Nature Inspired Napkin Giveaway + Garden Videos

Spring is the air the ground and all around.

My garden inspires me in all of its seasons- loaning me palettes to color my designs. Here is my Vermont Garden on a Spring Day in May.

A place dedicated to the beauty of mother nature.

What inspires you?

Tell me your tale and I will select a winner for my nature inspired Papillion Jacquard Jade 18" Napkin Bundle

(please include your email address to contact you - or email me at

aprilcornell(at)aprilcornellholdings.com to enter)

April

Feel Beautiful, Live Beautiful, Be Beautiful

Please join me in congratulating Tamara H. - Winner of this Giveaway

Thank you all for participating as always!

Tablescape Thursday - Happy Fish

This year, as a very unique and special birthday present, I was treated to a brand new experience – I visited a glass-blowing workshop here in Vermont and learned how to make some funky glass pieces. As I shaped and molded the hot molten glass, I could not stop smiling at the fun of it all. Having taken the time to learn this new craft, I find myself appreciating the beauty and color of glasswork, which in turn inspired this beautiful tablescape. The fluidity of glass evokes the beauty and whimsical nature of the sea, so this pretty round table is set with our Happy Fish print in pale yellow. Her smiles reflect my own enjoyment and the colorful floral scrollwork designs create a myriad of coordinating possibilities. The sparkling prisms of a finished glass piece remind me of the interwoven colors of our Fiesta Plaid, so a single twenty inch fringed napkin serves beautifully as a centerpiece. With such a wonderful array of colors to choose from, not one but four colors were paired – Essential Napkins in blue & coral and leaf green & tangerine – to layer on even more colorful fun! Cheered on by the beauty of glass, the clear red and yellow colors of our Daisy Beaded Napkin Rings were an obvious choice for the simple elegance of the napkins. Of course I couldn’t resist using our Primavera mouth-blown glassware featuring etched butterflies along with some colorful bowls and dishes.

Whatever inspires you, feel it fully, enjoy it and let your imagination take you to beautiful new places and urge you to create – I promise you’ll love the results!

Quick Tip: This tablescape features some beautiful potted azaleas from our local garden shop. Rather than cut them to place in a glass vase, preserve the beauty of fresh flowers by leaving them in the pot and covering the base with a coordinating napkin or dishtowel! Simply fold the napkin diagonally and tie it around the width of the pot. You may also choose to secure it with a pretty ribbon for added charm!

Enjoy!

April

Feel Beautiful, Be Beautiful, Live Beautiful

Part of Tablescape Thursday

For more information, click here!

Tablescape Thursday - Blue Skies

Sunny Skies Up!

Despite any mention of April Showers, these days I find myself singing that old Irving Berlin song ‘Blue Skies’… “Blue skies smiling at me” - such a beautiful idea – to know that the sky smiles down on us. Whether outdoors or in, I love to recreate the beauty of a blue sky on my table. Layered here, on this quaint little table for two, is the Shannon Plaid breakfast cloth. Its powdery blues and soft yellow weave give it a wonderful country flavor and provides the perfect base for the Josephine Blue placemats. Named after my beautiful, vibrant granddaughter, the Josephine brings a gentle floral aspect to this scape while hints of sunny yellow add a cheerful note. The coordinating napkins are double-layered over Essential Napkins in pale yellow to bring forth even more sunshine! Napkin cuffs add a dash of sophistication while fresh floral arrangements herald the coming of our beloved garden season! With a table so fresh and welcoming, why not linger in comfort as well as style? Here the chairs are lined with comfy pillows in the Shannon Patchwork collection – a symphony of blue floral prints and plaids – once you sit down, you’ll never want to get up!

Here’s to beautiful spring blue skies and warm sunshine – when you smile up at them, rest assured they’re smiling back.

(For more information about Tablescape Thursday and all its beauty, click here)

Enjoy!

April

Feel Beautiful Live Beautiful Be Beautiful

Primavera Tablescape + Printable Invite

We are well into April - my most favorite month - and it’s time to celebrate the colors of spring! Whether I’m experiencing the April Showers of Vermont or the hot skies of New Delhi, the allure of pinks and yellows on fresh green always calls to me. Here’s a table dressed for “my month” with a cloth in our Primavera collection – so appropriate for spring!

As nature mixes colors and textures in a garden, you can carrying a table to the next level by providing an array of coordinating placemats and napkins. Alternating between jacquard weaves and prints is a great way to add dimension to your table. Featured here is the Papillon Jade and Garden Pink woven napkins layered with the Eden and Madeline collections.

Some waffle weave tea towels await a warm dessert from the kitchen and our coordinating Primavera dishware serves as a punch bowl for some delicious fruity refreshment.

Here’s to celebrating the changing days as we wake up to a new season and herald the arrival of spring!

Click here to print/save this invitation for your spring party! (Fun little printout for little girl's tea parties as well). Enjoy!

April

Feel Beautiful Live Beautiful Be Beautiful

(For more information about Tablescape Thursday and all its beauty, click here)

Fiesta Tablescape for La Cache

Spring is beginning to awaken the Montreal landscape – daffodil and crocus buds are ready to bloom and crisp green tulip stalks push through the thawing earth. With this happy hint of seasonal color in mind, we decided to amp up the brilliant tones of the spring table at our La Cache store in Westmount.

I love layering cloths so our pretty round table is set with a base of the Papillon Jaquard Breakfast cloth. Over top is the joyous Fiesta Plaid (also a breakfast cloth) – the rich turquoise blue, magenta and yellow weave really catches the eye! Quilted placemats in the Paisley Bouquet Pink collection pick up the rosy hues in this tablescape while the scalloped edges add further texture. The dusty rose dishware is vintage-inspired and newly available in our boutique, as is the blue glassware – not a combination you would immediately think to pair but the tablecloth really pulls it all together beautifully.


Of course my love of birds is revealed in the Hummingbird watering can and dove tea cups and don’t you think the whimsical turquoise beaded lamp adds just the right mood lighting? Time to sit back and enjoy summer lemonade in anticipation of the season!

Thanks for stopping by!
April

Feel Beautiful Live Beautiful Be Beautiful





For more information on Tablescape Thursday (click here)
Thank you to Susan (Between Naps on the Porch) for putting this wonderful event

Decorating your Spring Table

It's official - Saturday is the first day of spring! This is a wonderful time to freshen the home, and with Easter and Passover quickly approaching a new table setting could be the perfect way to officially welcome the changing of the seasons.

To get started, a few of my favorite things to do are:

• Begin with a color scheme or pattern
• Definitely mix & match
• Contrast shapes and details
• Have fun and trust your instincts!

For a more in depth steps read my newly posted article on my website: Decorating your Spring Table



If you’re curious about what I used above in the picture – here’s a list of the new spring linens on my spring table!

• Papillion Jacquard Jade Tablecloth as layering cloth
• Primavera Peridot Tablecloth folded to create a runner affect
• Poet Jacquard Blue 20" Napkin Bundle with the Flora Pink Beaded Napkin Ring
• Garden Jacquard Pink 20" Napkin Bundle with the Dragonfly Pink Beaded Napkin Ring
  
• Rose Garden Patchwork Multi Quilted Placemat
• California Check Green 20" Napkin Bundle basket lining
  

Live Beautiful, Feel Beautiful, Be Beautiful

April

Napkin Giveaway! + Satisfying Salad Recipe

My sister, Moralea, first started me on a version of this salad in the Cayman Islands, a little while later I modified it with the addition of pine nuts – suggested by my neighbor Marty- it is absolutely delicious, a meal in itself, and a nice break from heavy holiday meals. Make it small for a few or double up for a party. Serve with French baguette.

Napkin Giveaway! Post your favorite type of salad & your email address (so we can contact you if you win). The random number generator will choose 2 winners for the Amandine Light Blue Napkin Set! We'll announce the winners next week, so stay tuned...

-- Satisfying Salad --
In a large and pretty salad bowl mix:
* Greens – I like to use mixed baby lettuces with the addition of arugula for its nutty flavor.
* 1 large avocado sliced
* ½ large apple [Honeycrsip, McIntosh, so many tasty ones to choose from!]
* 15-20 cherry tomatoes sliced
* ½ cup of raisins
* ½ cup extra sharp cheddar cheese [Cabot if available!] bite size
* Small container blue cheese crumbles or feta cheese crumbles
* Pine nuts
* Mushrooms

1. Mix everything together- making sure some tomatoes and raisins and crumbles remain on top for a colorful presentation.

2. In a frying pan – fry sliced mushrooms and pine nuts [or slivered almonds] in butter.

3. Top salad with mushrooms and nuts before serving- finish with a salad dressing of choice- preferably a vinaigrette [raspberry is lovely with all of the mix of tastes] - having a great neighbor, I occasionally use ‘Marti’s Magical Maple’ dressing – also yummy!

4. Place your bowl on a pretty cloth, or if the table is small, a colorful tea towel. Set up your plates and forks, your warm bread and be prepared to hear ‘this is the best salad I have ever tasted! What’s your recipe?’

Please send me your favorite salad and you could be the proud owner of a new set of napkins!
All the best for the awesome decade to come!

April

Live Beautiful Feel Beautiful Be Beautiful


We have our two winners - please congratulate: Terri A. and Suzanne M. on receiving the April Cornell Amandine Light Blue Napkin Bundle! Thank you all for participating - it's a joy to read each entry!
(Our winners were chosen by Tara Frey's Random Number Generator)

Shortbread Cookie Recipe

Many say that the Shortbread cookie is the cookie for the Holiday's, it's been a favorite of mine for some time now. Here's a simple recipe to enjoy the simple pleasures that make life so sweet!

Ingredients:
2 cups white flour
1 cup butter
1/2 cup icing (confectioners or 10-x powdered sugar
1 egg yolk
dash of salt
3 or 4 caps of almond flavoring (up to 1 tablespoon)

To make:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In a medium bowl soften butter slightly.
3. Stir in sugar, salt, almond flavoring, and egg yolk with a spoon. Gradually add flour to butter mix, combining thoroughly.
4. Turn onto a floured board and knead lightly until dough begins to crack. Roll out 1/4" thick and cut into shapes.
5. Place shapes on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degree until delicately brown (8-10 minutes).
6. Cool completely on wire racks. Store in airtight cookie tin.

Enjoy with family and friends! If you're gifting these, or bringing them along to a party you can wrap them up in a festive tea towel and ribbon or place them in a basket lined with beautiful napkins.

Have you had the time to make some scrumptious sweets? What cookies have you baked so far, any family favorites? Please post your favorite cookies (or recipes if you're really ambitious!) that make your Holiday's brighter and tighter in the waistline!


April

Be Beautiful, Live Beautiful, Feel Beautiful

April's Week of Tips: #1-Pretty Napkins

Essential Napkins

The holidays are around the corner, we will connect in special ways with family and friends to share long-cherished traditions and participate in meaningful rituals. Whether your holiday traditions are quickly pulled together or long planned, complex affairs it's bound to be a memorable and joyful experience. In the upcoming week, I'll share with you a few tips of mine to add a flair of festivity to your home beyond just a beautiful tablecloth.

A simple and easy way to decorate your table - Pretty Folded Napkins.
There many ways to fold napkins, be creative! One of my favorite ways, is to make a small pocket out of the napkin which can hold an array of decorative items [such as pinecones, leaves, little notes, flowers or utensils].


Here's how:


Give this a try, and feel free to post a picture of your beautiful napkin arrangements. I always love to see your creations!

April

Be Beautiful, Live Beautiful, Feel Beautiful

Behind the Scenes

This week is all hands on deck at our office in Burlington, VT. We set up a photo studio in our warehouse, painted cinder block walls, draped backgrounds, collected props and created mini environments of beauty to showcase new table linens, scarves and clothing for our website.
Many eyes, and hands were involved - there was the designer's eye [this is my vision], the graphic artist's eye [this is what I see on the screen], the buyer's eye [can the customer understand the product?], the perfectionist's eye [there's a wrinkle in the napkin], and the photographer's eye [this is what the camera sees!]
So many details, so much focus and such excitement and laughter made a great creative day.
My favorite part was when I was being photographed sitting at a table, and four people were dancing to YMCA behind me to make me laugh - it worked!

April

Be Beautiful, Feel Beautiful, Live Beautiful

Giving Thanks Twice

Hint: Click on the photos to see a beautiful full-screen view.

Thanksgiving is perfect day to gather around a table dressed in colorful tablecloths and napkins and groaning with season's bounty to give thanks for one another and for the food that has been prepared. Having been born in Montreal, and now living in Burlington, Vermont, I am happy to celebrate Thanksgiving in both places. Canadian Thanksgiving is October 11, and by the time American Thanksgiving comes around the end of November, I will be ready for the second batch of turkey and trimmings.

I enjoy dressing the table with layered tablecloths and toppers, and sometimes use two napkins at each place. It's nice to combine a solid napkin and a print that I either fold together or hold together with a beautiful napkin ring. Canadian Thanksgiving is this weekend, so its time to start thinking about dressing the table. I'm sharing two settings as inspiration for a colorful, warm and wonderful table. Tomorrow, I'll be sharing my recipe for traditional Apple Crumble, so be sure to stop back by!

Favorite Colors for Autumn Decor

I arrived back home in Burlington over the weekend from Delhi and was greeted by lovely fall weather. I settled in on Sunday and feathered my nest in some new prints. It's so easy to change the feel of the house for the seasons by switching out tablecloths for fresh autumn colors, and switching out cushions and pillows in chairs and sofas in a fall palette. 

     One of my favorite ways of changing the color tones for the seasons is to display a basket filled with nicely folded napkins that are mixed and matched in patterns and textures that mirror the feel of the season at hand. This year I am blending deep purples, pinks, taupe, and greens. What do you think? What are your favorite colors for fall this year?

April

Feel Beautiful, Live Beautiful, Be Beautiful

 

Tablecloths of Many Colors

Music, Flower Market, Amadine, Jess: I enjoy naming each new print. Often the name comes from the inspiration I had at the time, such as a beautiful sunset over the lake. Sometimes I enjoy honoring someone special in my life, like my granddaughter or one of the team here at April Cornell. A special friend might find it a surprise to peruse a new season's line and see that a coat, blouse or tablecloth print bears her name.

     These beautiful prints are from the new fall line. As is true to our style, you can see we reveled in a symphony of color once again. Each of the colors and designs in these prints requires its own hand-cut screen. The screens themselves are works of art, each having been created by a team of skilled craftsman. Over the years we have accumulated so many of them that it gets a little hard to store them all, but we do. Keeping a library is important because I never know when the inspiration will strike to pull an element from a past design into a new one.

Here is a close-up shot of the screens after they have been put on rollers for printing. Depending on the design and textile it is going on, we sometimes print with rollers, while at other times we use flat screens that are pulled by hand.  Once you see more of the behind-the-scenes work that goes into our products you'll see just how many hands and how much talent goes into creating the tablecloth you use on your table or the pretty new blouse you add to your fall wardrobe.

     

Colorful Tablecloths for Fall

Citron greens and buttery yellows grounded in black...a wonderful way to welcome fall in a new color palette. The Madeline is a delightful and fresh scheme for a table set to greet the harvest season. 

     Blend solid woven napkins and jacquard patterns for texture. I like to use two napkins per place setting. It brings another touch of color to the table and its often handy to have an extra napkin during a meal.

     I'll soon be in Delhi - by way of Amsterdam. I'm armed with a new video camera, and look forward to sharing behind-the-scenes clips of how our products are made by the dedicated and talented craftspeople in India.

     They've been creating April Cornell handiwork for over thirty years, passing on a heritage of skilled craftsmanship that has become part of our signature style.

Many Hands a Napkin Makes

The other day I received a direct message via Twitter from Pamela Root who owns That's Life Soup, a restaurant in Monteplier, VT. Pamela uses April Cornell napkins on her tables, and told me that they look gorgeous and she is always being asked where they came from. A beautifully printed napkin can add much beauty to any table setting. Our napkins are a work of art, created by many hands. 

     Our printing is done in India. I have a home in Delhi, and travel there throughout the year to partner with highly-skilled Indian craftsmen who use age-old skills are combined with modern techniques and machinery to create our beautiful linens and clothing. 

     Each print has eight screen-printed colors, each requiring its own screen. The screens are hand-drawn, carefully, so that each fits perfectly in line with all the others. A steady hand is necessary to ensure smooth flowing lines. The beauty of screen printing is that the feeling of brush strokes and painting can be captured on the screens. The printing itself is done one color at a time. Two printers work with each screen to ensure proper alignment and equal pressure. 

     Cornell designs and prints are the result of a long creative process. Many hands are involved. Finely developed skills, combined with hard work create beautiful, timeless collector's items. In the end each piece speaks for itself, yet stands in amongst the others, a favorite bloom in the garden. Or a beautiful accent to any table, whether in a restaurant like Pamela's or in our own home.

    Our new fall line is now available on the site! PS: Follow me on Twitter at AprilCornell...