Apothe'scary' Tabletop!

 

When my boys were little, Halloween was a major decorating event!  With two of my three sons home this past weekend, the decorations were limited to the dining room table for a casual ghoulish dinner with their girlfriends.  The chandelier got a spidery makeover first -

Tearing an old lace tablecloth into shreds substituted for 'spiderwebs' since I didn't have any and with the price of gas these days, couldn't justify a trip to town!  I draped the strips over and under the chandelier's arms, leaving the 'shreds' hanging.

Little glittery spiders grabbed right onto the shreds without tape, wire or anything!

Soon it was arachnaphobia all over again!

  

Next I added a skull tablecloth I found at a thrift store - it wasn't long enough to fit the table so I just put it in the middle.  

 A rugged black runner crossed over the top running the length of the table and then two matching place mats anchored the table ends. Next, Apothecary jars were placed over the runner and as many glass cloches as I could find. 

Rummaging through the "Halloween" tote I got out of my attic I found all sorts of 'body parts' I could fill the apothecary jars with!

Witches fingers. . .

Eyeballs . . .

Teeth . . .

 and a bunch of skulls!

Glow-in-the-dark bugs filled this apothecary jar!

This small metal rat was missing an ear but who could tell under the little cloche when he was surrounded by eyeballs?!

This sticky red blood found at the dollar store really set the mood - I wrapped it around the large apothecary jar and I had my accent color!  Fun labels with ghoulish titles were leftover from last year but still had plenty of stick left so each jar got one!

My tall red glass candlesticks were a perfect blood red and the big-eyed black owl candles came from Marshall's.

I had a few more big and little glitter spiders so I placed them on top of a silver pedestal dish.  This black web 'cloche' is really a wire basket I turned upside down to 'capture' the spiders.

 

Lastly - I rolled some rubber eyeballs out for 'scatter' and let them lie where they stopped rolling.

 With the apothecary jars and cloches filled, it was time to move onto the place settings.

I love using my plain white dinner plates and then adding a fun salad plate on top to go with the theme.  These black and white plates were a birthday gift from a friend.  Plain white paper napkins were placed in black crow napkin rings and look plenty fancy!  The red handled silverware was found at a thrift store.  Red water glasses echoed the red dripping blood!

The menu was simple - chicken enchiladas, green and fruit salad, and chocolate cupcakes for dessert.  Orange and black sprinkles topped the cakes made fancy by web design cupcake wraps.  The wire pedestal cupcake stand was another thrift store find.

My one decorating splurge this year for Halloween was this "Happy Halloween" burlap banner I bought at Pottery Barn - I couldn't resist!  The orange 'flicker' lights were a great find at Big Lots and really enhanced the mood of this casual Friday Fright Feast! Here's wishing you and yours a Happy Halloween!

I've linked up to 
Catch a Glimpse Thursday
The Weekly Creative #6 

Artist Spotlight: Brent Taylor - Cabin Creek Log Furniture

 In the Eastern Sierras, a cabin sits among a small meadow with granite rocks while a cool, crisp creek cuts through the property.

Gathered tree poles stand at attention marking the perimeter.
The buzz of a sander is heard and there are numerous trees adorned with whimsical faces
to welcome you to Cabin Creek Log Furniture.  

 The setting couldn't be more perfect for Brent Taylor,
an artist who hand gathers wood to transform into sturdy home furniture.

Brent Taylor began making his sustainable furniture in 1987.  Inspired by the trees while hiking, he sees a headboard, a chair, a table - as he looks at the uniqueness of each log. 

 Brent hand gathers naturally fallen trees, such as these lodgepole pines from the Mammoth Lakes Basin, cleaning up the forest floors of debris which would otherwise rot.  He hauls the logs to a mill where he has the logs milled into slabs, leaving the bark intact.  Once milled, he hauls the tree planks back home to his workshop, where he cuts, pieces, sands and finishes each one of a kind piece. 

Brent's talent lies in picking out the perfect piece of wood for each project and then finishing it for comfort.  No two projects are alike, even when built to the same specifications, because no two trees are the same, which makes Brent Taylor's pieces highly collectible and sought after.  It may take Brent up to two months just to design, build, and finish one bed, making each creation truly a work of art.  Brent contours his chair seats for comfort - and they are incredibly comfortable!

When finished to Brent's high expectations, each piece is marked with a BT brand to signify a "Brent Taylor Original" - a piece to cherish!

Crafts and Art Shows are his primary market exposure as well as word of mouth and referrals, which keeps Brent busy throughout the year.  

  If you attend Mule Days in Bishop, CA or any of the Arts and Crafts Fairs held in Mammoth Lakes, CA.(check www.monoarts.org for show dates) look for the Cabin Creek Furniture sign - a routered slab of wood that sits atop his display. 

Ask Brent about any of his pieces and he will tell you what kind of wood it is and point out the special qualities of each.  Here is a bench he fashioned out of Aspen and Pine.

  After a recent trip to Oregon, Brent started creating smaller decorative pieces which are perfect for those who appreciate Brent's work but are traveling.

At Arts and Crafts Fairs he generally sells lots of smaller pieces like coat racks,

 shelves, signs, frames, and mirrors. . .

 but people see his larger pieces for sale on display . . .

  and commission him to create beds, dining room tables and chairs, coffee tables,

 bar stools,

 and other built-ins for their homes. What sets Brett's pieces apart from other log furniture is the super smooth finishes and his creative use of form and texture.

 

If you are lucky enough to find him at one of these shows,
 check out his portfolio to see his quality installations. . .

 such as stair rails,

 bars and moldings in client's homes, offices, cabins and rental properties.
Cabin Creek Furniture is a prefect fit for all types of decor
from Ralph Lauren to Pottery Barn and West Elm.

Brent's wife, Missy, is an interior designer, and the two have collaborated on several projects.  This kitchen showcases Brent's work creating these counters and bar stools.

Brent is usually busy at home in his wood shop with sawdust billowing around him, or on a job site doing an installation, such as this fireplace.

 You can contact Brent at 760-387-2194 or email missyt@wildblue.net.  Always leave a message because with saws and sanders, it is not easy to hear the phone!  Show season is starting soon and keeps him very busy with shows Thanksgiving week, 10 days between Christmas through New Years, and President's Day weekend - all in Mammoth Lakes at the Minaret Mall Winter Festival.  These indoor shows make it possible for Brent to showcase his work during the snowy winter months. 

Cabin Creek Log Furniture is perfect for rustic, shabby, or urban farmhouse interiors or any place sturdy, custom furniture, which will appreciate in value over the years, is needed. 
Custom designs, custom made, custom installations - 
Brent and his Cabin Creek Log Furniture 
is beautifully "Taylor" made especially for you!

"Ooh La La Lingerie" Bridal Shower

Ah - June! Love is in the air and there are loads of weddings!  But before the weddings, come the bridal showers. After my posting "Before and After: Patio Table" I had numerous emails asking me to reveal the rest of the shower so . . ..  At the request of my readers, I am sharing the "Oooh La La Lingerie" Bridal Shower I held for my niece!

These invitations were full of surprises!

The little lingerie card slide out the top of the gift box and the colors set the color palette for the party- Pink, white and black with a sassy french twist!

First -decorate the mantel! My Flea Affaire wreath, made by my friend Deidre,  with "Je t'aime" - the french words for 
"I love you" hangs in front of the mirror. Perched below it, two lovebirds with miniature silver vases, filled with white roses.

More candlesticks flank either side of the mirror with pale pink candles - the candlelight will add a bit or romance to the evening shower!!  A 'Congratulations" banner hangs below.

 

Next - set up the dessert and drink buffet table.  A black and white square tablecloth was layered over a pink damask table cloth to cover the table.

 I placed one of my small patio tables on top to create height.

A black satin decorator tablecloth was draped over the patio table.

Wine glasses, champagne flutes, some pink tumblers, crystal wine charms and a darling shoe bottle opener were placed on top.

 

My patio table converted into an accent table for the buffet! A bow, made with pink sparkle tulle, gathered around the extra fabric finished off the look!  I placed my silver punchbowl filled with the champagne, wine and lemonade bottles just to the left of the glassware table.

 French sparkling lemonades are great to offer your guests who would prefer non-alcoholic beverages.  Find them at Cost Plus or Bev Mo!

 

 

A vintage oval mirror placed in the middle of the table 

reflects the candlesticks and cupcake holder as the  centerpiece.  

I love using mirrors as part of my tablescapes!  They add so much glamour and their reflective surface adds that extra bling to the display.  

My grandmothers sterling candlesticks sit alongside some glass and mercury glass candlesticks, filled with various shades of pink candles.  

The silver shell dish, and the crystal candy dishes were some of our wedding presents.

The pink two tier serving dish was a treasure found at TJ Maxx years ago for $3!  

It had a little crack in the glass at the top tier but I didn't care- it was darling!

The black tiered server has been used for years and the cupcake display under the plastic I just received from my sons for Mother's Day this year.

The black chandelier seemed a bit undressed after I got the table set up so I decided to swag some pink organza fabric around the arms to dress it up!  This chandelier with the crystal bobeches was once of my 'finds' - it only cost me $5 at a thrift store!  

I loved the crystal accents and the fluidity of the arms, but it's bright gold color quickly got a coat of satin black spray paint when I got it home.
Voila! A perfect chandelier for my french themed dining room!

(I did have some help from my son, Alex, who took it apart and reassembled it 

when I was done painting - he was always good with puzzles!)

 

I glittered this "love" cutout of wood, and hung it from the bottom

of the chandelier for a special touch.

The 'hardscape' was complete - it was time to move on!

With all the rain in our area this year, my roses were more beautiful than ever!  I was running out of time and wanted to have lots of fresh flowers arrangements so I asked one of my adopted daughters, Lyndsey, to come over to do the flower arrangements for me.

  Lyndsey is one talented young lady and had competed 

in flower arranging in FFA (Future Farmers of America) in high school.  

I showed her all my vases and where they would be, showed her around my garden, 

gave her some clippers and a work area and she went to work on the arrangements.   Lyndsey did a fantastic job, adding a bit of greenery and the flower buds from my ornamental bamboo plant.  

This one large mercury glass vase arrangement needed to be a little higher on the table, so I placed the vase in a crystal pedestal bowl and filled the bowl around the vase with more kisses- now it was the perfect height!

I placed a quilted, toile runner down the middle of my kitchen table, added the vintage pedestal mirror, and a small crystal dish filled with various pink flavors of Jelly Belly jellybeans. Lyndsey filled my silver Revere bowl with more roses from my garden.

Roses frame the vintage candy dishes, filled with pink candies, 

on top of a vintage mirror to decorate the coffee table.

 This Lenox vase was just the right size  to use on my kitchen island.  It looked beautiful filled with roses atop another dainty vintage mirror!  The pair of salt and pepper lovebirds were another Anthropologie find. This display holder was meant to hold a photograph and is perfect for menus or in this case, an invitation!

Ecstatic!  That is what is felt when my shopping excursion brought me to this  lingerie!  What could be a better gift for my niece than lingerie that matched her bridal shower invites - especially since it was a lingerie shower?!  I found two pair of boyfriend panties - this pink one with the black lace trim and an all black pair, so I added them to her gift as the camisole only came with the little thong you see in the middle right of the picture!

I made three kinds of cupcakes for the dessert bar: Super Lemon - a lemon cupcake with lemon frosting, Mochachino - a chocolate cupcake with chocolate chips inside, with Kahlua infused frosting accented with a piourette cookie, 
and a Lemon cupcake with Raspberry frosting.  

I found these bride and groom cupcake picks,in a little Meri Meri kit. complete with liners, at Sur La Table.  Pink and white candies filled various dishes 

to add more pink to the buffet.  The Pepperidge Farm Raspberry cookies fit the bottom tier of the dish well with Jordan Almonds on the top. 

 The layered strawberry cheesecake topped with fresh strawberries was enjoyed by guests as well but I didn't get a picture of it!  

My niece's name is Jordan - what would her bridal shower be without a sweet little silver dish filled with Jordan Almonds?!

These sweet little favor bags matched the invitation and theme perfectly!  Filled with Hershey's Kisses, each guest went home with 
a little "Oooh La La" from the shower!

Jordan - the beautiful bride!