By Peter Whiteley, Sunset senior writer

On a recent trip to Arizona, Beth and I bought a number of those three-dimensional punched-tin stars in different sizes. The pointed stars are hinged so you can open them up and put a light bulb inside. We put our collection on top of a hutch where we keep the television, and their angular shapes added interest to that corner of the room. Things got a lot more festive when I added a string of those little Christmas twinkle lights.

I took a  string of 100 lights, wadded them into five groups, and inserted the lights into the star shapes. I spaced them close enough so only one or two connected lights were exposed between the star shapes. Not only do the stars now brighten the corner of the room, but they cast interesting shapes on the ceiling.

You don't even have to make a trip to the Southwest to get some stars for yourself.  Just do a search for "Mexican punched-tin stars" online to unearth a number of sources:

Sunrise Imports
mydanilo.com
Direct From Mexico

By Monica Ewing, Sunset senior designer

For those of you who aren't in a rush to decorate for Christmas, give your pumpkins one last hurrah before everything becomes tinsel and snowflakes. Remember: Fall isn't over until Dec. 22, and pumpkins aren't just for Halloween.

Pumpkin vases
I carved out two medium-sized pumpkins just big enough to fit a medium-sized wide-mouth canning jar inside. Then I placed the jars, and filled them with water, plant food, and long-lasting mini carnations (from Safeway). When it's time to decorate for Christmas, mix the carnations in one big vase, and you're ready for the holidays. Here are some tips to extend vase life.

Candle holders
I used squat pumpkins and 2 1/4-inch-wide pillar candles. I carved out a hole that was just big enough to hold the candle. When carving the hole, err on the smaller side and adjust as needed.

Mini menagerie
I arranged a variety of small pumpkins and gourds in a glass cylinder. (All the pumpkins and gourds that I used are from Farmer John's in Half Moon Bay).

Here's another great tabletop idea from Jess Chamberlain: Make your own menorah.

By Peter Whiteley, Sunset senior writer

Ornamental kale is making its appearance now at nurseries and flower shops. The plants' variegated patterns — soft greens and cream or smoky-green and purple — add punch to beds and containers outside, but they can also play a part in long-lasting arrangements indoors.

Here's the Thanksgiving centerpiece my wife Beth made with ornamental kale and sprays of eucalyptus pods. She found the kale at a local fresh-produce market, but rather than being in plastic pots, they were sold like flowers with long stems. They must have bolted.

Even if you can't find kale on stems, you could use young ones grown in 4-inch plastic pots and temporarily plant them in a tall-sided pot. We used an antique terra cotta baking dish for a container, cut the kale stalks, and attached them to metal "frogs" set in water. The softening eucalyptus sprays tuck into voids and spill gently out. The arrangement should last weeks.

What are you doing for your holiday tables this year? Tell us! Just click on the "Comments" link below.

And see our December 2007 story for more casually elegant bouquets.

By Jess Chamberlain, Sunset home & design writer

Last week I had the pleasure of snagging some last-minute tickets to Elle Decor's 10th annual Dining by Design event at the San Francisco Design Center. What a treat. Editorial Assistant, MacKenzie Geidt, and I felt a tiny bit under-dressed in our rushed-straight-from-work garb—next to some of the oscar-red-carpet-ready dresses—but we had a fun time perusing the 44 dining room scenes that transformed the four floors of the SFDC Galleria nonetheless. The event showcased unique designer installations and culminated with a fancy dinner right on scene. Kinda felt like we were eating in a museum exhibit.

The themes ranged from pool-side casual (complete with lifeguards) to stainless steal stove-top dining—yes—right on stovetops. We adored the “Dinner on Deadline” scene by 7x7 magazine, with calendar placemats and napkin-wrapped pencil holders.

But MacKenzie said it just right: "The best vignettes were the most imaginative and transporting: a masked Venetian carnivale party, Truman Capote’s literary salon, Marie Antoinette’s rococo decadence, and a tented meal in Marrakesh with hookahs and kumquat tree centerpieces. My favorites were the ones that felt like an escape from reality."

Event proceeds benefit DIFFA (Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS).

Here are a few highlights.

More images and info here.

By Monica Ewing, Sunset senior designer

Last July, I wrote about flowers and foliage that have longer vase life. One of the flowers I mentioned was alstroemeria. Honestly, I had no idea what alstroemeria looked like in person. The online photos I found didn't help much. Then last month Sunset had some flowers leftover from a photo shoot. Among them were alstroemeria. I grabbed a bunch of reddish and coral-color blooms and decided to put them to the test.

The photo above was taken the day after I brought them home. I had trimmed the stems, stripped the leaves from the bottom part, and placed them in water mixed with a plant food packet that they came with.

Two weeks later, I took this photo. They opened up more; the leaves were a little droopy, but overall they looked great. (The pinker color in this image is because of different lighting.) That's the last photo I took because someone (ahem, me) accidentally let them go dry one day. Despite that, they continued to look beautiful for a few more days. I'm convinced they could have lasted a month with proper care.

So, I'm a big fan of alstroemeria. They're not roses, but they're gorgeous—and they stay gorgeous for much longer.

By Monica Ewing, Sunset senior designer

Confession All my photos are still in photo boxes or on my hard drive.
Excuse #1 Scrapbooking isn't for me. It's too time consuming. Plus, I want my photos to take center stage, not some pretty paper cutouts.
Excuse #2 I’ve never liked the idea of a collection of mismatched photo albums, which is what happens when you buy new albums over time.
Solution I made my own albums out of 3-ring binders.

10 reasons I love these
1. I can make more with matching or coordinating fabric
2. All my albums will be the same size
3. Minimal sewing is required
4. The cover is washable
5. They hold up to 200 pages (100 front and back)
6. They accommodate regular photos or digital printouts—no cutting required
7. They’re expandable and editable
8. The sleeves protect photos from fingerprints
9. They’ll last forever because I’ve used all archival-quality materials
10. I can make and fill five of these in the time it takes to fill one scrapbook

Supplies
Standard 3-inch, 3-ring binder (had on hand)
100 pack heavyweight acid-free, archival-quality sheet protectors (Staples, $13)
100 pack acid-free black card stock (McWhorter’s, $11.50)
Heavyweight photo-quality printer paper (had on hand)
Photo-safe removable double-sided tape (Staples, $4)
1 1/2 yards of heavyweight fabric (Joann’s, $9)
Black fountain pen (had on hand)
White “Gelly Roll” pen (McWhorter’s, $2)

Step 1 Make the cover
This is basically made the same way we folded paper-bag book covers in school. I started by cutting a piece of fabric that was 14 x 49 inches.

Then I folded the two short sides 5/8 inch, pressed, and sewed them. Next I folded and pressed the top and bottom sides 1 inch each. Then I folded over each side 11 inches, pinned, and sewed all the way across the top and bottom of the cover about ¼ inch from the edge.

Finally I slid the binder into the cover by turning the binder inside out.

Step 2 Fill the pages
Here are two ways to do this: You can tape your photos onto sheets of black card stock and slide them into the sheet protectors, or use a graphics program to print your digital photos onto a sheet of photo paper and slide that into the sheet protectors. I did both. I also left space to label each photo by hand (white pen on black paper, black pen on white paper).

It’s that easy. Did I mention these make great recipe books and gifts too? The only drawback: They're heavy.

In two weeks: Amazing alstroemeria