Bulgarian Rhapsody

As a person, who crossed borders several times, I consistently experience nostalgia for home. I miss the air, the food, the music, the people.  I miss walking for hours everyday and staring at the local boutiques.I miss the endless coffee chats with friends, the corner stores, and noise on the streets. At home, everything feels and taste better. I wonder sometimes if I am nostalgic about home or just nostalgic about the past. I came across this extremely talented Bulgarian photographer Irina Kuneva who captured so beautifully the spirit of Bulgaria - the way I remember it - beautiful, ancient, peaceful, and fun. I just love the retro feel.

Classic Circus Tablescape for $20

A few months ago, I had an opportunity to participate in an amazing event design challenge called "Boy Bash on a Budget" organized by Spaceships & Laser Beams. The rules were simple, but the challenge was not easy. Each of the participants was given the opportunity to  choose their theme and printable collection and a very small budget to execute either a dessert table or a tablescape. 

I chose to create a vintage circus themed tablescape.

The Location: The photo shoot took place in a historic building from the 1900 in downtown Edmonton. The old exposed brick walls and the aged oak parquet floors created the perfect setting for this vintage inspired circus collection. 

The Concept: Inspired by the colours of the printable collection, I designed the tablescape in rich and vibrant colours – mustard yellow, turquoise, reds and oranges. I wanted the tablescape to look wacky, funky and crazy, so I used a variety of shapes, textures and colours. To complete the circus look and feel, I also incorporated balloons and traditional candy apples.

Table Centrepiece: To create the artificial cake centrepiece, I repurposed one of my daughter’s hat boxes. I covered it with tickets and printables and topped it with more yarn balls and a flag. To preserve the boyish charm of the party, I used lots of yarn and buttons to create the funky centrepieces.

The Table Details: To decorate the back of the chairs, I made pinwheels with vintage craft paper I owned, which complimented the colours of the printable collection. I also used pinwheels to decorate the favour boxes, which I had left from my son`s birthday party last month.

Here is how I spent the $20:

Tablecloth - $5.00. I bought the tablecloth at a warehouse clearance sale at a local event rental company. They had some great items and amazing prices.

From the Dollar store, I bought the following items:Craft mini balls - $1.00
Balloons (25) - $ 1.00
Yarn – 2 x $1.00=$2.00
Buttons - $1.00
Tickets - $1.00
Apples  - $3.00
Paper Cups -$1.00

From a thrift store, I bought the colourful desert plates for $3.00 and the red candy jars $2.00.

I borrowed the tables and chairs. I own the cake stand, the vases, the dinner plates, the napkins, the paper boxes, the ribbon and the wooden sticks that I used for the candy apples.

I was blown away by the creativity and the talent of the challenge participants. I encourage you to take a look at their featured parties. In fact, I am planning on doing a post featuring my favourite submissions, so stay tuned.

Credits:

Photography: Raffaella Loro
Styling: Canadian Hostess
Printables: Spaceships and Laser Beams