CAMPER PARTY PLACE SETTING DIY

These are easy as all get out. I used them for my girlfriends baby shower a few months back. They would be cute for any occasion from Thanksgiving to Father's Day to an outdoors BBQ party.

SUPPLIES

Birch Disk Slices - 1.5"-2.5"

Skewers - Cut to about 4" to 6" tall

Hot Glue Gun & Sticks

Name Card - You could hand write these. Mine are .5"x2.5"

Moss

Washi Tape

PROCESS

1. Place a glue dot at the end of a skewer flat and stick it to the center of a Birch Disk.

2. Hot Glue the name card to the top of the skewer and place a small piece of washi tape over the top of the stick to the back of the name card. I used map washi tape so that the backside would retain some decorative element.

3. Hot glue some moss around the base of the skewer.

So so easy.

BOOK CLUB SPREAD FOR ORPHAN TRAIN

Last month I hosted our book, Orphan Train.

It was a lovely and entertaining read, but a little divided, in most of our opinion. I think we all connected to (Neev, Dorothy) Vivian's story as she was the child passed from one bad situation to a worse one, and so on... But none of us seemed to connect to the modern day character, Molly. I still recommend it, mostly because being drawn to historical fiction, I ended up learning about the many trials and circumstances of these children during the depression era... a lost bit of American History.















































THE SPREAD
Because Vivian is originally from Ireland, I wanted to serve a few things Irish... bangers and mash came to mind, cabbage, and soda bread. Links below were a starting ground for what I made. I altered them all slightly.
Cheese Boards
Roasted Potatoes, Purple Cabbage, and Sausage
Kale, Grapes & Broccoli Salad
Soda Bread Muffins
Chocolate Cake Muffins with Ice Cream, Blackberries and Mint Garnish

Styling was based on the idea of traveling. I have so many vintage bits of randomness, I have an old leather suitcase, several old cameras, my grandmothers painted vases, old keys and cigar boxes. All of those together with some flowers from Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, and our neighbors yard. I used my gold flatware, and cut glass goblets and some grey plates from Crate & Barrel. I had some tweed fabric on hand for the table covering and a burlap tablecloth. All serving dishes were either wood, vintage transferware china or grey stoneware. Overall, it was a warm and textural setting.

I also set up some vintage blankets outside for dessert.

WHAT'S FOR DINNER

I'm waiting for the perfect meal planning app.

One that enables me to input family recipes, add recipes from online and create a grocery list (like Yummly), one that has a weekly meal schedule and allows people to share our favorite recipes. Until this happens, I will continue to use Pinterest, Yummly and Grocery IQ along with my little weekly planner.

I print this out every Sunday and plan for the coming week. That way I can do my grocery shopping with a plan in mind. It cuts down on picky eaters evening arguements (my number one reason for doing this) and curbs the grocery bill (my number two reason for doing this.)

I'm sharing. Because it works for me. I hope it works for you too.
xoxo

PASTEL RAINBOW DASH PARTY

More Rainbow Dash Party! There seems to be a neverending supply of DIY information from this party. I think I was making things two months in advance. Silly me.

Overall, I had made:
Pinãta
Fringe Wall
Colored Glass Trays & Vases
Fringe Skewers
Marshmallow Twist Skewers
Sewn Rainbow Ceiling Drops
Washi Tape Rainbow Wall
Rainbow Pony Ears and Tutu for our Birthday Girl (and her sister ;)
Pastel Rainbow Straw Wreath

Party Favors Included:
Beaded Bracelets for each guest (beads. beads. beads. beads)
Ribbon Dancing Rings (ribbon. rings)
Ribbon Barretts
Plastic Pony
Gel Pens
Candy Necklace
Mini Slinky

All of the things I made were really pretty easy, I just did them over a long period of time.

HAPPY DAY OF INDEPENDENCE!

This is what our home looks like this time of year...
kind of a simplified country situation.




















































THE CONTENTS
— I cut out a large United States from a box. Keeping the lines kind of angular makes it easy to cut. I punched holes in the corners and strung it to the wall using washi tape. I didn't try to hide the tape, it's very much a part of the scene, although I did crop it out of the photo ;)
— I bought several Dollar Store flags and cut them into triangles and sewed them into a garland.
— I already had a few large white feathers that I use for EVERYTHING... from Valentine's to Princess parties, baby showers and even Christmas. I mixed those with babies breath, white flowers and flags in a large mason jar.
— I use this wood box for a lot of parties and events too. It's a good propping tool to have on hand. — The doilies are vintage, I've collected them over the years.
— The cherries are in a lovely vintage silver bowl.
— The mason jars are filled with candies and handed out to the kids SPARINGLY. Ya, right.

All in all, I spent under $15 and it was all on the flowers, cherries and candy. Not too bad!

Happy Fourth of July friends!
xoxo