Downton Abbey Tea Party and Pennant Banner

 Welcome to my Downton Abbey Tea Party in honor of my friend Jenn who was visiting from Virginia ...

This is the 'help', my 'parlor maid' Becca, and my 'butler', Perkins.

The Menu

Crumpets with Clotted Cream, Marmalade and Lemon Curd

Chicken Salad Puffs

Ribbon Sandwiches

Various herb and fruit teas

Assorted 'biscuits'

 

Jenn, Ann and Robin got into the mood by dressing the part.

 

 

 I tried to get everyone in the mood with a few English touches.  I made the Downton Abbey banner in about an hour.  Since I often spend hours and hours doing them, I was very happy with this quickie effort.

 

Instead of carefully taping antique book pages to sheets of printer paper, and sending them through my printer, one at a time to receive either a medallion, a letter or both ...  I just found this great handwriting sample on Graphics Fairy, and printed off a trimmed version 2 to a page on card stock, cut them out, then punched the borders, and stamped a letter on each before gluing them onto a length of black garland and voila!

 Michelle was also, luckily, in town from Arizona, and is shown here with Jenn and her mother Doreen to the right.

 

Here are Robin, Barb and Ann, all longtime friends.

 Other decorating touches were to add a Lady Grantham plaque to an antique portrait, as well as printing off a picture of Lady Mary in her wedding dress and hanging it.

I already have a few tributes to our friends across the pond, like this lamp.  I also have Busts of British Royalty, a few crowns and a lovely antique book with Queen Elizabeth's portrait on the cover.

Now we just have to wait for the new season to arrive so I can watch it on my 'big' screen TV ... although I must admit that I have already cheated and watched the first episode on line ... thanks Stacy!

Custom Pennant Banners!



The 'cool' banner I added to my bedroom décor!

 If you have followed me for long, you know that I am a lover of pennant banners. They say "happy" and "party" and "celebrate" and "holiday" to me.  I have made banners for parties, I made a banner as a gift for a dear friend, I have made banners for home decoration, I have made banners for my flea market booths, I have made banners for my son's wedding decor, and I have even made banners for my booths at the antique mall, and well, that is what started the stream that ended in the banner that I made this week, that was made as a commission, a first for me.

This is the banner I made for my friend Stacy, the lover of all things pink!

 

 

This banner hung in my booth at the Acorn Antique show in May!

 

This is the banner I made last fall to help celebrate the white mood of winter!

This banner that reads 'Toast Bar' is one of eight that I made for my son's wedding in May.
 

So with so many pennant banners in my life it was bound to happen.  First other dealers at the antique mall started calling to see if I would sell my shop décor pennants, like the one above that say's 'tea things' to customers ... I wasn't quite ready for that.  But last week I got a call asking me to do a custom banner for a customer who was having a special family event.  I called her back, and made arrangements for pick up.

Thus I got to make this sweet banner that says "baby blessing".  The customer was thrilled, and I got to make another banner!  Yeah!

Now I have made a big step and have actually offered to do custom banners for others, and I have posted it on the 'Reclaimologists and Other Crafty Chicks', on our joint Facebook page! 

 

This banner is made with handwriting graphics and a great floral medallion I got from Graphics Fairy.  I have also used German glass glitter, that will eventually tarnish nicely, on the letters and along the edge of the pennants.  The lace is hand punched, and the pennants hang from rayon seam binding.