Thought I would share a few photos and details of our Valentine's dinner party.
For the tablescape, I opted for a casual French country decor. The red striped runner was made from the "faux grain-sack material" I purchased on a previous trip. Mercury glass votives were placed down the center of the table, which looked beautiful when lit in the evening.
Each guest's individual silveware was bundled with ribbon I made from cotton muslin and hand-stamped with "Monsieur" and "Mademoiselle". This is a simple process and a fun way to personalize place settings. Just cut a slit in your muslin, the width you would like your ribbon to be, and tear the muslin from selvage to selvage. Pull a few of the strings on each end to achieve a frayed effect and then hand-stamp with the image of your choice.
The napkin rings were made from vintage spoons, so each place setting was different. Once I find some free time to do some antiquing, I hope to be able to add some of these to my shop. The cloth napkins are by April Cornell. I've had them forever and they're one of my favorite patterns.
The cream and red paper circles added just the right amount of whimsy.
I love how the colors complimented the paint color in our adjacent living room.
And of course, I included some beautiful cream roses which I simply trimmed to the same length, placed in a plastic cup with water, and added to our antique urns. I like to buy the roses a couple days in advance so they have a chance to open up beforehand.
The best part was almost everything I cooked was prepared the day before, so I got to relax and enjoy the party as well.
