Out of Africa 1920 Themed Event

Every June, Judith King, author, chef and overall wonderful and generous person, coordinates the Fantasy Table charitable event at the White Mountain Country Club (WMCC) in Pinetop, Arizona. Three years ago she invited me to participate in hosting a table and creating a table theme. All funds raised for this event go for scholarships to the WMCC employees. Personally, I love events that raise moneys for a good cause and this event, also brings out the camaraderie and creative skills with all who participate. This year, our table theme is based on the 1985 movie, Out of Africa starring Meryl Streep and Robert Redford.

Out of Africa is a 1985 American epic romantic drama film directed and produced by Sydney Pollack, with then 36-year old Meryl Streep and 47-year old Robert Redford. The film is based loosely on the 1937 autobiographical book Out of Africa written by Isak Dinesen (the pseudonym of Danish author Karen Blixen).

It was also a commercial success and won seven Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director for Pollack.

The Invitations

I love an intriguing invitation. For me, it sets the mood and increases the excitement for the event. I try looking online for a vintage-looking invitation in a telegram, passport or boarding pass format and find nothing that I can customize.

Since my daughter, Julianna is so talented and creative (and has a minor in Studio Art), I ask her to design a boarding ticket that could be from the 1920s. She includes a QR code which links to the trailer of the 1985 movie. I print these invitations on our home printer on a heavier stock paper and then cut them to size.

Fortunately, I have white envelopes to fit the size and shape of the invitation, but they look too new to me.

Aging the Envelopes

After a bit of research on the internet on how to age paper, I decide to make a strong coffee solution and soak the envelopes in a large sheet pan. I am praying that they do not disintegrate or become misshapen, as the envelope size is not standard.

After soaking the envelopes and rubbing in the coffee grounds, I bake the envelopes on a low temperature (200 degrees) in the oven. I keep checking them as I don’t want to burn the paper, but I would say 15 minutes or so?

Brushing off the baked grounds, the envelopes have an aged patina and the envelopes are ready to use! You can also use an aging ink pad in various shades, if you want to add more aging details to your envelope.

Note: since we added another guest to our party, I make one more invitation and envelope. This time I did try soaking the envelope in a strong tea solution. The envelope is a lighter shade of brown and I rubbed some aging ink to create this distressed effect.

Distress Ink comes in many colors and is a good tool to have if you are crafting.

Additional “Touches”

Don’t you just love a wax seal on an envelope? Years ago, I got one as a gift with an elaborate rendition of our initial “C” with a stick of red wax. Every time I use this (which isn’t often), I always wonder why I don’t use it more. Here is a link to a personalized stamp with wax sticks.

Adding vintage stickers that suggest steamship travel fits the theme and brings a bit of fun and color to the envelope. There are many sets of vintage stickers online. Here is a link to travel themed ones.

Each address is my attempt at calligraphy for a rustic feel. I find old cancelled stamps in my stash of kid’s craft boxes to add to a current USPS stamp. Pleased with the results, the invitations go in the mail.

Invitations are mailed a few weeks prior to the event, hopefully adding some interest and excitement for our guests.

The event is this evening and I will take lots of pictures tonight to show you the rest of the details in a later post. Looking forward to see what themes the other table hosts will have~such a fun and worthwhile event!

If you enjoy this post, please share on Pinterest.