Another name for this post could be "How To Decorate Cheaply for a Texas Send Off: Beg, Borrow, DIY, and Buy In That Particular Order".
The Event: A church-wide dessert fellowship to say farewell to our associate pastor who will be taking a senior pastorate in Washington.
The Budget for Decorations: $100
The Inspiration:
1. Texas, Texas, Texas
2. State art
3. Bandannas and Texas wildflowers
4. Paper fans
The Result:
Ok, it goes without saying that Texans are proud of their state. So this party pretty much had to be a Texas theme. I went with red, white, and blue (Texas flag colors) and added some turquoise to lighten things up a bit. I could have gone old-and-crusty-cowboy, but chose to go more whimsical-and-fun while still staying true to Texas. The result was a fun mix...
I was rushing from the soccer field to the church to decorate and totally forgot my good camera! Ah well, iphone pics will do...
Bandanna banners (already on hand from my Western VBS last year) and paper fans (from Party City - love their new paper decorations wall) hung from the ceiling.
The focal wall with it's Texas state art, flag, and wildflowers. I made the signs and Texas out of cardboard (supplied by a friend's husband for free) and a little paint! The heart was made using this method and my husband's hands (because they are bigger than mine). The flag was borrowed from the auditorium, and the wildflower star was borrowed from the church secretary. Gingham "curtains" were leftover from VBS as well!
Cowboy hats (borrowed), Texas wildflower jars/wreaths (also already on hand from a previous church event), wooden craft stars and homemade paper confetti adorned the tables.
And if you look closely, you will see the ever so subtle Texas flag made using three colors of table covers. It's so subtle that probably no one even notice, but I knew it was there and that's what counts!
For the pastor's young sons, a money tree... a limb off my mom's dead tree spray painted turquoise and planted in sand. We used a combination of clothes pins and twine to attach the money to the tree. I wish I would have taken a picture of it at the party. It was blooming with money! Their boys LOVE origami, so I had a few of their friends make some of their favorites to add to the table. Thanks Laura, Emily, and Cassie!
Thank you to my decorating team - Sarah, Cassie, Rebekah, and Beth - and my tear down crew - my husband, Damon, Phil, Sarah, Clyde, Tracy, and all the others I didn't see because I was looking at the ceiling focusing on not making my husband fall off the scaffolding that I was pushing him around on while he took down stuff from the ceiling. He's a good man!
Go Texas!
