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....

Whole alphabet-banner

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!