An Evening Of Romance & Love

I've been so excited about pulling together a beautiful, Valentine's Day, tablescape for my honey and I'm happy to finally be able to share it with you.
 This is our romantic tablescape that is waiting to celebrate our very special day tomorrow!

It has lots of details and layers as you can see.

Jute, burlap and hand scripted ribbon gather our new flatware that is centered on each place setting.

A battenburg napkin is folded in half with it's ends tucked under a burlap charger.

It adds even more interest, with the floral table cloth, place mat and dinnerware to complete the  layered look.

Little hand twisted buds accent the charger's rim.

Vintage, brown transferware, plates are separated with a deep red plate in between.

I found these tiny canvases and stands in Walmart for just 99 cents each and added the art work that I made in "Pic Monkey" to make it really special.
That's me and my honey!

Little heart charms hang off each crystal wine glass which compliments the details on the"Hampton Forge" flatware.

A wire plate holder, filled with petals, holds the vase with red camellia's from our tree.

A straw woven place mat and brown transferware dish add a few more layers to the centerpiece.

I like to add a little something special to the chairs when I can and made these 6" flowers with two, old, pillow cases. They were leftover from covers that had seen their day.

I used the entire pillowcase without even cutting it up!

Sorry, for the really crappy picture here!!!
I started by gathering it from the open end then just gathered and bunched up the rest. Then I tied it where my hand was holding it into place with a long strand of jute and then secured it to each chair.

Three crystal candle sticks with prisms sit off to one side of our very large table set just for two.

Epsom salt fills the centers of each bobeche with one fabric bud. The centered one is holding a key to my heart!

The trio of long stemmed roses and wrapped with white satin ribbon isn't real but, still adds romance to the tablescape and that's good enough for me.

Six, vintage "salt cellars" are perfect votive holders for the "chocolate candles" that surround the centerpiece.

Here's a peek at the cards that I chose to remember another special Valentine's day.

This one is my favorite!

Here's what's ready to be popped into the oven...chicken and eggplant parm. Two of "Honey's" favorites. They'll be the main dishes, tomorrow, for our very romantic meal.

Now,  just when I thought all pics were done, I decided to make a little change. You know, when something just doesn't feel just right, ...right?  The centerpiece was that something!

 I used the bottom of this glass storage jar to use as a shorter vase.

 I like the new version much, much more!

And lastly, a few more pics by candle light.

I just couldn't bring myself to light the chocolate candles....would you have?

Now, I really can't wait for tomorrow!

Wishing you a Happy Valentine's Day with the special love of your life!

Love, Hugs and Kisses,
JP

and Gucci, too!

   

 

Sharing this post at these great parties
craftsalamode
katherinescorner  
rootedinthyme  
commonground

mariaelenasdecor  
cedarhillfarmhouse
astrollthrulife  
adelightsomelife
lifeonlakeshoredrive  
frenchcountrycottage  
thecharmofhome  
onemoretimeevents

An Elegant Garden Theme Dinner for Thirty

We did it... our spring dinner in the clubhouse was another dinner party success!!!

The decor's garden theme inspirations.

Now, for those of you who might not know, we live in a beautiful, community in Bolivia, N.C. called River Run Plantation. It is where our Spring Dinner Party, for thirty guests, was held in our wonderful clubhouse.

I'm part of the social committee of which I have been asked to be in charge of planning and purchasing the decor for our very special gatherings and on rather tight budget.

And since our budget doesn't allow for fancy china and crystal the dollar store, my printer, a variety of crafts and some of my donated additions managed to make it look as pretty as could be.

I painted flowers on dozens of glasses and bowls and made music sheet posies with silverware tucked inside!

Allysum was planted in white painted peat pots and votives got accents in colors to match by some who volunteered to do some arts and crafts.

It all looked so pretty, just as I'd planned.

My "honey" and I were in charge of the menu.
I volunteered him to make his fabulous chicken francese and thankfully after hours of prep and cooking I'm happy to say that the meal was a huge success!

Most photos were taken during the day....though I wish you could have seen it at night!

The tablecloths were gathered and knotted to show the floral pattern at each end.....a brilliant idea by, Eileen, one of our members of our fantastic set up crew!

For our, last three, celebrations for Christmas, New Year's and Valentine's Day we made our own chair covers.....

this time we invested a mere $2 ea. for these universal beauties.

And since they were a bit too long and I feared that someone might trip on the overflowing satin, we tied each, at the bottoms, in pretty alternating knots. 

They were all then accented with mossy, green, organza bows.

Centerpieces were created from dollar store finds. Mossy faux painted pots were adorned with herb printed cards and tied with bright green ribbons.  Live, white ranunculas, faux additions and bright green spanish moss was then planted in each. Flickering lanterns on shepard's hooks and a trio of butterflies added the finishing touch.

 Art created by residents always enhances the room and fit it just perfectly....don't you agree?

  Wisteria grows wild all over the south, so fresh picked it made the room's column a real focal point. Even the wind chime had colors that so perfectly blended with the decor of the room.

My umbrella was perfect to hold this display and decorated a door in a really nice way.

Butterflies were added almost everywhere!

What a day it was, as you can see outside!

A pot from our yard was set in the entry

 that mimicked the theme of the centerpiece decor.

My angel, my Tanya, sat nearby too!

This was a little vignette creation that I brought from home that held a candle votive inside.

Lots of moss and votives were placed in the room.

Even my straw summer hat got a garden themed look with a little bit of added glam.

A butterfly stepping stone just propped in place added more interest to a rather plain space.

This was a gift from my long lost, friend, Pammy, that never fails to make me smile...
just the way she always did!

One last look at the room's decor and I hope that you enjoyed it all!

Now, I must conclude my post with a very special "thank you" to all of my team...Carolyn (our 1st lady in charge), Carol, Josephine, Sharon, Ann, Eileen, Kate, Hannah, Susan, my daughter Tanya and my husband Ralph for crafting, decorating and cooking and of course the clean up which all made this dinner such a great success!

 Love, Hugs and Kisses,

JP

and Gucci, too!

Visiting Southport,  N.C? be sure to stop by my booth @ the Northrop Antiques Mall and see what I may have there for you!
 

A very special "thank you" to Brooke from creativecountrymom  for chosing this post to be one of those featured at her party.

  Sharing this post at these great parties

rustic-refined  

craftsalamode  

savvysouthernstyle  

jenniferrizzo  

onemoretimeevents  

lifeonlakeshoredrive

myturnforus  

frenchcountrycottage  

rootedinthyme  

staceyembracingchange  

diybydesign  

ivyandelephants  

astrollthrulife  

creativecountrymom  

myuncommonsliceofsuburbia  

stonegableblog  

kathewithane  

adelightsomelife  

thededicatedhouse  

redheadcandecorate  

bystephanielynn