Throw a One-of-a-Kind Tea Party

This Sunday afternoon tea party is relaxing for everyone. Even your decorating duties are simple and make a bold statement for your partygoers. The table runner and dishes take on your personal designs, traced and cut from adhesive-back signmaking vinyl (available at sign stores).

Invite your guests to your festive party with these creative invitations. Use a round die cut to make these perfect circles, then embellish them. Add round, colorful confetti to inspire your guests with your bold theme.

Start with everyday white dishes, and then layer on these temporary designs inspired by Blue Willow, a centuries-old Oriental dishware pattern. Traditionally executed in cobalt blue, red, or brown, transferware takes a modern spin with updated silhouettes and bold color combinations.

When it comes to easy party decor, glitter rules. A sprinkling of glitter glams up glasses filled with candles adorned with beaded elastic costume bracelets. Use the bracelets for the party, and then pass them out as party favors.

Temporary vinyl cutouts add a stylish twist to this classic teapot. The trick is to use peel-and-stick signmaking vinyl. When picking which pieces to embellish, look for elegant shapes in solid colors.

These old bottles were coated with spray-on glass frost from a crafts store. The purchased corks are dressed up with jeweled drawer pulls. Start by screwing the pull into a cork, then remove the pull and fill the hole in the cork with epoxy glue. Replace the pull in the cork and let the glue dry.

Start with a basic white linen runner, and jazz it up with designs made from signmaking vinyl. (The designs will last through the party but not through the wash.) Measure four equidistant points on each end of the runner, and insert white grommets according to the manufacturer's instructions. Hang prisms from the eyelets.

This no-sew project takes about 15 minutes to make.
-- Begin with a purchased pillow and place mat, two frog closures, assorted beads, crafts glue, scissors, straight pins, and thread to match the place mat.
-- Cut the place mat in half, and position the uncut edge 1 inch from the right center-front of the pillow, pinning to hold in place.
-- Wrap the place mat to the back, and fold under the cut edge.
-- Stitch or glue along the front and back edges to secure.
--Repeat with the other half of the place mat, placing it 1 inch from the left center-front of the pillow.
-- Position the frog closures, close them, and glue in place.
-- Glue decorative beads to the closures as shown.