The Woods at Whippoorhill: Little Miss Manners Cupcake Party...The Tablescape

Yesterday, I showed you the invitation for our latest Little Miss Manners party. If you missed it, you can check it out here. Today it's all about the tables!

I had eleven (out of thirteen girls) to attend, so it was a large party! I had room for eight at my dining room table, and since I was using my kitchen table for crafting, I brought in a smaller table and placed it in my foyer so all the girls could be in the same room. Both tables got the same treatment as far as decorations.

Here is a closer view of the dining room table. I thought the colors really popped on my white linen tablecloths. I knew I wanted everything to be cheerful and happy, and I think it was! The first thing I did in planning the party was to order a LOT of cupcake wrappers. I went online to the Wilton website and found a great deal on colorful and coordinating cupcake wrappers. I think I spent $20 or so, and ended up having way more than I needed, but even if it takes me the next ten years, I'll use them up.

Once the cupcake wrappers arrived, I went into my sewing closet. I am very fortunate to have two double closets in my hallway that I use for sewing and crafting. Any extra fabric goes into my stash, and I always try to re-use and re-purpose it.

Some of this you've seen before, like the pretty pastel print in the middle that I used for a Miss Manners Pancakes and Pajamas Party back in March 2014.

I.Don't.Throw.Away.Anything!

This particular material was used in a Summer Sewing School project a couple of years ago. We made drawstring bags, and luckily for me, these were left over. They had been cut and ironed in half for the bag project, and each one happened to be the perfect size for two placemats. I simply took my pinking shears and cut them in half and pinked the edges. They've since been washed and placed back in my closet to be used for something else one day!

I used some pretty but simple blue paper plates for chargers. The blue really stands out against the colorful place mats. My vintage glass salad plates were the perfect size for an afternoon party.

I've told you before how my aunt gave me a lot of serving pieces that had belonged to my grandmother, great-grandmother and great aunts as a wedding gift. It was so thoughtful of her to do that, and each time I use them, I think of her and the other ladies in my family who used them to entertain all those many years ago. She also gave me a couple dozen vintage Arcoroc glass plates, and I've tried to add to them over the years. The plates above have very subtle flowers etched around them, and they came from the estate of the mother of a friend of mine. They're the same size as the ones my aunt gave me and I mix and match them.

Milk jars (actually recycled Starbucks mocha bottles) with pretty straws were perfect for holding punch. I had bought blue napkins to match the plates, but it was a little too much blue. I found these white napkins with colorful dots in my pantry closet. They came from Dollar Tree and they were left over from who knows what and how long ago. Any leftover plates and napkins go into my pantry closet and are used up eventually.

This is a close-up of the smaller table which was set for three. I found the mini cupcake wrappers on sale for .69 at Walmart one day, and grabbed several packs. They matched perfectly, and so I scattered them around the table for color and dimension. I made several cute little table cards and scattered them for height. The "i love you" card above was one of the crafts that we made. More about that later this week.

Here you can really see the glass jars filled with cupcake wrappers. I had seen this on Pinterest and knew I wanted to recreate it, but when I started, my wrappers didn't fall perfectly into the jar, landing just right and showing off their colors. So - I took matters into my own hands and gently "wadded" them up so the outsides would show. This also allowed me to get more into the jar, and we all know that if some is good, more is BETTER!

At each place setting, there was a cupcake stand. I looked online for these and they were ridiculously expensive, so I ordered some white bathroom cups and some 4" cardboard circles and made my own. I think they are precious! I'll show you how I did it later this week. I'll also tell you later how we used them.

Another view of the table. I used three jars of wrappers on my dining room table and one on the small table. I like to use odd numbers when decorating.

If you read my blog often and have followed our Miss Manners parties, you know that my friend, Nancy, has a big, beautiful chalkboard in her dining room that she decorates for each party. I'm not ashamed to say I have chalkboard envy! I'm working on it though. Anyway - I decided to add a little something special to the mirror hanging in my dining room. It belonged to my mother's mother and hung in her living room. Mama says she remembers it always being there, so it's got to be nearly seventy years old.

I made a banner that reads "how sweet". It added a little extra something and brought the decorations off the table and up into the rest of the room. I've taken this down and stored it away, too. It may show up at Jewell's Sweet Sixteen party in a few years!

Here's another simple little table card I made using my Stampin' Up materials. I use this stamp when I'm giving a gift of food or a jar of my daddy's honey to someone.

Call me crazy, but this was my favorite thing from the party! I made little garlands from the cupcake wrappers and hung them on the back of every chair. I like them so much that they're still there! Possum Kitty loves to play with them (unfortunately mostly in the middle of the night). I'm working with some ideas for fall and Thanksgiving, but these will probably stay up until then.