~ homemade: linen and lace raffle ~

Good morning my dears!  I can't believe that it is Thursday already - this week is just flying by.  Before I know it I will be on a plane back to California!  But today is special, as it is Madi's 4th birthday and we are going to Disney World to celebrate!  

Anyway, continuing on from where I left off last week with my Linen and Lace photoshoot - I thought I would share with you something special that I always do at big events...a raffle!  Seems kind of funny to do at a wedding, but it was/is my way of thanking my guests for coming.  I did this at my engagement party, bridal shower, and wedding!  Let me tell you it was an enormous hit, got everyone involved, and people were just hoping that their number would be called.  So of course I had to set up an area at my linen and lace photoshoot that included a raffle!  So here it is...

I love the vintage baking tin that holds the Queen Anne's Lace above, and the mason jar below.

Of course I wanted to come up with a unique way to do the raffle instead of just handing people tickets.  At my wedding I hid the tickets in crackers (the kind that you pull apart that pop) that I made.  I had them handed out just after dinner and the guests all opened them at once with a big pop.  There was lots of laughter when they found out what was inside, and they were so excited.  It was so quite as we started calling out numbers that you could hear a pin drop!  So for this shot I used pages from the vintage book I had.  On each clothespin I put a different page number...

I like the idea of putting the numbers on clothespins as they are easily clipped on to something so your guests can't lose.  Below are just some extra decorations for the raffle table...

Since I used the drawers for the escort area, I just used a tension bar to hold a vintage linen to cover the empty space on the buffet.  Oh did I mention that this buffet was free?  Yep, picked up off the corner on my way to work!  Gotta love that, right?

Anyway, I am off to Disney!  Hope you enjoyed this special idea that I shared with you.  Next week I will share with you the table decor, and the week after that some of the other details from the shoot.  Hope you all have a lovely day!

~Ciao

...concept, design, styling and photography all by Luna and Chloe Weddings

~ tuesday thought: cake plates ~

Happy Tuesday me dears!  I honestly did not think that I was going to get this post done...as today has been crazy busy and I didn't get home from JJ's (Mr. Big's daughter) singing recital until almost 10 pm.  Then I had to buy my plane ticket to Florida, get everything organized for this post, and take pictures - whew!  It's late Monday night, early Tuesday morning and you will see that my pictures reflect the lateness...as I am tired!  But a happy tired ;-)

Yet, I did want to show you a couples of ways to decorate cake plates. I am sure you have seen some of these before, but at the end I'm giving you a little sneak peek at my Winter Warmth photoshoot that I am working on!  Since it was so late when I got started, you will notice double sided tape in the pictures!  I did not want to use a glue gun or Elmer's glue for this project as I was quickly replacing the decor.  However, a glue gun, Elmer's glue or even double sided tape works great (as long as you trim the tape so you don't see like in my pictures!)  So with all of that, let's get started shall we?  Up first some vintage lace...

Simple and pretty as above, or with a pop of color below...

Pom-pom's always look cute hanging from a cake plate...

Add a touch of bling with some crystals hanging from ribbon...

Or get a little sexy and glam with some thick black lace...

One of the simplest ways to add a color is with some ribbon...

And for the vintage lovers out there you can decorate with some vintage book pages...

Who doesn't love a little sparkle?  It can be added quickly and easily with some glittered letters...

One of my favorite ways is to add some bunting flags...

And to dress it up a bit, just add a small rosette...

Finally, a little sneak peek from my Winter Warmth photoshoot I am working on - wool yarn...

Alternating colors wrapped around the base of the cake plate and tied in back, or you could turn it around and use the ties in front...



Looks nice and cozy doesn't it?  So there you have it...just a couple ways to decorate cake plates.  Trust me, there are soooo many more ways to decorate with...such as twine, rope, rick rack, material, words, flowers, vines, etc...  Just remember - if using doubled sided tape, just make sure it doesn't show like mine above.  Again, my apologies for that!

I just have to ask...do you have a fave?  Or other ideas?  

Hope you enjoyed this Tuesday Thought.  If you would like me to do a post around one of your thoughts...just let me know, and I will see what I can come up with! 

~ Ciao

...concept, design & photography by me

~ homemade: abundant autumn ~

Yay for Thursday, and another homemade post!  For this week's post I decided to do something a little different.  Surprised?  Probably not anymore. 

Anyway, I wanted to create an autumn tablescape that was brighter than the typical browns and oranges you see so often.  Not that I don't love them...I do (and I will probably create something using these colors), but I wanted to give you another color palette option.  My inspiration for this post was a gourd.  This one to be exact...

I fell hard for the vibrant green and bright yellow colors, and thought that I would push myself creatively to create a tablescape around it.  A tablescape that can be used at a wedding or autumn event...and one that was cost effective!  You can easily cut costs by using what's in season, and what is more in season in autumn than leaves?  Which were free in my case.  So with all that being said, here is my tablescape...

I have really been on a dessert kick lately for the centerpieces!  Not only do I love the ease of it, but desserts can be so pretty.  For the desserts I used mini pecan tarts, pumpkin mousse tarts and mini pumpkin pies.





The one thing I love most about this tablescape is the favors.  After racking my brain to come up with a unique idea, I kept coming back to what autumn is all about for me...food.  Fresh baked pies, stuffed turkeys, sweet potatoes...all things that come out of an oven.  And what do you use to get things out of the oven?  Potholders and oven mitts!  I used both on this table...

Potholders for the girls...

And oven mitts for the boys...

I especially love the one for the girls as it is the perfect spot to slide a menu into.  But I do like to mix things up too!  Finally, I just finished the table off with a couple of candles...

And a couple more gourds...

And there you have it...

...an abundant autumn tablescape.  Hope you enjoyed this Thursday's homemade post!  If I have some time later I will try and post a couple more pictures for you.  Hope you have a lovely autumn day!

~ Ciao

...concept, design, styling & photography all by me