Fall Garden Party

We celebrated my mom's 70th birthday with a Fall Garden Party-- The perfect theme for the lovely lady with the greenest thumb of all.  I really wanted to do something special for my mom because she ALWAYS does so much for us and never asks for anything in return.  She has always been my anchor and is an incredible role model.  I'm a lucky girl!

My mom doesn't like a lot of hoopla, so I kept it simple, but I incorporated some fun details too!

{The Dining Room Table}

i went a little photo happy... i can't help it that plants are so photogenic!

 

a closer look at the runner, which is actually a couple sheets of moss.

 {The Place Setting Comes Together}

plate decorated with doily & decorative paper

napkin decorated with twine & fabric flower

add sedum in terra cotta pot covered with burlap...

 

add paper butterfly (glued on wire) and we're done!

{The Kid's Table}

 
we didn't have enough seating for everyone at the dining room table, so the kids got to hang out at their own table.  i think they prefer it that way!

{The Appetizer Table}

the light was starting to fade, so i quickly took this shot.

the bowls were eventually filled with pita chips and a couple of dips from trader joes

(their jalapeno pub cheese is yum!)

we also served a warm cheese dip, chips and homemade salsa and an assorted cheese tray.

{The Food Table}

fading light again, so i took this photo earlier in the day

a closer look at the handmade paper flowers.

these turned out so pretty, but they did try my patience...

On the menu...

beef tenderloin with roasted shallots
(yum, yum, yum! this one's a keeper)

teriyaki furikake salmon

(if you like salmon, try this recipe! and if you don't know what furikake is, see

here)

chicken fettucine alfredo

roasted asparagus

chinese chicken salad

{The Dessert Tray}

the dessert tray is decorated with small doilies and fabric flowers

the doilies were dyed using passion (pink) and chai (rust) teas

and with desserts...

tiramisu, chocolate ganache, opera cake

(remind me never to get a job cutting cake... i butchered a few pieces!)

 {The Favors}

the ladies & girls each received a flower pin when they arrived

everyone also took home a potted plant

Everyone had a great time and surprisingly, I'm not thoroughly exhausted.  Either I'm getting better at planning these parties, or the espresso in the tiramisu is kicking in!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

linked to:

someday crafts
between naps on the porch

somewhat simple

Fall Garden Party - Simple Decor

Just a little sneak peek~

before:

after:

I'll probably use this to decorate the dessert table...


{The branches were $5 at Michaels and were repurposed from my mantel}

{For the Fabric Flower Tutorial, click here and here}

linked to:

the shabby nest
somewhat simple
paisley passions

Fabric Flowers - Variations on a Theme



I was playing around with some material to make an easy fabric flower that is a little more refined-- less carnation and more rose. 

I used the same technique as these flowers created with circles, with one change-- I used a petaled flower, instead of just a plain ol' circle.  I think it especially looks nice for larger flowers (those larger than 2 inches in diameter).

Step 1

Make a flower pattern.  Draw a 5 petal flower on paper to use as a pattern.  As you can tell by my lack of drawing skills, the flower does not need to be perfect... yay!

Step 2

Choose a fabric.  I used a variety of muslin and cotton fabrics.  If you use a printed material, make sure both sides of the fabric are presentable. Cut out your fabric using the flower pattern.

These flowers are around 2.5 inches in diameter

Step 3

Fold your flower in half.  Make sure that the petals are staggered.  Then fold it in half again. It should sorta/kinda resemble a slice of pie

Step 4

Put a couple of stitches into the bottom of the "pie shape". But don't knot it off yet...

Step 5

Keep adding those folded flowers until you have 8 "pie shapes" stitched together.  If you'd like it to be fuller, continue to add more folded flowers.  I found that the larger the diameter of the flower, the more petals you will need.

Step 6

Then run the thread a final time through the entire stack of folded flowers, stitch it together & knot it off. Cut the thread!

 Step 7

Fluff out the petals.  If you have a flower that is larger than 2 inches in diameter, you'll probably see a little gap between the first folded flower that was stitched on and the last.  Stitch together those petals so that the flower will hold it's shape.

And that's it!  An easy, yet refined fabric flower!

And here's another variation (dahlia perhaps?) using this pattern...

Again, as you can see, the drawn flower does not need to be perfect.

Okay, that's it, I'm done with fabric flowers tutorials... I promise!  Hope you're having a great weekend!

linked to:

sew much ado
someday crafts
paisley passions
the shabby nest

Fabric Flowers - Tutorial

I'm back with a simple fabric flower tutorial!  I found several tutorials online, but decided to simplify the process since I'll be making many, many, many... of these little lovelies.  I've been busy cranking them out while catching up on Glee.  I think all that fantastic music helps speed up the process!

Step 1 

Choose a fabric.  For some of the flowers I used the 4x6  muslin bag that Anthropologie uses to package their receipts.  I also purchased some muslin and cotton fabric from Joanns.  If you use a regular fabric, make sure both sides of the material are presentable.

Step 2

Cut the material. I'm all about shortcuts, so I cut the bag in half and folded it into thirds so that I could get 6 circles out of one cut.

Step 3

Cut out your circles. The circles do not need to be perfect, so I free-handed a circle using my pinking shears.  You don't have to use pinking shears, a smooth cut gives the flower a completely different look.

These circles are about 1.5 inches in diameter

Step 4

Take one circle and fold it in half, then fold it in half again. It should be in the shape of a slice of pie.

Step 5

Put a couple of stitches into the bottom of the "pie shape".  But don't knot it off yet...

Step 6

Fold more circles and add it to the stack.  Make sure to put a couple of stitches into the bottom of each "pie shape".

Keep adding those folded circles until you have 6 "pie shapes" stitched together. 

If you have larger circles, you may want to add more petals so that the flower is full and not floppy.

Step 7

Then run the thread a final time through the entire stack of folded circles, stitch it together & knot it off. Cut the thread!

Step 8

Fluff out the petals...

and wah-lah... Fabric Flowers!

And what do you do with all these flowers?  First of all, I'm going to glue them on these pins so that they can be used and reused again and again.

They'd be pretty on place cards:

They'd add a pretty little detail to a simple napkin:



And they sure do gussy-up this plain shirt... is gussy-up a real word?:



[See here for another fabric flower tutorial]

 

linked to:

paisley passions
the shabby nest
somewhat simple