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Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Ideas for your Valentine table you will fall in love with

Are you planning a Valentine's dinner this year?



When it comes to planning a Valentine's dinner I'm a big believer in creating a special ambiance. Yes, delicious food is important, but when I'm planning a table it's really my way of expressing my feelings for my guests. 

Whether your dinner will be casual or formal or well-planned with a theme, taking a little time to add a spark of
 je ne sais quoi to the table is a way to say

...hey, you're really special to me.

After all, that's what Valentines day is all about.

With Valentine's just around the corner, I thought I'd share a few of my favorite Valentine creations, just in case you're in need of some inspiration. 


Here's one of my all-time sentimental favorites---and yes, I spent way too long making these, but I couldn't help myself.

Do you remember these too?





They were called Cootie Catchers when I was young and I have so many warm, fuzzy feelings about these I decided to create a Valentine version for our annual dinner party a few years back.
Instead of using colors and numbers in the spaces I chose images from romantic movies. Since these were made for the husbands at our table, the opening line was,

Which Leading Man are You?

In place of a fortune to read at the end of the game, I wrote a trivia question having to do with the topic of Valentine's day and romantic movies. And each guest had to answer it for a prize.
The funniest part of this whole game was trying to teach the men how to work their Cootie Catchers. Apparently it takes a lot of coordination. :)



How did I make these?
Wish I could provide a tutorial, but I had to watch this
You Tube video by Heather Hinchliffe Rode .  Once I found my images I copied them, then cut and pasted them old fashioned way.

These Cootie Catchers were part of my Vintage Valentine Dinner Party and in keeping with this theme I made a placecard based on the old paper bag 'mailboxes' we used in grade school to collect our valentines.



 I bought the plain brown miniature bags at Hobby Lobby.



I bought some paper supplies and decorated the bags putting each guest name on the front. Then I slipped a box of candy hearts inside each place card.



I still remember how excited I was to go through my lumpy bag and look at all my classmate's valentines. You too?

Here's a larger shot of this table.



I think I used a piece of red cloth I had and simply folded it over--no sewing--to make my table runner. And while I prefer to use real rose petals these fake ones worked fine.

 I also made some red tissue pom poms to hang over the table for a little whimsy, and these are so easy and inexpensive to make.

Here's a nice little tutorial if you're interested:
How to make tissue paper pom poms


And now for a little romantic movie inspiration:

Recently one of my readers asked me if I would be sharing a Valentine tablescape this year and this little question was enough to inspire me to come up with a creative theme for my readers.

Since my husband's favorite romantic movie is Casablanca, I decided to use this as my inspiration and here's some ideas I came up with for my table:

Casablanca Inspired Tablescape


1. A runner made of sheets torn from an old music book I found in a thrift store.

I used double stick tape to attach the pages.


Music sheet runner

(inspired by the famous song of Casablanca, As Time Goes By)



2. I gathered up some small vintage-looking clocks



3. I painted a thrift store globe in black chalkboard paint and wrote out this famous quote uttered by Humphrey Bogart:

"of all the gin joints in all the towns, in all the world,
she walks into mine."

4. I made this Casablanca themed placecard:

I found this miniature passport in the scrapbooking section of Joann's Craft Store and rubbed it with dark wax and simply added a name inside the cover.




5. I used real palms underneath the silverware for atmosphere.





6. I put roses into little bottles

7. and used old books for height




Casablanca Table Setting



8. I added old brass candlesticks




9. And finally, I used these wonderful hand-made napkins that my talented friend Carol gave me when we recently met in person. Don't these add a touch of charm ? She used stencils and chalk paint to rub numbers into a set of cotton napkins and the minute I saw these I instantly knew I had to use them for a special table.

Thank you Carol, home-made gifts are such a labor of love.

Well that's it for now my friends.

Sorry for such a picture heavy post.... but I do hope I gave you some ideas you can use for your own special occasion.



Thank you so much for visiting today,

xo
Leslie








6 comments:

  1. I saw your pic on Instagram with your table setting and I knew you would do something fabulous with white & black.

    I found a book of sheet music in the attic and Joshua told me he didn't want anything that he left in the attic so don't be surprised if you see me copying your table runner. And, I love the palm leaf idea.

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  2. So creative Leslie! Ha, and now you have me wanting to make a cootie catcher. LOL Remember Mash Ups???

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  3. I love every idea you show here for the Casablanca theme, and the "cootie-catchers" are downright AWESOME! Boy, you've provided TONS of inspiration for a real adult dinner party. Thank you!

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  4. Gwen,
    So cute and I love the Casablanca themed accessories you've created!
    xo,
    Karen

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  5. How wonderful! I know your guests feel very special! Both tablescapes are so creative and FUN! Love the cootie-catchers...a blast from the past! It is so thoughtful that you create such an enjoyable and festive party feeling! Love!

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  6. Love this post Leslie and thank you for the "cootie catcher" reminder...those were a blast as kids and if recall, some hilarious outcomes! Flowers have been so deeply embedded in my brain this past couple of weeks and your tablescape inspired by such a classic is beyond beautifully creative. Your posts always make me smile and I thank you for the inspiration you beautiful soul!

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