Bridal Shower Ideas

Bridal Shower Ideas

I recently hosted a bridal shower at my home for a dear friend that I have known for over twenty years. I am so excited for her because after years of searching, even moving to California, she found her prince charming right here in our hometown. The crazy part is that he went to high school with us. She has always had faith that she would find the right guy, and I admire that about her.
Since she is such a special friend, and I love hosting this group of girls, I wanted to make sure the shower felt equally as special. I paid lots of attention to the details. First, I started with the color scheme. I love the Rifle Paper Company banner, which I made into a "Bride to Be" banner. The colors are pretty and chalky. I especially love the coral and mint. I also wanted to incorporate some purple, since that is their wedding color. It worked out perfectly that my bluish purple hydrangeas are blooming right now. So I headed out to the garden and picked a bunch. Lastly I chose a theme, and I'm calling it vintage, flea market inspired bridal shower. I will list the resources that I used as I go along.

The banner was from the Rifle Paper Company. I found it locally at the Paper Source Store. The pom pom garland I made myself. I used mint and cream yarn. This is a great project to get your kids involved with. :) I set the buffet in my dining room as the food table, and I think it worked out perfectly. If you have been following me on my blog or instagram you know that I love to collect vintage white hobnail dishes. This is an occasion that they certainly come in handy. I used them for the food and some vases. I also used vintage tins that I had been collecting for vases, and an Anthropologie vase.

I found the cupcake liners at Michael's Craft store in the baking section. They were the perfect shade of mint. And they worked perfectly with the crepe paper and tissue flowers I used. The crepe paper was from Target, and the tissue pom poms were from Party City. It was awesome luck finding all these items that matched so perfectly. :)

Vintage items I used. I stacked the books and bounded them with material scraps.

I made the cake toppers out of washi tape, and some tissue paper. I then printed out cute little words to put on them. I used be mine, love, and forever. I also made the cupcakes, and custom matched the icing to the Rifle Paper Company banner. 

Lucky for me, my last name starts with a "B" and so does the bride's new last name. I think this is a great way to really personalize the table scape

.

I made a personalized frame for the couple. I was super easy, I found the frame at Target, and then used Martha Stewart stickers to personalize it.

I served chicken salad with walnuts and grapes, along with oriental coleslaw, black pepper potato chips, and fruit. Simple and easy, but perfect for a bridal shower luncheon.

I found this fun burlap and gold polka dot fabric at Joann Fabrics. When I saw it, I instantly thought it would make a perfect table runner. I ended up sewing up the sides to keep it from fraying, and ran a lint brush over it, because it will shed. 

A vintage sewing box worked out perfectly to put the hydrangeas in. I just filled small glasses with water, and then put the hydrangeas in the glasses.

Since I have a collection of vintage brooches, because I make jewelry using them at Lulubelles.com, I used them as napkin rings. Each one was unique, just like each of the girls.

I had a drink station set up on a small buffet piece.

Washi tape and paper straws is always a cute combo.

I love all these girls so much. We have been through a lot together. Friendships should be treasured, and I certainly treasure these ladies.

Until next time,

XO~Gretchen

lulubelles.com

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

Since we have moved into our new home, I have been struggling with getting my studio space organized. I have lots of cabinets, however they are not very deep. For awhile I had a small table in the space, but it just turned into a "dumping ground." When I am working, I tend to just work at my desk area, and I rarely used the table. Maybe because it was full of stuff all the time. One of my goals for this year was to get myself organized. I am lucky to have my own space to work in, and honestly I hated going in there sometimes. The older that I get, the more clutter seems to annoy me. I didn't want to buy any furniture, so I did some pondering. We had been given this light wood dresser over ten years ago. It served it's purpose in my oldest son's bedroom for some time. Eventually he inherited our nice dark wood furniture once we got some new pieces. Honestly, I am not even sure why we kept it. However, it functions well, fit perfectly on my studio wall, and has deep drawer storage. It was a winner, and it was FREE! Now what color was I going to paint it? It is really hard for me to think outside of the aqua color scheme, but I have been recently enamoured with shades of kelly green. So, I decided to try the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint color called Antibes green. Worst case scenario, I'd paint over it if I didn't like it.

My favorite thing about using this paint is that there really is no prep work. I just wiped the piece down with a wet cloth to make sure that all the dust was removed.(it had been in the basement for a while) No sanding necessary :) When I am painting using this product I like to apply thin coats. I do this because the paint dries fairly quickly this way. I was able to get two coats in before I had to pick my boys up from school. The next morning I applied the last coat, so three coats total. By that evening I applied the clear coat wax. This was a two day project for me. I am so pleased with the results. I decided to use a collection of knobs. I loved some knobs from Anthropologie, but they were $8 each. I was going to need sixteen, so you can see how that can add up quickly. I found the other knobs at Hobby Lobby, and luckily they were 50% off. :) So I got the remainder of the knobs for between $2.50-3.00 Which is much more reasonable when you have to buy so many. I really like the collection of knobs, it's perfectly imperfect.

The first layer going on.

one coat on

What a difference a little paint and some new knobs makes :)

The Anthropologie knobs

knob from Hobby Lobby

knob from Hobby Lobby

I love having a place to display my vintage typewriter.

My vintage suitcase, perfect for additional storage.

I also collect vintage tins which I use for storing things.

Peony from my garden :)

Voila' the finished product in my studio with my inspirational wall above it. If you live in Louisville you can purchase the Annie Sloan Chalk paint from Vintage Style and Designs. Hope you feel inspired to create something special for yourself. And never underestimate the beauty in an old piece of furniture ;).
XO~
Gretchen

Springtime decor

Hi everyone, and happy Spring! It's finally Spring, or so the calendar says, but it definitely doesn't feel like it here in KY. It's still really cold, and everyone is ready for a change of season around here. If you know me, then you know that Winter is my least favorite season. If it weren't for Christmas, I really might hibernate. So this year, since it's been cold and dreary out, I needed something to inspire me for Spring. I decided to take an online class from a friend called Spark Your Spring! My friend Margie taught it, and it was just the class I needed to add a little sunshine in my life. I wanted to share with you some of the things that I made for our home this Spring, and how I decorated. Hope you will feel inspired to "Spark your Spring" and let's pray that Spring comes soon!
XO~Gretchen

Some of the supplies I used for the tiny garland

I made these little baskets

The garland I made for my mantel, and yes that's my favorite aqua chandelier.