RE-ceiving guests: Outdoor Dinner Party

GIRL'S NIGHT UNDER THE STARS.  Last Fall, I had my book club over for dinner outside in the cabana.  We all contributed to the meal.  My contributions were drinks and appetizers.  Sorry, I didn't take pictures of everything, but here's the place setting. 

BURLAP & LINEN.  I am mildly obsessed with burlap and I have been for years.  My husband doesn't get it, but I love how burlap adds an earthy quality to any setting.  I used it above over the white linen table cloth.  For my last birthday, I asked my husband to buy me succulents instead of the rose bouquet he normally gets me.  I am into succulents right now.  I like their shape and color.  Plus, it was very practical because they will last awhile (fingers crossed) whereas cut roses would have died in a week. 

OPPOSITE VIEW.  I bought gray wicker kooboo chairs at World Market on a tip from Joni at Cote De Texas' blog.  I also found these great gray wicker outdoor trays online.  Restoration Hardware had some, but for much more, plus the sizes I saw were too large for my setting.  I am very happy with both the wicker chairs and the wicker trays as purchases.

FLOWERS & TWINE.  I placed the white napkins in napkin rings I made from paper towel holders.  I cut the paper towel holders into 1 inch rings and wrapped twine around them and secured it with hot glue.  To glam it up a bit but still stay with the outdoor theme,  you can tuck fresh flowers or a single bloom into the napkin ring as I did above.  Simple flowers will do fine for this. 

CONTRAST.  I pulled out my silver knife rests for the party.  They, along with the sterling silver, were a nice contrast to the simple natural elements (burlap, succulents, wicker, pebbles) on the table.

DOLLAR STORE CRAFT.  Between the succulents, I placed the above candles.  The glass containers, the twine, pebbles and candles are from the Dollar Store. 

GIFTS.  My girlfriends admired the candles and asked me where I got them.  When I told them I made them, they asked if I would make some for them and I did so.  I gave them out as Christmas gifts along with tamales I helped make this year. (See: RE-ceiving-guests: A Tamalada & a Tamale Recipe )  I believe they were very happy with them.  I used them on a RUSTIC CHRISTMAS MANTEL this year to hold nuts and I already have another table setting where I plan on using them.

SUCCULENTS.  I LOVE them individually or in groups. They are so interesting looking.  They were the perfect low-key element I wanted for the center of this very laid back evening.  I wanted the setting to feel like a treat, but still very relaxed. 

NAPKIN RING.  I plan on using the napkin rings for another setting soon.  I already used them also for a Western Table setting.  They have a lot of versatility and are very easy to make.   Plus, they are basically a few pennies each because the base is a recycled material (paper towel holder) and $1 worth of twine would probably make 20.

EVERYDAY SERVICE.  I used my every day crystal, Mikasa French Country for the dinner. I also used white ironstone plates I bought at Target.  I wanted it to be a casual evening, but I pulled out the sterling because I felt the table needed some elegance to give it a little drama.  It seemed like an easy addition and cost me nothing.  Plus, it seems whimsical to use something formal outside in a casual setting which I like.

CHEESE PLATTER.  I bought these cute chalkboard picks at World Market for the cheese tray.  I am sure someone could make them, but these were only $5 and they are on white porcelain so it hardly seems worth making them.  I like to put out a cheese ball and 3 cheeses, walnuts, cranberries, crackers and a sweet sauce on a cheese tray.  My book club friends and I are cheese lovers. Brie especially disappears whenever anyone offers it. 

REFINISHED TABLE. The table is a $100 Craigslist find that I restained.  I will do a post on that project  later.

BEVERAGE TUB.  I realized I needed a drink tub for the cabana. I found a red one on mega sale at Lowe's and spray painted it green to match some plastic ware I am using outside.  I bought the stand from World Market, also on sale. I tied a bottle opener to the side of the tub with a green and white polka dot ribbon to keep it handy for guests.

LONG VIEW.  This picture makes me realize how much I need an outdoor rug.  It also makes me grin about the mirror. I got it at a 50% sale at Hobby Lobby.  I wanted to add decorative elements to the cabana to make it feel more like a room and a mirror was my first idea. I think it works well.

STORAGE. I may get something different, but for now I am storing entertaining supplies in Pottery Barn baskets  that use to be in our family room  in a tall black metal case.  It is a work in progress but for this dinner party, it worked fine.

WRITTEN BY ELDAROSE

If you would like to see my Backyard Remodel progress click   HERE

Linking this post to:

Cuisine Kathleen
http://www.cuisinekathleen.com/2012/04/tweet-tweet-happy-earth-day-let-dish-5.html

Table Top Tuesday at A Stroll thru life
  See more tables  HERE

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See more Tablescapes HERE

RE-decorating: Rustic Christmas mantel

We have a fireplace in the living room, but that room is currently being used as storage for everything we have bought for upcoming remodeling projects.  Rather than try to tackle that situation, I decided to put up a simple mantel in my husband's study. The stockings are still in tubs so they'll be added soon.  I didn't buy anything for the mantel.  I'd call it a "stolen" mantel because everything on it was stolen from other areas.  It started with the decision to use our old front door wreath over the mantel and that got the ball running on a color and design theme.  I pulled the mini Christmas tree with burlap base from a storage tub.  It had neon colored ornaments on it so I took those off.  I would like to get another couple of these small trees. They are very handy for spots of holiday decor.  If any of my friends reading this happen to come across these trees while shopping, please pick me up a couple, and I will pay you back.  You know I'm good for it. :D The greenery was free. As I mentioned in my green & silver Christmas table post, I got a bunch of it from the tree trimming pile when we bought our tree.

The saint candlesticks are antique. They are usually on a table in the living room. We bought them a long time ago at Whit Hanks, a really nice antique shop here in Austin.  They are from the 1800s.  They are unusual which is a big part of why they appeal to me.  The glass containers are from the Dollar Store. I bought them this summer to make an outdoor summer dinner tablescape. (I have pictures of that which I will post soon.) I wrapped the glass containers with twine, also purchased at the Dollar Store. I hot glued the ends to keep them in place. For the mantel, I decided to fill them with an assortment of nuts to add some texture to this setting.  If I lived elsewhere, I would have used pine cones, but they are not readily available outdoors so I used what I had, hence the nuts.  The large green candle was from my old family room. It doesn't have a place yet in my new home, but it works for Christmas so I pulled it into the mantel setting. The red ribbon is silk shantung.  I believe it was a sash to a flower girl dress for my daughter.  I kept it around and when I decided to use the wreath, I went looking around for ribbon to match that hue of red and remembered this sash. I don't know if you can tell from the picture, but they match almost perfectly.   She had an old velvet ribbon bow that would have matched as well, but I didn't find a place for it in the design.  Lesson here is think about repurposing/recycling old wardrobe items before they go to Goodwill.  The burlap is a remnant from the summer tablescape I did with the glass containers I described above.  I used a black permanent marker (Sharpie) to write PEACE on the strip freehand. I then cut one side of it in a scalloped shape, which was very easy and quick to do and I attached it to the mantel with clear tape. The good thing about using tape is that if your letters come out a little crooked, you can adjust how the strip hangs with the tape to help straighten it.  When my husband saw me hanging the burlap, he asked me "What is your obsession with burlap?" LOL.  I can't help it. I love burlap. It has a good earthy texture to it. It cuts easily and it works in a lot of no sew projects and since my sewing skills are limited to sewing buttons and hems, this is a big deal to me. 

A full view of the setting.  The office is masculine and we have religious art in it already, so I wanted to do something very natural and simple.  I considered not even doing the containers of nuts to keep it very simple, but I felt it was a bit too unadorned without something more.

My items stolen from other rooms work together here I think because they are all natural products. The nuts, twine, greenery, the wood Santo, the candle, the iron candlestick all come from the Earth.  Nothing artificial, nothing plastic. 

A close up of my glass container from the Dollar Store. I will feature this project again when I post the pictures from my outdoor dinner party.  For my summer outdoor dinner party, after I wrapped the glass containers with twine, I filled them  with votive candles and pebbles. My friends liked them a lot and asked me where I bought them, when I told them I made them and that I got the stuff from the Dollar Store, they asked me to please make some for them as gifts.  I told them "Ok. Merry Christmas!" and laughed.  They said they would sincerely love to get them as Christmas gifts.  I hope they still feel that way because they really are getting them for Christmas. 

We have collected religious art for awhile. The nice part of collecting religious art pieces is that on holidays like Christmas and Valentine's Day, they often can be incorporated into the holiday decorations.  I try to work with what I have as much as I can. Here, I was able to put together the mantel without spending a dime, even though I've never done a mantel like this one before.   I shopped around my own home for stuff to use and that is often the best, most simple option.

WRITTEN BY ELDAROSE



Click here to see more Christmas mantels at Southern Hospitality, the above blog

Clilck here to see more Christmas Mantels