Mad Hatters Tea party

Find video of the other tables at Maryannes Creative Mix on YouTube

So, it was my very first tea party, and I loved how my table turned out. Of course, I was totally impressed by the other ladies' tablescapes, and you can see them on my YouTube channel.

Here, I am going to go through what I forgot, what I got, and what I'll do for my next one. If you want to host a tea party for your friends, just follow along; I'll list some things you might want to consider.

I absolutely like quirky, and of course, I had that covered. There was another table that did an Alice in Wonderland theme, but she was very elegant with lovely giant roses across the top of her table, along with some bottled water that had "drink me" tags attached (so clever). I might steal that idea if I host one at my home.

So, everyone's vision of a tea party may be different. I thought of the Mad Hatter and a darker color scheme. I got mismatched teacups from the thrift store. Some used coordinated tea sets, consisting of a small plate and a teacup. They looked awesome, but I was embracing my inner Mad Hatter.

We learned about the tea party in January, so I immediately signed up to hostess. First, I loved the idea, and second, I thought it was a good way to forge some friendships by getting to know the other ladies. Results of that will be on my next post.

I knew I wanted to use the Evil Queen and cards, and I found a video on how to make a rose from playing cards. I can't remember why I even thought of that, except maybe I was scrolling through ideas and found them. Remembering things is getting tougher.

I did make a video of my process because I saw at least two ways to make them. I did have issues trying to stay in the camera frame, and a viewer called me out on that one. But it's on my channel.

I had leftover Graphic 45 Alice in Wonderland paper and used some of that in the centerpieces, along with some Dollar Tree roses and leftover Dollar Tree flowers I had in my stash. The containers were boxes from Dollar Tree, one that I decorated in red with some Gekco Galz free downloads. The other box was blue, fitting the theme (in my mind).

Speaking of in my mind, I usually visualize a lot of what I'm going to do, and my visualization saw that it wasn't enough. We were using two 6ft tables to accommodate six people. That is fine and gives lots of room, except the center of the table would have so much space, and I felt it needed more, even with the tea settings I envisioned. I was right.

So, in my travels to thrift stores to find the ever-elusive teapot (I didn't have one), I did find these smaller buckets with a purple swirly design. They were metal and like little baskets, perfect, I thought, for individual decorations for each place setting. I already had extra card roses that I could use, and I just needed to get some filler flowers to add to them.

Included in the individual table decorations, I had added a face card, either a king or queen, with an attached key with a red ribbon. Now, I had bought some keys from Amazon that were for decorating; as it turns out, they had bunnies, crowns, or a word like "dream" on them, and I thought they fit perfectly. Years ago, I had gotten a lot of pocket watches with long chains that I used for a diorama of Alice in Wonderland, so I put what I had into these too.

Online (Amazon, of course), I found an Alice in Wonderland paper party set with an 8" plate, a 6" plate, napkins in a black and white harlequin pattern, drinking cups, and straws. They were perfect and probably all I needed, except... I found these cocktail napkins with a rabbit and a pocket watch on them. Had to get those too.

I didn't have a teapot, so I went to several thrift stores to find something. That was not as easy as you would think. When I finally found a teapot, the top was missing. I asked, and they said they didn't have it. I believe it probably was there but lost in the mass. I made a mental note to always attach the tops of things I donate with tape so they stay together. (There is always Goo Gone if necessary.) I also could use a sugar bowl, but I wanted one with a cover as well, and the same problem. So, I took the teapot anyway and thought I'll figure something out.

I went online to see if it was possible to get a replacement in time. Plus, now that I had a teapot, I should get a top to go with it. Well, you might as well buy a new teapot because a ceramic top was not to be found. I did find a Teflon cover that most people use for individual teacups to keep their beverage hot. The measurements seemed to fit, and it worked. It went with the crazy decor, so I didn't mind.

Now, I was given a list of items to get, and I mostly worried about the things I didn't have, which were a teapot, teacups, tongs, and a tiered tray. I forgot the most simple items that were obvious: spoons, a sugar bowl, and a creamer.

During my search for teacups and a teapot, I did stumble upon tongs to use to serve the tea sandwiches. Plus, we can always use extra tongs at the house. They were 75 cents, so no complaints there. I had a two-tier tray that I mostly use for my craft supplies. I cleaned that up to hold the sandwiches, plus it added some height to the center of the table.

The last thing I got was black tablecloths from the Dollar Tree and a center runner that was black and white checkerboard.

If I were to do this in my home, I would definitely use most of what I purchased again: the teapot, teacups, the paper products, tongs, and the runner. But I definitely need a sugar bowl with a cover. I'm not so sure I would make the card roses again; they really are time-consuming.