SHE Christmas Party decorating!

Well, it's Christmas Eve. It seems like my entire December was summed up the very first weekend, yet I've been too busy to blog about it until now. I have wanted to tell you about decorating for our church's Women's Ministry Christmas party since the first weekend of December. My friend, Lisa, and I always decorate a table (or two...or three...) and this year was no exception. So, now that all the decorating has been done, the tassels have been shipped, and I'm still not done with my shopping, here's the post I've been trying to post since I thought about posting. Post.

Here are my two tables:For the first table, I spray painted some branches from a pile I had made asked my husband to snag from someone's brush pile last summer in 100 degree heat. What he does for me...it's love for sure! (BTW, you're getting a glimpse of my posh Etsy photo studio. What you can't see is the aluminum foil on the naked lamp and the banker's lamp with the shade turned upside down! HA! My husband knows how to get great shots without having to spend a fortune!)Anyway, I put those white branches in a $3 vase from Old Time Pottery, poured Epsom salt around them to look like snow (got that idea from Melissa at The Inspired Room)... and placed the vase on a white square platter I had (it's from Pampered Chef and I got it when I was a consultant...probably free!) and surrounded the vase with matte red and white Christmas ornaments. So simple, but really stunning, even if I do say so myself. The pictures just don't do it justice. Sound Man said it made him think of a movie scene, where people are looking into the vase, then the camera focuses in on the branches, and moves to a scene like Narnia where people are walking among the trees. I like the way he thinks. I will more than likely do this same thing next year. My plates are the new Wal-mart specials. $5 for a set of 4 plates! We had needed some new everyday dishes (I said "need," but I really didn't NEED them...our old ones were Corningware and 14 1/2 years old and still look in great shape, but...well...Momma needed an update, you know?) so we bought 2 sets each of plates, salad plates, and bowls, and only spent $30! Love that price tag! The chargers were some I had bought several years ago at Linens and Things.Silverware, mine; napkins, mine (bought from Sam's several years ago for just this purpose); votives, OTP; Tea glasses, OTP (we use these glasses, too, but I have 12 of these set aside just for the Christmas party); napkin rings, bell ornaments (from OTP a couple of years ago) tied together with pretty ribbon.

My other table was not as elegant, but I thought it was pretty just the same. I had bought a pretty silver finial at Hobby Lobby at 1/2 price and used it in this same arrangement last year.I got the idea for the wreath centerpiece from Paula Deen's Christmas magazine last year. The only difference was this year I used shot glasses (bought solely for the purpose of this arrangement, thankyouverymuch) filled with Epsom salt to steady the 6 inch pillar candles. I learned from the previous year that trying to hot glue them to the branches is not conducive to having a fire-free centerpiece. I got the greenery clippings from Lowe's on a tip from Susie Harris. Will DEFINITELY do that again next year. Free is good!

The silver chargers are from OTP, as are the clear plates. I have about a dozen that I use for these parties. The gold bell ornaments are just like the silver ones. Because the finish on the silver chargers wasn't really all that spiffy, I just sprayed them with silver spray paint to give them a little better shine.

Well, now that it's well into Christmas Eve, and I'm going cross-eyed for lack of sleep, I will close by saying that I hope all of you have a very Merry Christmas.