The Show at Kelly's

Friday, July 15, 2011, we had the Opening Ceremony for Our Kitchen Table Creations at Kelly's Bakery & Cafe...
Thanks to my mom and dad who came into town to help me get ready and get through the Opening Ceremony of the art show that is at Kelly's Bakery & Cafe. They also took all the pictures here because I was a little busy with other dealings and totally forgot to chronicle my evening in pictures. Good thing they were here!This is the outside of the cafe and our new car. Such good parking in downtown is hard to come by! We really lucked out!

Dad and Emily before the guests started arriving. Thank goodness I had great help surrounding me that night! Each art piece I displayed that night had a name and description paper that went with it. Despite having almost all the pieces hung on the Sunday prior to the show, thanks to Emily's hard work that day, we still had a lot of work to do the night of the show. Each description had to get onto the wall and we needed to arrange the tables and chairs so people could easily flow through the space.

Perpetual calendar in a picture frame titled "delicate hardwood." Addition month names are on the back so you can change it easily.

pink lace calendar

off white delight calendar

green grass calendar

Family pictures and family name framed artwork

More family pictures and names

PiNK display wall

Each grouping of pieces had a simple title. There was Travel, Eat, PiNK, Botanicals, and Family.

Red Rosy Wreath

Kelly bought this botanical wreath for the cafe. I love how it looks on this blue wall!

indulge wreath

Mom and I organizing the sold cards. Who knew we'd need so many of them that night? What a wonderful surprise that was! We sold 9 pieces the evening of the Opening and a few more have sold this week. I've also taken several orders and am having a ball putting those together!

Travel

The bikes in the frames with maps behind them were very popular. This was what I gave a sneak peek of before the show in the last blog!

Beautiful layout and delicious foods catered by Kelly. The cucumber salad finger sandwiches, brownies, lemon squares, potato wedge wonderfulness, chicken skewers, cheese, crackers, fruit and homemade pickles were exquisite! It was so perfect...it was just the beginning of a perfect weekend! Now as I write this blog, I'm snacking on leftover cheeses and fruits from the night! The gift that just kept giving. I don't know that I'll ever be able to thank Kelly and Jamie for their kindness and generosity. What wonderful friends they are!

Emily opening the wine and getting the beverages ready for the evening.
What was I doing at this time? Talking with the artist- who is an amazing 'real' artist and he had the show before me so I had huge shoes to fill- trying not to be intimidated but sweating profusely while discussing my "art." I still giggle at being called an artist or having my crafty creations referred to as pieces of art! Literally laugh out loud!

EAT

My friend, Monica and her girls, looking at the Travel pieces. So glad to have so many creative friends surround me and support me. She is a very talented artist with beautiful paintings and sculptures she has created along her artistic journey.

A bit blurry but a great shot of the cafe and my biggest supports smack-dab in the middle! Thanks Kelly and Em! Notice the tablescapes are a collection of all the mason jars, small jars and other vases I could find and stick daisies and whisps of my bridal veil greenery into. They are in the center of each table, on the chair rail shelf and throughout the food table. Daisies everywhere!

Mom gave me my great-grandmother's pearls and my grandma's pinkie ring to wear for this evening. I'm sure they brought me tons of luck as the night was a huge success!

I really couldn't have done all this without Emily's support and love! She paints frames, gives constructive feedback, bounces ideas, shops for deals, finds the most amazing frames, cuts, colors, inks, pastes, rearranges words and images, all while keeping me sane.

She's the reason I can fly and soar!

What Happened To MAY?

Um. Well. I really have no idea what happened to May. What I do know is that June has been wonderful! Life is slowing down. Coaching high school softball has ended, school is out so the classroom is packed away and grades are finalized, our niece has gone back to live with her mom, and the days are filled with friends, home cooking, crafting, tablescaping, renovations, pool time, backyard-sitting and porch swinging. The garden is planted and we are eating salads from our yard everyday. There are variety of of greens planted and I'm excited to make some lettuce wraps this week with some of the leaves. We have also been enjoying fresh squeezed lemonade and tons of strawberries...not from our yard but signs of summer all the same.

Metamorphosis Monday: Our daisies are sprouting up like weeds in the path of the garden. For years I have tried to be a successful gardener so there is no way that I will pull them as I do the Creeping Charlie! I just love this wire cloche I got at Nell Hill's when I was in Kansas City in May. The daisies from our garden tend to wilt quickly in the heat of the day because I'm not a fan of air conditioning until absolutely necessary. This is the perfect disguise...plus I am playing with some flower preservation solutions that have helped as well. The colored mason jars have been my favorite estate sale, garage sale and auction find of the spring. A birdhouse, leftover lemons, world map and IMAGINE rock round out the perfect inspirational table decor for summer dreaming!

Check out the other fun creations at Between Naps on the Porch!

First Flower of Spring

I love the old bottles that we have gathered from so many different places over the years. This single stem fits so perfectly in the middle bottle of this set. This is a small window that looks out onto our garden. The chives from year are coming back and so is the oregano. I can't wait until the squares are filled with produce for us to feast on.

I know that it is Tablescape Thursday but you are getting a Windowscape as the day winds down. Tonight as my love came through the door, this was my gift! After a long day of running kids all around and chasing around my third graders and then running kids around this evening and throwing together some dinner, it was a beautiful present!

Finally Home from Florida

I wish I had walked along the beach and selected these shells and goodies but that isn't the case. The niece that lives here now got a week long reprieve from the freezing cold Illinois weather with a trip to see her grandma in Florida. Lucky girl!!!

A new centerpiece on the dining room table welcomed friends as we had our first meal after the niece was home. She tried a macaroni pizza at pizza buffet so I was feeling inspired to recreate it. She said I was pretty close...and the whole dish of pasta and crust yumminess disappeared before the dinner was over.

This little birdie came from a garage sale around the corner a couple of summers ago. The tray was a couple of bucks at an estate sale in our neighborhood last summer. The shells and garage sale finds of summers past make me so ready for June. The colorful picture in the background between the windows was a gift from my mom last year for our anniversary. So thoughtful!

A piece of my grandmother's crystal takes center stage. Easter was one of her favorites to decorate for. Going through my Easter decoration, most of which were hers, is always a bittersweet event for me.

I missed having a teenager here so much while she was gone. So glad she's home and has already enjoyed a good night's sleep in her bedroom. Neither of us are particularly happy about returning to school early in the morning.

Candlelight Dinner

I know. It's a little late for a Valentine's Day post of our tablescape. But...this was the last meal we had as a family-of-two being that we gained the teenager during this week. That was a pretty sweet Valentine's Day present! That kid makes me smile everyday!!! Since Valentine's Day was also the first day of Parent Teacher Conference week, Emily made a delicious dinner for me to come home to when the long day was finally over. The steak was cooked to perfection and reminded me that spring was right around the corner. There were candles throughout the first floor of our home and the glow warmed my heart as I came in from the chilly evening. It was a very unexpected surprise! I knew that dinner would happen that evening but had no idea it would be so quaint and perfect.

I had previously set the table so the tablescape wasn't a surprise. But aren't the lit candles wonderful to come home to? Using paper napkins this year has been a trick I've used so that my friends feel more comfortable using the napkins in my home and it lets me use all sorts of colors in my tablescapes. The small cup on the top (with the candle in it) was a Bromen Thrift Store that I got for pennies. When the bed and breakfast down the street closed, I bought the crystal bowls at the estate sale. I've used them almost weekly since buying the set of 10 for less than $20.

Loved the candles everywhere! The giant shoe is really a wine holder that I got when I bid on a Wine Basket at a benefit for my friend's father who passed away from pancreatic cancer. Notice the card on the sideboard- Thanks Mom!

These were all taken post dinner! I didn't have a chance to take pictures before because I came home to dinner on the table and wine in the glasses. Works for me! Every Parent Teacher conference week should start like this!

I don't love to eat the Valentine's conversation hearts but I do love to decorate with them! The small pieces of papers had sentiments of love on them and I made them to go along with the cards I made for the loves in my life. The leftovers were a fun addition to the table. Can you see the icicles hanging from the chandelier? They are flirting in the top of the pictures. Putting away all those beautiful ornaments at the end of Christmas is really difficult so I find little ways to use them as winter lingers on.

Now, let's keep this sunshine coming and the warming trend can keep on happening as well!

Check out the other great tablescapes at Between Naps on the Porch!

Snow Day Tablescape

This is a great gift that us District 87 friends rarely see. Six o'clock news and the "closed tomorrow" message for us. What a great way to settle in, knowing we don't have to leave for work in the morning, and watch the blizzard and listen to the thundersnow!

The mug says "DREAM." What an excellent reminder as you sit down to eat and see the map of the USA. Dream of warm places you'd like to be right now!

Simple pages from a vintage almanac host clear charger plates, yellow salad plates from Nell Hill's extreme sale and the casserole dish on the top is from the Dollar Store. The casserole dish came complete with chicken pot pie- that last part was from my friend's kitchen! I need to get them back to her but I've been snowed in. Also, grandma always said, "Never return a dish empty." So...I'll take the casserole dish back with snow-day goodies when we return to school. Sometimes I wonder if that is why she brings me her dishes...hmmmm!

The silverware was a gift from my mom. They are an appetizer size set and I love them. Since this table is where I eat breakfast, I just need a small plate and utensils. The "chargers" are actually small plates! Dreaming of Florida... better stick to those small plates so the bathing suit fits when the snow finally melts.

It so delights to me to get bulbs from a friend every Christmas. We force them and have a beautiful bloom about mid-February...when spring starts to flirt with us but gray days can bring us down.

"The Top of the World"

I felt this was appropriate since I'm sure our weather is that like of the North Pole. Aren't these little white birds too cute? A gift from my mom, she got them at Target a few years ago.

Love the cover of this old almanac- the dates stamped on it make my heart sing!

This mug says "THINK." Think of the possibilities for warm places to travel to in the world! Also, this world map makes me reflect on the issues in Egypt and the Australian weather trouble. Makes our little blizzard seem not so bad in the whole scheme of things!

A candle to warm you and light your way...in case the power can't withstand this storm.

Wayne and Sally keeping an eye on the extra candles, lighters, batteries and flashlights in case the electricity disappears.

Sending good thoughts to you all amidst this wintery storm. Here's to surviving the Snownotorious B.I.G. (P.S. I cannot take credit for coming up that, but I love it all the same!)

I linked up the Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch! Check out all the fun over at Susan's blog! Also, I am #100 on her list this week. AND we had our 100th day of school this week. Love it!!!