A Bee-utiful Bridal Shower

My poor friend.  

You don't know how many times I've called her bridal shower a BABY shower!  I keep telling her that if she hears any rumors about her being pregnant it's all my fault.

But seriously we just had a lovely Baby Bridal Shower here at Sweet Bee Cottage.  Well, just might be a stretch because it was at the end of September and October is almost over.

Our weather in September is usually pretty nice and so it was when we had the shower - it was about 85º F
(that's about 29º C for all my friends outside the USA)
so we had it out in the backyard.  My friend and I hosted it.  She was in charge of food and I did decorations and dessert.

I wish I had taken more pictures, but you know how you just get into having fun at the party and hostessing it and I forgot.

 As the guests walked out onto our patio I had my meemaw's
(spelling? afraid she passed away before I was born so I never knew her)
gate leg table set with beverages.  We used mason jars
(that the lovely bride also used at the wedding)
and we had iced tea, iced coffee, and water.  Guests could add different sweeteners – plus I made some simple syrup – half & half, or lemon and lime wedges to their drinks.  

 I made the iced coffee recipe from Pioneer Woman and it was fantastic!  I need to make some more!!!

There's my shadow!

Of course, I had to use my beeskep drink dispenser!  The stool it's sitting on is one I just happened to have stashed in the garage and it fits on it perfectly!  Don't you just love when that happens?  Serendipity I call it! 

(I think others might call it hoarding.)

For favors Baby Bee dunked store bought biscotti 

(Hey!  I work full time and I baked a lot of other things – don't judge me – as Baby Bee tells her father and I all the time.) in yummy dark chocolate.  We put them in some adorable little bags I bought on etsy from the Party Fairy

  (great service and quick delivery and no she isn't paying for the shout out).  

Worker Bee 

(trooper that he is) 

spray painted all the clothespins navy blue the night before.  We also had more little wood "cookies" that I put labels on.

 I used an old matelasse coverlet as a tablecloth for the gift table.

 We ended up renting round tables and chairs.  The tablecloths I had from a party I threw about 15 years ago.
(It's not hoarding if you actually use them again.)
They are queen size sheets that Sewing Bee hemmed to make them square.
(Sew, -yes, pun intended - if you ever need a LOT of fabric and price is an issue - buy sheets!)
Aren't they cute?

Each table had a different set of white plates.  Most were mine, but I had to borrow a few from Sewing Bee.

Now the orange napkins you might remember me going on and on about in several posts.  I got those on clearance at World Market for $5 for a bundle of 6 napkins!  What a deal!!!

 My favorite part of the decor was the little bunting I clipped to our string lights on the patio.  I just made it out of scrapbook paper that I glued together and then clipped them to the light string with more of those clothespins Worker Bee painted.

 Did I mention he also painted the frames on my chalkboards too?  Boy am I lucky to have him around to help!  
(And don't worry, he doesn't let me forget how lucky I am!)

 I made the desserts.  We had heart shaped peanut butter cookies inspired by this pin, mini pumpkin pies inspired by this pin, and s'more cookies inspired by this pin.  Why yes, it was quite a pinterest party!

Hope you enjoyed coming along to the Baby Bridal Shower!

I had so much fun getting ready for it and trying to take care of all the details.  Have you noticed I'm a wee bit of a detail person

(and control freak - but that's for another day)?

Thanks so much for buzzing along with me!

And no one has quite guessed my big news yet - although knowing about the Herdmans was quite close.

Here's another hint.....

It will all be happening in this brand new building in my little town!

Buzzingly,

Linking up with Tweak it Tuesday
with
Brenda
from
Cozy Little House

One Last Post from the Big County Fair - Christmas in October

I think this is it.  The last post about this year's fair.

Every year the More Creative Bee and I enter the Christmas Tree Decorating contest.  It is definitely more work than the table settings because everything has to be handmade.  

This year the MCB and her mom took on the traditional tree.  And MCB and I tackled the fair theme this year.  

Again, here is their logo for the fair this year....

Love the looks and that cool vintage truck....but how the blubbins are we supposed to decorate a tree around that inspiration?

Well....aren't you glad you asked?

('cause you know I just have to show you)

 For garland I found a great vintage truck with an interstate frame around it.  I printed out a lot of them and then hinged them together with scrapbooking brads.  

 MCB hand painted the blue and red ornaments with a paisley pattern to match the bandana tree skirt.  I think she did a beautiful job.  (In fact, I'm going to put these up on etsy and try to sell them, they are that pretty.)

 I made the tree topper out of foam core board and fun foam. 

 (Pssst...don't look too closely - my cutting job on the 130 is not quite up to par - I will NOT be selling it on etsy.)

 And the MCB made this adorable tree skirt.  Don't you love the blue bandana bits (technical term, you know) she adhered to the edges?  

 And one more shot.  Oh!  I forgot about the wooden plaque ornaments I made.  I painted them red and blue, decoupaged red and blue scrapbook paper on them and then added prints of regional landmarks and products.

 And here are the rest of the trees - mostly traditional Christmas themes.

This one amazed me by how red it looked even though everything was on a green tree.

This one was so cute with all the gingerbread cookies.  Lots of handmade cuteness on this one. 

And this one was our competition!  They not only won 1st place, but they also won Best of Show!  They also did the fair theme and had some similar ideas to ours.  One of the things I loved about theirs was the yellow ticket garland.  It just tied everything together.  Well done Competition!  (Honestly, I don't know their name and didn't get to meet them, so I'll call them The Competition.) 

 And here's a very traditional Scandinavian tree.

 And someone made a super cute Halloween tree this year.  That garland?  Why it's hand crocheted skulls!  

Look at that spider web tree skirt!  Someone was a crocheting fiend! 

 This next traditional tree had the most interesting ornaments.

I think they were eggs.  Have you ever seen anything like this?  They are amazing!  And there were a lot of them! 

  

One the day we went to the fair this was the people's choice for the day....a pirate tree!  I loved the boat and fabric tree skirt!  

This next tree is the one the More Creative Bee and her mom put together.

Can I just say that they worked overtime making darling little salt dough cookie ornaments?

 That MCB (you'll see why she has that nickname) came up with the most clever tree topper.  She took an air conditioning duct part and added a handle so it looks like a giant cookie cutter!  

 She wanted the tree skirt to also look like a giant cookie so it's made out of fleece and felt and giant sprinkles.  The sprinkles were made from painted pvc pipe and then stitched on.

 The garland was tiny rolling pins and cookie cutters that she attached together.  It was so cute.  (I even volunteered to "keep" it for her, but no luck.)

Well, I hope you enjoyed the Christmas Tree tour at our Big County Fair!

And thanks for buzzing along with me.  So nice to see you've stopped in for a little visit.  

And I've mentioned some exciting news and here's another hint - especially apropos with all these Christmas trees.   

 Let's just say it The Best ___________ _____________ Ever!

Can you guess what my big news is?

P.S.  Just had to share this adorable crazy quilt that really caught my eye at the fair.  Doesn't it look like it's made from vintage linens?  What a great and sweet idea.

P.P.S.  After the kind words from Marty at A Stroll Thru Life I just had to join the party!

More Junior Table Settings from the County Fair

Things have suddenly become quite a bit more busy here at Sweet Bee Cottage and I can't wait to tell you why, but in the meantime, I would love to show you some more table settings from the kids at the Big County Fair.

This is Reader Bee's, my niece's, table setting.  She whipped up a cute little beach theme.  Her napkin rings and menu board are super adorable.  She is another crafty bee!

 Here's another simple but pretty setting.  If I remember correctly this had a casual Christmas theme.

Love the dishes at this setting - such pretty colors. 

 Such a sweet little tea party setting - I love how elegant this setting is.

 A King's Medieval Feast was the theme for this table.  Love the fleur de lis.  Does it look a bit Game of Thrones to you?

 I have a confession.  I have a thing for turkey dishes.  They serve no other purpose but to be used at Thanksgiving, but they charm me.  

(Remember Sweet Bee, you live in a small house and do not have room for every possible dish collection you can think of starting.  Sober up girl!)

Another table setting was for a baby shower.  Such a cute centerpiece and menu here too. 

I always love the ones that look like Worker Bee would enjoy it too. 

 (Yeah, I don't think he would be too thrilled with the sweet tea table.) 

 And here is the Best of Show!  Didn't they do a great job combining all the elements?  Great menu board, great centerpiece, love that mug and all the dishes.  

This one was my personal favorite (except for Baby Bee's and Reader Bee's).  Such a cute and creative centerpiece.  Can you tell it's a Mad Tea Party theme?  

And I wish I could tell you that I can remember what this sunny table setting was for, but no matter, because it is so cute. 

I think the little bow on the menu frame (made from the tablecloth material) is so adorable on this picnic setting.  The jeans placemat is super cute too. 

And back to another beachy table to wrap it up.  Funny how similar it is to Reader Bee's.  We sure do love the beach here in Central California! 

And finally, my very favorite.....Baby Bee's!  You can read more about it here. 

Thanks for buzzing along with me!

I'll give you a hint about my big news......do you know who Imogene, Leroy, Gladys, Ralph, Claude, and Ollie are?

Joining the sharing
at
Between Naps on the Porch