Graduation Party

For last week’s graduation/birthday party, we used a few small touches to make the atmosphere festive.  I want to share what we did because it was so simple and inexpensive.

To see the idea that sparked a party theme done in BYU school colors, click here .

In addition to that, we added a few more things for a great blue and white party.  We opted for a simple menu:  shredded barbecue beef sandwiches, veggies and dip, fruit and dip, chips.  To dress it up we lined the kitchen counter with blue and white table runners and served the food in beautiful dishes.


I used this idea to whip up a bunch of blue and white napkin rings out of a $1.50 spool of ribbon.  This project literally took less than 10 minutes.


I found some blue and white York peppermint candies to add color.  You could get m&m’s in any school color combination.


In the dining room I used a blue and white tablecloth, then took a little walk around the house looking for a few blue or white things.  I came up with a blue ice bucket, filled it with stars, and added a couple of little chalkboard garden markers to write messages on.  (We scored the garden markers at my local craft store for $1.24 each.  They’ll be put to good use!)  I remembered my silver “baby” letters and put the Y to use on its own.


My awesome Mom bought some pretty white flowers which we put in a white enamel pitcher with a blue and white striped ribbon tied around it.   In front of that, another silver Y that I picked up somewhere on clearance forever ago.


Again, I used one of the chalkboard markers I’d scored the day before.  I just stuck it in the pitcher full of flowers.  I especially like how this looked.  I’ll be doing it again in the future.  This completed the vignette on the end of the kitchen counter.


My next post will be about the fun we had with a simple dessert.

The decorating was fun, but the quote I always try to remember when I’m entertaining is this:
“It’s not what’s on the plates that matters.  It’s what’s on the chairs.”

So, here are a few pictures of the MOST IMPORTANT things in my house that day.

First, our guests of honor, my brother and his beautiful wife.   This brother of mine is pretty amazing.  He’s never had a hard time remembering that people are what matter most.  I want to be more like him.


My brother blowing out candles on a blazing cupcake:


My parents, working too hard in the kitchen (as usual).


My brother, my sister, her husband and some of the children.


My almost teen-aged son who rarely lets me take pictures of him.


One of my brothers (who I don’t see nearly enough).  He is one of the nicest, most forgiving people I know.


My youngest sister, who is also one of my best friends.


Lastly,the babies, getting to know one another.


Thanks to everyone who came and provided so much fun for us, especially my parents who traveled from Denver to be here.  And congratulations, again, to the graduates!  What a great accomplishment!

Jennifer

Graduation Party Decor Idea

Last week my amazing brother and his fabulous wife graduated from BYU.  We had a little graduation party to celebrate their accomplishments along with my brother’s birthday.  I wanted to do something fun to decorate for the party without spending a lot of money.

Here is what I came up with.


I found a piece of foam core board at WalMart in one of the school’s colors (dark blue).


Using a dark colored marker and a small ruler, I drew a Y on the board.  I was able to see the lines well enough to complete the project, but they don’t stand out.

Next I took white (another school color) miniature muffin cups and crumpled the bottoms, pinching them into a point.


Using my hot glue gun, I dabbed a bit of glue onto the point of the muffin liner and glued it to the outline of my Y.


Repeat with more muffin cups, gluing them along the edges of the letter.


When I dreamed up this idea, I pictured the letter completely filled in.  When it took 200 cupcake liners to do the outline, I decided to stop there.  Two hundred liners may sound like a lot, but it was actually a calming experience for me to perform a simple, repetitive task while my mind was still spinning after this unexpected dash to the doctor’s office.  In all I think the project took less than an hour.


Because I purchased miniature cupcake liners in bulk last year, the only cost was the $3 foam board.  Everything else I had on hand.  As I was working on it, I was thinking how fun it would be to make one of these with a number on it to celebrate a birthday party.  You could also do a monogram.  I really liked using the school’s letter in this instance.  The muffin liners added much more dimension and interest than simply drawing would have done.


This was a fun way to make a big statement for our party.  It added festivity to our gathering without too much effort or cost.  I’ll be using this idea again!  What do you think?

Note:  to see how we incorporated the school letter idea into our dessert, check out this post .

Hopeful Homemaker shared at DIY Day and Girl Creative

Thrifted Bookshelf Makeover

The return of sunshine and warm temperatures means a lot of good things.


One of them is the opportunity to paint.  I picked up this little bookshelf at my local thrift store for $5.


It spent the winter in the garage holding shoes.  This week I went after it with a can of Rustoleum’s Heirloom White spray paint.


It’s a nice creamy white.  I chose not to distress it after painting.


One of the things I liked about the shelf was it’s open construction.  With no sides or back it seems to use less space.  I also like the character of the posts.  Another interesting thing about it is the angled top shelf.  It was clearly an easel or music stand at one point.


The good thing about this is that it can’t catch a bunch of clutter on the top shelf.  The down side is that I have this plain piece of wood on top:


I think it might be fun to add a monogram.

Regardless, I’m happy to have it now holding the books that have been stacked on the floor in my bedroom.  I added a few pieces of my collection of vintage silver.  It’s nice to get them out of the cupboard.


I’m curious.  Would you add a monogram or leave it as is?  Any ideas?


Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great day!

Hopeful Homemaker Linked to The Inspired Room , Transformation Thursday and Remodelaholic

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