Over the summer, I helped plan a ladies brunch. It was quick and simple - but, oh, so much fun! We set up the tables in her sunroom so we had lots of light from all the windows.
My mom wanted to host a brunch for the neighborhood ladies and she asked if I could do it in a Summer Garden style. She wanted a sit-down, bright and cheerful meal for 10-12 people. Plus, she had a very small budget, but my thriftyness (I'm sure it's a word) is so competative I was determined to come in under budget!
My mom loves green. So I built up on a green table cloth. I used a bamboo type runner down the middle and the small daisy flower bouquet (blocked by the glass in this picture - oops) is in a wooden block. The table was a mix of gold, silver, green and bright colors of summer. She really likes the mix of country and glass.
The table setting was little summer bugs like the butterfly, dragonfly, bee and lady bug in this plate. I rotated 4 different center plates that were designed in the same theme. Some where more colorful than others and this one was the most subtle pattern.
To play off the plates, I used my Cricut to cut butterflies and hung them on water glasses as place settings. I saw a similar idea on Etsy (just google place settings or butterflies and several will pop up). Using the Cricut Craft Room, I picked a butterfly with a shape that appeared to give it a lot of movement and welded some of the edges for the effect I was looking for. Then I wrote the guests name in the top right corner. Easy Peasy.
I love fresh flowers and these had just been delivered to the grocery store when we was there shopping for the food. They were so bright and cheery - they just had to go home with us. I tucked them in a metal watering can and repeated the look with another one in the center of the dining table.
Did I mention my mom loves green. And I love green mums. Unfortunately, they only had one itty bitty bunch of green mums. So I mixed with them with white and set them on a side table.
This little guy is my favorite. He looks a little grumpy. But its hard not to smile at him with the daisy and green mums popping out of his top. It looks like he's having a bad hair day. Maybe that's why he's so grumpy. I can totally relate.
On this table I put potatoes and an assortment of sweets and breads including orange cinnimon rolls (potatoes and sweets are not pictures). I used the large muffin tin from William Sonoma with 3 different shapes and I baked 3 different flavors in their own shape. Wish I had a close up of the muffins, they were super cute (I need to work on the picture taking).
This is the fruit and juices station. The cranberry was delicious. There was another station for coffee and tea, but I was so busy chatting once people started arriving that I didn't get around to taking pictures of that side of the room.
Also, we asked a friend who also happens to be a chef to make omelets. It was a great budget-friendly item that everyone got to make to order. The chef came wearing his chefs jacket and all, but I didn't get his picture. :( I'm seeing a pattern here. . . . need to work on the picture thing. LOL!
The favors were Sweet basil grown from seedlings. I got the idea from a wedding I attended where they handed out seedling trees for all the guests to plant. I thought this was a nice fit for a Summer theme and it turns out Sweet Basil is an excellent herb for omelets. I used 3" pots, painted them with a light coat of gold (I wanted the terracotta color to shine through a little so they weren't too shiny), and glued a little twine around the top. I took large popsicle sticks, broke them in half so I would have a place to write the herbs name.
The favors looked nice lined up in rows and since it was near the door it was easy for the guests to take one as they were leaving. And under a $1 for each, I'm very satisfied with these little beauties!
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