clever and cute!
    Thanks so much for sharing.
    Have a great weekend,
    Suzanne

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    1. Hi Suzanne, Thanks so much for stopping in! And thank you so much for leaving a comment--I LOVE them. Yvonne's blog is just gorgeous and I have tried so many of her recipes and each and every one is excellent. Try the Barley Soup! BTW, I checked out your blog and your photography is beautiful. I will visit often.
      -L

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  2. I love this idea! That is so cool that you added the pumpkin "lid" at the top. Why can't we be neighbors again??

    -andi

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  3. Lisa,
    That pumpkin is beyond fabulous, and looks great in my dining room. And the biscotti was yum-o. I had it for breakfast today....John wanted us to save it for the upcoming weekend....I had no such ideas of crazy.
    You are an amazing neighbor.
    Sorry ~andi, you'd have to move into the neighborhood, cuz I am not giving her up...but I would be more than willing to share

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Kristy for your sweet comments! Glad you liked the biscotti!
      -L

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  4. What a great idea! Love the pumpkin and the biscotti looks amazing!

    Happy day to you!
    karianne

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  5. I'm definitely inviting you to dinner, Lisa. Especially love that arrangement - so clever, festive and seasonal. Send me some of that biscotti :) Just kidding!
    xo
    Loi

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  6. I will be doing this for my Mother-In-Law on Thanksgiving! Thank you for the lovely idea!

    xo

    Andie

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  7. That is a wonderful idea. I love your creativity! When do you ever find time to work!!

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