Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Birthday Party Fun

I know it has been a long dry spell from me.  I have been quite busy, but not particularly inspired.  

 We have recently been working on a "significant" birthday party for my mom.  She is a special lady who is adored by her family and who really doesn't like to celebrate her birthday that much....she even told me a couple weeks ago......."don't going planning a party for me, I don't want you to do that."   I told her it was too late and it would be fun and nice..... afterwards she would look back and think it was pretty special, that was the last I heard about that!


 Cupcakes were the theme of the day.  We have a wonderful bakery in our area called Scratch Bakery, that makes all these flavored cupcakes to die for.  Oh, they are temptations of biblical proportions.  I picked 8 varieties, so we had lots to choose from.


We have been cleaning the out-buildings on the farm this fall and have hauled away piles of junk, and have cut up a lot of scrap wood for the fireplace.  In all of this we have found some very old boards that are very wide and weathered and wonderful.  So I picked one that was a good length for my dining room table, which is very large.....it seats 14 handily.  I wanted it raised up a little bit,  so the Silver Fox, cut 2 pieces of wood to make little legs and he attached them with some brass hinges we had around here, so it is a little easier to store.  It looks very rustic and primitive, but very "glammed" up with the vintage linens and crystal.


I added layers of linens from my Grandma's, some silver Christmas decorations of various shapes and sizes, some silk poinsettias blossoms and included a bunch of tea lights from the dollar store, that run on some sort of battery.  Love these things...3 for a buck.  They were still going when the party was over.  I will keep these around in my supply drawer.  I may watch for some more fancy, clear votive holders, when I am out and about junking.


Just look at those cupcakes.....


These are machine embroidered cupcake pockets.....been doing 25 of these over the past 2-3 weeks.  They have a pocket on the back to put your napkin and silverware in.  I had bought plastic silverware and paper plates, but decided to use my china & silver for the meal, and then we used the paper and plastic for the cake and ice cream.  They turned out so darn cute and now I have them to use for other birthdays.  I got several designs for different holidays and special occasions.....check them out at emblibrary 


 In any entertaining inspiration photos, you seeing banners and lots of them.  I would have liked to do a 3rd one...I like 3 of anything....but I didn't have a simple way of hanging a third one and I really had only 2 ideas....so there you go.  I had found this wonderful classic lettering and saved the entire set to my computer for future use..... hung them with mini clothespins and backed them with black, so that I could use these letters and add to them to say other messages for another time. You might want to take a look at them....


The other banner is made with doilies and vintage hankies.  My mother taught school for several years and I have her collection of hankies.  She would get them from students as gifts.....makes for a nice look.


Here are some pictures of mom's parents, doll chair of my mom's....years ago I made counted cross stitch Christmas ornaments with family members names, so I included them by their pictures.


One of my favorite things to do for a special occasion of late, is to do a photo book from Shutterfly.  There are other places to get them, that is just the one I use.  Mom's book is on the far right in the stand.....I like the 8x8" size, but that is just my preference.....they are fun to do and look so professional.


I didn't have a plan to do a quilt for mom, but this little online class came into my email box a few weeks ago.  It was a perfect size project and I liked the idea of the wire frame to hang it in.  It has a lot of techniques and embellishments, which is just down my alley and I learned how to do a couple new things...it was a very fun project.  Fabric Fabrications is a free class, but you do need to make an account.  Check it out!


More pictures, under glass....another thing I like about my sideboard.  I change this stuff all the time and then you can place food or drink on there without ruining your things.  Sorry about the glare, I could not get a clear shot.


Mom and Dad looking everything over before everyone arrived.
Happy Birthday, Mom!
I love you always!

2 comments:

Judy Christian said...

Hi Sherrie, Just happened to see this! What an amazing job you did! Can you decorate for my next party? Did you have very many people come by or just your family? I can just hear your mom saying she did not want a party1 :) WE love your folks and get to have a meal with them this Sunday. Great blog post!

Anonymous said...


You thought of everything. SEW special. I bet your mother was absolutely thrilled.

Charlotte