Celebrations

I love to set a beautiful table.  Mixing and  matching items I have collected at estate sales and thrift stores with pieces I have purchased new is big fun for me.  As you can imagine, Thanksgiving is really exciting, because I get to come up with a table scheme.  In the past, I have been asked how I get my ideas, so along with showing you this year's color palette and layout, I thought I would tell you about my process of dressing a table.

tea party favor

Today I wanted to show you how I made the adorable tags featured on the Vintage Tea Party Baby Shower post.   Party favors (for adults) can be kind of tricky...you want to give something nice/useful for not a lot of money.

Because we had the tea party theme in place, we wanted to keep that in mind when doing the favors.  A parting gift with a tea bag was an obvious choice, but I wanted to be a bit more creative.   When I saw these bath tea bags, I thought "we're getting somewhere!"  Basically, inside of each package, there is a teabag filled with herbs that you simply place into your bath.  Very nice!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="570"] Melanie's Apothecary Bath Tea[/caption] One packet of bath tea went into these pink teapot muslin bags along with some loose, fragrant lavender.  (you can typically find this at health food stores and farmers markets) [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="570"] Pink Teapot Muslin Bags From OnTheWingsPaperie[/caption] Since our Guest of Honor, Kelly Kay, is a creator of beautiful paper herself, I wanted to make something really special for her party favor tags.

When my dear friend Kelly Kay had her second baby (a little girl!), our friends gathered together to give her a high tea to celebrate her sweet bundle.  Since the party was going to occur after KK's daughter was born, we called it a "Sip & See".

Note:  I do not know if this is a regional thing (Texan?  Southern in general?), but if you give a party for a mother and baby after the baby is born, we call it a "Sip & See" versus a "baby shower".  Sip & Sees are generally given for a baby that is not the first because the mom usually has the "stuff" she needs already.  Gifts given at a Sip & See are usually smaller, more cutesy items versus the changing pads and more practical items you get at a baby shower.

These beautiful invitations were mailed, and we were in full planning mode.

tea party baby shower invitation

Invitation Tip:  I love Minted and have found that exploring different invitation categories can help me pinpoint the look I am envisioning.  For example, this invitation is in the wedding category {the baby shower category had lots of cute stuff, but I was not wanting anything decidedly baby}.  I have actually used wedding invites for a few celebrations that were not weddings - it's a great spot to find pretty designs that are not particularly themed.

Using a photo we had of Kelly and her sister's high tea in London, we formulated the menu and how we wanted the event to look and feel. High tea

Between several friends, we compiled multiple settings of china, pretty flatware, teapots, vintage linens, and cake stands.  

high tea baby shower

We rented tables, collected tablecloths from various people, borrowed some gold chairs from a friend, and gathered our items in the home of one of the hostesses to create one of the sweetest home party venues I have ever seen.

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