Victorian Christmas Tea Projects

I'd like to share some of the things I created for our church's Christmas Tea. This year's theme was "Victorian," and we came up with a modern interpretation inspired by Victorian fashion and elements. Rich jewel tones and lots of sparklies helped create the right ambiance; the plain banquet room was transformed into a princess, like Cinderella. Guess that makes me a mouse or perhaps the fairy godmother... I like that better!

One of my big projects was creating Victorian art for the bare walls. I enhanced and colored clipart and other images in Photoshop, giving several either a watercolor or oil painting effect, then matted and framed all of the pictures. Though the gold frames came from the thrift store, most of the frames including all of the tabletop ones came from my house, which was stripped bare of all artwork and photographs. The advantages of being a photographer - I have many frames!

I absolutely adore costumes and clothing from different eras. A nude mannequin and prohibitive costume rental fees forced me to channel my inner "Project Runway designer" and come up with a properly dressed Victorian lady. I found a purple satin dress at the thrift store for $10.00 that had a slight gathered train in the back. I put a cream lace top I had over the dress along with a black lace vest, gathering them in the back with a brooch.

She had to have an overskirt and bustle. I used two almost sheer curtain panels, also found at the thrift store for $2.00 each, that had a subtle stripe in them. I draped the panels, first in the back then the front, pinning gathers to create the bustle in the back and the overskirt in front. Borrowed jewels from my daughter completed the look - Victoria was ready for her debut!

Along with the pictures of Victorian ladies, I found some silhouettes that we decoupaged onto trays found at the Dollar Store. The black silhouettes against the silver didn't show up well, so I amped them up with glitter. Ah, much better!

The final project I'll showcase today are these wreaths that hung on the outside doors where all of the guests came in. Though our budget was almost maxed out, I definitely wanted a rectangle wreath and found inexpensive 11x14 frames at A.C. Moore. I wrapped Dollar Store garlands around each, poked in a few berry picks I found on sale at Michaels, added Dollar Store tassels, enhanced them with thrift store pearl garlands, and then hung them up with ribbon taped to the top of the door. I really love how they turned out and will be making bunches of rectangular wreaths next Christmas!

Though these projects weren't done for me or to be displayed in my home, I thoroughly enjoyed the creative process and have been inspired with numerous ideas. I can't wait to bring the artwork home and plan on using them for holiday displays, including Valentine's Day. Though my home decor style is not Victorian, I love the feminine elements and will look for ways to incorporate more feminine style for spaces my daughter and I use. Working on the mannequin stirred up my passion for vintage clothing and my love of fashion. I used to collect vintage clothing, especially gowns, and still have pieces packed away. I think it's time they came out to play!

There is one more major project, making tea cup stands, that I will showcase in my next post. I based my idea on the gorgeous cupcake stands I've seen around the web.

It's DIY Day over at A Soft Place To Land and Show & Tell at Blue Cricket Designs - go over there to check out the many fantastic projects!!!