Easter Tablescape in Pink & Green

Our elegant Easter Tablescape this year was created on a budget with easy DIY projects. I thought it would be fun to share it, along with the other creative tablescapers, at Between Naps on the Porch for my first Tablescape Thursday.

Sarah originally wanted pink tulips in silver mint julep cups but they were hard to find and out of our price range.  We went with a pink and green theme and used what we had on hand (with a few changes of course!) and got lucky with a last minute clearance sale for the napkins. 

We were able to squeeze 14 at the table using folding chairs along the sides to save space.  I made the runner using $4.00 clearance fabric.  The edges were hemmed with iron on fusible web.  I had planned on making matching napkins but 1/2 price was too hard to resist so I bought them instead!  I'll make the napkins later with the extra fabric.

A $10.00 bunch of pink tulips from the grocery store tucked into Mom's soup tureen.

 

Here's a close up of the painted plates.  The napkins are folded in thirds and draped across the plate to carry the green over the edge of the table.  Sarah made the bird's nest cookies which were perfect to tuck into the salad bowls as a party favor.

                          

The butter dish and salt and pepper shakers gave us our touch of silver.  My white ceramic bowls and garden birds pulled the look together.  I like how the embossed pattern on the bird looks with the paisley print.

Yummy homemade dessert buffet.  The folding three tier server, extra napkins and more of the white ceramic accents.  Sarah made carrot cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, lemon pound cake and chocolate ganache frosted cupcakes.

Painting plates for Easter

I have a set of glass plates that I decorate according to whatever party theme I'm working on.  It's cheaper than buying multiple sets of dinnerware and pretty easy to do!  I mix DecoArt Americana Acrylic paints with Sta-Flo liquid starch and sponge the mixture on the back. I prop each plate on a bowl after painting.

I did two coats on this set.  Of course, I thought I'd be really creative and paint white tulips on the front first.  Didn't work......they blended away when I started sponging.  I'll try something else next time.

I let them dry overnight before using.  I like to wipe the front of the plate off with a mild solution of vinegar and water to clean them since we'll be eating from them!  There's usually finger smudges and sometimes a little paint.  After the party is over I use a paper towel to wipe the paint off after soaking the plates in warm water for a few minutes.

Removing Paint from my plates

I've been using my "temporary paint" mix on the back of the same glass plates for a few years now and I don't think I ever showed you how to remove it.
1. Hand wash the plates after your event.  As you wash them place a paper towel or napkin between each plate and set aside until the next day (or in one case for me - after a few weeks).
2. Soak the entire stack of plates in warm soapy water for about 10 minutes.

Note: The paint will stick to the paper napkin and sometimes almost falls right off of the plate.

3. Sometimes you'll have to use your fingers to rub it all little but it's not hard to do.  There is a soap in liquid starch so when it gets wet it helps the paint to slide right off.  It's very interesting to me that it also acts as a glue and holds the fabric to my kitchen walls and paper to other temporary projects around my house.

4. Use the paper towel to gather up the loose paint and throw it in the trash can.  You don't want to wash it down the drain.  Dried acrylic paint is rubbery and large amounts could clog your plumbing.

5. Rinse the plates clean and redecorate another time!

St Pats Day project

I decided to get creative for St Pat's Day this year.  I used a permanent pen to sketch a few shamrocks onto scrapbook paper (BOBUNNY Alissa Adorable is the pattern).  Next, I cut out a circle to fit my clear glass plates.

I then used liquid starch to temporarily decoupage it to the back of the plate.  The next day I used my favorite "temporary paint" mix; DecoArt Americana Acrylics and Liquid Starch, to sponge green on the back of the plate and finish it off.  (I've used this technique many times to decorate the plates for different events instead of buying paper plates) Unfortunately, Lee wasn't home for dinner that night so I just used one of the plates to eat leftover pizza all by myself.

An Irish Blessing
May these walls be filled with laughter,
may it reach from floor to rafter.
May the roof keep out the rain,
may sunshine warm each windowpane.
And may the door be open wide
to let the Good Lord's love inside.

Part Two - Baby Shower - Beaded Bracelet theme

OK, so I've got the colors and a theme that involves letters and beads.  What's next?  I wanted to find the assorted pastel plates.  Since we were planning the shower in the Spring there were Easter colors available but the cost was just too much for that many place settings. And how many times would I need to use 36 pastel plates?  I could the paint the back of my glass plates. I already had enough of them.  I could match the colors exactly and I didn't have to buy cups, saucers and accessory pieces that came with a pre-made dinnerware set.

The paint technique had to be durable enough to hold up to handling, a food safe application, simple and relatively quick and hopefully removable.  The solution?  Liquid Starch.  Yep, the stuff in the bottle in the laundry aisle that was used to make shirts, curtains and tablecloths crisp when ironing.  I grew up with spray starch but my Grandmother used liquid starch to make her crocheted angel ornaments and the ruffles on doilies stiff.  I've used it to attach fabric onto my kitchen walls and have decorated the back of glass plates with scrapbook paper.  Why not try mixing it with paint?

It worked!  And it actually matched the vases perfectly.  The color is on the inside of the vase and the back of the plate so you look through the clear glass on both.  Yeah!  With Elena and Melissa's help we had 36 plates painted and ready to go.  I'll post a step by step tutorial for this technique and how to remove the paint soon.

I found the acrylic pacifiers at the craft store.  They were supposed to be party favors but worked great as napkin rings.  There are little acrylic pacifiers on the glasses too.  They were also in the baby shower section of the store.  Again, I think they were package ties for favors but worked perfect as drinking glass charms.  We used assorted satin ribbons to pull everything together.

We decided to decorate the cupcakes with fondant circles and use them on the table too.  After cutting the circles out of the fondant we pressed a rubber stamp in each one to decorate them. Since we had a fabulous selection of food and desserts (thanks to Melissa and Elena) we had cute boxes available for cupcakes.

Extra large sugar cookies decorated with a food safe marker repeated the BABY beads on the invitation and provided another take home favor for the guests. The cookies were propped on both sides of the table on a foam board stand covered with flannel receiving blankets.

 

The overall look was simple and classic but the details were special.  We all loved it. 

Next: The food (oh! the fabulous food) and a craft activity for the guests.

A Baby Shower theme that started with a Bracelet - Part One

This shower would be hosted by three people, Sarah's cousin Melissa, her Aunt Elena and me.  Since we would all be working together we were able to divide up jobs and help each other with all the projects.  I recommend having help for a large event like this if you want to do so many special touches.  After gathering the guest list, we found a location and set date for the party.  Aunt Linda, Grandma and Nani really helped out with that.  I just wanted to mention this up front because most of the large events that I do are a success because I don't do it all alone.  "Many hands make light work!"

So... how did I come up with a theme for Sarah's Baby Shower and how did it all come together?

Many times new parents have a specific theme planned for the nursery.  It's easy to design a baby shower around a cartoon character, trucks & cars or a even a garden themed room.  It's common to already know the sex and possibly even the name of the baby before it's born. After talking to Sarah and Jason several times; this is what I learned.  They didn't know if they were having a boy or girl, they both love words and reading, planned on painting the nursery green, her favorite flowers are hydrangeas and peonies and she loved the look of shiny mixed pastel plates on a crisp white tablecloth. I spent alot of time thinking about a theme since Sarah is my daughter in law and the new baby would be our first Grandchild! 

It all started with a baby bracelet.  It was so cute! The little beads could be assorted pastels.  The letter beads were a classic style suitable for a boy or girl and I could string the beads myself and attach it to a card.

I used the die cut machine to cut out the B (for baby) from embossed cardstock and found textured green paper that matched the wall color.  The small card size was based on the size of the die cut. It took a long time to make so many invitations but it was a labor of love.

A random trip to Ikea and I see the perfect solution for centerpieces.  Small round glass vases in assorted pastel colors.  They look like beads!  I'll be able to get future use out of them and they'll be lovely with peonies down the center of the tables.

Next:  The search for pastel plates and "What in the world are you going to do with liquid starch?"