Showcasing Idaho, my home state!

Last week was a big, busy week but I have some fun stuff to show you!  The College I work for inaugurated its 13th President who also happens to be its first woman president.  We started out with Founder's Day on Wednesday, which also happens to be our 125th year.  There was cake and a sparkling cider toast.  No, I didn't make this cake but I did make the topper!

On Thursday we had the actual inauguration during the afternoon.  After the very formal ceremony, there was a reception for the public.  I made very simple centerpieces using the new stemmed glasses from The Pioneer Woman's new collection at Wal-Mart.  The purple glasses were perfect for us and I am sure we will use them for many other things. 

Yellow carnation and babies breath were inside the glass and a pretty gold garland went around the base.  I also made the programs pictured below. 

But my most favorite thing of all of this is the centerpieces I made for the Inauguration Dinner.  The new president wanted to highlight our beautiful state of Idaho as best we could.  She wanted Idaho Salmon, Idaho potatoes and local veggies on the menu.  I was in charge of making sure the centerpieces were Idaho-centric as well! 

I thought of a lot of different things and finally settled on this.  They turned out amazing!  I found vintage labels from fruit orchards right here in our town.  I scanned them and printed them off in different sizes.  Everyone in my office was tasked with saving all the tin cans they could.  Once I had all 39 cans collected, I went about pasting the labels onto the cans.   

I ordered succulents off of Amazon which I highly recommend!  They came perfectly packaged and ready to plant.  We took a Friday afternoon to plant them in the cans which was really fun.  We also needed table numbers so I took small pieces of tree stump, hand printed the letters and asked the boy in the office to drill holes and insert paper straws in to them.  

Last but not least, I put all of this on a slice of Idaho wood, went around campus clipping some leaves and berries off of trees and set it all up.  The centerpieces were perfect and the new President loved them!  This was such a fun project and I felt so happy to help show the out of towners just what an amazing state Idaho is.  We also served all Idaho wine and gave out wine stoppers as party favors.  

My first Inauguration was a huge success!

Linking Up With:

Amaze Me Monday

Cooking & Crafting with J & J
The Art of Homemaking Monday
Show & Share
Vintage Inspiration

Teacup Exchange

What's the best way to help add something to your collection?  Join an exchange!  I joined Stephanie at The Enchanting Rose for her latest teacup exchange.  I only have 8 teacups in my little collection, but I am slowly adding to it and it is so much fun!

All the way from New Zealand came a package just for me!  Shane from Roses, Lace & Brocante sent me this beautiful teacup with sweet yellow and purple flowers and a pretty green trim.  I don't have any in this color so it's perfect! 

She sent a fun New Zealand tea towel, cupcake papers and picks, gingerbread, chocolate fish and a beautiful shabby chic style magazine.  I can't understand the words, but I can understand the beautiful images inside! 

This is a Royal Albert tea cup and is so dainty and sweet.  I need to get something soon so that my little collection can be out on full display for everyone to see. Thank you Shane for such a wonderful and generous exchange!

I sent a teacup to Kelly from Dreaming of Vintage.  I had the hardest time finding the right teacup and when I finally saw this one, I knew it was the one I'd been waiting for! 

The pretty pastel colors are so unique and the little flower painted on the inside of the cup sealed the deal.  Kelly says that in the sunlight, the cup glistens! 

There wasn't any real mark on the bottom to tell you the brand of this cup so I am not sure who made it.  I just know that it is a lovely little set! 

I also made her some tags using upholstery webbing from an old, old chair that I salvaged.  The age on the webbing is very neat and is pretty stiff still so it worked great for these tags. 

I hope you enjoyed your goodies Kelly and thank you Stephanie for the wonderful teacup exchange!

Look what I found!  I have been wanting some of these vintage metal chairs for awhile and when a friend posted her mother-in-laws yard sale on Facebook with a picture of 4 of these, I told her I would take them right away!  This will be a fun winter project for Cody and I, we just need to decide on a color!

Linking up with:

Tea Time Tuesday

Friends Sharing Tea

Tea Cup & Mug Exchange #7