1950s Sock Hop Party

My birthday was Monday, so this week I'm sharing with you my favorite birthday party ever, a 1950s sock hop from last year. I've included links to tutorials and my inspiration in each section so you can recreate it if you like. So let's go to the hop, oh baby!

The Poodle Skirts

My sister-in-law shares the same birthday, and I knew a sock hop birthday party would have to begin with sensational poodle skirts for both of us. 

My Telephone Poodle Skirt

My poodle skirt is a circle skirt made out of felt. I used the telephone applique template from Tuppence Ha'Penny. 

My Sister-in-Law's Elephant Poodle Skirt

My sister-in-law, Suki, loves elephants, so I did an elephant applique for her. I used wool gabardine for the circle skirt. I wanted to use a nicer fabric in case she wanted to make this skirt part of her normal wardrobe! It was my first time using horsehair braid, which is a great detail on hems for a bit of extra flair.

Photo Booth

At the entry to the house, we set up a photobooth, complete with fun signs and props.  The old juke box is an antique we've had in the family for ages. I made the signs with poster board and paint sticks.

• Soda shop table and stools
• Chiffon scarves
• Cat eye glasses prop
• Sign inspiration

Food and Decor

My papa's business was making miniature dollhouses when I was growing up, and we have all sorts of wonderful miniatures to this day. He had an entire sock hop vignette, complete with a burger joint, so we decorated the table with it. Our menu consisted of

• Main meal: Grilled burgers and veggies
• Dessert: Homemade strawberry cupcakes and rootbeer bourbon floats
• Movie: Stovetop popcorn and vintage-style candy

• Record player birthday sign inspiration
• Similar paper plates
• Cupcake recipe 
• Cupcake toppers
• Soda fountain glasses
• Bourbon Rootbeer float inspiration from Hillside Farmacy in Austin, TX

The Drive-In

The pièce de résistance of the whole party was the backyard drive-in. My brother found a screen on eBay for fairly cheap, and we borrowed a projector from friends.  We played American Graffiti for the main event and put Pillow Talk on late in the evening. It's a favorite of both of ours.

• Arrow marquee tutorial
• Similar popcorn boxes
• Vintage candy from Big Top Candy Shop in Austin, TX

As I'm sure you can tell from photos, the party was a smashing success. It was a perfect evening of twisting and shouting, soda shop delights, and classic drive-in charm. Happy birthday to me!

Vintage-Style Halloween Decorating

I am very keen on decorating for holidays. I decorate for most all holidays, but my biggest efforts go into Halloween and Christmas. I've collected Halloween decorations from all over the place, and have a mix of new, vintage reproduction, and family items. So step into my home for a little tour of some of my favorite spots!

I like to mix in Halloween all over, like pumpkins on top of my little antique dresser or rats on top of my books. I also put masks on my family portraits. Everyone gets a costume, including my Lucy and Ricky dolls! 

I wish I could get a better picture of these! I have three vintage reproduction Beistle scratch cats that go across the arch between my living room and kitchen.

The always dapper Oxford dresses up extra special to greet trick or treaters. 

We're all ready for Halloween! 

My Sewing Room

I find having my own place to sew to be absolutely marvelous. I've spent much of my time sewing on kitchen tables and tucked away in places trying not to make too much of a mess. Now I am in a house where I have my very own sewing room, and it's such a treat. Welcome to my little piece of the world!

I am a bit of a collector and really enjoy curating special pieces to put on shelves and corners of all rooms of my house. These wooden sewing bookends were my latest discovery.

Storage is a seamstresses best friend! I can hide away all sorts of things in that large dresser. I have a few fun items to store smaller notions on my large table, which I use mostly for cutting and piling odds and ends. It's rarely this tidy!

Bobbin storage in a gumball machine!

Needles and pins, 

Needles and pins, 

Sew me a sail to catch me the wind.

-Shel Silverstein 

That's Dolly, my dress form and Oxford Wentworth, my dapper pup. You can usually find Oxford relaxing here while I am burning the midnight oil at the sewing machine. Although often his relaxing is more like moping as he prefers to be on my lap at all times.

I stumbled upon letter press drawers one day on Etsy and instantly realized it would be perfect for thread storage. On top, I have miniature sewing machines. My Papa owned a miniature dollhouse business and these were from his store. The embroidery was done by me.

There you have it! I had to resist the urge to walk you through knick knack by knick knack and describe to you it's origins as well as photograph every nook and cranny of the room. There's so many special family treasures I have scattered throughout. I hope you enjoyed this little tour of my sewing room!