Chic for Cheap Tablescape-Mom's Bday

Yesterday was my mom's birthday and my sister and I had her over to my house to have lunch! I was gone all weekend for our Women's Retreat in beautiful Orange County. I knew that I would not have time to set the table up yesterday morning as my mom would be there at 11:30 and I had to work. So, I set up most of the table before I left for Retreat. I chose to do a garden theme..being that my mom loves to garden and she wanted some new herbs for her garden. I actually used her gift as the centerpiece! I placed a natural runner down the middle of my dining room table then added a bamboo place mat and cream and green plates to add to the greenery of the herbs that I placed in a large basket and in pots down the table. I also bought my mom a black finial to add to her garden and placed that in the table as well and then added in some clay pots and a few butterflies:)

 

For the placecards I used an idea I saw on Pinterest. The original version used a large can and added in a soda bottle..napkin..utensils..etc. Would be super cute for a picnic! I had just made Chicken Tortilla Soup and had a ton of smaller cans left over and thought it would be cute to do a smaller version. I removed the can label... cut out a piece of scrapbook paper to fit and used a glue stick to adhere. Then I took a label and wrote each guests name on them.Added their napkin and utensils and they were complete. Chic and Cheap!

What was on the menu..you ask???? Caprese Paninis...Pasta Salad and Banana Pudding.The recipe for the Caprese Paninis was again found on Pinterest (oh, wow I love thee Pinterest) as well as the Banana Pudding:) I had some small mason jars that I layered with the Vanilla Wafers(from Sprouts..go get them now...they are the best ever!!!!)..then bananas..vanilla custard and repeat and then topped it off with some homemade whipped cream..mmmmm. 

I added bacon and spinach to our sandwiches:) and my end product did not look pretty so I am only showing a pic of the ingredients!

                                                                Happy Birthday Mom!

Chic for Cheap

I looooove table settings. I grew up in a home where my mom always had the table set even if it was just a normal Tuesday night family dinner. In today's society..paper plates, plastic forks and red Solo cups are a staple. I am not hatin' on Solo...some days it is very much appreciated...but I love setting a table up with my finest china and silver. Although, my china is from Wal-Mart and Silverware is well..not silver...I pretend I am classy like that. One of my favorite events every year is our Christmas Brunch at church. The host of the table gets to decorate a table for the ladies that will join her. I have so much fun thinking about the table setting for the next year... the minute the brunch is over. Being that it is mid-February I of course already have everything for my table setting in December...that's normal right???
Since, I am not hosting fancy dinner parties every week(totally would if I had the money) I decided the best way to express this love of tablescapes is to blog about it. Being that it is Valentine's Day I thought I would gather some chic ideas on the cheap to decorate your own Valentine's Day table.
Last year I found the site www.efavormart.com. If you are planning a wedding this is an awesome site to find things on the cheap. I used them for my Sugar Plum Fairy Tablescape at this years' Christmas Brunch. I wanted to find a ballerina slipper pink satin table runner and napkins and they had just what I was looking for. The satin 20x20 napkins were only 3.25 for 5 and the 12x108 runner was 2.18. I think this pink satin would add a lot to a pretty in pink Valentine's day table setting!

Another site I love to use when I am buying for a larger table setting is Oriental Trading Company. I spied the cutest heart shaped mirrors when looking through their catalog for my son's birthday party supplies. I saw the 6 in size first and then discovered they had a 10 inch which would be perfect for a charger underneath your dessert plate..bowl..etc.  You could even write your guests' name on each one with a mirror marker seen below...or if it is just you and your Valentine write a love note....

So...now we have the runner..napkins...place card idea/charger for a dessert party. I am going to pretend that I am going to set a table for my sweetheart and I and that I am serving his favorite peach cobbler:). My favorite place to look for bowls...plates..cups..etc are antique stores or even my cupboards. Most people have serving dishes on hand. Think outside of the box. Use a goblet to serve your dessert in or even a cute teacup if you are serving ice cream or pudding. Also...if you have some nice silverware, use that as well..if not again go to an Antique store and get a few pieces..different styles even...different is good. Designers always say not to buy a matching set of furniture....mix it up...same goes with table settings. It adds a creative and unique flair:). I found these spoons and dishes on Etsy

Now we need a centerpiece which is in my opinion what makes the table. A few small frames of you and your Valentine would be sweet or your favorite song lyrics...poem...verse....etc printed out from your own printer(chic and cheap). Here are some centerpiece ideas that I thought would be easy to do on a low budget.........

found here This would be cute with the heart mirrors underneath.You can find similar letters at Joanns.

These are silk flowers in various sized vases and water

Last, but not least your guests or Valentine need a favor to leave with. Everyone loves a present and it makes a great reminder of the event.Today I watched The Nate Berkus show and my favorite party planner was on, Colin Cowie(who by the way has a new wedding site....eeeekkkkk). He found beautiful lacquered boxes and put in some Godiva Chocolates as a favor for his guests. To keep costs down you could make your own truffles! That may seem like too much work..but trust me it is not as hard as they look. Nate had a Chocolate master on his show today as well who made some truffles...here is the recipe.Placing these is cellophane and tying with some pink ribbon will do the trick.
****Update..just saw these while browsing...you can wrap the chocolates in crepe paper...so sweet:)

Via

So, there you have it a few Chic Valentine's Day table setting ideas for cheap.Hope your day is filled with lots of love and truffles!!!!!

****Side note...while searching for the recipe from Nate's show I saw that his show will not be returning for a third season:(...I am so devastated...yes devastated!!!! Although it took a little bit for Nate to get his groove his show is now so informative and the best show design wise on tv. I don't understand why shows like this last..while others like design on a dime...who are not good a design at all go on forever....sad day:(. Hopefully they put his show on DVD so I can watch it for years to come.

Master Bedroom Budget Makeover

In less than a month we will have been in our home for two years. In those two years I have tried to nail down my style. During this process I have realized that I have major issues. I can not make a decision to save my live. I think it is because I have made poor decisions(design wise) :) in the past and I am so afraid to make more. I have to say many times I go into a store with certain items in mind...but usually am willing to browse and see what is available. Then I see a clearance section or that famous red tag at Target and all plans go out the window. I think to myself..."oh yeah, this will totally work in my room"...when in reality it doesn't and I end up making myself like it simply because it is 75% off! Then I am left with a room and items that I really don't love. 

Design is a hobby. I am in no way calling myself an expert in design. I read blogs, magazines...watch HGTV and Nate Berkus everyday. If I could I would relinquish all control to Candice Olson and be one happy girl. Although...I would ask her if I could go shopping with her. I do enjoy the whole process but I lose focus too easily. Another factor to my deign dilemma(side note...totally have been misspelling that word for years) is that I want the space to reflect my families tastes...not just mine. So...with all that said my Master Bedroom was last in line to be "designed". I love the Hollywood Regency look...but it can get a bit too gawwdddyyy. And The Hubs would definitely not like it. So I took a more traditional palette of Gold, White, Cream, Grey and a shade of blue/green that I have no idea what to call. For the most part those are all neutral colors...the blue/green color just adds that pop of color my room needed. Just a few short days ago my accent color was Navy but then I saw this room on Pinterest:

Gorgeous!!!!!!! If someone knows that color..please let me know:)

It caught my eye..one because I love poufs! Two because my nightstands look very similar to those pictured. I also have a sunburst that I made that I thought would look great above our bed. So...out went my Navy lampshades and a few other small accessories and then the search was on to find accessories around my house in that color. I found one little box that had a gold starfish that my sister gave me for Christmas filled with wonderfully smelling soaps(thanks sis). The box has a little more blue than this color above, but that is ok..I think that pillow in the pic also has more blue in it than the wall color..so I can mix that in as well.I traded out the Navy shades for a similar color shade in the pic and also traded out my greyish silver curtains for some curtains(that I already had) that were the same color as my lamp shades(I have an issue with buying lamps and shades and never buying ones that match so I have a craft room full of them). This immediately lightened up the room...but they were a bit boring so I headed to Joann's were I had already looked at trim for my lampshades previously. Now that I have this new color I looked in the blue/green section of trim and to my surprise found an Ikat trim that had not only that color up there^^^^^ but also Navy and Gold. Can I just express to you my love for Ikat!!??!! If I was fabulous I would have Ikat wallpaper...everywhere. Ok...focus Summer...where was I????? Oh yes trim for the lamp shades. Unfortunately, there was only 2.5 yards left but I made it work..just adding it on the bottom edge...here is another really bad taken by me..oy...Erica...Val (my photog friends) if you are reading this...#1 thank you...#2 don't laugh...#3 HELP:).

Hard to see but that is Ikat<3

Those beautiful lamps are from my Mom and sister....an early birthday present...that they got me last month...and my birthday is in July...what???? that is how we do it:) They were too fab to pass up. Today I found a wood plaque with a chrysanthemum(I think) carved out in the new color and some knobs...at Joanns! They were 60% off. I ended up mounting the knobs on the plaque to use as my necklace hanger. 

Those sheets I found too today. I was on a mission to find sheets today, if nothing else. We only have one set and there was a big hole in them from washing them so much and getting thin. I ended up finding these grey striped ones at Target on clearance(uh-oh) for only 23.99...I bought two sets. They are a great color and they came with a flat, fitted and two shams..but as always I am second guessing my choice..for now they stay. I still after two years have no comforter and I really don't even want to talk about this...this post is already way tooooo long:). That is the next step. 

As I mentioned before I went around my house grabbing accessories in gold, that color^^^^ and the others. I really needed a tray for a top my dresser for all the items that come from The Hubs pockets each day and my perfume and such. I was so happy when I caught my gold tray out of the corner of my eye... that I had bought after Christmas. I picked up two because I loved them so much...and for only 7.50ea they were a steal. Ok...I really so have issues with stuff on clearance....this is getting ridiculous...but sometimes it is cute...seeeee:

Bad pic again but that is my lovely tray.

So all in all I am very happy with my design on a dime Master Bedroom so far. Once it is complete I want to do a break down of what everything cost:). I will post a final pic of the room...for now it is still in need of some key pieces like bedding and a bench. I want to add some fabric or trim to the curtains to add some color to them. I also need a few pieces of art work and that will be difficult for me to choose but I know I am not in a rush and I will try not to let those clearance stickers tempt me:).