From the Sweatshop

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Rachel's Bat Mitzvah

I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to work on this project with Rachel and her family.  About a year ago they asked if I could create the centerpieces for the tables at Rachel's Broadway-themed Bat Mitzvah party.  Each table had a different show as a theme:  Annie, Fiddler on the Roof, Annie Get Your Gun, Mary Poppins, Hairspray, Wicked, and for the kids --- The Wizard of Oz.

Centerpiece details . . .

Annie -- the inspiration was Annie's red dress with the white sash.
  • red table runners with a white ribbon going down the length of the runner
  • red painted terra cotta pot with a white ribbon and bow
  • orange gerbera daisies to emulate Annie's orange curls


Fiddler on the roof -- think Sunrise, Sunset
  • sunset colored overlay for the tablecloth (pink to yellow)
  • silhouette of the fiddler made of foamcore, spraypainted black and coated in black glitter
  • sunset colored pot
  • peach carnations
  • four orange light orbs


Annie Get Your Gun -- wild, wild west
  • navy and yellow bandana overlay
  • cowboy hat
  • yellow flowers


Mary Poppins -- carpet bag, umbrella
  • a beautiful tapestry-style fabric as an overlay
  • The Disney Store carries a Mary Poppins umbrella, complete with the parrot-head handle
  • small glass vases filled with tulips and the extra tulip leaves wrapped around the stems



Hairspray -- huge cans of hairspray flank the stage in the final scene of Hairspray, think pink, glittery, totally over the top
  • Halloween was a great time to look for bright, glittery fabrics -- a hot pink glittery number made a great tablecloth overlay
  • battery-powered light strings under the fabric added light, as did
  • four pink light orbs
  • a large can of hairspray was easy to create with two large tomato cans spray painted purple and glittered pink
  • a terra cotta pot spraypainted white was the lid
  • pink and white carnations topped off the can 


Wicked -- green and black
  • the table overlay was a shiny black fabric made of little squares
  • a black broomstick (found at Halloween) was a perfect centerpiece surrounded by green and black glitter tulle
  • three small vases of bright green-dyed daisies and 
  • three green light orbs completed the theme


Wizard of Oz -- inspiration was easy: yellow brick road, Dorothy's ruby slippers, lollipop guild
  • green table runners with yellow brick road fabric meandering down the table
  • terra cotta pots spray painted red and dipped in red glitter
  • primroses flowering with lollipops

All in all a huge success and such fun to plan!  Thanks Rachel and family!
And thanks to Nat for helping me set up!