All Hallow's Eve Table

When it comes to All Hallow's Eve, I lean towards spooky, not horror and I am a big fan of suspense.

Cute is not only discouraged, it is practically forbidden by my family of critics . . . 

SKULLS . . . Yes, Smiling Jack-o-Lanterns . . . not so much.  

The dripping candles were very inexpensive -- they are toilet paper rolls.  As as I see in the daylight, my impatience is showing as they all could of used another coat of spray paint (Oops!).

I followed these directions from Crafts Unleashed.  Super simple, all you need is a TP roll, scissors, hot glue and spray paint.  For the black candles, I covered the candle 'wick' with a piece of tape and I spray painted the battery operated light too.  I stuffed cotton balls inside the tubes to allow the little lights to be at the perfect height.  I even put a small bead of hot glue on the base of the black ones to adhere to the metal Lyric Candelabra -- knowing the hot glue will pop off of the metal when I want it to.

All the small crows are from Dollar Tree - bought just this past week. And the large crow I have had for years -- thinking I bought him from Grandinroad, but not completely sure.

Originally the center Tiered Stand was decorated for a Willow House WHINGO Party (Willow House Prized Bingo) . . . sorry for the shoddy picture, this was taken at the very end of the night . . . . zzzzzz.

I wanted to add to the centerpiece for an upcoming Halloween Party's buffet table.

The small cages are called Lollie Lanterns, and I spray-painted them as well

(pretty much nothing is safe with me) with a matte black.    I added an branch to mingle

with the stand to give it more of a tree-like appearance.

I love how the crows' and raven's eyes seem to follow you  . . . 

For the table covering, I picked up some cheese cloth at Target and 'grayified' it. 

I opened it up completely and then wadded it into a ball and put it in a bowl of water.  

I squirted out some gray craft paint into one hand and picked up the wet cheese cloth 

with the other, squeezed out some of the water and then wiped my gray painted hands all over it. 

I reopened up the cheese cloth, and hung it out to dry (which took no time at all).  

Cheaper than Halloween gauze.

I really like how the cheese cloth lays across the table like fog.

The smiling skeleton coming out of the coffin was purchased from Red Envelope years ago . . .

the candles always burn too quickly, so I will need to find small tapers with battery operated lights for it.

Thimble Domes hold another smiling skeleton buddy -- one that lost his head, on a bed of Spanish Moss.

Black Roses add an elegant touch in a 'Mercury Glass' Votive Holder

How do you decorate for Halloween?  Spooky, Cute or Horror?  I'd love to hear your tips!

As ALWAYS -- Thank You for Stopping By!

Tabletop Sources :::

•  White Tablecloth - cheap-y from efavormart.com

•  Raven flocked table runner - Pottery Barn several years back

•  Cheesecloth from Target 2 square yards $2.49 (in kitchen utensil area)

•  Lyric Candelabra from Willow House

•  Green Glittery Spider from Michael's

•  Willow Sprig Tiered Stand from Willow House

•  Manzanita Branch from Save-on-Crafts 

•  Lollie Lanterns from Willow House (spray painted black)

•  Spanish Moss from Hobby Lobby

•  Small Crows from Dollar Tree

•  Black Roses from Gumps

•  'Mercury Glass' Celestial Votives from Willow House

•  Small Skeleton Heads from Pier 1 Imports a few years back, Michaels had similar ones

•  Small Glass Amelia Thimble Domes from Willow House

•  Skeleton coming out of coffin from Red Envelope several years back

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2nd Floor Menswear: Cocktails Are Now Being Served

Give dad the gift of relaxation on Father's Day weekend, a chance to gather with some friends and family and while enjoying his favorite libations.  Set Dad up with a cocktail station even Don Draper would envy.  If you insist on giving Dad a tie this year -- present it in a new way :)

The Boilermaker

If whiskey & beer are on your hubby's most wanted list, treat them to a boilermaker set-up they can't resist!

Is it 5 o'clock somewhere?

a centerpiece worthy of your Dapper Dad!

Put your husband / father's tattered shirts & trousers to use.  My husband had a few shirts and a pair of trousers that even a tailor couldn't save, plus they were not fit to be donated.  So here is what I did . . . 

More ideas to come -- we don't leave anything to waste!

I cut off the collars, pockets, and sleeves -- and even repurposed the shirtail into a tablerunner (more on that later).

The collars of his shirts dressed up our hurricanes rather nicely.  The larger of the two hurricanes was too wide for the collar initially, so we gave it an 'after 5' {loose collar, loose tie} look that was fitting for the occasion.

After 5 o'clock, and it's time for Dad to loosen up!  Even the belt comes undone!!
Large Galveston Hurricane glass resting on Eclipse Reversible Riser

Leave a 'tail' of buttons for the 'after 5' look -- the button tail will be hidden by the tie.

What does Dad normally keep in his shirt pocket?

Using some small magnets . . . we attach a cut out shirt pocket to the beer bucket.

My hubby is always writing down his next great idea -- so a handy pen is essential!

I love the Willow House Entertaining Bucket with Tray -- it has been a multi-year best seller for a reason!  It's leak-proof, and comes complete with a drip tray to collect condensation before it makes a messy puddle.

Condensation?!  No Problem!

I raised the bucket up on a 2-tier plate stand, and used the bottom tier to house an Italian Stitch Salad Plate and monogram cocktail napkins (from Wisteria).  

Thumbs Up!

The Estate Vanity Tray, also works great to corral dispensers at a sink, or decanters, bottles & glassware. The shot glasses are vintage glasses from my parent's collection.  Denim koozies are from Frontgate.

Who's ready for a COLD ONE?

The tabletopper is a remnant of houndstooth fabric and the banner is from Hello Lucky!

I loved the retro look they created with their printable Father's Day cards & labels -- so I printed several cards per page and trimmed them out to create a banner -- attaching the cards to a piece of twine.

A FUN, Easy Father's Day Bar!

Moving the party indoors?  Check out . . . 

Wine & Cocktails:

For a more 'traditional' bar set up complete with wine and cocktails.  

Our butler's pantry is our bar area, mainly because our actually wet bar is direct in the line of traffic during much of our entertaining.  This pantry is more convenient. 

Liquor tucked away above -- still easy to reach and browse the selection :)

Don Draper can stop by anytime :)
The Abingdon Butler's Tray is gorgeous and makes a perfect wedding gift (have something special engraved on it)

More cocktail napkins from Wisteria -- this one is my hubby's favorite. Annabelle Napkin Holder shown.

Line a glass-topped tray with wine corks -- perfect for stashing bottles of your favorite vintage for a party.

Just a few fabulous Willow House Wine Accessories. 

The wine bottle 'sleeve' is made from the sleeve of the tattered shirt.  Make several to have on hand for gift giving -- so clever.  I followed the tutorial from Adventures in Dressmaking.

Create your own personalized wine charms for your next dinner party with alphabet beads -- so fun!

Don't forget to change up your mantel display for dad's special day . . .

Father's Day Mantel Display: 

Using the same Hello Lucky printables for a banner, dress up a mantel to include pictures of your cherubs or of your family's dads.  

We have a wrap-around fire-place in our den, so the mantel decorating also goes around the side.  All the more room to display my dear.

Who's that baby drinking whiskey?!

Paper airplanes were created out of old & yellowed pages from a paperback book.  A few unbound books were stacked to vary the heights of the framed photos.

A simple way to help celebrate Dad's important day.

I hope you enjoyed these Father's Day decorating ideas.  If your husband has a collection of LOUD ties that haven't seen a father's day in quite a few years, perhaps it is time to bring them out again.  Thanks so much for stopping in!

Psst.  Don't forget to check out my latest post -- Eight Great Ways to Set a Place for Dad!

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Butterflies & Bombshells

Whether you are setting up a Mother's Day luncheon with your friends, including your favorite mothers of course, or you are having a small family gathering -- just adding a few simple touches can make it special.  

Take this beautiful Mother's Day inspired table.

Created from our wonderful Willow House staff.  This particularly table was showcased at our 2010 national meeting.

One of the 'oooos and aaahhhhs' of the table, of course, is the Avalon Accent Trees with reindeer moss and  butterflies.

Here is a little 'behind the scenes action' to show how they did it . . . 

Source ::: Plate & Pattern (Willow House corporate blog) --  Start by adding a styrofoam cone to the center of each tree. For the large cone, she added moss from the bottom opening, but since our cones were the same size and the Avalon Accent Trees aren't, the smaller tree was a little tighter fit. For that tree, she had more luck putting the moss in from the outside-in. For your pieces, just experiment to see which method works best. 

Ready for her close up . . . the Avalon Accent Tree goes mossy!

Add a few craft store butterflies and you have a stunning centerpiece for your buffet or garden table!

Vary the height of your trees with urns, hurricanes and pedestals of different heights acting as the base.  These centerpiece 'trees' have also been used as a door bucket here, and a centerpiece at my family's summer BBQ here.  

Here is where the butterfly theme meets the bombshell . . . 

Have FUN with you family photographs!
•  Use an earlier picture of mom and either scan it, crop it and print it large or take it to your local copy center to help you.
•  Cut out mom's portrait in the shape of a butterfly.  It doesn't have to be perfect!
•  Use a hole punch to punch a hole in the top corner of one of the butterfly's wings and thread a ribbon through.
•  Use plenty of ribbon for an elegant bow and tie it onto the ribbon plate.
•  How sweet is this?     

My mom (though she may of acted a bit embarrassed at the time) would of loved this!  

This is perfect for ANY ladies spring / summer luncheon -- so keep this idea in mind!  

The Gramercy Ribbon Plate is topped with accent plates.  One in a trellis pattern (which mimics the tablecloth) and our Verde Berry Bowl (currently on vacation -- ask me for inventory status).

Each berry bowl contains a sweet package for the guest.  Wouldn't this make any one of us feel special?

Yes, I think it would indeed.  Love the purple accents combined with the green and cream color palette.

Ice tea (are you from the South?  Why yes, it IS Sweet Tea, how did you know?), served in a Ruffled Glass Pitcher, with sugar cube and lemon slices ready for guests to help themselves.

So many beautiful details . . . 

. . . including the Vases filled with flowers, and the flatware wrapped within the napkin and tucked into the glass tumbler.

Though it never hurts . . . 

. . . to serve a jaw-dropping dessert!  Purple flowers top a gorgeous creme cake wrapped with a chiffon ribbon and proudly display on a ruffled glass cake pedestal.  YuMMy!  

Of course you can take the theme of any gathering to any length of extremes -- it all depends on how much time you have to prepare for it, AND what your definition of ExTreme is ;).

The folks over at the National Watermelon Promotion Board continue to impress me with the ingenious ways they encourage us to enjoy melons, if you haven't checked out their carving ideas lately, you should!

Source ::: National Watermelon Promotion Board

How about these adorable pretzel butterflies?  They are the perfect combination of a little salty & sweet and look very simple to make too.  To top your cupcakes with pretzel-winged butterflies . . . note the
• bodies are piped dots of blue buttercream
• heads are candy-coated-chocolate
• with licorice antennae

Yes, YOU can do this!! Source ::: Martha Stewart Kid's (adults like them too ;)

Most craft stores sell silk butterflies, or those made from feathers, look in the floral department near the foam and glass gems.  Often times these butterflies include a wire stem, making them easy to pop into an arrangement or attach to the stem of a glass.

To make this gorgeous floral arrangement, see the source ::: Southern Living Magazine

You could even add a Nest of Sweets to each place setting.  Don't limit the use of nests in your decor to just Easter.

Source ::: Southern Living Magazine

 Wire silk butterflies to the stems of glassware.  Each guest could be a different colored butterfly, making it easy to keep track of his or her glass.

Source ::: Southern Living Magazine

To continue to carry the butterfly theme, don't forget the backs of your chairs. Create this look in two steps. First loop ribbon over each chair back, and tie it in a knot.  Then for the bow, make two loops with a length of ribbon, and secure by tying with the tails from the first knot. Insert a silk butterfly.

Source ::: Southern Living Magazine

I hope this post encourages you to have Fun with you entertaining and not to be afraid to take any theme to a bit of an extreme!

Take Care and Happy Mother's Day to All the MoMs out there! ♥

Linking up with :::
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