British Tea Party: Part Four…Decorating on a Dime (or is it a Ten Pence?)
I’ve had a great time this week, recapping all the details of my British Tea Party. Some of you are thinking–what more can she possibly have to say about one event? But, this is the last Tea Party post and I hope by now some of you have been inspired to host one at your house. I’m talking about my party decor today & I saved this for last because I know some of you are holding onto the excuse that you don’t have money to spend for decorations or you don’t have a house that’s nice enough for company. Yeahhh–I’m talking to you. Well, I’m here to tell you– just to prove that it could be done, I purposefully did not allow myself to spend any money at all on the decorations for this party with the exception of the flowers, and even some of those came from my yard.It was “Use What You Have” Decorating: Party Edition. So, I got creative & dug through my fabric & craft supplies & came up with a few little touches here and there to go along with my theme of “Blissfully British”.I made my little flags from blue & red patterned scrapbook papers & glued them onto bamboo skewers and dowel rods….I also made a little bunting with the same papers & printed this silhouette of the queen & taped it onto my mirror…And then I used more scrapbook paper in a frame I had to create a mini dry erase board to display a quote about tea…But, my favorite decoration I made was my Union Jack bunting I hung on the front of my new buffet…It was inspired by this one I first saw in a toy shop in Notting Hill when we were in London at this time last year. It immediately went onto my “mental Pinterest” board for future reference. (Anyone else have one of those?)I loved it as soon as I saw it, but I couldn’t think of what I would do with it at the time & I knew that if I ever did need it, I could make it myself. So that’s what I did.Using some blue & red patterned fabrics along with some canvas I had from previous projects, I made a little more whimsical version. I started by cutting 6 pennants out of the canvas, then six more pennants, just a little smaller in size from the different blue patterns.Then I made a paper pattern for myself for the stripes & cut them out of the red patterned fabric. (Making a half-pattern & cutting it on the fold of the fabric makes it easy & symmetrical.)Using that same pattern, I cut more stripes out of canvas, enlarging the design by leaving a 1/4-inch border around it.Then, I sewed. First, the blue onto the canvas, then the layers of stripes. Use a contrasting thread to make it a little more shabby & whimsical.Then, I just sewed the pennants onto a long strip of canvas & hung it!This mini bunting was made from the same fabrics & I hung it on my front door wreath for a welcome at the door.Decorating for a party like this (or any party) can be done on a very small budget. Keep things simple by focusing your decorating on one room, usually where you’ll be serving the food. Pull items from around your house that lend themselves to the same colors or theme of your party. And then, get creative with simple touches that don’t necessarily cost a lot of money, but still show your guests you want to make it a special time for them.And if you’re in that group that’s fretting over a house that’s Less-Than-Perfect, click here to visit one of my favorite bloggers, The Reluctant Entertainer. She writes a lot about real entertaining and getting past feelings of inadequacy as a hostess. Here is a little excerpt from one of her posts:
“I have found that people respond to hospitality in our home, not necessarily to me or my family.And through this response I’m reminded of Who it’s all about.Keeping this focus, staying on track as to what the mission of hospitality is all about, it totally takes the pressure off of me as the hostess!I realize that my house doesn’t have to be perfect to show love.That plain or the most out-of-date is okay.That my meals don’t have to be gourmet or elaborate.Simple works just fine.And with a whole lot of love.”
If you decide to have a Tea Party, I’d love to hear about it!Don’t forget–today is the last day to leave a comment & have a chance to win the Party Favor Kit. Read more about that here.Sharing this post with a few of these friends!
Jackie
May 19, 2011 @ 5:40 pm
Hi! This is my first time visiting your blog, but I just had to comment on something you said. It's got me giggling. (I found your link to the drop cloth rug from CG's blog). Anyway, you mentioned your "mental pinterest" and I lauged out loud because just yesterday my sister was telling me about her pinterest page (I don't have one yet, but keep hearing about them everywhere), and I told her I really needed to start one because I do have a pinterest list…it's just in my head! My mental pinterest list! haha. We thought that was pretty funny. 🙂
Anyway, cute blog! Great ideas and inspiration!
NanaDiana
May 20, 2011 @ 1:17 am
Julie=What a wonderful tea party you have thrown here. Amazing! Hugs-Diana
Rhonda
May 20, 2011 @ 1:27 am
Julie….now I want to have a tea party! What a fabulous idea! How fun!
Yes, I am still painting but the stress has gotten better since finally deciding on colors. Thanks again for all of your help!
Rosemary@villabarnes
May 20, 2011 @ 2:13 am
Great ideas! Love the display!
Maria
May 20, 2011 @ 2:23 am
This looks so sweet! I love all your ideas!
Stephanie
May 20, 2011 @ 10:48 pm
Julie, all your details are so wonderful. I love the hats everyone wore, the cookies you made, it all looked so fun! I have been behind on my blog reading and just got to read all your posts about the fun party. And! I love your table you painted with the chalk paint, I think now I am going to have to buy some. I have yet to hear nothing but good about this product.