Autumn Spendor

Birds of a Feather Luncheon

Recently my crafty friends and I enjoyed a Bird-themed luncheon.  We were being instructed by the very talented Hap on how to watercolor paint a bird and a sunflower.  She made us all look like accomplished artists. 

Here is the bird she taught us to paint

It's my first attempt, so don't judge to harshly, okay?

This is my sunflower attempt, much better.  Hap did, however do all the beautiful outlining.

 

Take a look at the bird theme tablescape we enjoyed with our Thai lettuce wrap luncheon.

The bird themed plates are from Pottery Barn (a few years ago).

Unfinished wooden bird houses served as nametags.

The beautiful vintage blue glassware is from the 1930's.  I was blessed to find it at a reasonable price.

Thee pattern is Fosteria June Blue.

Wood handled flatware and natural colored napkins finish the look.

A natural looking plant served for much of the centerpiece.  It didn't seem right  to add a lot of flowers.

 

 The cutest looking salt and pepper shakers ever!

 

Blue birds were  positioned at each end of the table so that all could enjoy.

 

I hope you have enjoyed this little walk through the birds lives.

My group and I..."Birds of a Feather Flock Together".

Have a Tweet Day!

How to Make a Designer Tray for a Fraction of the Cost!

 

Greetings my friends!  

Today I will show you how to make a MacKenzie Childs knock off tray for a fraction of the cost.  My crafty friends and I undertook this project with great anticipation and we were not disappointed! 

 

Below is a look at the higher priced MC tray

 

 

 Here is the tray we made for under $20! You  could spend more to find a tray with sides and open handles but I like the openess of the one below.

 

 The completed tray 

 

You can embellish it any way you wish.  The black and white striped ribbon is a MC look.

Here's how you can make it:

Start with an unfinished wood 17' by 17" frame.  I purchased mine at Hobby Lobby.  With a 40% off coupon you can get it for $6.

 

Purchase a 12" by 12" square of black and white tile at Home Depot for about $10. Remove the tiles from the mesh.. Glue all of them to the bottom of the inside of the frame with E6000 glue.

 

                        

Tape around the tile so that you can paint the frame with black chalkboard paint. 

(So that you can write on it with chalk!) 

After you paint the frame, apply black grout between each square.  

Wipe off the excess grout.  Clean the whole tile service

I have used these numerous times in numerous ways.  They coordinate with almost everything!

Enjoy!

Wreaths With Friends

Wreath making with friends is a really  fun thing to  do.  Everyone loves the finished work.  This beautiful wreath was constructed by Jonell.

A full view of the wreath hung upon an ornate French mirror.

Everyone made a fine wreath that anyone would love to adorn their home  with. 

Me and my wreath

 A close-up of my wreath

 

If you wish to develop close relationships with other women, I highly recommend creating a group of women you enjoy and take the lead in scheduling monthly crafting events with or without food.  We always have either brunch or lunch. Lunch is such a great way to wind down after a few hours of crafting and completely enjoy each other's company.  Eight of us have been meeting for about four years now, once a month and we all make it a priority in our lives because we enjoy what we do and who we do it with immensely. 

You might ask, "How do you know what crafts to do?"  I have found success in choosing something I want to learn.  Finding out how to do it, then teaching my friends.  They teach me a great deal along the way too.   I try to select things that people would actually want, either for themselves or for giving to others.  Pinterest is a great source of ideas.  I have several boards designed for crafting.  Feel free to look me up and check them out.

In the coming days I will share with you a list   of over 40 crafts we have made together.  Who knows, maybe someday I'll compile them in a book in order to help others experience the fun and bounding we have enjoyed over the years. 

Until next time,  Debbie

Host A Luncheon Amid Pink Roses

Greetings friends!  I hosted a monthly craft event for seven close friends and me.  Every month I plan something for us to make and a delightful brunch or lunch. We always have a great time and, so far, the ladies all seem to love the crafts we create together. At one such event we all designed spring wreaths for our homes.  Wow!  What fun and creativity swirled in the air.  I will show you pictures of what we created toward the end.

Knowing me, you know I LOVE to set beautiful tables and have scrumptious food for them to indulge in.  We dined on a unique Apple Ginger Salad.

We also partook of HoneyBaked Ham and Turkey Croissant sandwiches and had old-fashioned Lay's BBQ potato chips.  If that wasn't enough nostalgia, we finished our luncheon with warm butterscotch pudding and a heart-shaped, un-frosted sugar cookie. It really surprised me how much everyone loved my simple but love-filled luncheon, especially the pudding! If it were polite and we were less than the ladies we are, I think we all would have licked the pudding dishes!

 

Pictured above is the vintage Metlox Vernon Rose dishes that I have collected over the past few years set for my lovely friends. The sherbet glasses are Morgantown Pink Crinkle glass. The water glasses are a Pink Diamond optic pattern that I have yet to identify.  Perhaps you will notice in a future picture that the flatware is Oneida Golden Damask Rose.  I inherited this set from my sweet mother-in-law.

 

Fresh flowers always elevate your tablescape greatly.  Wrapped within a cellophane bag, adorned with a pink satin bow, are rose buds soaps upon vintage Candlewick rectangular glass pieces.  Each lady took one home as a sweet remembrance of the day.

These colors and dishes make my heart go pitter-patter. I LOVE pink! I constructed the roses with a mixed white arrangement and pink roses.

Love the roses, Alstameria, Queen Anne's Lace and other white flowers.

A Heavenly Wedding in Days

My friend, Lauren, became engaged n Christmas Eve.  Isn't that special?!    I received a call on January 3rd that they were going to be married on January12th! A new kind of SPECIAL!  I was asked if I could decorate her registered historical home in Old Town  Orange.  I began envisioning  what I would do to make it beautiful.   As I thought through the inventory I had and the home she had the word that came to my mind for decorating her home was "magical".  Now  that I've had time to ponder it, a better word comes to mind, "heavenly".

Among other colors the color scheme of white penetrated my mind. That would definitely be heavenly. I own quite a collection of Fenton Silver Crested Milk glass and began envisioning using my three tall vases filled with beautiful white flowers, and pondered what I could do with various other pieces that I have. To make a long story short, the tables were set with beautiful china, flatware and crystal glassware. I decorated the surrounding areas with florals, candles and milk glass.

Because I have frequently attended a floral arranging class, and most recently over Christmas vacation,  I knew how I wanted to arrange the flowers. I just didn't know  if  I  would have to  buy them at Costco, which are very pretty, or  if I would be able to obtain them from my floral design teacher, Pam.  Thankfully, Pam, from Petal Pushers, 714-348-7237, came through for me.  I told her what I was thinking of and she made it so much better than my thoughts!  She secured the most beautiful flowers ever.  Pam was very proud of  her protege. :-)

I am going to start the viewing with the flowers, then go to the home pictures and make the grand finale the wedding pictures that I have.  I'm sure she has so  many more.

 They looked and smelled so wonderful.

It was relaxing to design the arrangements at my house then take them to Lauren's.

The centerpiece for the main table was about three feet long. There were champagne roses, calla lilies, Japanese lilies, chrysanthemums, sweet smelling stock, and anemones.

The table for the youth was set with gold elements.

This is a close up picture of the table.

The table took on different hews in different light.

Although the roses were the same color on each table, they took on a pinker tone here.  They color was called "champagne".  The glassware is darker here.  I was so pleased with how the tables looked!

So beautiful!

 The entryway.

 On the mantel.

 On the piano.

 The main table.

Lauren & Dean sat here.

 The cake sat atop a sparkling rhinestone cake stand.

So inviting.

This is my favorite picture of the reception ready for the guests.

It's just like I had envisioned it.

The beautiful bride, Lauren outside their historical home.

 The  ceremony took place at the beautiful St. John's Lutheran Church

 in Old Town Orange.

 It's official!

Lauren celebraating with her matron of honer, Shannon.

Lauren with Dillon & Lexi, her beautiful children

And they all lived happily-ever-after.

I always welcome your comments.