Welcome to the 415th Tablescape Thursday!
Last October, Elena threw a fabulous Mad Hatter Dinner/Tea Party for her parents who were celebrating their 86th and 87th birthdays! The party was a big celebration and Elena ended up setting five tables, three indoor and two outdoor.
Elena created the cutest “tipsy teacup towers” to use as centerpieces for each of the tables. The main dining table here in the dining room had three teacup towers down the center.
Elena made her napkins with fabric she found at Joann and online. The black/white checkered chargers are MacKenzie-Childs and are available here: MacKenzie Childs Courtly Check Chargers and here: MacKenzie-Childs Charger Plates
Elena said, “Every teacup had a “Drink Me” label, and every goblet had an old-fashioned paper straw with a picture of the Cheshire cat’s smile on the top of it.”
The teacups and saucers at each setting were designed by Paul Cardew. Elena made the clock napkin rings from red, acrylic napkin rings she found on eBay, attaching 3-D clock faces she found in the scrapbooking section of Michaels. Love those!
Elena used both gold and stainless flatware from Oneida, the pattern is Michelangelo. The skeleton key placecard holders were found on eBay.
Alice is looking rather thoughtful, isn’t she?
The Mad Hatter definitely looks rather mad! Those eyes! lol
I’m in love with these cute tipsy, teacup towers Elena made for her table centerpieces! I need to make a couple of these for a future AIW tablescape sometime.
Elena said, “I made all the teacup towers by hand, using mismatched china teacups, teapots and ceramic glue. I made a total of nine teacup towers for this party. Most of the teacups and tea pots came from Home Goods, Marshalls, and thrift shops.
I used Beacon Brand 527 (clear, acetone-based) glue; it was an absolute necessity because it hardened within one hour. To hold cups and saucers in place while the glue dried, I used clear package sealing tape and rubber bands. The key to a good tipsy teacup tower is having a heavy base so it won’t tip over. In my case, a large teacup or teapot filled with glass marbles made the best tower bases.”
Elena decorated throughout her home for the occasion. I love this quote from the book, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.” I think the full quote is, “We’re all quite mad here, you’ll fit right in.” lol I think I need a little sign like that for my office. 🙂
Do you see the pink hookah pipe? Elena said, “If you look carefully, you’ll see a pink hookah pipe in honor of the hookah caterpillar character.” Elena purchased the hookah pipes that you’ll see on several of the tables in a local tobacco store.
You can see the napkin rings Elena made a bit better on the table she set in her kitchen.
To make the clock chargers for the table shown above, Elena followed the tutorial I posted a while back here: Pottery Barn Clock Plates, Make Your Own. Love how they turned out!
The checkerboard porcelain plates Elena used for this table were a find on eBay.
The blue goblets Elena use on this outdoor table are Marquis by Waterford. Elena decorated this table with clocks, keys, pipe and one of her adorable tipsy, teacup towers.
She used similar decorations for her other outdoor table, including a whimsical Mad Hatter teapot.
Love the checkerboard napkins Elena made for her tables! So much thought and love was put into this birthday celebration! I know her parents must have absolutely loved every minute!
Elena set up a drink table outside using Mr. Sharkie, her Pottery Barn shark drink cooler. He looks rather dapper in his Mad Hatter top hat!
Elena and her hubby made these two Cheshire Cat piñatas. Eleana even painted the Cheshire cat design! Wow, they turned out amazing! Their grandson picked out all the candy with which they were filled.
Elena said, “Hubby and I made the piñatas the old-fashioned way, how we were taught to make pinatas in first grade (literally) : blow up a rubber punch ball, cover it with newspaper and paper tower strips dipped in flour paste. When it’s finally dry and relatively smooth, coat it with several coats of acrylic gesso to seal the surface for painting. Then sketch and paint the cat’s face and hiney using acrylic paints. Mr. Cheshire Cat was so much fun to make, and I was sad when the kids bashed him up to release the candy.”
Thanks so much to Elena for sharing this amazing birthday celebration she put together for her lovely parents! Such a special day that I know they will never, ever forget!
You’ll find additional Alice in Wonderland themed tables at the links below:
Whimsical Valentine’s Day Tablescape: Alice in Wonderland Style
Alice in Wonderland Table Setting, Featuring the White Rabbit
You’re Invited to an Un-Birthday Party, Alice in Wonderland Style
Looking forward to all the beautiful tables posted for this week’s Tablescape Thursday!
If you are participating in Tablescape Thursday, please be sure to add your permalink below, and not your general blog address.To get your permalink, click on your post name, then copy and paste the address showing in the address bar, into the “url” box when you link up. You’ll need to include a link in your post back to the party to link up and participate.
That’s so visitors to your blog will be able to find the party and the other Tablescape Thursday participants. Requiring a link back also prevents businesses and scammers from linking up to sell their products. (Yep, that really happens, unfortunately.)
Please, don’t add your post name/blog name ALL IN CAPS…it tends to create big spaces between the rows of links.
Susan, I’m Mad for Elena’s Alice in Wonderland party and celebration! So many wonderful details…especially those teacup towers! I recognize one of her teapots as one I have. It would be hard for me to permanently glue it but it makes for a great Mad Tea Party. 🙂
Um.. WOW…
I love these tablescapes. Do you know where she found the salad plates?
Gayle, I just emailed Elena to ask her about that. I have a set of those and I found them a few years back in Tuesday Morning. I’ve also seen them on eBay. I remember buying a few additional pieces (like the salt and pepper shakers and a teapot) on eBay a few years back. To look for them on eBay, try searching for “Paul Cardew Alice in Wonderland.” Paul Cardew was the artist who created the design.
The design changed a little over the years. I remember when I saw the AIW dishware the second year in Tuesday Morning, Alice and the other characters looked a bit different than they had the first year. So when buying this dishware on eBay, you may want to double check the images/design, if it’s important to you that they all be the same.
Hello, I purchased the Paul Cardew Alice in Wonderland plates, teacups, mugs, tea pots, etc. from eBay and also from replacements.com.
This is just too awesome for words. Everything is amazing!! How creative and such a wonderful surprise for her parents. I know everyone had a wonderful time.
OH MY GOODNESS! That’s all I can say!! She did a wonderful job on all of this. Amazing details everywhere. Those tipsy teacup towers are so creative and so were the pinatas! Thank you for sharing!
What a fun birthday celebration! A lot of work went into making this an event to remember. So many special and fun elements. I think I need to scroll back through to make sure I didn’t miss anything. Her teacup centerpieces and pinata are masterpieces. I want Elena to host my birthday party!
I love everything about this tablescape! AMAZING!!!
Wow! That was a lot of work but turned out so beautiful. I am sure her parents appreciated all the efforts….Christine
Oh my, I must have been late for this very important date! If I could create just one table like these, I would be in love.
Your tablescape is very beautiful. I love the mix of black and white. Happy Thursday ♥
summerdaisycottage.blogspot.com
What a fun party! She really put so much thought and Love into her tablescapes. I love Sharkie, I bought one too because of seeing him at one of her parties.
My head is spinning! Those teacup towers are fabulous. I must make one- just because. I adore Mckensie-Childs and always buy that same black and white checkered fabric from Joanns too. I’ve used it to add a border to solid colored napkins, runners and pillows. It means lots of mitered corners but I love the finished product. Wonderful post, such a feast!
This is my kind of table. … All about fun !
Well, that’s what I call a party! I wonder how long it took her to plan and put everything together…she thought of everything! She ought to go into the business of throwing Alice in Wonderland parties for people with all her cute stuff those face teapots are just delightful! Love the tips she gave for weighting the tippy towers- Thanks Elena for sharing!! Thanks for the party Susan and Happy Labor Day!
Wow ~ what a fabulous party! Thank for sharing it with us.
Big Texas Hugs,
Susan and Bentley
Such a wonderfully colorful and creative idea.
What fun tables, I’m sure this party was amazing. Love the pinata! The tipsy teacup stacks are really cute, although I’m not sure I could bring myself to permanently glue good china pieces together – I could if they were chipped or cracked! LOVE the black and white checked pieces that match her napkins and runners so well. And the darling napkin rings. Thanks to Elena for letting you share this with us all.
You’ve gone quite mad indeed and thanks for taking us with you! This is just out of this world beautiful and thanks so much for hosting again. Have a fun holiday!
There is so much to take in, I’ve had to scroll through twice. The planning. The organizing. The execution. The energy. Helluva party, I’m sure!
wow, Wow, WOW!!! what an amazing party. incredible how much thought and work went into every single detail. the tea cup towers are super fun and the clock napkin rings totally got me. the linens, and plate stacks and clocks, and every other detail, i could go on for days… thanks so much for sharing. truly inspirational. xo- maryjo
How adorable!! I wish I had been there. What an amazing party for her parents. Excellent job, Elena!!!
This is absolutely unbelievable! She didn’t miss a single detail.
What a fun party.
Who ever Elena is she sure had a fabulous table settings for her party.
I really like those dishes from Alice In Wonderland
OMG, THIS LOOKS RIGHT OUT OF THE MOVIE !!! Your friend is awesome! Never seen anyone with that much unbelievable elements to be able to recreate every single theme that she concocts in her sweet and clever head !!!
What I would love to have the most is ‘just one pile’ of teacups with teapot, that’s all, lol..
Thank you for the inspiration dear Susan.
FABBY
I am so in love with this table setting and all the effort that went into it to make it so perfect!!!! Just adorable.
What a fun par-t-ay with so many details! Totally whimsical and creative. Thank you both for sharing as it certainly brought a smile. -Brenda-
Wow, this is totally awesome! What a fantastical way to celebrate her parents’ birthdays. I bet they felt like little kids with all the details provided by Elena. Excellent!
This is amazing! All the little details. It would take me a year to make this happen. Love it
LOVE this tablescape!!! And I just watched the (1st live-action movie) last night! But now I am wondering whatever happened to the sequel/part 2?? It’s done in movie theaters by now, I think??.. And I’m left wondering when or IF it’s on dvd yet? Can’t wait to see it!!…. Good to stop by and see you anyways! It’s been a long time, as I am working two jobs now, but I do my best to keep in touch with everyone here in “Blogland”. Enjoy your day!
So good to hear from you, Tina! I only saw the Disney version, are you talking about the one with Johnny Depp? I’m not a big fan of Tim Burton movies, so I didn’t go see it. Was it any good? His movies are always a bit too dark for me.
OMG this is gorgeous. The color of those roses is per perfection. I would love to see the foods that went with all this gorgeousness! Thank you for sharing and inspiring the details in all that we do!
WOW…..if you are interested in selling any of this tablescape…I would be very interested…..
WOW…..your tablescapes were gorgeous……any chance you are selling any of the china, etc that you used? So hard to find some of those pieces…!
My goodness, the work alone that went into this party must have demonstrated to her parents the love and care she has for them. So many details … it’s really amazing. I bet Elena had a ball putting this together. It’s hard to pick a favorite item, but I must say I love that CC pinata. So, so cute! What a lot of co-ordinating and planning this party represents. She did an amazing job. I hope they all had fun.
I love the napkin holders
I have the checkered napkins and the red rings
unable to find the 3d clock faces
How can I find the 3d clock faces cant find it anywhere
Olga, do you have a Michaels Craft Store near you? Elena said she purchased the 3-D clock faces in Michaels and glued those to red, acrylic napkin rings she purchased on eBay.
Love, love, love these ideas! Everything looks amazing! Elena is so amazingly talented and creative. I’m going to have to “steal” a few of these ideas for my Alice in Wonderland murder mystery coming up. Any idea where she found those incredible Mad Hatter and Alice tea pots? I’d love to find some!
Sally, I asked Elena and she said, “All the Alice in Wonderland teapots are by Paul Cardew and came from eBay. I acquired them over a period of time, months. I just checked eBay, there are many Paul Cardew Alice in Wonderland teapots for sale: The Mad Hatter’s Head (with googly eyes), Alice’s head, the Cheshire Cat, and many “typical” teapots with Paul Cardew characters painted on.” Hope this helps!
Thank you so much! I really appreciate your thoughtfulness in finding the answers for us all as we leave comments. ❤