Wedding Decor Fits Occasion to a Tea

My daughter-in-law is a woman after my own heart. Her style truly is my cup of tea.

Our son, Sam, and Meg recently were married in a charming little venue that reflected their personalities and styles perfectly. A little bit shabby chic, a tad rustic, a dab French vintage. All of which I, too, love.

Always itching for a reason to treasure hunt, I was tickled to death when Meg asked me to help find vintage tea cups and saucers and teapots they could incorporate into their reception table centerpieces.  She knows I love to sew, so she also offered me the job of making table runners for the event--an opportunity I jumped on.

Over the course of nearly a year, I collected about 30 teapots. Or, I should say teapots and coffee pots. I added several china coffee pots to the collection to put some height in the mix. Many of the pots were in mint condition, but others were missing lids or had minor chips or blemishes. Not to worry, though. Meg's vision was to fill many of them with fresh flowers and succulents, which would mask most flaws.

At around 50 sets, I lost count of the cup and saucer duos I picked up at local thrift stores, garage sales and estate sales. With a self-imposed price limit, the entire collection of cups, saucers and pots cost under $250. The same collection likely would have cost much more where they live.

We originally planned to make the table runners out of painter's drop cloths. In fact, I bought the drop cloths before my sister suggested we use linen fabric like the  type she sells in her eclectic Scottsdale store. She was able to get the amount of fabric we needed from one of her sources.

The linen is vintage and comes from France and Belgium. As you can see in the photo, it is used and each roll had its varying degree of stains. The flaws only added to the charm of the settings. The rolls were the perfect width for the wedding tables and were already finished on the sides. All I had to do was cut the lengths to fit and hem the ends. Much easier that cutting and finishing all the edges of the drop cloth.

Brilliant idea, Sis, and much more charming than the original idea.

I have long been our family's unofficial photographer. If you take a lot of photos for your family events, you know how much of the experience you miss when you're stuck behind the camera. For the wedding weekend, I gave myself permission to put my camera down so I wouldn't miss a moment of this special time. That meant I personally didn't capture any photos of the finished wedding reception tables (or the dress rehearsal dinner decor I created--which I'll blog about another day).

Fortunately, the wedding photographer captured some shots of the decor. Thanks to Al Gawlik Photography, we do have some photos of how the pretty tables turned out. All of the wedding day photos in this post are shown courtesy of Al and Amy Gawlik.

The venue was small, seating only 100, but oh, so charming. Original rough wood floors and an original brick wall, set the tone for the wedding decor. The space was decorated with antique pieces that doubled as serving surfaces and backdrops for the ceremony and reception.

Vintage books added to the nostalgic feel of the table decor and reflected the style of the old, restored venue. The French linen runners tied the centerpieces together.

My son and his friend brewed the beer for the reception, shown in the brown bottle in the middle of the centerpiece.

The photographers took more pictures of the tables. I'll share some of them when I get them later this month.

Collecting tea cups and teapots was so much fun. Until I did this, I never dreamed the variety I'd find. We're driving to Texas to visit the newlyweds in a few weeks. Because they don't have space to keep this eclectic collection, I get to bring them home with me. I look forward to incorporating some of them into my own decor!

Make it a great day!

Linking to:
Strut Your Stuff

Nifty Thrifty Sunday
Seasonal Sundays
The Scoop
Make It Pretty Monday
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Knick of Time Tuesday

So, What's With the Tea Cups?

Wow! I truly didn't intend to take such a long hiatus!

So where have I been?  Here, there. But, no--not everywhere. 

The past 15 to 18 months have been a bit of a blur for us: taking care of my husband's aging parents in Illinois, our youngest son's move to Texas, his engagement and marriage, our oldest son's move to Kansas and his recent engagement, the death of my dad and the start of the overwhelming task of sorting through the lifelong accumulation in my parents' Arizona home.

Wait. There's more! Add to all that personal stuff one of the craziest, busiest years at my real job (the one that actually pays me) and something had to give. So, I took what I thought might be a short break from blogging. Ha ha.

I'm ready to hit the old keyboard once again, but not certain how often I'll manage to post. One day at a time . . . 

I'm not yet prepared to tackle posting about the wedding. But I will say it had to have been the best wedding ever! No prejudice here. 

My (now) daughter-in-law had asked me to help collect items to make up their reception table decor and to make the table runners. Both of which I gladly agreed to do.

Right now, all I'll tell you is that I spent nearly a year collecting tea cups and saucers and teapots at estate and garage sales and thrift stores. The two cup and saucer sets pictured above are among the dozens I found. Oh, what a delight that was! Any excuse to go thrifting. Did I mention that France and Belgium play into the wedding decor equation?

Enough of a tease for now? Stay tuned  . . .

Make it a great day!

This Treasure Is So Doggone Cute

My fashion philosophy is, if you're not

 covered in dog hair, your life is empty.

--Elayne Boosler

If you're a dog lover, you know firsthand the intensity of the tug a dog can have on the heartstrings. Barney, our exuberant black lab, is confidante and clown, protector and playmate, beggar and best friend.

Dogs are so special to me, I find it difficult to pass up canine kitsch on my treasure hunts. Vintage dog items always make me smile. Admit it, don't these beguiling hand-carved cuties brighten your day?

This wooden piece, a recent estate sale find, was clearly handmade. It's seen better days, but still maintains tremendous charm. I put a deck of--what else--vintage dog playing cards in the box section, which most likely was intended to hold cigarettes. My vintage Scottie candy container makes a good companion to its carved cousins.

The paperback "Dogs" book was a recent flea market score.

The book doesn't have a copyright date, but  it's definitely decades old. It's in very good vintage condition. The contents feature descriptions of many breeds and the pictures are stickers that have been added to the pages. The book is a promotional giveaway for Gro-Pup Dog Food, a Kellogg's brand.

Not a new find, this handsome and stately pointer is a mid-Century console lamp and has graced the top of our piano for several years.

The large chalkware dog belonged to my grandmother. He is accompanied by a couple of friends I found at estate sales.

Dogs are not our whole life,

 but they make our lives whole.

― Roger A. Caras

The antique, iron St. Bernard bank belonged to my husband's grandmother. It still contains many of her old coins.

This darling litho is stained with age and has some significant other "beauty marks," none of which detract from the sweet image. Dogs and babies . . . awwww. Picked this up for a couple of bucks at a local estate sale.

When an eighty-five pound mammal

 licks your tears away, then tries to sit

 on your lap, it's hard to feel sad.

- Kristan Higgins, Catch of the Day

And, here's to the most special dog in our collection--our 93-pound baby. Barney, you're the best.

Make it a great day!

Linking to:
Knick of Time Tuesday
What's It Wednesday
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Time Travel Thursday
Simple and Sweet Fridays
Share the Joy
Feathered Nest Friday

Turning Some Tassels

You may have seen them around the estate sale, thrift store, garage sale circuit. The lonely, single vintage salt or pepper shaker. Long ago separated from its partner.

I've collected an eclectic bunch of singles on my treasure hunts and enjoy transforming them into one-of-a-kind decorative tassels. I previously shared my upcycling method with you here. Recently, I got the itch to shake up some new tassel treasures.

Here's some of what I've been up to:

This one's a hoot. He's dedicated to my daughter, who's crazy about owls.

This art deco design is so evocative. Surely this one must have appeared on the dinner party table at one of Jay Gatsby's extravagant summer bashes.

What pretty, dainty feet on this charmer.  They add such a special dimension. The holes in the top of the shaker are decorated with gold stars.

This is my personal favorite. The pretty spring green design looks Irish to me, even though the salt shaker was made in Germany. The embellishment around the base of the shaker is a wonderful scrap of reclaimed metallic trim.

I've been using tassels to jazz up my decor for years. Since I started making my own with upcycled salt and pepper shakers, I've been enjoying this simple decorative element even more.

Make it a great day!

Linking to:
Masterpiece Monday

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
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Frugal Friday

Wait! Don't Trash That!

As you go about your holiday merry-making, you're bound to generate what many would consider plain, ol' trash. A case in point: this cute, cute almond snowman cookie box.  It's just a heavy stock paper box with the name of the cookies around the band and the typical nutrition information on the bottom. But the design is fun and festive.

Don't toss it. Upcycling a nice box is about a 10-minute project, depending on how elaborate you get with your remake. Because I planned to use my box for a gift that would then be stuffed into a packing box and shipped to Texas, I made my makeover very simple. No point in adding embellishments that would get crushed in shipping.

I decided to add red grosgrain ribbon around the box top using double-sided tape. How easy is that? And, the ribbon was exactly the same size as the lip on the box. Whoa, baby! Simple.

For the bottom, I added scrapbook paper I had on hand that coordinated fairly well with the striping on the box. For a perfect fit, just trace around the box and cut slightly inside the tracing lines. Attaching the bottom paper was easy. You guessed it: double-sided tape.

A good salvaged box, a few fixin's from the craft room, 10 minutes and you've got a professional looking, but nearly cost-free, package.

This holiday season, be sure to keep your eyes peeled for little gems masquerading as trash.

Make it a great day!

Linking to:

Sunday Show-Off
Frugal Crafty Home Blog Hop

Winter Under Glass

A light, fluffy snow fell gently all day. No winter wind here. No ice under. Just the sweetest, softest snow we've had in ages.

The late Thanksgiving threw me off my game this year and my holiday decorating is about a week behind my normal schedule. I put most of it up last weekend, hubby decorated the tree and I am now putting on the finishing touches.

One of the items I brought back from Arizona when we started cleaning out our parents' house was a beautiful folk art Santa by Pam Schifferl. I have a couple of her ornaments that I simply adore!

I planned to put the Santa under a cloche I had, but it wasn't tall enough. So, I headed to my neighborhood Home Goods store, which has an extensive offering of clear glass vases, hurricanes, apothecary jars and cloches. Eureka! They had one that was tall enough.

But, alas, I got it home and, not taking into account that it wasn't straight-sided, but rather bell shaped, the curvy section wouldn't fit over the width of the figurine. After an exhaustive and futile search for the right-sized cloche, I gave up and decided to make my own from a large egg-shaped vase.

The cute glittered bird substitutes for the cloche knob. He's surrounded by an ice wreath I already had among my holiday trimmings.

My mom's woodland Santa clearly is from the same clan as my ornaments.

Woodland Santa perches on a vintage milk glass cake stand atop a vintage bevelled mirror and is surrounded by vintage family mercury glass ornaments.

Welcome, Woodland Santa.

Make it a great day!

Linking to:

Nifty Thrifty Sunday

Motivate Me Monday
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
You're Gonna Love It Tuesday