Table Grace 2011 - Peacock-Themed Table Decorations

Hi friends!  I'm so excited to share a big project with you that occupied most of my November craft time -- an entire peacock-themed table!

Each year, my church's womens ministry hosts an event called Table Grace.  Ladies decorate 70+ tables in any theme -- the bigger and more elaborate, the better! -- and invite neighbors, coworkers, and friends to the event for a catered meal and inspirational speaker.  It's a great outreach event and accessible way to invite others to church who might not necessarily be open to coming to a Sunday worship service.

My friend Monica and I did a table together.  She's been wanting to redecorate with peacocks, so we took the opportunity to get a few key items for her new decor.  Our inspiration piece was her peacock feather runner and some gorgeous turquoise peacock ribbon we found in Hobby Lobby's Christmas section.  We set the table together, and I got to make some super awesome paper items with my Cricut!

Here's a photo of the entire table:

And some close-up shots of the centerpiece, place settings, and my Cricut creations:

 

 

 

Place Card Details:

• Paper - patterned paper from Recollections: Charming; cardstock and glitter specialty paper by Recollections
• Cricut Cuts - feather from Sentimentals, page 57 (many thanks to Glenda from Glenda's Cards for loaning me this cartridge!)
• Other - names printed in FineSerif font from MS Publisher; glitter paint applied to outer feather cut; gem from Michaels $1 bin; inking with cyan Colorbox ink pad

Chair Tie Details:

• Paper - patterned paper from Recollections: Charming; cardstock and glitter specialty paper by Recollections
• Cricut Cuts - background with Elegant Edges, page 51; peacock from Give a Hoot, page 37 (and more thanks to my mom for loaning this cartridge to me!)
• Embossing - peacock feathers with Cuttlebug's D'vine Swirls
• Other - gems from Michaels $1 bin; inking with cyan Colorbox ink pad; peacock on pop dot

I hope you enjoyed our peacock table -- it was a hit with the ladies at our table and all those who viewed the tables before the event.

I'm entering this project into the follow challenges:

Decorate to Celebrate: Challenge #12 - Surprise, It's a Birthday - The event wasn't a birthday party, but we did have a birthday gal at our table!  And these items could easily be transferred to a fabulous adult birthday party.
The Paper Variety: Inspiration Challenge - I was inspired by the teal color and leaves that actually looked like feathers to me.

Icky, Spooky, Creepy Halloween Wall Decor

Halloween is so much more fun as a parent -- I think that's why I've been really excited about decorating for the holiday this year.  My little guy is totally into spotting pumpkin and ghost decorations in neighbors' yards, so I decided to make a wall hanging to put on our front door:

 Here's some close-ups of each panel:

Project Details:

• Papers - patterned paper from ATD - Spookytown Collection; cardstocks by Recollections
• Cricut Cuts - background panels from Elegant Edges, page 25; all other cuts from Mini Monsters - spider, page 54; ghost, page 42; pumpkin, page 61; spider web, page 74; trees, page 73; fence, page 72; "icky", page 28; "spooky", page 42; "creepy", page 31
• Embossing - pumpkin with Cuttlebug's Distressed Stripes; spider belly with Cuttlebug's Spots & Dots; spider's bow with The Paper Studio's Doodle Borders
• Other - pre-made glitter bow by Momentum; inking with black Stampabilities ink pad, green and purple Colorbox ink pads, and ultramarine and butterscotch Le Plume II markers; buttons and petal embellishments by Recollections; googly eyes from Target $1 Spot; spider, spider's bow, ghost, and pumpkin on pop-dots

I hung the project on little man's bedroom door to get a good photo with a solid white background -- and now he thinks it belongs there!  I'll have to sneak it to the front door when he goes down for a nap.

I hope you like my project.  It's definitely the most ambitious Cricut adventure I've had since my retreat last month.  And now I'm in the Halloween spirit!

I'm entering this project in the following challenges:

BBTB2:  Crafty Sprouts Contest - Halloween Project with Purple
Cooking with Cricut:  Challenge #56 - Purple and Green
Cricut 360º:  Spooky Halloween Blog Hop & Challenge
Decorate to Celebrate:  Challenge #11 - Halloween Party
My Sheri Crafts:  Challenge #71 - It's the Great Pumpkin!
Paper Playtime:  Challenge #58 - Say It with Sentiments - Use Buttons and Bows

Curious George Baby Shower (Guest Designer for Decorate to Celebrate)

I'm so honored to be featured as a guest designer on Decorate to Celebrate today!  I love this craft blog and all the fabulous party ideas shared by the designers and challenge participants.  I just wish I had more events to try all those great ideas!  (Wait, did I just ask to get busier...?!  Uh oh.)

I did help host a baby shower last weekend, which fits -- with a little stretching -- into Decorate to Celebrate's theme for Challenge #8 - Baby Birthday.  We celebrated the impending birthday of Baby Sophia with a Curious George themed shower.

For the shower, I made a monkey decorations, monkey favors, Curious George invitations, and a banner:

Invitation:

• Card Base - 5x5"
• Paper - Recollections
• Other - Curious George image edited with Adobe Photoshop to be a dark-haired baby wrapped in pink blanket; invitation text arranged with MS Publisher; ribbon by The Ribbon Boutique

Monkey Decorations:

• Cricut Cut - monkey from Create a Critter, page 46, several monkeys cut at various sizes (7-9 inches)
• Paper - Recollections
• Hung the monkeys on vines draped from the ceiling around the room.

Banana Favors:

• Cricut Cut - monkey from Create a Critter, page 46, cut at 2.5 inches.
• Paper - Recollections
• Sentiment - "Thanks for going BANANAS for Sophia" text arranged with MS Publisher; printed on 1" strips of red cardstock
• Wrapped the sentiment strips around the bananas and secured with a staple; double-stick tape then secured the monkeys over the staple.

Banner:

• Paper - Recollections
• Cricut Cuts - banner from Birthday Bash, page 64; font also from Birthday Bash; monkey from Create a Critter, page 46
• Other - ribbon by The Ribbon Boutique

The mom-to-be and guests really seemed to love all the Curious George decorations, and I had a blast using my Cricut for party purposes.

If you have a baby birthday (or any event) to plan, be sure to share your creations at Decorate to Celebrate now through October 5.  And many thanks to Rhonda and Amy at DTC for featuring me as a Guest Designer today!  Now, get to crafting! :)