Saturday was the annual St. Tomas of Canterbury Ladies Tea. When I was struggling to come up with a theme, Janelle who blogs at
Sweet Bee Cottage, suggested American Farmhouse.
With that in mind I headed to the fabric store... I seem to find inspiration and ideas when looking at fabric.
I found a fabric panel that was setup to make place mats... I set clear glass plates on top so the print would show. Wide mouth mason jars, were the drinking glasses with a gold burlap napkin tucked in.
I decided that chairs needed a little something....how about blue jeans? When I think of farmers I think of blue jeans and a red bandanna.
I cut the legs off of the blue jeans, stitched the waist closed and slipped them over the back of the chair... added a red bandanna and I was done!
I like to set a favor of some sorts at the table when hosting tea. In keeping with the farmhouse theme, I decided to give each guest a pair of garden gloves, and a pack of seeds.
A metal lime green watering can, filled with flowers, and two embellished flour sack dishtowels, are the centerpiece. I set a small oil painting of red barn up against the watering can. One lucky lady took home the centerpiece as a raffle prize.
On the menu for Saturday's tea were several different tea sandwiches.... cucumber, chicken curry, and egg. Ceasar salad, mini quiches, and of course, scones with jam, lemon curd, devonshire cream, and petit fours finish off the menu!
I loved Janelle's suggestion of American Farmhouse...it was easy to do and not too expensive! The fabric was on sale, plus when you add in, and I can't believe I'm even say this... my senior discount, the fabric was one of the most reasonable purchases I made! Garden gloves, and seeds from the dollar store... Gotta love the dollar store! The watering can from OSH and flowers were the biggest expense. All in all, not too bad! Oh, and the four gentlemen who work for me, each had to bring in two or three pairs of old jeans, so I could make the seat back covers.
Thanks again to Janelle for a great suggestion!! You can visit Janelle at
Sweet Bee Cottage
chris