Fall Weddings

The fall issue of Martha Stewart Weddings hit newsstands on Friday and I've been enjoying each lavishly-illustrated, glossy page ever since. The fall issue of this magazine is always my favourite. I think I traditionally associate autumn with luxurious palettes, depth of colour, dark tones and plenty of entertaining. This issue, which is an issue devoted to planning and executing the perfect wedding reception, delivers. Its pages are vibrant and filled with autumnal inspiration, from table settings of wheat and honey to arrangements of golden boughs. And, oh, the cakes! The cakes!!

In the magazine is an invitation to attend the Martha Stewart Weddings Luxury Wedding Expo online at luxuryweddingexpo.com. Sign up to register and you'll be able to chat live with Martha Stewart Wedding experts, browse virtual exhibits by top wedding professionals, watch instructional videos from the archives of Martha Stewart Living and win instant prizes. This online event takes place on November 14th and 15th. Sign up now for easy access!

The cover alludes to the romance within, including articles on beautiful gowns, gorgeous weddings in Savannah and South Carolina, receptions based on confetti and jewelry themes and so much more!

A beautiful spread on wedding gowns photographed by Michael Woolley will leave you breathless. Action shots of couples cutting a rug in their finery have a vintage Hollywood air about them. Total glam.

Confetti is the theme behind one reception idea, including these delightful donut holes roled in glittering coloured sugar.

This cake is one of a series based on jewelry. Emeralds and pearls are the inspiration behind this confection.

I fell in love with this dress by Paloma Blanca while I was flipping through the pages.

An article on using large boughs on reception tables will leave you inspired to use branches to set the mood at your next dinner party.

China Asters in Arrangements

I count the China Aster among my favourite flowers. They are also among the most beautiful and resilient bouquet flowers, perfect for fall arrangements. Flower shops consider them a popular staple and you are likely to find several varieties at your local florist.

China Asters are Asian wildflowers that have been bred and cultivated over the centuries by European growers. They are not, in fact, actual asters but members of the closely-related genus Callistephus. Discovered in China in 1720 by a Jesuit missionary, the seeds were rapidly cultivated in Europe and grown prolifically in gardens. Decades of inbreeding, however, have made the China Aster susceptible to numerous diseases and fungi in the outdoor garden. With little resistence to pests and plagues, they are now among the more vulnerable and rarely-grown garden flowers in North America.

In arrangements, however, they flourish. Below are some examples of gorgeous arrangements of China Asters from the pages of Martha Stewart Living. I hope you find them as inspiring as I did!

Compatible curves unite a dome of 'Kurenai Dark Violet Purple,' 'Matsumoto Blue,' and 'Giant Princess Mix' with a twentieth-century English lustre cream pitcher. The ceramic's coppery glaze sets off the plum-coloured flowers.

'Matsumoto White,' 'Matsumoto Yellow,' and 'Kurenai White' bring out the highlights of a beautiful pearlware vessel. Orange dahlias and gomphrena supply vibrant contrast.

'Tiger Paws' adds splashes of bright pink to a fiery arrangement of 'Fan Deep Rose' and 'Fan Mix,' 'Kurenai Dark Pink' and 'Super Single Upright Rainbow Bright Mix' with 'Strawberry Fields.' I love the rusticity and simplicity of the arrangement, which would look beautiful in a country kitchen.

A flamboyant Victorian lustre pitcher suits and exuberant cluster of 'Duchess Mix,' 'Super Single Upright Rainbow Bright Mix,' 'Lilliput Blue Moon,' 'Matsumoto Blue Tip White' and 'Giant Princess Mix.' The deep colours of the arrangement are an ideal fall tableau.

Pale blush tones in 'Matsumoto Apricot,' and 'Florette Champagne' are echoed in the decorative scene on an early nineteenth-century English copper lustre bowl.

A close-up of the same arrangement reveals shows the textural contrasts between dense mounts of petals and airy clusters of quills. Fuzzy green rose-scented geranium leaves expand the palette.

MSLO Named Sales Team of the Year

Min Online has named Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia as Sales Team of the Year in its round-up of corporate power sellers. The site lists the company's excellence at cross-platform promotion, its talent surplus and its synergistic concepts as key components to the company's continued success. Read the full article and summary here at Min Online. Go team!

'Country Living' Pumpkin Gallery

The editors at Martha Stewart Living haven't quite cornered the market completely on the invention and creation of fabulous Halloween crafts. Their commrades at Country Living have consistently given the folks at MSL a bit of spirited competition, as evidenced by these beautiful pumpkin ideas from the pages of their magazine. Elegant, simple and refined, they are beautiful examples of festive decoration for All Hallow's Eve.

These pumpkins were first brushed with flat white acrylic paint then stenciled using Country Living templates to create insect, spider and animal-print patterns with flat black paint for contrast. The effect is stunning!

Why not take a merchandiser's approach to your pumpkin displays? A large grouping of pumpkins of various sizes is a fun way to create impact. Here, the editors have carved "trick-or-treat" on the smaller pumpkins and carved traditional Jack-o-Lantern faces on the two larger pumpkins in the foreground. It's all set up on the porch with a rustic wire plant stand surrounded by dried corn stalks, potted orange mums and artificial crows.

Taking cues from your china patterns is a great way to elevate your table setting with carved pumpkins. The thorn pattern on this plate is exaggerated and enhanced with the addition of a thorny twig and a small Blue Hubbard carved with the same prickly pattern.

Editor Christina Lane also borrowed patterns from her china and the wood grains on her flooring to decorate her pumpkin, which looks lovely in faux-bois swirls cut out of the rind. Nestled next to an old oak tree on a carpet of leaves, it sets a festive but understated mood for the season.

This gold and black tableau is a beautiful arrangement: modern, elegant and whimsical! Using sentcils, the artist gives each pumpkin its own personality, from spider webs to polka-dots to checkers to stripes. It's all set up on a three-tier wooden plant painted black, accented by berry branches and painted tin stars.

The deep, reddish skin of this Cindarella pumpkin looks marvelous against the ornate fabric it is set upon. Using the pattern as influence, the editors create an elegant and evokative carving.

For more ideas, see Country Living's book of pumpkin and gourd crafts called Pumpkin Chic.

Turkey Hill Awarded

Martha Stewart's former residence in Connecticut - the famous Turkey Hill - was recently honoured, along with seven other homes in the region, with an award from the Westport Historic District Commission for excellence in architectural and historic preservation. The new owners of the house, Chuck and Casey Berg, were the recipients of the award. The commission noted that despite the couple's large addition to the house at the rear elevation (a gallery of rooms that connects the main house to the guest house/barn) it does not detract from the original structure. Known historically as the Andrews-Thorpe-Howe House (c. 1820) the commission recognized it as an example of how a historic home can be successfully updated and renewed to accommodate modern family requirements without detracting from the home's original heritage.

Birdcages

Birdkeeping began in earnest in the 1700s during a time when British and French sailors were returning home with exotic species from their travels to the tropics, Asia and the Americas. The collection and keeping of birds indoors, however, is a practice dating back to ancient times. Ancient Egyptians, Romans, Greeks and Chinese all kept birds indoors and revered their beautiful companions (often depicting them in artwork) believing them to be not only symbols of status and wealth, but also of virtue.

To house their treasured friends, early birdkeepers created elaborate cages for them made of metal and wood. Below are some examples from Martha Stewart Living of how to use bird cages as decoration indoors, without their feathered tenants! In many instances the cages are useful (displaying objects and plants) but they also provide a striking and architectural design element on their own. Set on a table in a hallway or dining room, they can provide texture and contrast to the surroundings, as well as a focal point in rooms that are minimalist in design.

With this collection of bird cages, the possibilities are endless. My favourite is the one in the center, a beaux arts example of a 'bird hotel'with numerous doors and arched windows. Its exceptional size means it likely once held dozens of birds.

I am in love with this faux bois example, which immitates the gnarled timbers of a picturesque gazebo. I love how it looks in this desaturated minimalist space.

Cages made of fine brass wire give off a molten gleam in this candlelit dining room.

The birdcage atop this table is five feet tall, modeled after Saint Paul's Cathedral. It's made of pine, inset with stained glass windows. Beneath it, a double-width English cage of chocolate-brown and ivory looks like a posh private school.

This large birdcage, sculpted finely out of wood has been transformed into a display case for glassware. Framed prints of birds playfully suggest the cage's original purpose.

Wires woven in ribbon suspend a series of tin cages, most of them European examples, some dating back to the 1870s.

Fashioned of gold-plated tin, a miniature Normandy chateau may once have held a romantic pair of lovebirds or nightingales; now set on a rustic painted table in an entranceway, it becomes a minimalist's greenhouse. The light fixture above it was also once a birdcage, lined with vellum-like paper and illuminated from within.

Francesca's & Sharkey's Costumes

Why should Martha have all the fun dressing up? Her French bulldogs, Francesca and Sharkey look just as creepy in their Halloween garb. Below are examples of two costumes you can make for your small pooch: a black widow spider and a moth. Keep in mind that not all pets are comfortable in costumes. If the animals appear to be distressed, please remove the costume.

Templates for the shapes are available at marthastewart.com. The instructions are simple and yield striking results.Simply attach the legs of the spider to the body, which is just a pair of diamond cut-outs sewn back to back and then stuffed with cotton. Attach the body and the legs to a baby's black t-shirt, which you can put on the dog's torso.

Sharkey, in her moth costume, is looking to fly towards the light. Templates for this costume can also be found at marthastewart.com

Pipecleaners keep her antenae peaked. The fringe is comprised of painted felt strips that are cut into tiny hair-like sections. They are secured to the head with an elastic, which you can customize to fit the dog.

The wings are made of felt and are decorated with felt cut-outs to make the spots. These, too, are comfortably secured to the dog's torso with a customized section of elastic.