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.
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 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.
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
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
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 pomsAnd 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.
(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
