Table clocks for parties

Bought these cute and cheap table clocks at our local grocery for my last Tea party.  It was a Mad Hatter themed party so I set the clocks to Tea time and did not put any batteries so it stayed frozen.  I am going to use them again at my Wedding Anniversary party.  This time, they will tell time....I know the guests will have watches but it will be a lovely addition to my table decorations. 

I placed a stamped label on the clocks to unify them to the theme and party.  I can't wait to display these with my other DIY crafts.

Our Wedding Anniversary Arch

Been thinking about setting up a beautiful arch as a backdrop for our Anniversary blessing in the garden.  Or simply using it for beautiful photographs of ourselves and our guests.  I want the arch to be pretty and functional at the same time so I am very happy to realize that we already have the skeleton for the arch:

The planter arch will serve as the perfect backdrop for our Anniversary blessing and photographs.  I am thinking of replacing the pots with actual bouquets of flowers -- lavender if I can afford it.  Planning to use ribbons and lace as well to further beautify the arch.

I have some dried lavender bunches for my crafts so I tied them to the pot holders with pretty ribbons to see the effect.  I think it looks really pretty!

Adding the lace backdrop makes the arch even more romantic!

 

I am going to fill the rest of the pot holders with dried lavender bunches to have a pretty and aromatic effect.

I am really happy that I am able to use home items for the party.  A little DIY to make them gorgeous, of course!

DIY Gift Basket

My dear friend, Candy, invited me to her family's home for Christmas.  It was a spur of the moment thing and I didn't have any gifts for them.  I then thought of putting together a gift basket with all sorts of goodies.  Went to Whole Foods Market and bought some cheese, crackers, fruits, nuts, spiced preserves, truffles and salami.  I had a few good bottles of wine so I included two nice ones in the basket.  Also used some of my lace fabric and wrapped everything in it:

Whole Foods Market goodies!

Wrapped everything in lace and tied it with ribbon.  Added some pretty artificial flowers for a more festive look.

DIY Party Hostess and Aunt Marly

Sure, I could have bought a ready made Gift Basket but it was so much fun to buy all the goodies I wanted to share with this wonderful family and to creatively put them all together in a big basket. I loved making this special gift basket and my good friend, Candy, and her family loved it too!

 

Making the napkin pretty -- part deux

This is another way of presenting the napkin set -- in fact, I am going to do this at my June party:

I still used my Lavender stamper for the napkin and simply folded it in half again.  Inserted a lavender sprig and voila!  Doesn't it make a plain napkin look gorgeous?

I also placed my place card on top of the napkin.  I think this is super adorable!

Doing this to all the napkin sets will definitely make the tables very pretty!

Making the napkin pretty....

In one of my earlier posts, I had a picture of the napkin and flatware set I will use at the June party.  It was a boring picture since the napkin was plain.  I figured out a way to make the napkin pop...by stamping it with my large and beautiful lavender stamper....

This is plain and boring! But watch what my lavender stamp does to

this napkin:

Much better!

Add the flatware and a lavender sprig to make it more elegant!

Tying a pretty ribbon around it....

I just had to think outside the box to make my plain napkin and flatware set beautiful and elegant!

Another lavender-inspired favor idea....

Been browsing the web for more creative ideas to use organic dried lavender besides the usual garnish for drinks and decoration for my place cards and favor bags.  Came across the idea of using lavender for bath teas.  Since lavender is pretty pricey, I thought of mixing it with another component but I did not want to use bath salts.  I have never been a fan of bath salts since I find them too drying for my skin.  I did an online search and found Oatmeal!  Oatmeal is very gentle and nourishing for dry skin.  My plan is to grind the oats and lavender buds together to make a very aromatic and soothing powder.  In my pantry, I found alot of unused Tea filters which I will use to contain the powder. 
After filling with the aromatic powder, I will tie the filter with a pretty lavender ribbon then insert some dried lavender sprigs on top to make a small bouquet.  What a perfect party favor!  I will even send the guests home with a container of the ground oats and lavender so they can enjoy more soothing baths in the future.

Easy ingredients to find and easy to make with gorgeous results!

Very cute Place card holder

I bought these favor bags online only to discover that they were too tiny to use for my favors.  I was so dismayed and was about to return them when I thought of a perfect way to use these minute bags -- place card holders!  I stuck a tag on the bag and wrote a name and table number on it.  I will also use a customized stamp on the back that has our name, date and occasion.  To make them functional, I am filling these bags with necessities like a small pack of hand wipes and small mint tins. 

My cute place card holders....(-;

With mints...(-;

With a Lavender sprig

I think these bags will look gorgeous on top of a large tray filled with lavender buds!