Water Fest

Today I was busy setting up a party again – not for myself, but as a send-off for a colleague who was celebrating her retirement. Since she is an inveterate and passionate swimmer, using her every spare moment to splash about in the pool at our local “Y”, the theme of the party presented itself: Water. Lots of it. The format was a buffet dinner, and here is what I did.

Since the theme was water, the color, not surprisingly, was aqua. Centerpieces, and recurring decorations, were glass bowls and vases of varying shapes and sizes, filled with aqua-tinted water and floating candles. Some of them also had added sea shells and pearls - the ocean connection, you see! This one also has a floating waterlily, which promptly caught fire and had to be discarded. I also sprinkled acrylic "sea glass" (obviously, I would have preferred real glass, but I couldn't find anything in my color scheme at the purveyors I favor, and I didn't have the time to run around further), some blue jelly fish, and silver chocolate coins for a sweet treat. 

These water lilies did not catch fire, however.

Here you can clearly see the pearls and sea shells...

I set up a long buffet table, with a small folding table stacked on top for added height and drama. I then used milk crates and smaller wooden wine boxes to elevate food platters.

Creating different heights and levels "for drama" is considered pretty much a necessity these days in party planning circles...

Is anyone surprised that IKEA served as florist? 

You may recognize these silk roses from my home (where I also dug up the other props); wrapped in gauzy, shimmery, aqua fabric, and stuck in Rektangel glass vases, they made a beautiful statement - and pink does go so well with aqua!

Below, you can see some more pearls mingling with the sea glass. Aqua-colored mercury glass votive holders are holding plastic cutlery.

The center piece of the buffet table was this delectable crystal prism candle holder, stuffed with aqua LED lights and topped with a silk rose ball. 

And, finally, the pièce de résistance - a water fall to really hammer home the water theme! This little darling was given to me by a friend who moved abroad and couldn't take it with her. It is almost one yard high, made of resin, weighs a ton, and is absolutely gorgeous! 

I put some more colored LED lights inside the four levels of the waterfall for more aqua effect. These lights are submersible in water, you get them from florist supplies stores, and they are the most fun I have had in several days! They come in many different colors - some can even change colors - and you can use them for so many wonderful, important purposes. 

They are not even terribly expensive, especially since the batteries can be replaced as needed - I paid $1.50 each, and thought it well-spent money.

I used more of the gauzy, shimmery fabric, suspending it from the ceiling to create a suitable backdrop for the waterfall, and the table it sits on has been draped with some dollar-store, turquoise curtains. 

Here is a close-up of the arrangement. I was rather pleased with the effect - particularly that gauzy, shimmery fabric behaved very well.

Please try to behave well, you too!

Regards from Rosebud!