The New iPad, My Favorite Apps & the Brahmin iPad Bag

Well I did it.  I bought my very first ever, Apple product.  The Apple computer couldn't lure me over.  The iPhone didn't pull me in.  But when we bought our son an iPad for Christmas and the following day helped him shop for a cover, I came down with a serious case of iPad fever.  I did consider some of the  other notebooks/android tablets available on the market, but the cellular plans for those seemed high and I read more Apps have been created for the iPad than for the android systems.  I'm sure that is changing every day, though.

Too many choices can sometimes be a bear and Apple gives you 6 choices with the iPad, 7 if you count color.  After deciding on white, and the storage size (32 GB) I still had to decide whether I wanted it to have just WiFi capabilitly or WiFi + Cellular.

I totally didn't think I needed cellular service on an iPad since I figured I'd just use it here in the house where I have wireless Internet service.  But since it didn't cost that terribly much more for the Wifi + Cellular iPad, I went with that model for the rare times I travel or go on vacation.  Little did I know how much I would be using that feature.
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Pottery Barn Knock-off: Shell Chargers for Summer Dining

In March, right after I purchased cupcake stands from Pottery Barn for this Easter table setting,  out of curiosity I typed "Pottery Barn chargers" into the search engine on eBay.

This auction for shell chargers popped up.   Wow...shell chargers!  Not great for Easter but perfect for summer dining on the porch.  Unfortunately, the bidding quickly escalated to way beyond the amount I would have been willing to pay.
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Colorful Heart-Shaped Sugar Cubes for Parties: A Tutorial

Recently while reading a magazine (I think it was Country Living) I came across the cutest heart-shaped sugar cubes.  The magazine shared where they could be ordered but I decided to try making my own.  I thought they would be fun for parties, especially tea parties or to offer guests with coffee after dinner.

Instead of white cubes as shown in the article, I decided to color mine.  Since it's so close to Easter, I settled on pink and lavender.
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Make a Beach or Seaside Table Decoration: A Tutorial

Yesterday, we went spring shopping in some of my fave haunts in THIS post.  On our shopping trip, we spied these cuties at Big Lots.  I could so see these in a summertime tablescape.  Actually, they would look great almost anywhere.  Imagine three lined up across a kitchen window sill with the sun lighting them up from behind.  Add them to a pretty spring/summer vignette on an entry table.  Or, tuck some flowers down inside each bottle and decorate an outdoor patio table for an evening dinner.

They were $6 each which wasn't terrible, but I knew I already had everything I needed at home to make my own.

Here are the supplies I used.  Ignore the Mod Podge and the bowl/paintbrush.  I ended up using a hot glue gun instead...more on that in a sec.   For this little project you'll need: a pretty wine or water bottle, scissors, glue gun, drill with a tiny bit, some small seashells or starfish, narrow jute or rope, raffia, and nylon thread or fishing line.

I stole a few blue bottles off the bottle tree you see outside on the deck in this previous SPRINGTIME table setting post.  (You can read more about bottle trees, HERE and see the one on the deck in  THIS post.)

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20+ Products I Can't Live Without And an Impromptu Linky Party

I've been working on this post in my head for months.  Every time I do or use something here in my home that I love or can't do without,  I have thought about this post.  It isn't written to endorse any particular brand, although that's invariably going to happen just because sometimes it's a particular brand that does the job just the way I want it done.  If I really prefer that brand, I'll mention it in this post, otherwise, I'll just use generic terms and not a brand name.  Oh, and all the things I've mentioned (except one) are readily available in most hardware stores or online.

Join In:  Impromptu Linky Party
I want to know what you can't live without in your home!  I added InLinkz to the end of this post so you can link up a post sharing what you can't live without.  This post will be up all weekend, so join in and share your favorite go to products or ideas!

If you don't blog, no problem.  Just leave a comment with your "have-to-have" products/items.  I have my pen and paper ready...I'm going to jot some down to try.  Can't wait to hear!


My List:
So, here's my list...items I use every day in my home that I'd sorely miss if they weren't available:

Floor Protector/Furniture Leg Pads:  Since all the rooms in my home (except two) have hardwood flooring, I use these under pretty much every piece of furniture.  They help protect the floors and they also make it a lot easier to slide furniture around when you need to vacuum underneath or just want to try a chair in a different spot.  They are readily available in most hardware stores.

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How to Make a Blog Button With Grab Box Code Underneath for Your Sidebar

Would you like to create a blog button with a grab box underneath, so your blog friends can grab your button to display on their blog?  A blog button with the button code displayed underneath is a quick way for those who read your blog to capture your blog button for their sidebar and a quick link back.

<center><a href="http://www.betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPRAQ6xfFS7KbqKVMOZhD9dNRV0R0aoUYleUq1Rebj81MrStfPMYrAht9nnZ1yb9lKvkV1FAr9hS8ID6XfFrjXH_24CkjUpQvqlnU8k1XZsmae4xUTBmHXOiS_Mrfap8aapssgKwKaxIQl/s400/Chair+on+right+like+header.jpg" /></a></center>

Creating a blog button can be a bit tricky.  When I first read how to create a button with the code underneath, it took me several tries before I finally got it to work.  The directions I found back then weren't real clear.  It really isn't hard but it can be a tad confusing when you first attempt it.  I've broken it down into a few easy-to-follow steps, in case you would like to make one for your blog.
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Watermark Photos the Fast & Easy Way: Welcome to the 158th Metamorphosis Monday!

Watermarking photos...that's a big metamorphosis I've just recently started making to photos you see here on BNOTP.  In the past I never worried too much about placing a watermark on the photos I post.  I loved it when folks used a photo and linked back to BNOTP.

But recently readers of BNOTP have e-mailed me with links to  tablescapes and other photos showing up on professional websites as their own.  My pics have even turned up in eBay ads.  I think often it's done in error, or at least I'd like to think so, but either way I knew it was time to get busy watermarking the photos I take and post.

There are lots of tools available for watermarking pictures, but today I'm going to share the two I like using.  If you have a system you love, please share it in a comment.  It's so wonderful when we can share and help each other.

Watermark Option #1:  Watermark in Live Writer, Cost: Free
Do you create your posts in Live Writer?  If not, you may want to download Live Writer (LW) and give it a whirl.    LW is a very popular program for creating blog posts and once it's created, you can send the draft to Blogger or publish it to your blog.  LW was really popular before Blogger updated their posting process.  Now that creating a post in Blogger is a lot like creating one in LW, I'm not sure if  LW is still that popular with those who post on the Blogger platform.  A lot of folks who have Word Press blogs do still use LW.

If you use Live Writer for creating your blog posts, you may already know you can watermark your photos in this program.  I knew you could watermark your photos in LW, but I didn't know there was an "automatic" preset option for that.  I had been doing it one photo at the time which took forever.  Ugh.  That's how I came to find my other favorite way to watermark pics...but more on that in a sec.

Thanks to Kristi who blogs at Addicted 2 Decorating, I recently found out it's possible to set LW where it automatically watermarks every photo you upload to a post.  Yay!  Did you know you could do that?  I had no idea.  I was thrilled to discover this and may go back to creating my posts in LW to take advantage of this feature.

Here's how watermarking in Live Writer works:
To watermark photos in Live Writer, you upload a photo to the post you're creating in LW.  Once the pic is loaded to the post, click on the photo and a "format" menu appears where you'll see the "watermark" option. (Note the yellow arrow below pointing up at the word, "watermark."

Click on the watermark option and a screen will open up where you'll type your "text" watermark, pick a font style and the size you want your watermark to be.  That's it.

Note:  Live Writer will not allow you to upload and save a "custom" watermark that you or a graphic designer has created.  It just lets you add "text" watermarks to your photos.

Now, here's the awesome part...the part I just found out you can do when using Live Writer to watermark photos.
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9 Tips for Better Blog Photos

Over the past year I've gotten a lot of emails/comments asking if I would share some information about taking photographs for blogs.  I've been a bit reluctant to write this post because I'm totally an amateur in every sense of the word when it comes to the subject of photography.  But I'm happy to share what I have learned.  Just please keep in mind, I'm still learning, too.

I'm writing this post as if I'm talking to a person who has just started blogging and has never really taken many pictures before, because that's where I was three years ago when I began blogging.  My husband had always been the picture-taker in the family so I was pretty lost when it came to photography.  I still am for the most part, but I am trying to learn more with each passing day.

I hope these basic tips will inspire you and you'll find them helpful as you take pictures for your blog.

1. Photography = Lighting.
If you only learn one thing about photography ever, just remember it's all about the light. Photography begins and ends with lighting.  Lighting will make or break your photographs.  I didn't know this when I first began taking pics to share on the site, Rate My Space, which was several months before I got brave enough to start blogging.

You know when it hit me...when I had my ah-Ha moment about the importance of lighting?  I was taking pictures of this beach themed tablescape with an early digital Olympus camera that had "live view."  I took a photo and the photo looked okay.  Then I tilted the camera the teeniest, tiniest bit, took another photo and the picture was brighter.

Beach table setting: View HERE

The only thing I had done differently was to just ever so slightly shift the angle of the camera.  Why did that matter?  Why did it make the second photo brighter?   That's when it hit me...it was all about the way the light had entered the camera...the way the camera had perceived the lighting on the porch.
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Edit Photos with Creative Kit at Google+, Picnik Alternative

I was just reading my Facebook page and found some information you may find helpful if you are looking for an alternative to Picnik now that it's closing. Laurie with Tip Junkie shared that lots of the of the photo-editing features in Picnik can now be used in Google+ through its "Creative Kit." 

Here are the directions for finding the Creative Kit on Google+:

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12 Free Photo Editing Sites, Picnik Alternatives

Update:  This list has been expanded and updated.  You'll find the latest list of 14 Free Photo Editing Sites that are great alternatives to Picnik HERE.   I'm hearing good things about iPiccy and PicMonkey.


Are you a long time user and fan of Picnik?  If so, I'm sure you've heard the news that it's going away.  Actually, the Picnik site says it's moving after April 19th to Google +.

I have used Picnik occasionally over the years and had just started playing around with it more recently for the purpose of watermarking photos.  I found another program I like better for watermarking a few weeks ago, though.  I'll explain more about that in an upcoming post I'm working on about how I edit photos before posting them here on BNOTP.

In the meantime, I took a look at some of the free programs available for editing photos and I found 12 free photo editing sites that appear to be pretty popular.  Here they are in no particular order:

Psst: Skip down to #10 and try Be Funky first.  I've heard it's similar to Picnik.

1. Fotoflexer:

You can do some fun, crazy things with Fotoflexer including retouching photos, adding special effects, fun fonts, layers, etc...  One neat thing...it will link to your photos wherever you have them stored.  You can edit photos from Facebook, Picasa, Flickr, Photobucket or upload them from your website or computer.


2. Picasa:

Picasa lets you share your pics directly with the folks in your circles in Google +.  There are also a lot of "effects" you can apply to photos. This is the program I currently use to create collages.


3. Pixlr:

I dove right into Pixlr and started playing around with their effects.  I found it easy to use.  Of course, you can do the usual stuff...sharpen, crop, adjust contrast and color.  There's even a "teeth white" feature. lol  Don't we wish life was that way. ;)


4. Phixr:

I've found Phixr also very easy to use.  You can adjust the usual things that photo editing software allows.  Some fun things: you can add speech bubbles to your pics of your pets, decorate with objects, like hearts...that could come in handy for Valentine's Day.
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Ice Chiller for Wine or Champagne: A Tutorial

I shared how to make this wine chiller last year, but I thought it would be fun to share that post again in case you're looking for something fun for your Christmas table or for your New Year's eve celebration.  It's easy to make...you'll just need a couple of containers, water and cranberries.  Sliced lemons and limes would work, too.

Tutorial:  Make a wine chiller:

Last year I received a catalog in the mail and it showed this pic/ad. I was tempted to order it until I realized the silver bowl was plastic. I remembered I already had a silver bowl, so I decided to try and make the ice chiller with things I already had and save myself $29.00.




The Before:
The only items I had to purchase were a bottle of wine, cranberries and distilled water. You don't have to use distilled water so you could save the expense of buying that, if you like. But I discovered when I made flower ice cubes HERE, distilled water will usually freeze pretty clear, and it's only $1 for a gallon...more than enough for my ice chiller. If you would like your ice chiller more frosty looking like the one in the catalog, just use tap water.



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Hiding Ugly Scratches on Furniture

Monday, when I was playing with the mantel in the family room for a Fall Mantel,

I noticed a few scratches on the armoire you see over in the corner.

Do you see the little dents/scratches in this pic below?

Over the years, this armoire has accumulated small scratches from everyday use.

I thought I'd share a few products I've found that work well to help hide the boo boos that inevitably happen over the years.  By the way, I was not paid or perked in any way to share these products...just sharing them in case you find them helpful.

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Tutorial: Carved Watermelon Party Centerpiece

Carved Watermelon Party Centerpiece

This past Tablescape Thursday, I shared a table setting with a carved watermelon centerpiece.

For a party many years ago, I cut the top off a watermelon and hollowed it out to hold fruit.   That was cute, but I've always wanted to try my hand at carving one into a fun shape.

The cookbook below provided the inspiration I needed for this centerpiece.  I've had this cookbook for many, many years and I've always admired the carved watermelon on the front.  I've carved designs in pumpkins as shown in THIS post where I managed a reenactment of the burglars sliding on the ice-covered stairs in the movie, Home Alone. ;)

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How to Make a Pottery Barn Inspired Flag! Welcome to the 129th Metamorphosis Monday!

Whenever the Pottery Barn catalog shows up in my mailbox, I know I'm going to be inspired. There's almost always something in there that grabs my attention and gets those creaky wheels in the brain turning. The challenge is always how to get "the look" without the cost. Right? :)

One of my last Pottery Barn inspired projects was Christmas garland for the columns of my front porch. (You'll find the full tutorial for the Pottery Barn Christmas Garland hack, HERE.)

Recently, I decided to do a complete a make-over of my screened-in porch for the 4th of July.

I had seen an awesome flag in a Pottery Barn catalog but the $129 price tag was way more than I wanted to spend. Also, the PB flag was 50" x 27", too large for what I had in mind. (Doesn't that light fixture look like a giant spider?)

So, what to do? I decided to try making my own. Before heading off to The Home Depot for supplies, I measured the area where I wanted to display the flag. I envisioned hanging it above the hutch for my 4th of July porch redo, replacing the large platter that normally lives there.
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4th of July Napkin Ring Tutorial

While we continue enjoying all the wonderful tablescapes linked yesterday for Tablescape Thursday, here's a little tutorial for the napkin ring I used in the 4th of July tablescape I shared.

This is a super easy napkin ring to make. It reminds me of beautiful patriotic bunting.

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9 Great Features for Your Screened-In Porch

A little over three years ago I was faced with a big decision. I had a badly deteriorating deck and I knew if I didn't replace it, I would surely have to replace it before I ever listed my house to sell one day. How often do we do that...wait until it's time to move before we fix things or make improvements we've dreamed of for years? Then it's the next homeowner who gets to enjoy our hard work. If you've been putting off a little home renovation dream, don't wait until it's time to move. Do it for you and enjoy it now.

My deck had lots of issues. Boards were popping up and splintering and the previous homeowners had added an addition that was a drop off from the original deck. It was really a hazard and was just an example of poor planning and design.



Also, the steps stuck out into the center of the yard and took up a lot of space in addition to just being unattractive. It was clear the best course of action would be to tear off the old deck and start from scratch.



As I began the process of getting estimates for the porch, I immersed myself in all things "porch" by reading books about porches and searching online for pictures and ideas.

In the end it was clear, I wanted a traditional porch with an old fashioned porch feel...the kind of porch where you could spend lazy afternoons sipping sweet iced tea with friends...or alone, reading, napping and enjoying the breezes.

Now, I certainly don't claim to be an expert on everything you need to know about adding on a screened-in porch, but since it's springtime and porch time, I thought I'd share what I have learned and have come to value in a porch in hopes it will prove helpful for you.

As I always say, please take what you can use from this post--what suits your needs, then just discard the rest. The porch of your dreams might look very different from the one I added, but hopefully you'll glean a few new ideas from my experience.

As with any renovation or addition, the most important place to start is by sitting down and making a list of how you want your new space to function once you're done. How do you plan to use the space? What activities will take place there? What needs do you want this space to meet?

When I began planning the addition of my porch, my list included:

1. Lots of seating
2. Roomy enough for friends and family
2. A place to dine
3. No mosquitoes or bugs getting in
4. Soft lighting for evening time
5. Ceiling fans
6. Music

Looking at my list, you'll see my plans for this space were pretty basic...nothing too out of the ordinary. While I was in my research phase, I saw porches with wide screen TVs and Jacuzzis. Though those weren't features I wanted for my porch, they might be features you would like. Dream big when you're making your list. You can always scale back your plans later if needed.

It's important to read and research a lot in the planning stage because you don't want to spend money adding a screened-in porch to realize later you left out something you really wanted. As you read and research, jot down ideas and questions so you'll have a list once you start getting estimates for your addition.

I've been asked before why I didn't add on a sun room. That's a little like asking a person why they bought a convertible car when they could have a hardtop. I really wanted a porch, not another cooled and heated space. I do love sun rooms, but that just wasn't what I wanted. Now that I've had a screened-in porch, I'm totally ruined. I never want to be without one again, if I can at all help it.

I could write volumes about all the things I learned in the process of adding on a screened-in porch, but today I thought I'd share 9 of my most loved features for a porch.


Size:
Size is pretty important when designing a screened-in porch. My deck was 18 feet long and only 12 feet deep, which seemed deep enough. The contractor I used encouraged me to build my porch 2 feet deeper making it 14 feet deep. I'm so glad he did. He told me he had never had anyone call him back and say they wished their porch was smaller, but that folks always regretted if they had gone too small in their design.


Mosquito-proof Flooring:
There are a number of options for porch flooring. I avoided regular decking because there are always gaps between the boards which means you'll need to screen under the flooring to keep all the bugs out. Yep, folks do screen under the flooring. I've seen it done while on house tours.

I wanted my porch to feel more like an extension of the house, like a room that just happened to be outdoors, so I went with tongue and groove KDAT wood. KDAT stands for Kiln Dried After Treatment. Just "Google" KDAT flooring and you can read all about it.

My contractor originally tried to convince me to use tile. A tiled floor was not at all in keeping with the feel I had envisioned for the porch. I wanted an old fashioned looking porch floor. He did talk me out of painting the flooring and staining it, instead. I still love the look of a painted porch floor, too. I even like it when they start to show some wear and look a little worn.

Staining the flooring created a really nice transition from the inside of my home to the porch. My contractor had my flooring professionally installed by a flooring company and they glued and nailed it down to ensure it didn't warp in the humidity we have during the summer months. He also used a really heavy-duty subflooring underneath it for extra stability. If you use KDAT wood for a porch floor, just follow their recommendations for installation.


Dining Area:
One of my favorite features on my porch is a dining area. Meals just taste better out on the porch. I recommend allowing room for a table that will seat at least 4, preferably 6 or even 8. Just imagine all the breakfasts, cookouts and dinner parties you can have with friends and family out on the porch. (This tablescape is available HERE.)

China Cabinet:
If you've allowed room for a dining space, put a piece of furniture out on the porch for storing the china you'll be using every day. It will make it really easy to dine outside whenever you're in the mood.

You may need to take things out each spring and give them a quick wash for the season, but it really comes in handy having a cabinet close at hand for storage. You can see how I painted the cabinet I use on the porch in THIS post. This piece was only $95 at a local antique/thrift store and I painted it with an exterior grade paint. It's still holding up well and it has been through some bitter winters and super hot and humid summers.

Ceiling Fans:
You gotta have ceiling fans. Not only do they caress you with cool breezes, they add so much ambiance and romance to the porch. Even when it's not that hot outside, I'll turn on the fans at their lowest setting just to enjoy their slow movement as they gently circle overhead. One fan is good, two is even better if it's a good size porch.

Be sure to buy "exterior" grade fans. You can get away with interior grade fans...for about a year. But before long, the heat and humidity will cause the blades to droop. It's not a pretty sight when that happens. Also, the housing and inner parts of the fan may rust and cease to work. Exterior grade fans don't cost that much more and are the smarter way to go. They come in a gazillion styles. I found some online at Lowe's with a wicker look to go with my wicker furniture.

Lighting:
Lighting is so important in any space, be it indoors or out. I'm not a big fan of overhead lighting, but I love lamp light. So when I designed the porch, I ask my contractor to include a lot of outlets. I think he thought I was crazy.




It added some expense to the cost of the porch, but it was so worth it. I have four outlets on the porch itself. One outlet was already on the wall behind the hutch, the other three were added. That's how I get the soft lamp lighting in the evening. If you're wondering about rain and having outlets on the porch, just check my FAQ at the top of the blog.

Out on the decks, the outlets have special covers over them and they work great.





That's how I was able to create this tablescape on the deck. This outlet is located under the window. (Tablescape can be viewed HERE.)

I also use it for a fountain I put out occasionally. There are two more outlets on this deck. One is for the gas grill because it has a light inside and the other was for lighting I had strung around under the handrail.  They also come in handy for plugging in electric blowers when you need to blow off the deck.

Music
The only thing better than decompressing under swirling fans on a screened-in porch is doing it to the sound of James Taylor or Michael Bublé singing your favorite tunes. This is your chance. You're adding on a porch...pre-wire that baby right up front for some great outdoor speakers.

I had the porch pre-wired and a speaker placed over each door leading out to the decks. You can also enjoy the music while on the decks. Again, make sure you use speakers designed for the outdoors; regular speakers won't hold up.

A Swing:
I have to be honest, I've never been much of a swing person. Or, at least I thought I wasn't. I like to be stationary when I'm sitting--not real crazy about swaying to and fro. But the porch had a spot that was the perfect size for a swing due to the fireplace box that juts out into the porch.

I knew I wanted a seating group in that area. A swing seemed like a great way to finish out the seating instead of just having another settee or more chairs.

Now about this swing thing...be forewarned, swings are people magnets. Your guests will totally gravitate to it. It's always the first place they head. When I have friends over for a cookout or party, someone always goes for the swing and stakes it out before anyone else gets a chance.

You may not be a big swing person, but your guests will be. You can count on it. A swings adds something special to a porch...hard to describe. You need a swing.


Ceiling Height:
I saved this for last because it's not always something you can design into a porch, but I recommend it if you can. If you have the room and your house will allow, go "up" in your design. Raise the ceiling. It will make a smaller porch feel much bigger, plus it really helps the porch feel even cooler. Height will add to that airy, summer-breeze feeling you are seeking out on a porch.

If you're thinking about adding a porch, go for it. It may just become your favorite "room" in your home.

If you have any questions about the porch, please check the FAQ at the top of the blog. If you don't see your answer, feel free to e-mail me. It may take me a day or two to get back, but I'll do my best to respond.

You can read more about the construction of the porch HERE.

Colonial Williamsburg Apple Tree Tutorial: Welcome to the 101st Metamorphosis Monday!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! I hope your holidays have been wonderful!

Recently, I created a Colonial Williamsburg style, apple tree centerpiece for our Christmas dinner table setting. I've had several requests in the past for a tutorial showing how this centerpiece is made...so when I made the centerpiece this year, I took pics along the way. :)




To create the apple tree shown above, you'll need some greenery. The greenery I gathered from my yard included magnolia, holly and nandina berries, but you can substitute other types of greenery like boxwood, cedar or pine. I guess you could call the photo below my "Before" for this Met Monday.



You'll also need an apple tree form. Mine was given to me over 15 years ago by a friend with whom I worked. I'm not sure where she found it. They usually have them at the Williamsburg Marketplace online, but when I checked this evening I couldn't find them. They may be temporarily sold out due to the Christmas holiday because they usually have them in stock. If you are interested in buying a form, check their site again later in the year and hopefully they will have them back in stock.




If you know someone who is crafty or a woodworker, perhaps they can make one for you. As you can see, mine is just a wood cone, attached to a round wood base. It has what appears to be long finishing nails protruding at regular intervals around the cone. Note: The nail that is protruding from the very top of the form, in the center, is longer than all the other nails.




I always place the apple form on a towel so I can spin it around as I work without scratching the surface I'm working on. I bought two bags of small apples. I use small apples because large apples tend to be too big and make it difficult to create three rows around the tree, and still leave the top row of apples low enough to not interfere with the pineapple topper.




To get started, just take an apple and push it onto a nail. I always start at the bottom and work my way up. I like to leave a small space under the apple for tucking in greenery later.




Here's how it looked after the first row. If you finish and there's a big gap between your first and last apple, you'll need to pull the last apple you placed back off and find a fatter apple in your stash of apples, or re-adjust the ones that are on the tree over a little. You don't want to pull apples off and on a lot because the more holes you create in your apples, the sooner the apples will begin to go bad. But don't fret about that too much. I always end up having to adjust some apples and my trees still last well over a week...even close to two weeks. I don't remove the stems from the apples since they don't seem to interfere in any way.




A view from the top...




Start a second row of apples around your tree. I always stagger the rows but inevitably some apples will end up directly over other apples. Again, don't worry about that...we aren't shooting for perfection here. :) I don't leave a space between the rows of apples (or at least, I don't do so intentionally) because I don't tuck greenery underneath the apples within the apple tree itself. I only do that under the first row of apples.




In this pic, I'm starting the third row. As I'm working, I'm spinning the towel around and around with the tree sitting on top of it. It slides very easily so the work goes quickly. The whole tree only takes about 25-30 minutes to assemble.




Here's how it looks with the third row completed...




A view looking down with all the apples in place...




I used almost all of the apples in both bags...just had four left over.




I always purchase the smallest pineapple I can find to use for the top. It's hard to find a small one sometimes. A really big pineapple can tend to overwhelm your apple tree. I don't go from store to store looking, though. I just buy the smallest I can find wherever I'm shopping. Also, try to use a pineapple that has pretty foliage on top. You don't want the top of the pineapple to be too crushed or too beat up, if you can help it.




I always pull the holly I use from this large holly bush in my yard. In years past, it would be covered in berries, but for the last few years it has had very few. I think it could be because it is being shaded by a huge oak tree growing nearby. By the way, this is the same holly bush where the mockingbird sang his midnight serenade. If you've been reading BNOTP for a while, you'll remember that post. They are amazing birds to hear...if you have cats, they will enjoy listening, too! ;)




So, with holly at the ready, I got to work...





I cut little 4-5 inch pieces and tucked them in between the base and the first row of apples and in between the apples....really just anywhere there seems to be a good size gap.




Here's how it looked after I had filled in with some of the holly. I don't use a glue gun...the holly will usually stay by itself. If a piece falls out occasionally, just tuck it back in again.




Another view...see the gaps where I still need to add holly or greenery? You could also use boxwood in between the apples and that would be beautiful.




I usually cut a few magnolia leaves to put underneath the tree. If you don't have magnolia in your area, just gather some other type of greenery...maybe cedar or pine. I had just tossed them on the table here to show you about how many I had gathered.



I spread the magnolia leaves out in a circle pointing outward and forming sort of a star shape. Then I place the apple tree on top of the leaves. Just adjust the leaves as needed.

Tip: When you are ready to lift the apple tree to place it in the center of the table atop magnolia leaves or whatever greenery you are using, be very careful. The tree is quite heavy. I normally slide the tree on the towel to the edge of the table and pull it part way off the table so I can get under it to lift it up to place it in the center of the table. Another method to move the tree would be to delay placing the pineapple on the top and grab that tall center nail to aid you in lifting it to the center of the table. Then, just place the pineapple on top and add greenery around the pineapple while it's in the center of the table.




Since my holly never seems to have many berries, I always cut berries from the nandina in my yard. I don't use any of the greenery from my nandinas because I have found it wilts after only a day or two. Holly lasts a nice long time without wilting.




I always place the berries at intervals around the base. I tried tucking some in around the top (see below) but didn't like the way that looked, so I removed them.




Last year I added a ribbon around the top and I really liked how that looked, so I did it again this year. A red ribbon might have been a better choice, or perhaps even a plaid one. I just reused the sheer gold ribbon I already had. So here's my "After" photo. :)




And here's how it looked in the center of this Christmas table setting. You could also create this centerpiece using apples and limes or apples and lemons...or even all pears. I think the combinations are really almost limitless. It just needs to be a fruit that is small enough to do at least three rows around the cone. I don't think two rows would look as nice as three.




Last year, when I showed my apple tree on my Christmas tablescape, Kimberly, who reads BNOTP, decided she would create a similar tree for a different occasion...a bachelorette party. I had often thought of using the form for other events or holidays, so I was excited to see what she would create.

Kimberly went with a pink and green theme for her party...and here's how it turned out. How fun is this! Now unless they are growing pink pineapples somewhere, I'm guessing Kimberly painted the pineapple. I love it with the flowers tucked in between. :) Great job, Kimberly...and thanks so much for sharing this photo!




Hope you enjoyed this tutorial. Looking forward to seeing your Before and Afters!


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