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Friday, April 17, 2009

Spring Garden Party Ideas.....

"Spring is nature's way of saying, "Let's Party!"
~Robin Williams~

NOTE: For those of you dropping in from Susan's Garden Party, this is a post I did earlier this spring. To visit more garden party posts at Savoring Time in the Kitchen, click here. Thank you, Susan, for hosting this lovely event.

Beautiful living this week has been all about celebration, beginning with Easter and winding up with a little garden party yesterday, the first the season. I really intended to spend the day out of doors by myself, setting up a little tea table to sit and read. Once I got started I thought, "Why not make it a little entertainment to share with my blog friends?"


With spring in full swing here I thought a garden party luncheon would be a perfect party theme. I chose a sun dappled spot on the ridge line at the edge of the woods, a backdrop of new birthed greenery to serve as a perfect setting. A vintage folding table and iron chairs were placed between two towering oaks with a mossy green carpet and warm brown earth underfoot.Here, won't you have a seat?The seat cushions are covered with vintage embroidered pillow cases, a gift from my friend, Laura. Tiny daisy embellished cocktail napkins grace the top of the pillows freshly plucked from my bed. The tea table is covered with a vintage table cloth featuring crochet lace insets and multicolored baskets embroidered on the center panel. I am so glad you could join me as special guests! Let me introduce you to some ladies who will be joining us today.This is Lady Hawthorn. She is wearing her favorite red dress and plucky plume in her hawthorn bedecked hat.
Sitting next to Lady Hawthorn is the demure Miss Green. Miss Green is a bit on the shy side but extremely photogenic. If you look really close you will see that she has a wee surprise in her gorgeous green hat, a sweet tweet that was a part of a gift from my friend Nancy.Lady Dogwood is pleased to make your acquaintance. She is wearing her favorite color of green. She is known for wearing her famous wild dogwood blossom hat complete with curling feather. These fantastic feathers were a gift from my friend Pam.Lastly is Lady Louise, as you can see she is a little camera shy and tried to cover her lovely face just as I snapped the picture. Lady Louise loves red and chose to wear her showy red hat. All the flowers for the hats were gathered from the woods around Quill Cottage. Snacks and sweets will surround the ladies. If you don't have divas like I do, small vases filled with flowers or any figurine will do. You could also place votive holders with tea lights on each plate. One single large blossom or cluster of flowers would be stunning too!

These sweet ladies are vintage head vases. I refer to them as my damaged diva collection, each one has a chip, crack, or flaw of some sort, damaged and not considered valuable by collectors standards and each one exudes an attitude. Each one still holds water, is useful, and in my book they are beautiful.


You might have noticed that all the ladies dressed in their finest, completing their costumes with dainty pearl jewelry. Their ladylike grace set the decor of the luncheon with a decidedly feminine tone. A three tiered silver server was used, strands of my paternal grandmothers costume jewelry pearl necklaces draped from each tier and pink reproduction depression glass plates complete the service.Vintage blue rimmed floral embellished plates topped with more pink glass plates wait to be filled with goodies. Pale pink lemonade can be sipped from stemware embellished with a gauzy bit of tulle and clip on earrings, also my grandmothers costume jewelry. Silverware and handkerchief napkins reside in unusual servers. You may recognize the silverware server as a...toothbrush holder! I have several of these that I previously used to display my artist brushes in, like this...
I was about to toss them as I was no longer using them and it suddenly hit me that I could use them at place settings as little mini silverware and napkin holders. The key to being able to use these is to make sure the decorative end of your silverware is fairly small or straight. You might notice that I have a salad fork instead of a regular fork, the end of the regular one is larger than the salad fork. To frill your napkin just pinch it in the middle and pull it down through one hole, fill in the other three with your cutlery.

The menu will consist of Strawberry Spinach Salad, fresh vegetables, braided rolls, and lemon strawberry tarts for dessert! Might I direct you to my recipe link page, The Cook's Book, where you will find recipes for these as well as other sweets and tea time treats. The photos below are reprints from a previous blog post and feature the food in the recipes. What's a party without a little favor? Each place setting has a vintage ladies glove placed beside it to serve as a little treat bag. The items in the glove are hand related to pamper the guests.On the finger of each glove is a fun junk jewelry button ring that I made. A fun idea would be to purchase inexpensive costume cocktail rings that guests could actually wear. Placed inside each glove is a tiny bar of sweet smelling soap and a small bottle of hand lotion with an added embellishment of tulle, buttons, and pretty posies. I also included a handmade paper and ribbon book marker in a floral motif.I hope you have found a few simple, fun, and easy entertaining ideas here today. Thank you for joining me. To see how other guests of hostess, Melissa, are finding beauty in their week, please visit The Inspired Room. You won't want to miss visiting The Inspired Room where there is a fantastic give away going on, so run over to sign up! The prize is a Kodak Easy Share Photo Frame, for details see Melissa's post.
Have a pretty weekend!


Blessings,
Miss Sandy

31 comments:

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed your tea party very much! I can just imagine the slightly cool air on the edge of your woods with the dappled sunshine making the fresh cut flowers smell heavenly. I have always loved the head vases but don't own any. Thanks for all the fun ideas and for a brief escape.

Desires of the Heart said...

Wow! Such a beautiful setting for such a wonderful party. You really used such cute ideas!! Thanks for taking the time to present such wonderful ideas for entertaining!
Blessings, Linda

Vee said...

Tons of ideas here! Have you thought of writing an entertaining book? If not, why not? This is fabulous!

I so remember that delicious spinach/strawberry salad. It was served here at Haven on Easter 2008.

Hope that you had more than a "special guest" to join you after all that work. Thanks for inviting all of us!

Lorrie said...

Thanks for hosting such a fun tea party. I love the vintage glove idea for a favour.

Lorrie

gina said...

What a creative use for toothbrush holders- it looks simply divine!

Terry said...

What a beautiful first of the season Spring Tea Party
Thank you for such a delightful
afternoon .
I can't remember when I have enjoyed myself this much.
Blessings to you Quill Cottage.

bluemuf said...

Dear Miss Sandy. I have so enjoyed your elegant tea party. There were so many wonderful ideas for making guests feel extra special. I love the glove idea and your head vases are lovely.

Hugs Karen

Monica said...

F*A*B*U*L*O*U*S! I love all! I adore garden parties, your table is just divine!
You inspired me so much with this post. Thank you!
Monica.

Andylynne said...

What a wonderful party setting. I bet you had fun setting it all up. I aquiared my first head vase just recently I love her so sweet and as you say demure. I didn't think they would be that special with flowers in them. I stand corrected, thank you for the creative ideas. I hope you actully had as much fun as the pictures indicate you should.
Beautiful setting and beautiful arrangements. Great ideas, and all filled with kindness and warmth.

Myrnie said...

So much fun! I haven't done tea parties since I was a little girl- my own little ones would LOVE this :)

The Stylish House said...

Miss Sandy,
Your tea party is enchanting, and what a lovely blog you have! It is a beautiful treasure. It is nice to meet you, and I appreciate the kind note you left on my post. I am going to look around a bit more and see what else I discover. Have a wonderful day. ~Cathy!

Phaedra said...

How beautiful! Simply adorable! I love your style and I was inspired by your beautiful displays! Oh, if I was talented as you are. Thank you for letting me enjoy the party!

LiLi M. said...

Hello Miss Sandy! I love to visit your tea party! Every thing is just gorgeous! I love the head vases. I still use my tooth brush holder to hold my pencils too! But mine is ugly. I love to sit in that lovely green garden and I think that using gloves the way you did is so original! I am planning a tea party too and I will certainly use that idea, and give you credit of course. I hope you don't mind. Thanks for having me as a guest and thank you very much for inspiration, have a great weekend!

SharDon Exclusives said...

Please invite us again when you have such a lovely table! I loved your ideas. You are a delightful writer as well as decorator...sharon

Susie said...

Thanks for the tea party Sandy. I enjoyed it much!

Samantha said...

What a beautiful tea party Miss Sandy! Thank you for inviting me! :)

Elizabeth said...

Oh, my goodness - I loved this whole thing. How creative you are! Just darling!!

You know, years ago, I found some vases like that, but I gave them away as gifts. I found them in a local thrift store.

I hope you had a wonderful time. It just all looks lovely!!

Elizabeth

Holly Campbell said...

Hello Miss Sandy,

Such a lovely gathering. Thank you for inviting us! All of the introductions were so gracious, and your table settings and favors were inspiring. Thank you again.

Elizabeth said...

Had to stop by again, for another look-see. Are those Depression-era glass plates?

Elizabeth

Decor To Adore said...

Why yes indeed, I will have a seat! What a gorgeous setting and the food is marvelous.

Anonymous said...

Sandy ~ The toothbrush holder for artist brushes... such a great idea, and pretty!

Blessings ~ Eileen @ Star's Fault

Penny from Enjoying The Simple Things said...

This is such a beautiful and whimsical table setting! I love the toothbrush holder idea. But my favorite idea is the vintage glove hostess gifts!
Hugs,
Penny

kathy said...

LOve your beautiful party - a thing of beauty is a joy to behold = Kathy - ga

Kelly said...

What a wonderful tea party! Thanks for sharing. Here is another great spring entertaining idea for your upcoming party: A Chocolate tasting party! Contact a Dove Chocolate Discoveries Chocolatier and have her throw a free chocolate tasting party for you!After all, who would refuse an invite to a chocolate tasting party in the neighborhood – especially if chocolate mousse, fondue and martinis were mentioned? Visit www.dovechocolatediscoveries.com to learn more.

Kelly,
DCD Team

Candy said...

Lovely table and attention to every detail. Love the new job you have given to an old stand by.

Enjoyed,
Candy

Ceekay-THINKIN of HOME said...

This is just too cute. I would be squealing if I were there. Love, love the glove idea...may have to copy that one!

Vee said...

Oh I'm so glad that you participated and most especially with this darling post, which I remember so well. As one person commented, such attention to detail! Simply delightful, Miss Sandy. (Now I'll have to go back and read what I said earlier.)

Suzy said...

So glad you shared this post at the Garden Party! It's perfect :-) Love the dappled sunlight, the ladies hats and the glove favors.

SavoringTime in the Kitchen said...

What a delightful post! Thank you so much for sharing this at the Garden Party because it is so adorable. Your Damaged Divas are great! I love the pearl necklaces strung from their perches. What a cute idea to use the vintage tooth brush holders as place setting holders. So many charming details here!

~Susan

Marsha said...

How wonderful to see you at Susan's party! I just love your garden ladies - they are just the cutest in all their finery and the glove tablefavor is too cute!

I really enjoyed this visit to your tea party!

Anonymous said...

What a gorgeous table!! I love your head vases (I have one of those pretties myself) and the idea using toothbrush holders- so unique!

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