Create Impact With Cherry Blossoms

Blooming Branches: 
A wonderful greeting as you enter a room!

Nothing creates greater visual impact to a room than a tall array of flowering Spring-time branches.  Even displaying a single branch placed in a vase can be breathtaking and worth bringing indoors to admire.

A gathered selection of blooming single and double cherry blossoms 

combined with plum branches make up this display. 

I'm fortunate to have a good friend like Shelley Holmes! Shelley invited me to cut several amazingly beautiful branches from her enormous and very old double cherry-tree.  I felt like a kid in a candy shop!

The oversized vintage copper watering can came from a favortie antiques shop in Woodbury, Connecticut, called the French Country Loft. It's great to collect one of a kind containers like this for your arrangements.


Photos by Michael Partenio

I like the simplicity of this white enamel watering can I found at the flea market. It's the right size for a few small cuttings of magnolia flowers.  Cut the end of stem with a sharp knife on an angle and place in warm water.
Here is the Best Way to Cut a Branch Stem:

Using a sharp kitchen paring knife, slice the bottom of the branch in a half vertically ( about 2") exposing center.  In the center of the branch is a hollow vein with small white particles that look like styrofoam. This the the part of the branch that drinks the water. You want to expose the center to the water.  On thinner branches you can also peel away some of the bark or woody material using a paring knife.
To learn more about arranging and forcing spring branches, look for my feature in the current 2013 Spring Issue of Country Gardens magazine.

Celebrating October in Style with Do it Yourself Ideas

All of my friends say I have the coolest job, and I must say I  probably do. 

My life as a stylist has many wonderful faces that present me with a continual stream of challenges to design, create and make beautiful projects happen. 

It's fun looking for new approaches to things like making this this faux vase from gourds.  It's easy to make! 

Use a wood shish kabob spear and push it through all of the gourds to hold them vertically. The top squash was hollowed out and filled with wet oasis. This project I created for Better Homes and Gardens Country Gardens magazine.

Designed by Karin Lidbeck for Country Gardens magazine. Photo Andre Baronowski

I do find inspiration sometimes in the strangest places. 

My friend and fellow designer  Elizabeth Reilly and I created this canopy of drapped blueberry netting in tree branches resulting in a magical setting for an evening soiree.  Carving all those pumpkins in record time nearly killed us. We had two days to create this garden party for Garden Design magazine in Elizabeth's garden and the blueberry netting was a last minute inspiration that really worked.

The end result of hard work is always so rewarding!  Holiday product Designer Bruce Elsass and  I created a party in the woods for Country Living magazine.  It really was one of the best Halloween parties ever that continued after the shoot into the night. (By the way, that's me in the witches get-up)

It's  great to work with so many fantastic photographers who bring gorgeous light and vision  to every project.

 Literally, it's all about teamwork!

Styled by Karin Lidbeck Brent for Better Homes and Gardens
 Photo by Michael Partenio

I've always loved throwing parties and creating DIY entertaining projects which are easy and quick.

Designing this table scape with bittersweet for Better Homes and Gardens was a really fun project for me to work on.

Styled by Karin Lidbeck Brent. Photos by Michael Partenio

When it comes to my job and working with so many fantastic creative people,  I could hardly ever imagine doing anything else.