My 30th...The Decorations

I like simple decorations, that don't cost a lot...here is what I came up with...

this was a casual "buffet style" meal. Here is what I used to make 1 wide runner, 1 accent runner, 1 small table cloth, 10 cocktail size napkins, 3 floral arrangements, & assorted candle holders...

2 1/2 yds natural "linen" look fabric

1 1/2 yds. floral fabric

1 ball dark chocolate brown hemp twine

1/2 pint quilted jelly jars

1/4 pint quilted jelly jars

tea lights

2 bunches mini roses

1 re-purposed curtain

printer & paper

3 sheets scrapbooking paper

"Crop-a-dile" scrapbooking tool

scalloped scissors

I used trays, flat wear, plates and cups that I already had

My mom inspired these candle holders...well she gave me the idea :)

I used quilted jelly jars, you can find these anywhere they sell canning supplies, they are really inexpensive and easy to find, and brown hemp twine.

All you do is wrap the twine around as many times as it takes to cover the tread where the lid screws on, then tie a not and trim the ends, add a tea light and your done. I also used three of these to put the roses in.

I am not a flower arranger... So I just divided two bunches of mini roses among the three containers cut them to a good length, and plopped them in, that is about it.

I decided it would be nice to have real napkins, that I can use again and I am not paying to throw away. They were very simple to make. These are cocktail size napkins.

1.measure 9 1/2 inch squares out of each fabric.

2.Put the right sides together and stitch them (I used the width of the foot as the seam allowance) on three sides.

3.Turn the napkin right side out and press, also press the open side to have the same seam allowance as the sewn sides.

4.Top stitch all around...I did twice, the same seam allowance, once with the needle to the left, and once with the needle to the right.

The table runner was extremely easy...I measured how large I wanted it (this depends on your table size), tore it, which makes a straight line with out having to use a cutting wheel + I wanted the rough edges. I didn't hem it, just sewed a border with green thread, all the way to each edge.

I wanted some accent color, so I decided to to use the floral left over from the napkins. I didn't have enough to make the runner as long as I wanted, and I didn't want a seam just in the middle so I measured half of the length of the runner, then cut each half in half again, so there were 4 panels. I sewed each of them together, pressed the seams, and top-stitched each side of each seam, in the same green. Then hemmed the entire runner.

I couldn't keep the labels on the Italian Syrups and Club soda how they were (they were just not pretty), so I covered them. I left the labels on the syrups (for later use), under my decorative label. (see the picture below for a reference)

1. print out the flavors of the syrups on regular printer paper in a color & nice font (I used "Jane Austen".

2. Trim decorative paper to the appropriate size to cover label, and wrap around the bottle.

3. Use a tape runner, or double sided tape to affix the decorative paper.

4. Trim the flavor label to the right size to wrap around the bottle, I left a large border of the decorative paper showing.

5. Cut the top edge of the flavor label with the scallop scissors and punch each scallop with the "Crop-a-dile" (I know this sounds like a lot of work, but it doesn't take a long time and looks super cute.)

6. Tape on the flavor label.

7. Wrap the hemp twine two times around the bottle and knot, trim the excess.

I also removed the labels from the club soda and wrapped them with a thin, plain textured cardstock in yellow.

For the small table, in the living room with the cheese tray, I purposed a curtain I was no longer using. I simply cut it to the right side, and hemmed the side I cut. Then just added 3 more candle holders.

I hope you found something you like...give it a try...I had a lot of fun planning it.