Spring Break Table Runner

I've been on spring break for a week... remember those days? Road trips, tan lines and the smell of coconut sunscreen? Yeah... me neither... We'll leave those fantasies to the men in our lives. Actually, my spring break from grad school rolled around while it was still 50 degrees outside and drizzling rain. But I'm not complaining! Spring break is niiiiice. Instead of catching some rays, I made a table runner and some place mats to cheer up the dining room!

I just finished them and I've been so stinkin' happy about it that I just set up the table-- twice!

When I first got the idea, I went into Sew Heavenly to purchase some fabric and on an impulse I chose this bright happy pink floral and the green polka-dot patterns.

It wasn't until I got home that I realized my china would clash with the pink! Fortunately, I have some pretty white everyday dishes that look spectacular with it, and some pretty butterfly dessert plates. I dug through my fabric scraps and made the reverse side of my runner into a design that fit much better with our wedding china. I also made the back side of the place mats with a neutral nutty-colored canvas. I really love them!

Now I have two looks for the price of one.

Funny story about the wedding china. When Dave and I decided to register for china, we popped in a few stores to check out the patterns. I was leaning toward a pure-white basket-weave pattern that I thought would go with everything. Dave told me that since I was an artist I was going to have to get some colorful china.

I'm so glad we did! It's fun to have such pretty colorful dishes for snazzy dinner parties.