ACS Think Pink 2011 ~ My Table ~ My 400th Post!

Choosing a theme for this years

table actually started before last Christmas.

 I already had the gold and white snowflake

sheer fabric. It was meant for a gold and white

snowflake themed table...

which may or may not happen in the future.

  How was I to know that

Christmas snowflakes are usually silver?

Everything I found

 that was decorated with snowflakes

(except my inspiration fabric)

was all silver and white, or blue and white.

I found all kinds of silver snowflakes on

ribbon, plates, ornaments, tablecloths,

 and on an on. 

  Yeah, what's up with that?

Where's the gold?

Then before Christmas last year,

 I found a red cardinal holiday

storage box at JoAnn's Fabric store.

The matching napkins were found

in a different department.

 Oh ~ hmmm, maybe I can work with that.

~

 I went to Kohl's that same day

and found these cardinal holiday

dessert plates, mugs, and coasters.

(I've seen them at Kohl's lately ~ so they're still available!)

It was meant to be.

In the Christmas tree department,

they had some red cardinal ornaments.

~

Oh, Thank Goodness!

I knew I'd found this years

Think Pink Tea benefit theme

for my table.

I waited until October of this

year before purchasing the

dessert items for the basket.

Inside there's Chocolate Brownie mix,

Vanilla Cake mix, and Fudge Sauce from

Trader Joe's, and a breakfast blend coffee

from World Market.

The first three photos were taken at home

before the basket was wrapped in cellophane.

Now this is a rather sorry photo

but I wanted to show the fabric layers

on my table.  The bottom fabric

is a rich red and black.

Layered over it is the glittered sheer

fabric that had my entire house

and every surface covered with glitter.

For the actual top to keep

the glitter fabric from slipping I used

a purchased BH&G

70-inch cloth from Walmart.  I won't 

be doing that again though.

These gift bags were purchased

at JoAnn's Fabric last year after

Christmas for about forty cents apiece.

The Christmas berry picks

were also at JoAnn's Fabrics for six cents!

I tucked some sandwich sized

Ziploc baggies into the gift bag

for my guest to save an extra cookie.

Their ACS Think Pink Tea and Boutique

 program, and a 25% off

coupon for the ACS Thrift Store

are also inside.    The bags

are large enough for my

guests to take home their

gift favors as well.

Ta~da!

Do you know how many

hours I fiddled with

the dessert basket,

getting the plates to stand up,

the mugs to fit,

the cardinals to show,

the lid to stay upright... ?

Um yeah it was an ordeal.

I was pleased with how it eventually

turned out and honored that 

others enjoyed it as well.

My raffle jar had $160 worth of

tickets inside. I was so excited

when I counted the tickets. 

It was forty dollars more

 than last year. 

I'm loving the tea I found to share.

The hotel does supply tea

but you can also bring your favorites.

Have you tried  'Holiday Chai' tea ~ Stash brand?

I can't remember where I found it.

I'm out right now, but I'll be shopping for more.

When I find it, I'm buying several boxes

to last me through the winter hot tea season.

I'm fairly sure it's only available

for the holiday season.

The water goblets are

from World Market.

They were on sale,

 plus I had a $10 coupon

from the Sunday newspaper advertisement.

Sweet!

Shopping for the tea is exciting

when I can find  what I need at

a bargain and take

advantage of sales and coupons.

I also have a sweet friend

Bonnie who keeps an eye out

for me at thrift stores and yard sales.

She found the gold plated silverware

for me.  ( Hi there Bonnie!)

These Christmas cardinal towels

were an extra gift for my guests,

found just the week before the tea.

They also received the red cardinal

ornaments and a calendar.

The  candle holders were originally purchased

at Michael's with the gold/snowflake

theme in mind.  Those cute red ornament

place card holders were from

Michael's dollar bins this year. 

These red cardinal Christmas tree ornaments

were from Kohl's last Christmas.

Oh, and there's a truffle nestled against

each tea cup.  I found those at the grocery

store and purchased them because of the

perfectly color coordinated wrapping.

~

The gold and white china set

belongs to my cousin Phylis.

I love it.  It also looked very nice

with the fall/autumn colors

I used last year.  I'm thrilled

that she lets me borrow it

for the tea.  I know

she's going to send this

post's link address to her

Mom so that her Mom can

see our tea table for this year.

So, with that in mind...

 Hi Violet!

 

One last 'hi there' goes to Phylis.

She helps me set the table and

stays for the packing up afterwards.

 I love ya cousin Phylis!

Thanks so much.