Come sit with me for awhile . . .

and see what I’m bringing to the table®

FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS. .  .

As in life . . . it’s not necessarily how you start out, but how you end up that counts!

Take the heart of a romaine lettuce, as shown in the photo above . . . mix in some interesting ingredients that will turn it into a work of art. Art you exclaim!! . . . Yes, yes . . . that’s what I said . . . art . . . edible art. You have this amazing gift from nature just waiting to get all dressed up. . . or not.

When dealing with visual effects, such as food . . . the first consideration should be color mix, as in the combination of colors to be married together. Think of combining colors, the same way you would when selecting paint for your home. To give your salad some snap, and pop, you have to bring in some texture . . . you know. . . a bunch of crunch, and munch, from Mother Nature’s finest . . . It’s summertime, and the sky’s the limit on selection. Relax, I’m not ignoring taste, it’s just that . . . well really, it’s very, very, very hard to ruin a mixed green salad. . . honest!

Now that we’ve tackled, and mastered ‘The Salad’, it’s time to step out of the box . . . again . . . Did you seriously think we were done? Oh please . . . The lettuce exercise, was merely to help you think in combinations of texture, taste, and visual effect. The same principle applies to setting a dinner table, buffet, tea table, or decorating a home. Color combinations, texture, and ultimately, the visual effect.

Mix it up . . . it’s O K, you can do this . . . start with one dish, whether solid or pattern and start adding in the unexpected! More than one pattern, in the same place setting, play well together, with an added solid color . . . or two for pop. WOW… and here you thought you had just one or two sets of dishes. Now that your getting the hang of tablescaping, it’s time to step out of the box again . . . when creating interesting, unique, and fun place settings, marked down, and broken sets of dishes, are your best shopping buds. Why you ask . . . because, broken sets are generally sold piece by piece, at great discounts, and . . . you don’t have to cram your cupboards with pieces you don’t want or need.

People… think of tablescaping like your clothes … dress them up or dress them down!

Till next week…

Sharon Insul is the former owner of the popular Beverly Hills boutique Candle light and…

WELCOMES YOUR COMMENTS and QUESTIONS . . . sharons3@me.com

When using candles* for your celebration… remember to trim wicks to between 1/4-3/8” before each burn.

Please burn candles responsibly.

On Amazon http://amzn.to2ehlCp4  “a collection of… Tableofferings® from the go-to expert tablescaper”

.For the kiddies in your life… It’s all about those adorable sisters! I am soooLucky!!!

AVAILABLE NOW on Amazon http://amzn.to/1qh38Zf

FEATURED IN HOUSE AND GARDEN ,  USA TODAY,  JAPAN’S OgGGI MAGAZINE, CHICAGO TRIBUNE, IN STYLE MAGAZINE, AND HGTV HOME DECORATING and former contributing columnist to THE BEVERLY HILLS COURIER NEWSPAPER on-line edition…