An Asian Theme Anniversary

This past summer my parents celebrated their 60th anniversary.  It was quite a shock to me as I'd honestly not been keeping track of the years.  When I discovered this fact (as an only child I have no siblings to remind me of such things) I found I had only a week to prepare.  Something intimate at home was all I could manage, and I wanted something peaceful and serene, but what?

Alexander Henry fabric "Manju Kanji"

It all started with this GORGEOUS piece of Alexander Henry fabric called "Manju Kanji." I am truly in love with all of the Henry fabrics and this one really spoke to me, so I was thrilled when I won four yards of it on ebay for less than I'd have paid for one yard had I been able to find it in a store.  Initially I had no idea what to do with it. I loved it, and having seen a beautiful shirt at Soft Surroundings made with a lovely Asian fabric, I suppose I figured I'd use this to make myself a duplicate of that shirt, never once taking into consideration that a) I have no pattern, b) I don't sew, c) my sewing machine hasn't see the light of day since I was in home ec in the 8th grade, and d) I have MAJOR sewing fear!  So I laid it out on the dining room table just to gawk at it and that's when the idea hit me to use this lovely fabric as the table covering for my parent's anniversary brunch. This is how ideas get started and I began building things from there.

When one has such a busy table covering as was the case with the Henry fabric, something simple is needed by way of tableware.

Bamboo flatware from Crate & Barrel was a perfect touch for this Asian table, and drew many comment from diners.

I think one of the best investments I ever made was the purchase of a set of white plates and mugs from Old Time Pottery. Each piece was only 50¢, costing less for a set of 12 than it would have if I'd have gotten decorative paper plates. I have used them with a green table covering for St. Pat's, red for Valentine's Day, black for Halloween, you get the picture. So white plates and mugs were decided upon immediately, but the question as to what glassware to use became a real problem. My son, who has grown up with my various craft obsessions, suggested I paint Chinese characters on plain glassware, never once taking into consideration that I DON'T PAINT.  But the idea was brilliant, and I never once allowed my lack of painting ability to get in my way.

A friend who paints glassware shared some tips with me, so in the midst of a severe storm, lightning flashing all around me and the tornado sirens blaring, I headed back to Old Time Pottery for 12 plain glasses, and then to Michael's for some glass paint. I returned to paint this set of glassware with Chinese characters on them, each one depicting an important aspect of a successful marriage -- compassion, kindness, forgiveness, etc. For those of you who may write or be familiar with Chinese, forgive me! My skills are limited, but the end result got me through the day in fine fashion, and each guest took his/hers home as a souvenir.

The black river stones scattered on the table amidst the homemade fortune cookies replicated the stones in the base of the floral arrangement. The handpainted Chinese character glassware was a HUGE hit.  The tea set was on loan from my son.

 I made these fortune cookies (large print for seniors! - Heh heh).   I could only bake one at a time and it took me four hours!  They began as a Martha Stewart recipe, but I ended up re-writing it (more about that in a future post). The first couple were a complete disaster, but eventually I got the hang of it, and was pretty pleased with the outcome.

A novel souvenir for guests. A photo cookie featuring my parents' wedding picture was at each table setting for guests to enjoy after brunch, or save for later.

Despite my lack of time to plan, the day came off without a hitch, my parents and their freinds were delighted, and even I enjoyed the day.

Tablescape Thursday is hosted by Susan from Between Naps on the Porch.