Saturday, July 12, 2014

First Annual Mad Hatter Tea Party 2014

Yesterday I shared one of my favorite shows from this past TV season, "Once Upon a Time in Wonderland".  Today I'm sharing my First Annual Mad Hatter Tea Party.  I've joined Vanessa at a Twist of Fate other bloggers on sharing my Tea Party posts.  If you want to see the other blogger's creations  click on the picture below.

A Fanciful Twist


I've been wanting to create my own tea party and last year I was getting ready for our Grand Vacation so I had to post-pone it another year.  We got new neighbors and thought having them over for a tea party was a perfect way to get to know them.  I created an invite and had them come over on Friday.  This was the perfect opportunity to get the house gussied up and have some fun.  


On the back was written:


Katharine and Natalie invite you to our
Alice in Wonderland Tea Party
Friday, July 11th at 3:00PM


I also printed this sign and we colored it in and framed it (see below on the table).


I had bought this fun fabrics years ago when our Walmart still had fabric.  It was on the clearance aisle and knew I just had to have it.  I love to play cards and have gone to Bunco Parties so I thought it would be perfect for that.  I found an old red round cloth I've used at Christmas time and put it on top of that. Don't you think it's perfect for an Alice in Wonderland Party?






I found this dish while thrift shopping a few years ago.  I used it with carrots, celery and ranch dressing dip.


I also created a new garland that I can use for Valentines too.  I'll share how I made that soon too.


The blue and white checked table cloth was bought at IKEA close to 20 years ago.  I sewed the ends to make a tablecloth.  I was going to buy paper plates and thought why not use what I have.  I took out my grandmother's and mother's china from Sweden and used plastic plates for the kids.






I ordered a cake to say "Painting the Roses Red" and made finger sandwiches.  I served iced tea and lemonade instead of serving hot tea.  Next to them I had cute tags and tags for the food too.  I bought a digital file for under $4 and used that to create the tags and other signs.

Here are the digital papers I bought:







I also created this picture that was on the wall near my front window:




 When my guests arrived they found this on our our door:



 I used my digital Alice paper and added the clock using the overlay program in Picmonkey.  I got the clock graphic from The Graphic Fairy.  When you go to her site just type in clocks under search.

I created a few coloring crafts for the guests to get the party started.  My neighbors came over and I got the young guests started with Alice in Wonderland Coloring Books I created for them.  



We drew faces and colored them in. Then we colored in the tea set.  I will share how I created the talking flowers next week.




While the guests colored pictures there was a sound down the hall.  I yelled hey we have special guest.


My daughter and 2 friends came in dressed up as Alice, the Red Queen and the Cheshire cat.  The girls were more excited about the kitten they were holding.  We had been kitten sitting that week.

We sat down and had our sandwiches, carrots, celery and dip and best of all...cake!  My daughter's friend, who played Alice, took pictures and is sending them to me.  I was hoping to get them by now.  Next year I'll have the tea party ahead of time so I can finish the party's post early. 

It was lovely visiting with my new neighbors and watch the kitten play with the children.  The kitten went home that night and I'll admit I cried when it left.  I held my Shasta and she let me hold her for a long time.  

Monday I'm sharing some other Alice in Wonderland tea parties.  Then on Wednesday I'm sharing some great crafts too.                             

Thanks for joining me at my first tea party.  I hope you return next year.



22 comments:

Gina said...

Your neighbours are going to feel so special after such a wonderful day :D XXX

Cobblestone Prims said...

Nice Party...happy unbirthday to you and a magical day
Kerstin from Germany
Cobblestone Prims

Cobblestone Prims said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

I love the tablecloth with the playing cards...what a fun idea to incorporate it into an AIW theme. I'll try to drop by next week and see your photos. I'm sure the neighbors felt extra welcome with all of the festivity and treats.


Thanks for letting me be a part of your special day. If you have time, drop by my tea party. I always love to share tea and nibblies with new friends. :)

http://dawaioser.livejournal.com/852341.html

http://dawaioser.livejournal.com/851974.html

Jane K said...

What a great way to get to know your new neighbours and your party looked great. Your playing card cloth and game accessories were an excellent touch. I loved the frames you made up. I'll be back visiting next week to check out your other photos.

Plumfield House Gardens said...

Great tea, good info, hope you can visit my tea, Celeste,
plumfield house gardens

Susan said...

That was great of you to invite your new neighbors. It sounds like a fun time was had by all. Thanks for the invite.
Susan

Sarah Coller said...

Sounds like a lovely party! I'll check back later to see your updated pictures. Hope you'll stop by and visit me too!
Blessings,
Sarah

http://afancifultwist.typepad.com said...

Tea Party fun, loooooooove the card fabric!! Thank you so much for joining in!

A very merry unbirthday to lovely you!!

Thank you for playing in the magic!

<3 Vanessa {a fanciful twist}

Anonymous said...

Merry Unbirthday. I love the Wonderland illustrations you included in your post and the blue-checked table cloth which always makes me think of tea and picnics. A wonderful setting and so kind of you to share it with the rest of us!

A Magical Whimsy said...

Your party was so charming! It looks like everyone had a great time. You had such lovely accents and paper whimsy goodies! Thank you for the lovely invite to participate in your online virtual Mad Tea Party.
The Cheshire Cat is adorable! I will be returning to see what the Mad Hatter and Alice looked like too!
Thank you for the wonderful time!
=^..^=
Teresa in California
http://amagicalwhimsy.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

Great site, art work and imagery. I loved the Alice art.

Dennis Higgins
Author of Steampunk Alice
http://www.timepilgrims.com/blog

Laura S Reading said...

Happy UnBirThDay!
I am so glad you could participate this year, and what a great way to meet new neighbors!
They now know your creativity, so be prepared for them to ask you for favors.

http://dogsmomvisits.blogspot.com/2014/07/a-fanciful-twists-7th-annual-mad-tea.html

Rachel said...

I loved reading about how you created your party and all the bits and pieces that you have collected.

Hope you enjoyed your first Mad Tea Party! :-)

http://phoenixra.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/fairyland-goes-tea-party-crazy.html

Art and Sand said...

Oh, I love your little party and that your daughter and her friend dressed up in character.

I see from your profile that you too are in southern California. We live in Ventura so we are actually quite close.

Jennifer Michelle said...

Woo hoo, what a lovely first tea party! It was a blast! I hope you enjoyed yourself! I love that cheshire cat makeup, she looks amazing!

http://broomsticksandlace.blogspot.ca/2014/07/a-fanciful-twist-mad-tea-party-2014.html

Jess said...

What a wonderful thing to have with new neighbors!

http://scrapsavings.blogspot.com

Kelly said...

Thank you for sharing this wonderful party of so much muchness and even some more....Great ideas and fabulous Cheshire cat too! Cheers! ;)

Anne said...

Fabulous!! Your celebration is delightful, my Dear...I'm so glad I stopped by!
Hugs,
Anne
www.alittlefurinthepaint.blogspot.com

Rhissanna said...

I love that playing card table cloth! Walmart fabric, you say. They re-opened the fabric section in my local branch, I'll have to watch and see if I can nab some. It makes a lovely Alice tablescape! Thank you for the tea!

Laura Morrigan said...

A 'painting the roses red' cake! What a great idea! I have never seen that before!

Natasha in Oz said...

Thanks so much for joining the Say G’Day Linky Party. We have pinned your post to the Say G’Day Saturday board!

Best wishes,
Natasha in Oz