By Libbie Summers
Assisted by David Dempsey
Photography by Siobhan Egan
Tabletop Linens from Yum Yum Smile Shop
Published in Paprika Southern, Fall 2019

“Take a lover who looks at you like maybe you are magic.” – Frida Kahlo.

I was asked by Paprika Southern magazine to style a table and write a little something for their Fall issue with inspiration from Frida Kahlo. And this is where my head went. .

Maybe she said to me, “Set a secret dessert table for two in the garden,” a certain September day in 1938. Things had been rocky with she and Diego –his philandering getting in the way of their happiness so it was only natural she took her own lover. The brilliant colors used in her artwork had been missing in her personal life. So maybe, I would have created a scene for her sweet tryst just like this one. With the colors that surrounded her at La Casa Azul. With the colors of her Autumnal world in Mexico City. With the colors of lost love and newly found lust. With the colors of magic. Just maybe she said to me “Set a secret dessert table for two…” -Libbie

Shop my Yachtie Linen Napkin Set from the Yum Yum Smile Shop

(Frida Kahlo’s Blue House; Mexico City, Mexico)

By Libbie Summers
Assisted by David Dempsey

When your event needs a little more POP, here’s an easy and fun removable idea! For this application, I was hosting in intimate dinner party inspired by cherry blossoms. The environment was very organic and I thought I needed to add a bit of a modern twist. Boom. A simple chair decal on a white ghost chair brought it all home…and was so fun to do.

What you need:
1 Plastic chair
Vinyl Sheets (Available at Michael’s Crafts. For this chair, I used one light pink, one bright pink and one copper)
1 piece thick card stock
Pen/Pencil/Marker
Scissors

What to do:
1. Make a Paper Flower Template: Depending on what your inspiration is for the chair (mine was cherry blossoms), Draw a simple outline of a flower, bud and leaf on the card stock and cut out. NOTE: for this application, I did two different sizes of the same flower. Flower were 2 to 2.5-inches in diameter.
2. Cut Out Flower Template: Cut out the flowers, buds and leaves from the card stock.
3. Cut Out Vinyl Flowers, Buds and Leaves: Working on the back side of the vinyl, use the paper templates to draw around onto the vinyl and cut out. Note: for this application, I did a full sheet of light pink flowers and a used the bright pink for buds and flowers. I didn’t cut leaves.)
4. Apply the Vinyl: Do a simple sketch on paper of the the design you want to start with. Beginning with the limbs, cut out strips (1/4-inch wide and various lengths), peel backing off and apply to the chair. Working one at a time, peel off backing from the vinyl flowers, buds and leaves.

Before and After!

The whole process took me 1 hour and was the perfect modern touch the table needed.

By Libbie Summers
Assisted by David Dempsey

When I was a kid I was forced to go to Vacation Bible School every summer. I didn’t have anything against Jesus or the Baptist Church. Where my beef lay was with the questionable snack choices and unimaginative crafts that were not anything I would have chosen had I been on a real vacation.

Things changed the day I was saved a second time when Mrs. Bradley, our spritely art teacher, brought in the craft supplies needed to make snow globes (to be clear, she called them “Bethlehem Snow Globes”). What fun the class had filling jars with small nativity animals, angels, glitter and water! When I put a giraffe and cow boy boot from a Ken doll in my “Bethlehem story”, Mrs. Bradley giggled long enough for me to catch her before she realized she shouldn’t have.

I’ve since been obsessed with anything suspended in water and turned upside down. I thank Jesus for that.

Sea Globes
makes 1

What you need: 
1 glass jar with a tight fitting lid
1 small plastic aquarium plant
Super glue
Small rocks (optional)
Glitter
3 small plastic sea animals
Glycerin (this will help suspend the glitter in the water longer)
Water
Bright blue food coloring

What to do: 
1. Using super glue, attach the base of the plant to the bottom of the inside of the jar.
2. Add a few rocks to the bottom of the jar.
3. Add 1 heaping tablespoon of glitter to the jar.
4. Fill jar with water (leaving a 1/2-inch gap at the top).
5. Add a heavy squeeze of glycerin.
6. Stir in the SMALLEST amount of food coloring.
7. Screw on lid and shake!

Watch me make a Sea Globe!

By Libbie Summers
Assisted by David Dempsey

Honestly, could there be anything cuter than this for a Safari Party prop? A proper pith helmet and binoculars to grab a peek at your prey. So much fun!

What you need:
1 piece hard card stock
2 long skewers
Brown Sharpie®
Acrylic craft paint
Scissors
Tape
Orange craft fur (of the faux kind of course)

What to do:
1. Draw out an outline for your pith helmet and binoculars. Trace the outline with a brown sharpie and paint a layer of khaki, once dry you can add a layer of leopard print. Cut out your shapes. Next, wrap colored tape around your skewers and attach them to your cut outs. Make sure to attach the skewers on different sides so you can hold them with each hand.
2. Cut your orange faux fur into about 2″ x 9″.  Sew or hand stitch the 2″ ends together to create a circle. Take another strip and add across the top of the circle. Use some hairspray to fluff up, apply some lion make up, an accessory such as your glasses, and you’re done!

By Libbie Summers
Assisted by David Dempsey

I’m obsessed with all things balloon shaped. Before this post, I could pop out a balloon dog on demand. Now, I can do a flower. Who knows where I’ll go next!

Balloon Flower DIY

What you need: 
#260 balloons (Twisting balloons are measured by the inflated size, so the 260 is 2 inches in diameter thick and 60 inches long when inflated.)
Balloon air pump
Small 5″ round balloons (optional)

What to do:
Here’s the deal, I could walk you through a step by step of making a balloon flower, but it was THIS guy’s video that showed me how to do it. We watched this video about 3 times and practiced making a flower while we were watching. David naturally nailed it because he has experience as a former employee of Party City (a story for another time), but it took me a few more times.
Watch the video HERE!

Now the fun part! Just start making flowers! I wanted to make a backdrop for a Happy Spring party, so we used the colors of Spring. How fun would it be to cover an entire wall with balloon flowers for the perfect affordable and colorful party backdrop!

Watch how it all came together here!