"Beachy Blues Buffet" Tabletop

Sometimes a piece of fabric can inspire a table top!

In this case, a piece of Hawaiian print fabric in a variety of blues just happened to be what I needed to set the tone for a casual beachy buffet I hosted recently.

The yardage was one of the last things left in my mother-in-law's house when we were moving her to her new home.  I loved the various hues of blue and I thought the batik type print gave a Carribbean vibe.  The beachy buffet was held to thank those who had donated to my son's recent humanitarian trip to Haiti!

The colors in the fabric matched a lot of my depression glass that I had been collecting over the years so I gathered some pieces and put them to use.  The dark blue apothecary jar was my most recent find!

 I chose yellow and white daisies to contrast with all the blues!

The napkins were rolled up and encircled with jute napkin rings and placed in my cherished vintage sand bucket found at the Sacramento Antique Fair.

The light blue milk glass pedestal bowl was a gift from my husband - filled with lemon heads to carry the yellow through the table scape.  The vintage paper fish coasters were thrift store find, as was the blue cut glass handled bowl they are nestled in.

Here's a close up of the milk glass - I just love the curves in the pattern! 

They remind me of the ocean waves!

The tiny seahorse slat and peppers had to be included!

After adding the little starfish and some silver glass glitter to the edges of this sign found at Marshalls, it was ready to welcome the guests!

I placed the blue vase filled with daisies atop a vintage soda crate to create some height, added a couple of blue and yellow candles in a pair of milk glass candlesticks, a few seashells, and the "Beachy Blues Buffet" table top was complete!

I'm linking up to Tabletop Tuesday!

Sara's Vintage Baby Shower

Frogs and snails and puppy dog tails - that's what little boys are made of!
This vintage themed baby shower is full of creative uses of vintage treasures!

 A group of friends and sisters pooled their creative energy 
to stage a gorgeous shower on a beautiful Friday evening, for my niece Sara,
who loves all things vintage, and is having her first baby!

  The gift table welcomed guests as they entered the garden setting at a friends home.  A vintage suitcase is ready to receive cards for guests who chose to go in on the group gift.  The "Gifts" sign is clothes-pinned with a lace doily to the suitcase, which is lined with a vintage napkin.

photo courtesy of Lacey C. Photography

A vintage baby scale sits at the other end of the gift table.

Above the gift table, a clothesline of vintage hankies fluttered in the soft summer breeze.

 

Guest of honor, Sara, was beaming as she arrived for the shower.

A shabby yellow service cart from the fifties, holds the vintage green plaid ice bucket and the canning jars until the guests arrive.  Another vintage napkin with floral embroidery details formalizes the otherwise casual cart.

The glassware was moved to this table when the guests arrived.  A white metal bucket was given a floral decal to match the sunny floral tablecloth.  

Photo courtesy of Lacey C. Photography

 The vintage berry baskets hold the beverage napkins nicely and the daisies came from Sara's parents home.

Vintage glass shower dishes were stacked in piles on another vintage cart.  Sara's mother, Janie, and Sara's sister-in-law, Carianne, provided all the vintage floral tablecloths. 

The hydrangeas in the yard were at different stages of bloom, but added the perfect punch of color to the garden setting!

The dessert buffet was lined with a mix of vintage dishware and shabby serving pieces - from Jadite to LuRay, they sit at attention waiting to receive their subjects!

Seating was around round tables dressed in white rented tablecloths 

with vintage tablecloth toppers.  

Centerpieces were large mason jars filled with roses, hydrangeas and daisies.

 The stage was set for the special guest to open her shower gifts.  A vintage chair was draped with a soft throw, and Jessica hand made a paper garland announced "It's a Boy" in the vintage nursery colors: seaglass, mustard yellow, taupe and cream.

 A wire basket holds game supplies ready and with a vintage kitchen scale,

adds to the theme.

Bamboo poles stuck in rock filled buckets, 

held the banner aloft over the mom-to-be's chair.

Ribbon streamers, tied to the ends, gracefully danced in the slight wind.

A vintage stroller was positioned next to the chair and seemed to say,

"Come on out boy! We're ready if you are!" 

 

Jessica and Lacey pause for a picture before starting the games!

While the guests were arriving - the desserts were set out. Even baby Caleb arrived sporting a vintage romper - he can't wait to meet his new boy cousin!

A sweet feast awaited the guests!  The dessert buffet included double chocolate pecan brownie bars, individual blackberry tarts, shortbread cookies topped with cream fraiche and strawberries, caramel brownies, and neighbor Dianna's famed Serendipity - a luscious chocolate cookie crust bar with whipped cream filling and a chocolate glaze.

Lacey and her sisters made Cake Pops and decorated them in Sara's nursery colors!

Beverages included ice cold water with cool cucumber slices and a strawberry lemonade punch.  The large glass decanters fit perfectly on the yellow cart with the canning jar glassware moved to the table.

Guests filled their plates and ate the decadent treats while Sara opened her gifts.  This little guy, Karam, sure enjoyed his cake pop!

My favorite dessert was the individual berry tarts.  The crust was a perfect blend of sumptuous flavor and texture, the berries were absolutely perfectly ripe, and the little crust heart tucked into each tart added the perfect finishing touch!

One look at this picture and you can see why they are called 'showers' as Sara is clearly 'showered' with gifts for her new little boy!!

A vintage doll stroller for the nursery decor!!

As Sara opened gift after gift, no doubt the older guests thought back to their own showers and the younger guests thought about the showers that would be held for them in the future. 

 Sara poses with the shower planners - Julie, Lacey, Jessica, Dianna, MaryAnn and Carianne.

 With the gifts opened it was time for Sara to enjoy a cake pop!  

The baby shower is a cherished tradition and it won't be long until 
Sara has her new bundle of joy whom she will cherish as well!

"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!