As summer starts to come to a close, it's fun to make the most of those still light and warm early evenings by entertaining outdoors. Why not include some furry and feathered forest friends on your guest list and host a whimsical woodland themed tea party? It's easier than you may think to turn your backyard or park into an enchanting forest for the late afternoon with some simple nature inspired DIY crafts and simple "semi-scratch" recipes.
For this idyllic setting, my gracious neighbors let me commandeer their exquisitely landscaped backyard.
Tea, sweets and fruit make the perfect late afternoon pick-me up
Mushroom Cottage
Oversized Toadstools add a touch of whimsy to your decor. Of course adding a mini door and window makes it the perfect cottage abode for tiny friends.
You'll need
Pool noodle
Plastic bowls of appropriate size
Popsicle sticks
mini mirrors
Spray paint or acrylic which will work well on plastic
Glitter or sparkly paint
Moss, rocks, tiny creatures or any accessories
wood base (on clearance) plastic bowls and a pool noodle
Cut the pool noodle to desired lengths using a serrated knife. I varied the sizes for a less uniform look. Spray noodle "stems" and bowls desired colors. I chose a natural color scheme but you could even go with bright playful or flourescent colors depending on your event.
Noodles soak up much of the paint so I gave mine three generous coats. Some of the original color may still show through which I didn't mind. Other items (cardboard tubes etc) could be used as stems as well, but I liked the mushroom-like texture of the noodle. I also quickly spritzed the bowls with white so the acrylic would adhere better.
While paint is drying I quickly constructed a popsicle stick door for my mushroom cottage. For more detailed instructions, you can follow the tutorial for my
whimsical elf door from my Scandinavian Christmas post. Some tiny mirrors glued on a square of paper and a scrapbook flower box from the clearance section of my craft store make a little window
I used a deep red and brown for the bowl mushroom tops. Although the original bowl color was fun, a coat of paint plays down the plastic finish. I then sprayed the tops with clear coat and added glitter. For a quicker fix, keep bowls unpainted and pop on small round sticker labels as dots.
Attach window and door and moss with hot glue and let set.
After marking the desired spots on my wood base, I hot-glue two long wood screws onto the wood for extra stability. Then simply pop on mushrooms, add moss and add any finishing touches.
Woodland Log Cake
& Five Minute Marshmallow Mushrooms
Last holiday season I made an easy "semi-scratch" Buche du Noel, or French Yule Log cake using a storebought bakery cake roll. Although traditionally frosted with sugary snow and served at Christmas time, with a few tweaks it works wonderfully with a woodland theme any time of year.
To see the winter version, click here.
Simple supermarket supplies: a roll cake ($3.99 at Giant) and ready to go frosting. The star icing tip is perfect for creating a bark-like texture
Once iced, cut a diagonal slice off of the cake to create a branch and attach to side of log (cake can also be left as is, if desired) Garnish with "mushrooms", berries and fresh mint.
Five Minute Marshmallow Mushrooms
Using icing, attach cookies to marshmallows (I chose sturdier ones out of the bag) Make dots with white icing "writer" and let set.
Night Lights
Extra little lights add a cozy warmth and sparkle to any event, even before the sun goes down.
Since I love the idea of reusing items, I repurposed my
firefly globes from my Fourth of July post by adding a butterflies.
Moss covered glasses with flameless votives help illuminate the evening without being a fire concern. A touch of hot glue keeps greenery in place.
Thanks so much for visiting and hoping everyone is enjoying the waning precious days of Summer!
PennyWise Tips
These woodland ideas can be adapted easily to any whimsical event: An Alice in Wonderland tea or Boy's Bug themed Birthday perhaps?
This would be a lovely theme in Fall or Spring as well: For Fall, simply add some faux leaves in orange and golds and for Spring lighten the color scheme with cheerful floral accents.
If the weather doesn't cooperate or you have limited outdoor space, set up an indoor picnic by purchasing some faux grass carpet (sold inexpensively by the yard) at your home improvement store for an instant indoor forest floor.
