Thank you to everyone who participated this year for sharing your creativity with us. It has been a true pleasure to see all of our gorgeous work and hear your inspiring stories.
And now, for our winners:
3rd Place (a tie!):
3rd Place – Jen Seaman –
Seattle, WA
When I first saw your
entry, it reminded me of my 25-year-old daughter’s gatherings. I love seeing
the old traditions combined with the new generations’ fresh ideas. This is a
great example of interpretive entertaining which really represents your
generation. Your party was eclectic and soulful – these are the best kinds of
experiences!
Jen's Story:
Dear People Who Make
My Get-Togethers Classy,
I have
slowly been adding pieces from Rosanna for a few years now and hosting
get-togethers at my home. One of my greatest loves is entertaining, be it on
stage telling jokes at comedy clubs and festivals, or inviting my friends over
for delicious, fresh, made from scratch treats. I've recently found a roommate,
Justin who is also into entertaining as well. When he's not singing in the
Seattle Men's Chorus, he likes singing show tunes with me in the kitchen while
we try to perfect recipes such as: cookie butter, cronuts and chocolate chip
cookies... the three deadly "C's."
The story
behind our design was that we wanted to do something fun, original and
whimsical to celebrate the wonderful summer we've had with our friends and by
doing so create a unique experience to honor them as well. We wanted to
incorporate bright colors with seasonal flowers and focus part of the cuisine
around our friends' favorite dishes and our favorite local businesses. Our
flowers were from Pike Place market and the ice cream in our drinks was from
one of our favorite small businesses, Lick Pure Creamery who specialize in
using local ingredients to create their ice cream, so delicious!
For our
end of summer brunch we made: avocado-grapefruit salad, deviled eggs, cookie butter
tartlets, open faced eggs-cheese-and-bacon buttermilk biscuits, cronuts
(croissant donuts) and pienuts. Pienuts were a dish we invented specifically
for the event for our friend Kermet who is an avid pie fan and often times
tells jokes on the road about pies. We filmed a short video which will be out
in a few months about how to make this new treat. Our kitchen has turned into a
small studio where we film comedic cooking shows based around a comedian's
jokes or favorite dessert. Pienuts consist of freshly made pie filling and a
fully baked tartlet which are then wrapped in raw pie dough and fried. If it
sounds decadent and delicious, that's because it is!
The four
days leading up the event were filled with baking, amazing smells wafting
through the house and lot of preparation for the big event. The best part was
seeing our friends' eyes light up when they stepped into the backyard to reveal
the table filled with fresh food, flowers and colors. The experience that our
friends had, the laughs shared over treats and wine made the event one of the
biggest highlights of our year. The largest highlight of the year was knowing
that we had such great friends to give us a reason to celebrate.
Thank you for your
consideration, we had a blast with our entry and hope you enjoy the photos.
Sincerely,
Jen Seaman
3rd Place - Deb Kennedy - Irvine, CA
We appreciate what a truly
loyal fan you are to us! Although you have gone through some challenging life
experiences recently, it is clear that you have not let your creative spirit be
conquered. We love that you are sharing your talents with family and friends as
often as possible. Wishing you all the best!
Deb's Story:
Hello,
Rosanna!
You
know, I have always wanted to enter your tablescape contest, and for one
reason or another, I have always MISSED it!
This time, fate has smiled on
me - I saw your facebook post and got to work on my images. This is such
a fun creative exercise for me, as I love seeing all of the entries. The
creativity of others inspires me!
So,
my story about the tablescape I am entering is this:
The truth is, I just
love to decorate! My background in retail display (35+ years) and my love
of bringing seasonal touches into my own home has given me many
opportunities and blessings in life. So, when I can use my skills and abilities
to do something wonderful for others, I enjoy it even more!
My
brother and sister in law went on vacation, and asked me to house-sit for them.
They also said "Um, Deb, while you are there, if you'd like to 'work
your magic' on our house and make it beautiful, that would be just FINE with
us!" And of course, I could NOT resist a request like that! So I
worked for two days moving the furnishings, digging through closets and drawers
to find hidden treasures, and re-styling their home to reflect all that they
love and also the summer season.
The
BEST part of the whole project is that I did this makeover for FREE!
I didn't
spend a cent (except on the white gladiolus flowers). Everything I used was
what they already had - I just 'FOUND' it around their house and used it in
fresh new decorative ways. Which is exactly the philosophy behind my blog
HOMEWARDfound: using what you have, and what you can get free or inexpensively
to bring seasonal style into your home.
The
tablescape is composed of their 'everyday' dishes and glassware, some linen
napkins found languishing in a buffet drawer, a set of placemats that were
still in their packaging in a cabinet, and a set of four bowls that were new in
the box out in the garage. With those items and their color palette (which
matches the decor), I had a great start.
Then I located a few pieces of white
china with a seashell motif. When I discovered the clear glass vases of seashells
that were tucked into a box of 'party decor' in the garage, I expanded on the
seaside theme. A vintage white vase from the kitchen cabinet over the stove
holds pretty white gladiolus stems ($1.99 for six at the local grocer - which
was the ONLY thing I purchased for this whole makeover!). And in a truly
last-minute touch, the centerpiece base is a lone white shelf that I found in
the garage - it had no brackets, so it was never hung. But it serves as the
perfect way to make the vases of shells stand out in the center of the table!
I
love the clean, simple look of the table, and the touch of pattern in the
placemats and the color in those bowls.
It's a look that is easy for my sister
in law to replicate, too, and that was important to me. I want her to see how
she not only has great taste because she bought all of these things to begin
with, but that she can live with them everyday and enjoy them!
My
brother and sister in law arrived home from vacation to 'the big reveal' - and
nearly fell over!
She could not stop exclaiming 'Is this MY HOUSE?!' and said
it looked better than the Pottery Barn catalogs that she drools over.
She pulled out a chair and sat at the table, shaking her head and saying
"OK, we have to have a party now. Because THIS is GORGEOUS! I'm not
changing this!" They couldn't believe I did it all in just a few days, and
it was really gratifying to see their appreciation.
Then
they DID have friends over for a party, and I hear the reviews were very
good!
I snapped terrific 'before & after' photos of the makeover, and am
running a week-long series using them on my blog right now, and it's generating
a great response. So even more people are being inspired - and I just love
that.
Now,
the rest of the story is this....
In the fall of 2011, my husband did
some awful things that nearly destroyed me, and completely trashed our life and
our business on Camano Island. Since that time, I've literally lost everything
I had - home, car, business, furniture, personal possessions & treasures,
and more, including my adult children and grandsons (long story). In early
2012, I separated from him and moved from Seattle back to Southern California
where I grew up, and have been working to start a new life here. It's not easy
to have to start over and move back into your parents' home when you are 50
years old - especially when having your own home to decorate means as much to
you as it does to me. But my parents and my siblings have been so supportive of
me, and by giving me opportunities to decorate THEIR homes, it really is
fulfilling to me. Someday I hope to have a place of my own again - but in the
meantime, decorating for others and sharing my passion on my blog is something
I truly enjoy. It's amazing to me how God provides what we need - even if it doesn't
come to us the way we picture it ;)
Thank
you for this chance to enter your contest, Rosanna... your creativity inspires
me! (and I truly do miss your warehouse sales now that I am not up in Seattle
anymore)
Blessings,
Deb
Kennedy
2nd Place:
2nd Place – Nazra Knutsen
– Seattle, WA
You’ve created such a
loving tradition for your little daughter. Developing and practicing traditions
with our families is so important to lead a happy life. Here you’ve used
your imagination to fashion not only a beautiful table, but a whimsical and
playful experience! We also love how you’ve repurposed and reinvented your
table which shows creativity. Well done! We share your philosophy.
Nazra's Story:
We love doing
impromptu dinners with friends and it's usually me texting them up saying,
"Husband is cooking...wanna come over?" With his love of cooking and
my love of tablescaping (is that even a word?) we make a great team! Besides
the fact that we have two small children...its nearly impossible to leave for
dinner dates, unless we plan way in advance! On a side note - having small
children means not a whole lot of time to be creative by crafting, etc...so
being able to be creative in the everyday life events (like eating &
setting a table) - fills my spirit up!
I used Rosanna's
beautiful (smaller) blue cake stand for this birthday party I set up for my
daughter and her stuffed friends for her 3rd birthday this morning!
(Well..actually the birthday fairy did it while my daughter was sleeping of
course.) ;) Again...so much of this is thrifted, 2nd-hand, or
hand-crafted except for the "food" & Rosanna cake stand of course.
:-)
Drum roll please!
1st Place:
1st Place – Cheryl Gray –
Niagara Falls, NY
We love your creativity and
your idea of entertaining and setting a beautiful table anywhere. Your father’s
1950’s vintage heirlooms were such a lovely and sentimental accent. We like
your reference to iconic American culture with Marilyn Monroe’s film “Niagara”.
Thank you so much for your visionary story and photo!
Cheryl's Story:
My tablescape design
features Rosanna's self described "platinum" pattern Belle
Epoque. I drew inspiration from the 2013 theme, "Come “over”, I
made food" and the cue that not all entertaining takes place
indoors. Therefore my choice of outdoor setting was the most iconic
representation of "over" that I know, the brink of Niagara Falls in
Niagara Falls, NY.
The Belle Epoque
"platinum" pattern represents the epitome of glamour and my
tablescape pays homage to the iconic platinum blond Marilyn Monroe as featured
in the film “Niagara” on the 60th anniversary of the making of
the film. I set the table with a faux fur throw, platinum roses (Marilyn
was honeymooner Rose Loomis in the film) and platinum wreaths as the napkin
rings. To further evoke the 1950's movie theme also gracing the table are
my dad's antique hat and an antique camera with a now extinct roll of Kodak
film once manufactured in nearby Rochester, NY.
Although I am a
inveterate gourmet home cook and could have developed a literal spread for the
tablescape, however, I hope this homage to gorgeous platinum “eye candy” set
against this natural wonder of the world evokes the theme “come over” in an
intriguing way.
Italian and German
tourists were photographing my table setting and nodding approvingly when a
local tour guide explained the purpose of the challenge. He also shared
that his son had proposed to his fiancée (now wife) on that very spot three
years ago.
Cheryl M. Gray
No comments:
Post a Comment