MARGARITAS & MOSAICS PARTY

Recently I was going through all my craft supplies and was somewhat surprised at the volume of random mosaic tiles I had accumulated over the years.   I thought it would be fun to whittle down my inventory by inviting friends over to have a party and do a simple project.  It was a tie between 'Margaritas & Mosaics' and 'Martinis & Mosaics' - margaritas won out because I already have a set of 12 glasses.  Owning a set of these is a pre-requisite if you've ever lived in Texas :o)

I've always liked the idea of wine glass charms to keep track of glasses, and for this party with everyone drinking margaritas, this would be particularly useful.  I gathered 12 different mosaic tiles from my collection and dug into my stash of ribbon and to make these.  Tip - I first ironed a fold into the middle of the ribbon to make the process easier, then glued the fold in place, then glued the folded part of the ribbon to the back of the tiles.  I used good ol' Weldbond glue - my favorite for mosaics and this worked great in ahering the ribbon to the tiles.  As for food, I took the easy route since we were all just coming from dinner - chips and several different kinds of salsa/queso and some chocolates. Oh, and of course - pitchers of margaritas.

For the project itself, I decided on 6" clay pots.  I like these because they can have a variety of uses (a flower pot, pencil holder, a holder of anything in a pantry or drawer... you get the idea).  They are also small enough to finish in an evening.

I covered our table with a vinyl table cloth and each guest had a clay pot, small paper cup for adhesive and a wooden craft stick. I also placed some wrags around the table to wipe off hands and any adhesive that ended up on the outside of the tiles.

I set up all my tiles in plastic containers on a table for my guests to choose from.  I pre-cut some tiles and offered to cut more upon request (which I could take care of outside on the patio).  I didn't want to worry about protective eyewear and small pieces of tile flying around in my house, so this solution worked out just fine.  Not to mention I didn't have enough tile nippers to go around.

My plan was to grout the projects the next morning.   (Needless to say I have a pretty good collection of grout as well).  I invited anyone to come back and join me in the process if they were interested, otherwise I would take care of it for them.  The party seemed to be a big hit and we are already talking about planning another to do picture frames.

Note to anyone interested in throwing one of these parties. . .   If your not currently into mosaics and don't have all these supplies - check out local mosaic and ceramic stores who host these types of parties and will provide everything you need (maybe not the margaritas :o)   Interestingly enough - my first experience with mosaics was with a friend at exactly this type of place. in Dallas, TX.

BEACH WEDDING - TABLES

 

 

The décor on the tables for our wedding reception was an area where we saved some money in our budget...

Tables - Colored tablecloths provided an economical way to provide a big impact of color. Since we incorporated white into our color scheme – we already had the white hotel linens included in our cost and just supplemented with the rented colored tablecloths on the dinner and cocktail tables. Buffet and other tables remained white and the napkins remained white. We could have spent tons more money on flowers and other decorations and never gotten close to the impact of color of these tablecloths!

Napkin Ring Placecards – I saw this concept on a wedding television show.  I liked that these type of cards accomodated three different purposes (1) a decorative element on the plate (2) napkin rings (3) place cards.  The napkin rings were made from shells purchased from a beading website, www.firemountaingems.com  – I re-strung them on fishing line to make them all the desired length to be twisted around the napkins. The placecards themselves were handmade and I applied the same paper crafting concepts similar to our invitations.

Picture Frame Table Names – I had seen this idea all over the place, but the key for me was that the frames would be used again in our home.  These are barn wood frames purchased from Hobby Lobby and white washed slightly to make them look a little more ‘beachy’. The frames go well the rustic décor in our home – recycle & re-use!  The same tearing ruler and aging effect used on our invitation was used here.  The tables were named after types of sea turtles.  We used sailboat escort cards to lead guests to their correct table.  The flowers on the table were simple daisy centerpieces, you can see more on the flowers for our wedding here.

Wedding Tip - The concept we embraced for the tables was 'Bang for your Buck'.   There were a lot of fun details, but the tablecloths made the biggest difference.  As I recall, the cost was approximately $15 per table - a big impact for a small price.  They transformed the reception area (a large balcony on the penthouse level of the hotel).  Since the wedding, I have found that any party can benefit from using tablecloths to provide a lot of decorative color at a reasonable price - whether it's rented table linens to all the way down to the cheap plastic kind from the party stores.

For all of my beach wedding posts see my Beach Wedding page where you will find posts like these:

BEACH WEDDING - INVITATION

BEACH WEDDING - GUEST BOOK



BEACH WEDDING - GUEST TOTE BAGS

BEACH WEDDING - PHOTOGRAPHY

BEACH WEDDING - FLOWERS

BEACH WEDDING - SAVE THE DATE NOTICE



BEACH WEDDING - ESCORT CARDS

BEACH WEDDING - DRESS

 

BEACH WEDDING - FLOWERS

I'm a big advocate of the idea of 'Splurge & Save' - splurge on some areas and save on others. For our wedding we splurged on food and items for guests (we had three meals planned - dinner on Friday, reception Saturday, brunch on Sunday). We also spent money on tote bags filled with goodies given to each guest/couple upon arrival and paid for chairs and umbrellas on the beach on Saturday. The other area of splurge was photography  where we spent more than originally planned. For all other aspects, I was determined to stick to a limited budget and be creative. This included invitations , my dress & my husband's attire, the cake, and as you will see here - flowers & other decor.  Here are our budget friendly options we went with...

Ceremony  - When deciding on flowers for the ceremony my husband pointed out he liked the urns filled with branches in a particular photo.  We inquired about these and were told they were filled with flowering branches and each urn would be almost $700 (yikes).  My husband indicated he liked them because the shape reminded him of beach grass.  The florist came up with the idea to fill the urns with various grasses and also thought burying pots of grasses in the sand around the urns as if the grasses were a natural part of the beach. In the end, this solution was much more economical and provided a simple beauty to the ceremony site on the beach.  That’s it for flowers at the cermony site – no trellis, no flowers on every chair going down the aisle, no large floral arrangements on stands – just those simple grasses as a focal point.


Ceremony Flowers

My Bouquet  - Just a simple bouquet of daisies. My grandmother's broach was pinned to the base (something old) :o)  We did not get boutonnieres or corsages for my husband or our parents.  (My Mom was happy not to have to pin something on her dress.)  No need for flowers/boutonnieres for attendants since we didn't have any; we decided to have our closest friends and family just attend the wedding and enjoy themselves. (Budget friendly for them as well since they didn't have to buy special dresses/outfits.)


My Bouquet



Grandma's Brooch

 

Reception – Simple daisy centerpieces. The rented teal blue tablecloths provided the big impact of color here.  Tablecloths were an economical way to bring in beautiful color and provided a beautiful background for white daisies.  The hotel put clear glass candle holders on the cocktail tables which had rented pale yellow tablecloths.

Reception Centerpieces

 

Friday Dinner – We didn’t’ have a rehearsal or a rehearsal dinner. We had every guest attend an outdoor dinner buffet at the hotel. At some point I realized I had no centerpieces for the Friday dinner, and the idea of spending hundreds more on flowers was not what I was looking forward to. I was determined to find a cheaper solution. It was an outdoor dinner buffet on the deck of the hotel and there were seven tables to cover. Solution - lanterns purchased from Big Lots filled with stones and candles (also purchased from Big Lots). Fabric squares in a leafy tropical print placed underneath were sewn by my Mom. Total cost was about $17 per table, and I continue use the lanterns and fabric squares today for holiday décor and parties!



Friday Dinner Centerpieces

 

Wedding Tip - A budget doesn't mean you have to be boring.  Splurge on those areas that are most important to you and save on others.  The budget areas of the wedding were in some ways the most fun.  It was a challenge to keep the budget down, but these were the areas that brought about the most creativity and fun solutions.


For all of my beach wedding posts see my Beach Wedding page where you will find posts like these:

BEACH WEDDING - INVITATION

BEACH WEDDING - GUEST BOOK



BEACH WEDDING - GUEST TOTE BAGS

BEACH WEDDING - PHOTOGRAPHY

BEACH WEDDING - FLOWERS

BEACH WEDDING - SAVE THE DATE NOTICE



BEACH WEDDING - ESCORT CARDS

BEACH WEDDING - DRESS

BEACH WEDDING - DRESS

Ahhhhh the wedding dress.  Let me start by saying I had already decided - no formal attire for the wedding.  The last thing I wanted was my casual and laid back husband sweating in a tuxedo on the beach during the ceremony.  He was grateful for this decision – he got to wear light-weight khakis and a white shirt.  (I think the guests were happy too – who wants to wear formal attire on the beach?!)  Check out The Territory Ahead for men's white shirt options with subtle patterns in the fabric.  Note that these are available in tall sizes as well.  We had a long and short sleeve option ready for my husband depending on the weather.

I digress . . . back to the dress . . .

So – the picture in my mind of the perfect beach wedding dress was a simple white cotton halter dress.   Finding this in the winter was more difficult than I had anticipated, so my Mom graciously offered to make it for me.  (Yes, I know I'm extremely lucky to have a mother who can sew at this level.)  We found a pattern – Simplicity 4577.  Overall a very simple pattern.

The only challenge was the fabric.  One thought was white eyelet cotton.   It is such a simple dress pattern, so I felt the fabric would need some texture/interest.  I came across an online reference to a 'swatching service' provided by a fabric store in Royal Oak, MI called Haberman's. Just describe what you are looking for and they will source fabric for you and send samples.

Haberman's came up with this fantastic fabric! 

I spent about $100 on this fabric and lining for the dress, and my Mom did a wonderful job. That's her in the background helping me get ready on the day of the wedding :o)  I assisted in cutting out the pattern, but left the sewing to her expertise.  Added bonus - you can wear a halter bra with this style since the back is not too low cut.  The dress was very comfortable and was the perfect weight for the warm spring Florida weather.

Shoes – I must mention the shoes!  I found these online by Pelle Moda and had to have them.  They were reasonably priced and I also found a flat version to wear during the ceremony on the beach.  Added feature – they were my ‘something blue’!





For all of my beach wedding posts see my Beach Wedding page where you will find posts like these:

BEACH WEDDING - INVITATION

BEACH WEDDING - GUEST BOOK



BEACH WEDDING - GUEST TOTE BAGS

BEACH WEDDING - PHOTOGRAPHY

BEACH WEDDING - FLOWERS

BEACH WEDDING - SAVE THE DATE NOTICE



BEACH WEDDING - ESCORT CARDS



BEACH WEDDING - ESCORT CARDS

We used these sailboats as escort cards.  You can find them on several wedding/party supply websites.  Unfortunately, they only came in navy blue and red, so I set out to give them a new look to go with the colors and style of our wedding.  This was a very time consuming process, it took me hours to do 60 of these but they turned out to be pretty neat looking :o)   These are the steps I went through to make this rustic look… 

1.     Lightly sanded the base of the boats.  I used a Dremel to make this process go faster, but inadvertently cut some of the riggings and had to re-thread them. (uggghhh)

2.     Painted a coat of black acrylic paint. (Tip – I set up a couple clotheslines long enough to fit all 60 boats and clipped them to the line by the mast with small clothespins to let them dry.  This worked great and made this tedious process go a lot faster)

3.    Painted two coats of white paint

4.    Painted the blue stripe along the top of the boat with a small brush

5.    Lightly sanded the boats for a weathered effect (exposing the black layer underneath)

6.    Wrote the table names on the sides with a fine Sharpee marker.  We used types of sea turtles for our table names.

7.    Printed all the guests’ names on regular white printer paper and made flags.  These were adhered to the masts with double stick tape. 

The escort card table was covered with a teal blue tablecloth to resemble water.  A lighthouse stood at one end of the table on an island (cardboard box draped/wrapped with a sandy colored faux suede fabric).  The Lighthouse was purchased from Hobby Lobby with just a couple paint color changes I did myself.  Note - at one point my husband came up with the idea to float the boats in a punch bowl.  This would have been a neat idea - but unfortunately, they do not float (we tried it).

My family was worried (knowing how long I spent on these) that I would freak out at the end of the evening when I would see the boats randomly thrown around and some trampled on the ground.   So. . .  I mentally prepared myself for the horrible massacre.  Needless to say, as we were leaving you couldn't find any boats - everyone took them home :o)   Also, every year my husband and I hang one as an ornament on our Christmas tree.


For all of my beach wedding posts see my Beach Wedding page where you will find posts like these:

BEACH WEDDING - INVITATION

BEACH WEDDING - GUEST BOOK



BEACH WEDDING - GUEST TOTE BAGS

BEACH WEDDING - PHOTOGRAPHY

BEACH WEDDING - FLOWERS

BEACH WEDDING - SAVE THE DATE NOTICE




BEACH WEDDING - DRESS