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.