Welcome to chapter 3 of "High Tea, Texas Style 2015". If y'all haven't read the first 2 chapters...what are you waiting for? You don't wanna fall behind!
Here are links to chapters 1 and 2.
Today I'm gonna share with you the decorations.
Now, as most of you know, I was on a tight budget for this event (then again, I'm always on a tight budget). But that's ok! That just means I got to put on my creative hat to come up with C-U-T-E stuff that didn't cost a year's worth of tuition to an ivy league college.
I am not too proud to admit that most of the stuff I got came from--the local Dollar Tree store. Not only am I not too proud to admit it...I will GLADLY proclaim it from the top of my roof!
Man, I love that place.
I will NEVER buy gift bags or stuff for party decor anyplace else from now on...unless it's from the Dollar Spot at Target.
So, starting with the OUTSIDE of the house...it was 105 degrees on Tea Party day. To say it's "warm" here is so...not accurate. Sure, I guess it's warm if you're comparing this to the temperature of the sun. But still. I didn't want to use balloons or anything that would melt and/or explode in the heat. So I opted either for "go-round daisies" or pinwheels in bright colors (if I couldn't find daisies). Whatya know? Dollar Tree just happened to have go-round daisies...in bright colors. I wanted them to line the walkway and lead guests to the front door! And yes, those are icicle lights hanging from the roof. We decided to leave them up all year because they're so pretty and they work for any occasion! Are you buying any of that? Thought not.
For those of you who don't know, my mom and I live next door to each other. We were going to host this at my house...but she had more room/tables and chairs than I did...so we ended up having the party at her house (even though I put my address on the invitations). I toyed with the idea of draping crepe paper between the daisies, but it was too hot to be out that long. So we stuck with very simple decor...still happy and pretty, but simple...and it was heat-proof.
After the outside, I turned my focus to the inside. We basically gutted her living room to accommodate the tables and chairs. Jonathan (bless his heart) helped me with the decorations both inside and out. We made our own bunting using colored cord over which we hung folded paper doilies of different sizes. It made GREAT bunting! We filled in-between the strands of bunting with twisted white crepe paper and hung a festive paper lantern in the middle of each section (3 sections total). Then we hung strands of brightly-colored ball lights (Target in the Dollar Spot section) from the beam in the ceiling, along the piano, and in the kitchen. We added some cute paper birdhouse decorations and, as a final touch, finished it off with bouquets of silk flowers (which we already had).
For the tables, we covered all the tables (including the serving tables) with lace tablecloths...some were antique, most were handmade. We used my Grandmother's red transfer ware dishes and super cute mason jars with gingham lids and matching paper straws for the cold drinks. The lids and straws are from Target in their dollar spot section. The mason jars are real mason jars.
Don't you just LOVE that cake stand???? I found it at a thrift store and just HAD to have it. It's just so sassy with its spats and high-button shoes! We had 3 tables set up...total seating for 12.
For the food...we set up 3 tables in the kitchen (covered with lace cloths). One table held the savory foods, and the other 2 held the sweets...the sweets took up more room. The details on ALL the food (with recipes, step shots, and photos) will be covered in upcoming posts!
We carefully wrapped all the party favors and placed them in gift bags, and arranged them on a chest by the front window in the living room
Click on the photo below to enlarge it.
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