Everyday Celebrating

Chair love!

Another one of those things that I see AFTER my own wedding that I would've loved to have had there.
I love these chair sashes!

$40 for 2 at prettypleasemayi

Also would be nice for milestone anniversaries or have one made with "birthday boy" on the back, etc.

Black and white and stunning!

Loving these feather backed chairs!
See the rest of this black and white inspired wedding at Southern Weddings Magazine blog.

Gather up for Cinco de Mayo!

While historically, Cinco de Mayo has no real historical significance in Mexico itself, Americans sure love to add it to the list of celebrated occasions - a "holiday" celebrating Mexican heritage and pride.

OR all these products put together would make a fun shower, summertime birthday, or patio party!

Here's a few items to get the creative juices flowing from fabulous etsy sellers:

Corona bottle glasses! 
Made from real recycled Corona beer bottles, these are individually flame cut and polished.
$10 for a set of two.

Everyday tip:  These would make a great gift.  Think about someone with a new house or apartment with a balcony.  Pair a couple of these in a cute small cooler with a 6 pack of Coronas, a few limes, some great colorful kitchen towels, etc.  Great summertime gift!

Your drinks need something beautiful to sit upon!
Take one white tablecloth - preferably a light linen or a gauzy muslin would be a great texture...
then add these cocktail napkins for a pop of color.

These are handmade organic linen cocktail napkins that were batiked and dyed by hand.
They are washable and will hold up to many uses. 
$24 for a set of 4.

Everyday tip: I especially see future uses for the pink napkins.  I love how the design almost looks like a chandelier.  You could do a fabulous shower or bachelorette party with these, using a pink/white color scheme and bringing in chandelier and crystal elements.

This seller also has some incredible tablecloths and runners.

Decorations? 
Mexican cut paper banners

Buy a pack of 3 for $28 and criss cross them over your table. 

Fun with food?

I love these paper festooned food picks.

10 picks for $4 and they fit in with the color scheme we have going beautifully!

Dessert?
How about chocolate covered jalapenos!?

These are green jalapenos fresh from the market, covered in your choice of chocolate or vanilla.
I love that they come with the stem in tact.  Makes for a nice presentation!
Half pound box is $12.

or Fiesta cookies!

Shortbread cookies beautifully decorated for the occasion.
1 dozen for $29.99.
GREAT favors to wrap up for guests to take home.
They are FIVE inches wide! 

Graduation Gift: The t-shirt quilt

Graduations are coming up quickly!
Both high school and college students seem to amass several t-shirts over their careers and several are dear to their hearts.

Take those symbols of good times and make them into a t-shirt quilt or blanket!
There are several sellers on etsy like Katherine who made the one above. (I'm partial to it as it features my sorority, Sigma Kappa! Any SigKaps out there?)

These make a great gift that they'll keep and maybe pass down.  Imagine a parent passing down their greek shirt quilt to a child when they join.  And they don't have to be made from sorority/fraternity shirts.  They can be general college shirts or one from all the organizations they were in like band or drama, etc.

Some etsy sellers make less expensive versions that are blankets, seen below. Both are cute and equally sentimental. And they're great for both males and females.

These would even make a great whimsical tablecloth for a graduation party that they could keep afterwards!  Or can be hung on a wall for decoration.

And they aren't just for graduates.  What about making one of your favorite sports team and maybe displaying it at your tailgate site? 

Need shirts?  Goodwill or Ebay are great for local or pro sports teams.

Wish I would've kept all my shirts!!  I would love to have one of these now!

Everyday Events: Peas in a Pod Shower

Aren't multiple births a miracle?  A friend of mine had triplets.  No fertility treatments, no drugs of any kind to help the process.  She conceived THREE babies.. naturally.  Amazing!

So we thought it was fitting to throw her a Peas in a Pod baby shower.  Here are a few of the details
(click on the photos to view larger)

Invitations:  The invitations were simple.  White cardstock with a simple oval in green.  At the top, I used a cute triplet clip art featuring 2 boys and a girl (which she was having).  I always want a bit of texture on an invite.  It must have some type of 3-D something, ya know?   For these, I made leaves out of green felt and "vine" out of green floral wire.  Wrap the wire around a pencil to curl it and glue it all down with a strong, thick adhesive.


The introduction rhyme was:

Three peas in a pod
Three bundles of joy
Three babies from heaven
One girl and two boys!

Here were a few of the decorative elements that carried out the pea pod theme:

The centerpiece of the gift table was a large pea pod.  I made this out of 3 green plastic children's balls
I found at the dollar store. (You'd never know the other side of those balls had Pooh on them!)
I wrapped felt around them to form the pod and closed the pod with hot glue.  The pod sat on a large petunia arrangement.  In the original concept, the pea pod was supposed to stick out of the petunias on a hidden stick.  The balance of it never quite worked out, so we went with just lying in on top. The contrast was still striking.

 

One of the food table centerpieces was a grouping of baby's breath simply inserted in a vase I made from a painted coffee can and ribbon.

It's funny looking back on these cupcakes because these were a few years BEFORE the now popular cupcake toppers came on the scene.  Needless to say, they were a huge hit then, but now, they are pretty common.

I apologize in advance for the blurriness of this photo.  I made several of these table runners.  Each were green and had a peapod embellishment I made out of felt and vine.  The "peas" were buttons.

As usual, I made the crunch and munch cones.  Always do!  They are always a hit!  These featured the peapod clipart and a peapod on the flower pot.

The famous Martha Stewart poms were hung above the gift table.  Here you can see the table before gifts, with the centerpiece, runner and poms.  You can also see the diaper peapod in the background on the mantel.

Here's a closer view of the diaper peapod.  A different take on the traditional diaper cake.
I made 3 circles of diapers and wrapped them in felt to create the pod.  Tied the ends off with ribbon and laid it on some fresh ivy to create the vine effect.

 

We really lucked out!  Walmart happened to be selling these super cute peapod onesies so we worked those into the decor!

 

Just some of the fun decorations you can put together for a peapod shower!  Of course, it can all be adjusted to work for a twin's shower as well.  :)

DIY/Tutorial: How to tie dye with sharpies

First, to appreciate the tie dye of this fabric, click on the pic to see it up close.
It's really interesting.

So I'm always on the hunt for neat stuff to do with my son either now or in the future.  He's only 2 so some things are too advanced for him right now to enjoy, but I know he'll love them in the future.  This is one of those things.

And also, when I saw this I immediately thought of a fun summer child's party.  Use this big sheet as a tablecloth and use some fun multi-colored plastic plates and utensils and maybe have something simple like a sprinkler or slip and slide party.

Or this would be adorable for an easter egg hunt!  Use colors that match the eggs!

Anyway, I found this neat idea from this website, Do Life Right, and I used one of their photos which included one of their children (that's why their face is darkened.)

This idea is super easy and here's how it works:

Supplies:

• Sharpies (the more colors the better, but the metallic ones won’t work properly for this)
• Glass (and/or disposable) cups (at least 4 per person)
• Rubberbands (1 per cup)
• Rubbing alcohol in cups with straws — drip bottles work best (1 per person)
• Fabric to dye (we’ve done t-shirts and sheets of fabric)

Instructions:

1. Lay out the material you are wanting to dye.
2. Put the cups under the fabric — open end up — and secure with rubber bands on top of the fabric.
3. Put dots and squiggles in the center of your circle.
4. Slowly drip the rubbing alcohol (one drop at a time) in the center of the circle. You won’t need much, so go slowly. Watching the ink spread and mix is the fun part, don’t rush it.
5. Allow it to air dry for a few minutes. By the time you are done with four or so, your first circle will most likely be dry enough to take out the cup.
6. Repeat until you are satisfied.

TIPS:

• Prewash and dry fabric.
• Don’t use plastic cups you want to keep, as the markers will permanently stain them.
• Heat set the material, after it has air-dried, for at least 30 minutes longer than you think you should. The Sharpies fade a lot quicker if you don’t heat set for long enough. We’ve found that a dryer works better than an iron. Setting with vinegar seems to make no difference in the longevity of the colors.
• Have fun and experiment with color combinations you normally wouldn’t try. Don’t freak out if it spreads “incorrectly” — there is no right or wrong!
• Try dripping the alcohol from the side, rather than the center. It won’t spread in the same way, but you might like those results better.
• Don’t be afraid of drawing actual pictures. These can look really cool!
• When in doubt about a color combination, add a little black — WOW!
• We tried to do this same experiment on card stock for ATCs (art trading cards). It didn’t work, but try it on other papers and fabrics. Experimenting is really important and fun! You never know when you’ll happen upon the next great idea that everyone will be talking about.
• If you don’t like an area of the fabric, put a cup under it and draw something new (or just drip alcohol on the spot and watch what happens). Some of our least favorite areas turned into our favorite spots this way.

DIY/FREEBIE - Valentine pillow downloadable template

Super cute, right?
Ez at Creature Comforts has designed and provided for FREE and downloadable iron-on template and instructions on how to create these fabulous pillows for your sweetie.

Visit her site for all the details!

Everything old is new again.

Great idea from Good Housekeeping magazine!
Have you collected a few tree skirts that you love, but have no where to display them?
Or, did you get a new tree skirt that's so beautiful that you hate to have it hidden by presents?

Move it to the table!
Cover your table with a solid tablecloth that pulls out a color in the skirt. 
Drape the skirt over the tablecloth and add a centerpiece to hide the center opening!

Isn't that genius?  (yeah. I didn't think of it either.)

A handpainted gathering

 

Campaign Ads = Done!  (We hope!)
Let's move on to the OTHER November celebration that's looming a mere 22 days from now.

I ran across these amazing hand painted watercolor place cards from Jennifer Aitchison.
Such beautiful detail work and I love how watercolor lends itself to an amazing blending of colors just as you see in the fall.  I also love how the leaves are attached with a 3D tape, giving the card a bit of depth.

Cards come in a cream color as well if you need something to match a more traditional china.

Get them from Jennifer here.

Luxe elegance!

SIGH!  Where were these when I had my big Southern Living mag wedding?  Seriously!
Of course I had plenty of fabulousness for the mag folks to revel in (not to toot my own horn)
But these... THESE... would have really blown the top off my tables!!!!!

Aren't these absolutely gorgeous??????   My friend Dianne of Colorblind Productions saw them at the Wedding Salon (luxury bridal showcase) in NYC earlier this week.  And I know she's sick of hearing me say "where were THESE when I got married?"  (Sorry, D!) :)

Oh..here's the gold version.
Beautiful!!!!!