Simple Elegance 2012

The past couple of weeks have been BUSY, but fun! Lots of cool things going and fun pictures to share!
The day after we lit the advent candle at church, was the annual Simple Elegance event at church! I co-hosted a table last year, http://dreamerthinkerplayer.blogspot.com/2012/01/simple-elegance.html, with my friend Lisa. And this year I co-hosted once again, but this time with my friend Liz! We had lots of fun planning over the past couple of months! Liz is almost "professional" crafter status! She has her own blog about the Pin's she does off Pinterest. It is an awesome site, I'll give you the link below!
Anyway, Liz and I decided on a "red and white" theme. The original idea evolved over the time that we worked on it, but the end results, in our humble opinions, were pretty good!!!
What is Simple Elegance? The event is for women only. You buy a $10 ticket and that money goes to Women's Missions. The Women of the church volunteer to come up and decorate these tables for an evening of desserts, that they also provide. It is all in good fun, and a tad bit of stress! I love going because it inspires me! There are so many different takes on Christmas decorations!



Me and Liz in front of our table!

Liz and her mom, Linda!

Linda let us borrow her "Depression Glass" set as our *pop* of green! It was such an awesome addition! Thanks Linda!!

The white limbs are from our tree in the back yard. A large branch had fallen, so I broke it apart and spray painted it white! I thought it had turned out pretty good!

Liz hand-sewed the red beads onto the napkins! She also made the Snowmen from scratch! They are clay that she fired in her oven and then painted them! I'm telling you, she is a professional crafter!

The view from my seat!

After they turn the lights down - our candle light view! We had tons and tons of candles, fake and real! We were the most lit up table there!

Behind the scenes! Kathryn, Lisa and Liz (and me) all having a good time before the real event starts! (Kathryn and Lisa co-hosted a table next to ours!)

Kathryn getting her Banana Pudding ready! So cute! They are in mason jars with little shortbread cookies and fresh slices of banana!

Another one of Liz and me before the doors open!

Our table after the lights turned down! From the top left, Linda, Judy (Mandy's mil), Mandy (my new neighbor!), Heather, Amanda, Sarah (my good friend and "date" for the evening), Me and Liz.

My cupcakes. Look familiar? Yes, they are very similar to what I made the year prior, but hey, if it ain't broken? This year I made Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream cheese Frosting!  

These were Liz's YUMMY desserts!
The top cookies are Cherry Shortbread cookies: http://lizspinspiration.blogspot.com/2012/12/pin-163.html
The bottom is White Chocolate Peppermint Fudge: http://lizspinspiration.blogspot.com/2012/12/pin-164.html

Liz and Lisa

I am on the stage, about to get the group photo. The tall tree, western table is Lisa and Kathryn's! Ours is to the right!

Closer look at Lisa and Kathryn's table. It is amazing with details!

Cowboy boots under the little table!

I love her plates and the western shirts over the chairs! They thought of everything!



Looking out on the room!

Love this table! I want the table cloth and glasses!!

Love the Breast Cancer theme!

I really liked this table. So simple, but so neat!

Another simple, but beautiful table!

Funky, but I love!

This was one of my favorites! I love the plates! I looked it up on Ebay and the set goes for like $500!! The lady said she has had them ever since her 8th birthday, which was 50 years ago! Very cool, another reason why I love doing this, you meet neat people and hear cool stories!

This was a science themed table! Very unique!



My boys would have gone crazy for this! They always attack the life size M&M in the store! :)
 

The entertainment for the eveing was a group of ladies called, "Harp Esscence". They were amazing! They played for almost an hour and it was like nothing I had heard. They played electric harps! They actually let us go up on stage and play them afterward, and of course I DID! It was awesome! I might have a new hobby!