Shabby Chic Lil Cowgirl Birthday Party

Our Baby Love turned SIX this week! And to celebrate her birthday we had a BIG cowgirl party.

The venue: The tool barn at her maternal grandparents’ farm.

The challenge: To make the most of the farm surroundings, add burlap and apple crates and marry it all with silver, pink, and lace. FUN, FUN, FUN!

When the idea of the party at the farm was born, my assignment was to help with making things pretty. Baby Love’s mamá had the vision, and I started gathering the goods. (That’s why I need a nice, big basement! LOL) This is the beginning of the transformation. You can see that at this point we’d already grabbed an awesome old ladder and old shutters (far left) and put them into play.

And we transformed it to this:

The dessert table was the main attraction. We also had a food table and a table for the drinks. The backdrop and tablecloths are pieces of a 15’x12’ drop cloth from Lowe’s that I cut. (Some day I’ll tell you the story of washing and drying and cutting a 15’x12’ piece of drop cloth :) . )

Some close ups:

Remember all those hydrangeas I’ve been drying? Some are in a big bin in the basement, and to the party they went! Our first thought was to fill the other apothecary jar with pink- and cream-colored macarons, but there were lots of guests, so we opted for wafers, which turned out to be an excellent choice, especially given the number of children in attendance.

This was Baby Love’s own cupcake and decorated marshmallow. The lollipop stick on her marshmallow includes a flower left over from her tussie mussie I made for her dance recital (you can see that post here).

I’ve seen lots of small glass bottles for children’s drinks, but being worried about safety, Mr. Chickadee and I started saving plastic chocolate-milk bottles (lovely excuse to drink chocolate milk!!). I spray painted the bright blue caps tan to fit our color scheme, and decorated them with twine and ribbons. The tags were used by parents to identify their children’s drinks.

Mamá painted real horseshoes, pink for the girls and copper for the boys, as party favors. I stumbled into these galvanized tins (already rusty, YEA!) at TJ Maxx a few months ago. They had three—one bigger than the other two—and they all came home with me!

  White and semi-sweet chocolate-dipped marshmallows were a real treat for the kiddies!The lollipop sticks were decorated with various ribbons and lace to continue the color scheme.

 

Mamá made the darling garland that will now go in Baby Love’s room, as will the sign with her name on it.

The plates on the plate rack are the romantic Duchess pattern by Paden City (you can see them in more detail here). Their soft colors were perfect for the occasion.

The ladder ultimately filled the space between the dessert and the food tables.

“Ava’s Party…Welcome” by Baby Love, with a drawing of herself, the garland her Mamá made, and of the ladder. ;)

The pink Depression glass cups and saucers and juice glasses came along in my bins just in case, and they came in handy as fillers for the ladder, as a vase for the perfect rose (see below), and to hold the pink-and-white paper straws on the dessert table.

A perfect rose, well suited for Baby Love.

Transitioning to the food table…

We were feeding about 60 people, so the serving pieces needed to be BIG…oh, now I remember why I needed those big Longaberger baskets and crocks years ago! We briefly toyed around with the idea of china and flatware (our son, Baby Love’s Papá, is a chef who does occasional catering jobs, so he could have brought enough), but logistically it didn’t make sense.

And the drinks…

I’ve done “a year in review” with this Pottery Barn vase for each of the babies’ birthdays, but certainly never thought that she had noticed. Well…this year she asked me if I was going to do all her pictures again! Goes to show you, you never know what they’re noticing and what they like. So Yes, Baby Love, I’m doing it again!

There was even a piñata!

Everybody dig in! (And yes, the birthday girl wore a pink saucer tutu, pink-and-black cowboy boots, and a denim jacket.)

~ Confetti from the piñata in her tutu ~

 

And a few final (whew!) glimpses of The Lil Cowgirl Birthday Party ~

Our little three-year-old nephew, Vinny, came prepared for a cowboy day with his vest, chaps, hat and boots, (though he wouldn’t get on the horse! LOL).

And there were plenty of cowboy boots in all sizes…

This is how Grandpa Ken kept the barn warm for us.

And would you look at the size of these {tractor??} tires?! The horse blanket served to disguise them a bit. And why an empty frame?

To take a picture of Baby Love and each of her little friends on the horse! Each picture will be included in the child’s thank-you note.

It was a PERFECT day. Packing everything but the kitchen sink was well worth it. As Mr. Chickadee and I unloaded the car (just about every inch of an SUV-ful), we talked about all the sweet moments of the day. Sometimes it’s those moments after the fact, when you have time to reflect, that bring it all into full focus…when the memories start to formulate. A precious time…do you find that too?

Those of you who’ve done out-of-town weddings probably know exactly what this was like…and I bet the love and the memories made it all worthwhile, yes?

NOTE: Some of the items I use in my posts are in my Etsy shop, but many are not, simply because I haven’t updated my shop. If you see something you like and wonder if it’s available for sale, email me at coral5252@gmail.com and let’s talk!

Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you’ll leave me a comment to let me know you were here—I read every single one of them! And if you like what you see a lot, maybe you’d like to Google+ this post or pin it on Pinterest too! Thank you!

I invite you to follow me. If you’ll let me know that you’re following, I’ll be sure to follow you back.

Tablescape Thursday at http://betweennapsontheporch.net/

Home and Garden Thursday at http://blissfulrhythm.blogspot.com/

Open House Party Thursday at http://nominimalisthere.blogspot.com

Transformation Thursdays at http://www.theshabbycreekcottage.com/

Thursdays at http://www.theselfsufficienthomeacre.com

Feathered Nest Friday at http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/

Home Sweet Home Fridays at http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/

Thrifty Things Friday at http://thethriftygroove.blogspot.com/

Vintage Inspiration Friday at http://commonground-debrasvintagedesigns.blogspot.com/

Show and Tell Friday at http://romantichome.blogspot.com/

Fresh-Cut Fridays at http://rosevignettes.blogspot.com

Vintage Inspiration Friday at http://commonground-debrasvintagedesigns.blogspot.com/

Show and Tell Friday at http://romantichome.blogspot.com/

Friday Favs at http://www.naptimecrafters.com

Vintage Inspiration Friday at http://commonground-debrasvintagedesigns.blogspot.com/

Show and Tell Friday at http://romantichome.blogspot.com/

Show and Tell Saturday at http://www.bedifferentactnormal.com/2012/04/show-and-tell-saturday-042812.html

Spotlight Saturday at http://www.classyclutter.blogspot.com/

Sunday Showcase at http://www.bystephanielynn.com/

Sunday Creative Home and Garden Hop at http://creativehomeexpressions.blogspot.com/

Sundays at The Tablescaper: http://thetablescaper.blogspot.com/

Sunday’s Simply Klassics at http://www.simplyklassichome.com/

Sunday Blog Hop at http://www.blissfulanddomestic.com/

Sundae Scoop at http://www.iheartnaptime.net/

Mop it Up Monday at http://www.ishouldbemoppingthefloor.com

Metamorphosis Monday at http://betweennapsontheporch.net/

Monday’s Blue Monday at http://smilingsally.blogspot.com/

Masterpiece Monday at http://boogieboardcottage.blogspot.com/

Market Yourself Monday at http://sumossweetstuff.blogspot.com/

Monday Just Something I Whipped Up at http://www.thegirlcreative.com/

CraftOManiac Monday at http://craftomaniac.blogspot.com/

Metamorphosis Monday at  http://betweennapsontheporch.net/

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com

Too Cute Tuesday at http://funkypolkadotgiraffe.blogspot.com/

Sew Cute Tuesday at http://thecreativeitchboutique.blogspot.com/

Tuesdays at Our Home at http://mariaelenasdecor.blogspot.com/

Tuesday’s Treasures http://www.myuncommonsliceofsuburbia.com/

Inspire Me Tuesday at http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com/

Wow Us Wednesdays at http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/

DIY by Design Party at http://diybydesign.blogspot.com/

Wednesday at Tea Rose Home at http://tearosehome.blogspot.com/

We Did It Wednesday at http://www.sew-much-ado.com/

Wednesday’s Hoo’s Got Talent at http://nightowlcrafting.blogspot.com/

From my nest to yours~

Zuni

Our Halloween Home Tour

Last week I shared our fall and Halloween decorations on the front porch and the screened porch (you can see them HERE). Today, I’m sharing what we did inside, when Baby Love came to “help” me. :) She’s almost six, so as she opened each bin we brought up from the basement she was delighted to find decorations that she now remembers.

First we worked on the buffet, where we used our terra cotta Jack-o’-lanterns ~

Now, of course I couldn’t just plop them on the bare furniture, right?~~ I had to have my decorating fun too, so the layering started early. Do you see that there’s someone or something inside the big Jack-o’-lantern???

Yep! Shadow, her and her little brothers’ black-and-white kitty cat, and Shadow’s baby peeking out. In years past we’ve had the “Jacks’” hats off and the kitty cats climbing out of them, but this year she wanted to hide them in there.

For the more grown-up touches I added a sterling footed compote with tiny gourds, buckeyes, and other fall touches, as well as a beautiful tan paperweight that was a gift from our DIL’s uncle—he MADE it, and I LOVE it! A crystal candleholder serves as a pedestal for a small pumpkin.

These rusty pumpkin candleholders are special…they’re from our son, and I bring them out every single fall, but I don’t think I’ve ever coupled them with the Jacks. Nice filler for the vignette.

We also worked on the china cabinet, leaving the blue-and-white color scheme I’ve had there for several months, since I’m not ready to move that out yet. After Halloween, we’ll move to more fall colors there as well. For now, we added touches of Halloween, and that was fine with her.

Her decor on the bottom shelf was a bit more…shall we say age-appropriate for her? I wanted to honor her efforts and taste, so I tweaked it just a bit after she went home, but quickly put it back to her liking before she and her little brothers came back. I’m glad, because as soon as she walked in she brought the older one over to show off her decorations!

A more subdued look :) with touches of fall.

This is one piece I couldn’t wait to fill with fall flowers, so I managed to get it done as she found more treasures!

And of course, hydrangeas. Some dried, some fresh off the Endless Summer bush I bought this summer. The variations are so beautiful. And the “vessel”? A recent GW find!

I’ve had this little witch vignette for many years. She stands on a log that’s decorated with bittersweet flowers/berries, and twigs and moss, and a cute ghost, so I put her out for them too—on a silver tray, of course! :)

The final fall touch for this decorating event was the Southern Living Ballard Designs tiered basket on our table ~

This basket is so versatile, that I always have an idea of what I want to do next, but the center basket has become our real fruit basket—it’s perfect! It saves counter space and yet keeps the fruit handy.

Remember the geraniums I was rooting out on the screened porch toward the end of summer? I put more cuttings in these little apothecary bottles I got from my compounding pharmacist, and look at their roots now! They’re very happy with the amount of light they get at the table, and their leaves add nice texture and color to our fruit.

These pumpkins and awesome leaves are also from years ago, when I was doing holiday boutiques. Do you recognize the Pottery Barn lantern as one of my auction box lot finds? Love it! Wonder what I’ll do with it for our Christmas decorations??

Well, that’s the fall and Halloween tour of our home! I hope you enjoyed the tour. Do you do Halloween AND fall decorating, or just one or the other? I try to not buy too many new things and to use what we’ve had for years but in different ways. This year I bought the small pumpkins for $1 each…just six or seven of them. What about you? Do you get your head turned when you walk into stores? :) (Pssst….I try to not go to stores…that’s how I keep from buying more; it’s not will power. It’s lack of. LOL)

I wish you a fun and safe Halloween.

NOTE: Some of the items I use in my posts are in my Etsy shop, but many are not, simply because I haven’t updated my shop. If you see something you like and wonder if it’s available for sale, email me at coral5252@gmail.com and let’s talk!

Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you’ll leave me a comment to let me know you were here—I read every single one of them! And if you like what you see a lot, maybe you’d like to Google+ this post or pin it on Pinterest too! Thank you!

I invite you to follow me. If you’ll let me know that you’re following, I’ll be sure to follow you back.

Sunday Showcase at http://www.bystephanielynn.com/

Sunday Creative Home and Garden Hop at http://creativehomeexpressions.blogspot.com/

Mop it Up Monday at http://www.ishouldbemoppingthefloor.com

Metamorphosis Monday at  http://betweennapsontheporch.net/

Masterpiece Monday at http://boogieboardcottage.blogspot.com/

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com

Tuesdays at Our Home at http://mariaelenasdecor.blogspot.com/

Tuesday’s Treasures http://www.myuncommonsliceofsuburbia.com/

Inspire Me Tuesday at http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com/

Wow Us Wednesdays at http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/

DIY by Design Party at http://diybydesign.blogspot.com/

What's It Wednesday at http://ivyandelephants.blogspot.com/

Home and Garden Thursday at http://blissfulrhythm.blogspot.com/

Open House Party Thursday at http://nominimalisthere.blogspot.com

Transformation Thursdays at http://www.theshabbycreekcottage.com/

Feathered Nest Friday at http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/

Home Sweet Home Fridays at http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/

Thrifty Things Friday at http://thethriftygroove.blogspot.com/

Vintage Inspiration Friday at http://commonground-debrasvintagedesigns.blogspot.com/

Show and Tell Friday at http://romantichome.blogspot.com/

Fresh-Cut Fridays at http://rosevignettes.blogspot.com

From my nest to yours~

Zuni

A New Chickadee Christmas Table

Last year I had a chickadee Christmas table—so fun!  Well, this year, I have a NEW chickadee table, and I couldn’t be more excited.  Last year’s dishes had to be returned :(, so I was chickadee-less for several months :( again.  So IMAGINE, if you can, my joy when I learned about Boehm’s Chickadees and Holly pattern.  I quickly went to my trusted resource, replacements.com and yes! they are lovely dishes!  And now they are MINE! living exactly where they should be living—at Chickadee Home Nest!
Have you heard of Boehm china?  I had not…where have I been?!  Here’s a little bit about it:  American company Boehm Porcelain has been producing the finest porcelain flora and fauna sculptures available since 1950. Inspired by the delicateness, complexity and vibrancy of nature's own artistry, Boehm's renderings of flora and fauna are cast from only the purest white clay, and created by singularly talented artisans with painstaking attention to detail to produce breathtaking original works of art available in both open and limited-edition collections. (Source: wildlife.com)
And so it is that they came to live at our house…happy me!  There’s always room for more chickadees at this nest!

Are they just precious?  See the bottom right, where the china is “signed” `Boehm’?  I find that so interesting.  I wish you could see the detail of the art…it looks as though you can see brushstrokes.  Let’s take a closer look:

And here is the table I set for their homecoming dinner ~

You might remember the red Pottery Barn champagne/footed goblets from other posts.  In fact, I used them last year too, for that Chickadee Table:  http://chickadeehomenest.blogspot.com/2011/12/chickadee-christmas-table.html.    And I also used them for a Fourth of July table: http://chickadeehomenest.blogspot.com/2012/06/4th-of-july-table-and-more.html.  I like red accent pieces because you can use it for so many holidays, and I’ve certainly gotten my {sweet husband’s} money’s worth out of these!  How did he know I needed these?!

The centerpiece was super easy to make.  I used one of my favorite pieces—a red serving plate (gift from my youngest son…he knows I like red), as the under-plate, and placed a silver casserole that I really wanted to use this season, because it belonged to my dear SIL’s father, who passed away earlier this year.  I’m so happy to have it in our home.  To that I added a very vintage pressed glass compote, then filled the casserole with large “picks” (as in already put together) and a few fillers.  In the compote I used an arrangement I’d made for last year’s table and filled the gaps with pinecones and other fillers.

Texture is so important for adding interest to a table, and one of the pieces that made a huge difference this year was the jingle bell garland.  The instant I saw it at Pine Tree Barn (http://pinetreebarn.com/) I knew it was going home with me.  I haven’t seen them anywhere else, but I imagine the good folks at Pine Tree Barn would be more than happy to ship them to you.

Some close-ups for those of us who savor every detail~ I wouldn’t want to leave you wanting for more.

For soooo long I wanted vintage, etched goblets, and now I have several sets of various patterns.  I.cannot.get.enough.of.them.  This pattern (I don’t know the name) in particular, because of the vertical lines, catches the light beautifully, and if you look closely, there are “berries” in the design, following the berries throughout the table.  The wine stem is Waterford Alana, also a vintage pattern.

The darling S&P set is also a gift from our youngest and his darling…perfect for this table.

I love having the sweet grandbabies’ highchair right by our family table, and here it’s pressed into service for after-dinner coffee.

Napkins and Williams-Sonoma crystal “candy cane” stirrers in a Waterford vase.

Are you a red-and-green Christmas person, or have you gone to other combinations that are now faves?  I always seem to gravitate back to the red and green, and then I’m ready for muteds or soft whites by the end of the season.

If you like what you see a lot, maybe you’d like to +1 this post or pin it on Pinterest too! And, I invite you to follow me. If you’ll let me know that you’re following, I’ll be sure to follow you back.

Happy holidays to all!  May your season be warm, calm, filled with music and beautiful things to reflect on the true reason we join together to celebrate.

Here’s where I’ll be seen this week; I hope you’ll stop by too.  They will be fun, fun parties with lots of great ideas sure to please.

Tuesdays at http://www.astrollthrulife.net/
Wednesdays at Let’s Dish: http://www.cuisinekathleen.com/
Wednesdays at Wow Us: http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/
Thursdays at Tabletop Thursday: http://betweennapsontheporch.net/
Thursdays at Home Sweet Home: http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/
Fridays at Feathered Nest: http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/
Sundays at The Tablescaper: http://thetablescaper.blogspot.com/