Mystery Book Exchange and May Decor

I had planned for several months that I would host a Mystery Book Exchange. I got the idea from my daughters-in-law, who were talking one day about something they had seen. A bookstore had wrapped their books in plain brown paper and only wrote the category on the outside, such as: mystery, or romance. They called it a blind date with a book.

I loved the idea, but books are expensive and I could not imagine buying one without at least knowing something about it. So I had the idea of exchanging a book that you love with others. That way you would know that every book on the table was special to someone you knew. And to keep the price down, the book could be one you already owned or a copy your found at a thrift store; new books were not necessary. I was going to give one of my very favorite books,  The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. But then I realized that I had given, or loaned it, to almost everyone invited ;). Instead, I wrapped a book by Fannie Flagg called, Just Can't Wait to Get to Heaven. I want to be the main character when I grow up!

I decided it would be a ladies only party, and that I would set the table according to my June decor. If you have seen posts from previous years, I decorate in June for Midsummer's Eve, see HERE. Think Shakespeare's fairies and follies. So I took a cue from the pastels and butterflies already up and put out a mismatched assortment of floral plates. Then I thought how pretty it would be to sit crystal goblets on individual doilies, and it went from there.

The flowers are all from my garden. The base is maidenhair ferns, then my great granny's hydrangea, stems of nepeta (catmint), and branches of Pink Fairy rose from my Grandma Tommy. I made the "floating" butterflies years ago by copying the insects and gluing them to copper wires so they look like they are hovering.

A close-up, just because I love flowers!

The place markers are just paper gift tags that I stuck gold letter stickers on and then wrote out the names.

I have my banner up that I made of vintage crocheted potholders. Most of them were a granny or grandma's.

In years past, I have put up a tree and decorated it with fairies and all sorts of delicate ornaments. This year I have been veering away from that and decorating with less. But two things I still love are the butterfly wall clings that a dear friend got me at the Dollar Tree, and my collection of  vintage baby clothes.

What do baby clothes have to do with midsummer's eve? They make me think of costumes left out for little fairies and elves to slip into and dance. And, really, does it matter if it makes sense? They make me happy and I think that's what counts. Can you believe how tiny this baby shirt is?

Here is the dessert table. We had shortbread toffee squares, lime sugar cookies, and Victoria sponge cake.

Sometimes a single bloom is a bouquet in itself. This one came from the plant that my friend Angie gave me. It is just perfect in the vase my pop gave me for my birthday.

Squeaky is a lot like Shakespeare's Puck, he just has that mischievous glint to his eye. And he is wearing a little pair of moth wings for the occasion.

This birdcage was a dollar at an auction years ago, and it has helped us to raise many a fledgling little bird that the boys found fallen from the nest. Here I filled it with vintage bottles and let it hold up tall stems of flowers.

The window is hung with lovely gowns, topped with paper wings, all ready for little fairies to come and dress.

I enlarged photos of real butterfly wings 400% to make these. It looks like they are actually lifting up the tiny shoulders of the frock.

Here is an adorable pair of button-side bloomers on the left, and a beautiful pleated bonnet on the right.

This sweet thing is made of peach silk and hand pleated.

Grandpa's clock holds a tiny fairy gown as well.

And I have more wired butterflies floating off the candles.

Enough of decorations, on to the Mystery Book Exchange! Here I have the table set with the table runner made of book pages I created several years ago, HERE. In the frame are paper birds.

As each guest left their book, they took a bird. Inside was a random number so we would know in what order we would get to choose our book.

The volumes were wrapped in brown paper, so that we could not "judge a book by it's cover." I asked everyone to write a review of their book, not telling the title or author, or copy off the description from the back. I also asked for them to say why they loved the book, and to disclose any emotional triggers that might make a person hesitate to pick it (like the death of a child, etc.)

We perused the books after we ate, and then went by number and chose our volume. The compote below held numbers. A slip of paper was randomly chosen and the person who had that numbered bird was the winner of the library card "To-do list" that hangs magnetically to the fridge. The book plates were passed around so that everyone could choose one to personalize their new book.

 It was so fun to see what people brought as something they wanted to share. Everyone went home with a new book to enjoy. This is the one I chose. It was written by a female bush pilot in Africa in the 1930's. I've only read the first dozen pages and I love her style of writing. I can't wait to really get into it!

This was such a fun time with a bunch of lovely ladies. And it is something so simple and easy theme that anyone could throw one. One of the great things is that a book doesn't have to be a new Barnes and Noble copy to be read and enjoyed, so it is not something that will burden the people you invite.

And it is a great excuse to use pretty things you have collected over the years. My mismatched plates, all but one, came from Goodwill over time, for 1-2 dollars each. My doilies, goblets, and napkins are all mismatched also, and picked up here and there on the cheap.

 I wanted to have soft pink candle on my table to go with the flowers and china. I was not going to go to Hobby Lobby and spend a fortune on them, so I went to Wal-mart. There they had a choice of white, red, and a weird yellow. I was not happy. But I could get four white candles for a dollar, so I did. Then I hung them up outside by their wicks and spray painted them. Remember me spraying my desk pink, HERE? I just used left-over paint on the candles and they were exact color I wanted. I've also painted candles with Elmer's glue and rolled them in glitter. Creativity is cheap!

Think of using things in a different ways. If a birdcage can be a flower holder, then the base of an old kerosene lamp can be a vase. A hydrangea blossom is the perfect topper for this antique lamp base.

And realize that you are going to make a mess at the same time  you make things pretty. That's just how it is. But once your guests arrive and you begin to laugh, nibble snacks, and see all the wonderful books that people have brought, it will all be worth it. You will have given a night of fun to some friends, and gained beautiful memories and a new-to-you book! What do you think, Dear Reader, would you like to host a Mystery Book Exchange? If so, what book would you wrap as your offering?