Drill bits & vise grips & BBQ = Fun Tool Shower

I met my friend, Phella when she was pregnant with Michael and our twins (Glenn and Laura) were just six weeks old. We've been friends ever since then. Our boys have also been friends and have even roomed together during parts of their time at Auburn. Now both boys are getting married - I can't believe they aren't little boys anymore - they are men! Michael and Laura are getting married in August and we were honored to host a "Tool and Gadget Shower" for them yesterday. Here is the cute couple along with all of the hosts & hostesses. (I think they will have the cutest red headed kids!!). From the left front - Of course, Laura and Michael. Then Bonnie and Laura Mc and I'm sort of hidden behind Laura and Dona and Kim. Our hubbies are in the back - Scott (belongs to Bonnie); Mark behind me; Allen -hidden behind me (belongs to Laura Mc); Dave (belongs to Kim and Gary (belongs to Dona). We've been in a supper club with this group plus Guy & Phella (Michael's parents) for years!! I've written about all of them before - we are family!! Once again, all of my pictures are in a weird order. Michael & Laura opening gifts (which was actually at the end of the party!)

A cute picture of Kim and Laura. Such sweet friends!

I think we had 40 (ish) people - for a lunch of BBQ, baked beans, potato salad, cornbread, chips & dip, watermelon and desserts. We removed our sofa (put it in the basement for the weekend) and I borrowed two big round tables from someone. David and Tina and Laura and Glenn and Lauren and Debbie were at this table. (Centerpieces on the two round tables were caladiums in galvanized pots and I wired inexpensive tools to flower picks and placed them in the dirt. There was shredded red paper around the base of the pot and I sprinkled nuts and bolts and washers around the table - I am describing all of this because I searched high and low for examples of centerpieces for tool showers and couldn't find anything!!!)

Let's see - Our daughter, Laura is on the left, then Lauren (our future daughter-in-law) is next (and no, you aren't confused - the bride for the shower is also Laura and then there is Laura Mc - one of the hostesses and what makes the whole thing even crazier is that our daughter, Laura was in a wedding on Saturday night - that groom's name was Michael and his bride, Lauren!!! - isn't all of that crazy?) - okay back to the folks in the picture - Glenn and Kaylor and Porter and Kevin. Glenn and Kaylor (son of Laura and Allen) and Michael have been friends for years. They have all roomed together at various times while living in Auburn.

This is the centerpiece in the dining room. I started with a Craftsman toolbox. I placed a small white tablecloth (which was folded into a triangle) into the box. Then I used three plants - an autumn fern, ivy and a Bromeliad for color! I used various things from my kitchen to build up the height of the plants (tucked under the white cloth). More screws and nuts and bolts and washers were sprinkled around like confetti and I placed a Stanley hammer, measuring tape and screwdriver on each end of the table.
We used a picnic theme for the food and plates and tablecloths. Bonnie and Scott did a great job tying the raffia around the napkins and "silverware." We used a picnic basket as the holder for the plates and "silverware." There is a red check cloth folded and draped over the basket and the "silverware" is stuffed into cute red buckets.

Here is a close-up photo of one of the toolbox centerpieces. I found the levels at The Dollar Tree. I wired them to a floral pick and placed in the dirt. I also found some paint scrapers and screwdrivers and wire snips and paintbrushes and wired those into the plants also. That splash of blue and red color is rope - seemed like a good thing to put in a toolbox. You can see a few of the washers sprinkled on the cloth.

I loved our wheelbarrow full of coke and diet coke. We found the ones in the little glass bottles. Now this is going to sound crazy, but the cokes were Alabama cokes - they had little Crimson Tide circles on each one. Michael (the groom) is a DEVOUT Auburn fan. The state of Alabama has a fierce football competition between the University of Alabama and Auburn University. I knew that I couldn't serve cokes with those Crimson Tide circles . . .so I found Auburn stickers and covered over each circle on each bottle. Since it was a tool and gadget shower, I added the plastic rakes and shovels to the wheelbarrow. It was appropriate to serve these on the back deck but it was about a million degrees outside and the ice was melting quickly!!

Here is a close-up of the centerpiece on the dining room table.

What a wonderful day to spend with friends and family!! May God richly bless Michael and Laura as they are married next month - may they be surrounded by wonderful Christian friends forever!!