Pre-planning for Another Graduation Open House

Autumn Jean-Marie is graduating June 1st and sometime in June we hope to have an Open House to celebrate.  We've pulled off two Open House parties in the past, so how hard can it be??  Well, it can be a real challenge to think up fresh ideas.


Has anyone heard of Pinterest???  Autumn has!!! So she has lots of great ideas for decorating the tables and feeding the masses.  We girls in this family already love to put on a shin-dig and having a few really awesome ideas really helps to inspire.  I always have my eye on the bottom line in terms of cost, though, so I have been the Squasher of Many Good Ideas.


Autumn picked two colors to work with - lemon yellow and apple green - and she's fine with using the fruit to match, plus daisies and white lilacs (if they are in bloom), to work into the decorations. Hopefully the weather will be pleasant the evening that we select, so the fun can be outside.


After making a Pinterest board that Autumn and I share for ideas, we talked about the favorites.  Expensive things or super-time-consuming things got nixed, especially since we are going for country charm (things that cause one to say, "Awww")  and country elegance (things that cause one to say, "OOooo, I like that!) combined.  But the number one thing we hope is that everyone is comfortable and having a great time enjoying some good food and fellowship.


I stumbled upon apple green plates and bowls at the Dollar Store this week.  I'd like to do some raised plates, some with foods, some with candles, some with flowers.  So I purchased a champagne flute to hold a bowl above the plate - perfect size for a floral arrangement.  The Dollar Store had the wet foam I would need, perfect size for the bowl and sold in a two pack.


The flute was glued to the center of the plate, then the bowl onto the top of the flute. The glue wanted to drip a couple times, but a quick wipe cleared it away and the bowl adhered solidly to the rim of the flute.


I am going to post the pictures, but with a disclaimer.  Autumn isn't wild about it!!  She would like a margarita glass, instead of  the champagne flute, since the rim would be wider and the bowl would nestle down in there better.  After she said this it's like scales fell off my eyes!  I agree with her. I truly tried the bowl out on a margarita glass first (when I was in the Dollar Store), but cannot remember why I didn't use it. So I am going to ask my handy husband to try to salvage the bowl and plate but get that flute out of there.  So if anyone wants to make one of these, try out different "pillars" with your plate or bowl (and ask the design-minded teenager, when possible).  I am pleased with the overall look and delighted with the price - not counting the fresh flowers, these cost $3.50.  I've seen raised decorative pottery or glass items for $20 and $30 and up.  If we never use these again after the Open House, it won't bother me a bit. 

Inside the flue is a pretty real looking silk daisy.

Wet foam - two pack for $1.00, preserves the fresh flowers.

These flowers were $4.00. 

Finished product minus the edible goodies.

The plate held more than two dozen cookies.
This is what I pictured in my mind - we'll see after we use a margarita glass how it looks.
We hope to use real daisies, or even better, white lilacs for the floral arrangements.