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Beachy MAMMA MIA! Tablescape to Celebrate Friends

Where do you get ideas to decorate a table for entertaining girlfriends? Inspiration can come from anywhere. Even from a Broadway musical. For a fun lunch for some of my girlfriends, I thought about friendship. That decision brought me to create a MAMMA MIA! tablescape to celebrate friends and Broadway.

I love to entertain and set a pretty tablescape. Different things can give you an idea for setting your table: a holiday, the season, a special event. A pretty napkin or tablecloth, or flowers blooming in your backyard. I surprised myself by designing a MAMMA MIA! tablescape to celebrate my friends.

I have very fond memories of going to the Dallas Summer Musicals at the  State Fair of Texas as a young girl with my parents. It was a special occasion to get all dressed up for the theater.

DSM was one of the top regional venues for musical theater for decades. I remember seeing Richard Harris as King Arthur in Camelot, Yul Brenner in The King and I, Tommy Tune and Sandy Duncan in I Do! I Do!, and Rex Harrison in My Fair Lady ~ the golden days of musical theater.

While my friends were collecting albums of the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, and the Beach Boys, I collected Funny Girl, West Side Story, and South Pacific. I knew all the words to every song. I would sing them in my room, which is a feat since I definitely cannot sing. Today, I still love movie musicals: Mary Poppins, Sound of Music, Les Miserable, Grease, and, of course, MAMMA MIA!

After college, as an adult, I occasionally attended the DSM, and the magic was still there. Several years ago, Sweet Shark and I saw The Lion King and Chicago on the real Broadway stage. What a thrill it was.

More recently, Dallas opened the Winspear Opera House, which is a fabulous venue downtown in the center of the arts district. We’ve seen Jersey Boys, War Horse, Wicked, and, finally, MAMMA MIA! Sweet Shark and I saw the movie first and I just fell in love with it.

I’d always loved Abba and now to see their music weaved into this somewhat of a fantasy love story set on a gorgeous Greek island was just breathtaking. And that’s the spirit I wanted to evoke for this MAMMA MIA! tablescape celebrating friends.

Beachy MAMMA MIA! Tablescape to Celebrate Friends

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If you’ve never seen the movie or the musical MAMMA MIA!, I won’t go into the whole story. Suffice it to say, it takes place in a beautiful setting on a small Greek isle with sand, blue water, and blue sky. Most of the scenes are outside and half are either on the beach, on a boat, or near the water. That’s the feeling I wanted to create. I thought of light, blue, water, silver, sand, shells, and beach umbrellas.

MAMMA MIA! celebrates Broadway Tablescape Blog Hop. The blue water and sky of a Greek isle and the music of ABBA inspires this Broadway Tablescape creation. blueskyathome.com

This MAMMA MIA! tablescape is for hosting a small lunch for three very dear friends. I will serve the lunch in our breakfast room which is on the bright side of our house surrounded by windows, the swimming pool, and the greenery of our backyard.

CREATING THE BROADWAY~INSPIRED TABLESCAPE

To start, I covered my table with a piece of off~white linen from my stash of fabric.

Then, to create the sense of blue and water, I draped an aqua scarf diagonally across it.

Before adding the place settings, I started on my centerpiece. I created my beach by using:

First, I spread some of the decor sand to cover the tray. I filled the four glass votives with the blue mosaic pebbles. They give a watery look on the sand.

NOTE: This white sand comes in a plastic jar from Joann. I’ve reused it several times. When you are done with it, just pour it back into the jar.

COASTAL COLORS FOR THE BEACHY TABLESCAPE

Next came the placemats and napkins, both from Pier 1. I’ve used these before. Don’t you love reusing decorative items in new ways? They fit my MAMMA MIA! tablescape beach theme perfectly.

I love the soft blue color of these placemats. There is a very subtle chevron pattern on them.

The coastal colors of the striped napkins remind me of cabana chairs on the beach.

coastal colors stripe napkin
blue place mat and stripe napkin

A few shells added to the beach vibe. Did you know you can buy shells for decorating at the craft store?

shells on aqua scarf

I wasn’t finished with the centerpiece. Beach umbrellas were part of my plan.

I made these cute ones using my Cricut Explore Air machine, scrapbook paper, wooden skewers, and little pom~poms from the craft store. Love them!!! A few more shells complete the beach centerpiece.

DANCING QUEEN PLACECARDS

I love to have place cards even for a very informal lunch. Everyone will be a queen ~ a dancing queen! I used my Cricut to cut out the crowns.

A little silver glitter and a dot of glue gave the crowns a pop of bling.

I used a marker for each place card. A small folded piece of an index card stood up the crown.

Dancing queen place card

I used these awesome swirly blue plates from Pier 1 on top of my all~purpose white dinner plates. My mother~in~law’s mother~of~pearl silverware provided an ethereal look. You know, pearls, ocean, water?

MORE EMBELLISHMENTS FOR THE BEACHY TABLE

I used our all~purpose wine glasses, but they needed a little embellishment, so I used washi tape in four different silver patterns. This step added more beachy bling to the Mamma Mia! tablescape.

for Mamma Mia! tablescape glasses

On the window overlooking the backyard, I hung this shell banner made with my Cricut. It carries the shell theme further. Pretty cute, uh? I’ve been trying every opportunity to practice my Cricut skills.

MUSIC FOR THE MAMMA MIA! TABLESCAPE

Now, we know MAMMA MIA! is a musical and that means lots of fabulous music from ABBA. In addition to the movie soundtrack and the CD, we also have ABBA’s Greatest Hits Album. It’s great music to dance to and sing along on a Saturday night. So I wanted to bring the music more into the scene.

This MAMMA MIA! tablescape definitely needed some ABBA decorations. Of course, I will have MAMMA MIA! playing in the background.

I made these “records” with my Cricut, using the titles of 6 of my favorite MAMMA MIA! songs: Dancing Queen, Mamma Mia, Super Trouper, Our Last Summer, Honey, Honey, and I Have a Dream.  I hung them with silver ribbon from our breakfast room chandelier. (My other favorite song is “Slipping Through My Fingers” ~ if you have daughters, you can’t listen without crying ~ every single time.)

DIY paper record
records for Mamma Mia! tablescape

So if you need records for a rock ‘n roll party, let me know!

I love how my MAMMA MIA! tablescape definitely sets the beachy tone. What started out as a real challenge became a blast to do. The table is set and ready. I can’t wait for my friends to come so I can share it with them. I wish you could come, too.

aqua glass in votices on for Mamma Mia! tablescape
for Mamma Mia! tablescape with place settings
aqua glass in votices on for Mamma Mia! tablescape

Would you like to see the actual girlfriend lunch with the Mediterranean~inspired menu and recipes? Be my guest. Please join the MAMMA MIA! party.

Don’t want to forget the idea for this MAMMA MIA! tablescape? PIN it to remember and share.

pin for later graphic in blue

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27 Comments

  1. Carol, your tablescape is sooo fun!!! I love the crown placecards and hanging records you’ve made. All the sand and pretty beachy colors… Really fun!!! Happy to feature your post at this week’s Share Your Style #311 for you. πŸ™‚

    Stay cool and enjoy your pretty table,
    Barb πŸ™‚

  2. Really enjoyed this post! I hope your friends appreciated all effort you put into it! I think the records would make a great garland, too! I envy you your Cricut skills! My poor kids survived hearing me sing (off key) along to My Fair Lady and Mame (which I got to see on Broadway when in High School!).Youth is so wasted on the young! Musicals are such GREAT housework music! Along with my Irish music.

  3. Carol, Your pretty blue and white table has really captured the look of the Greek Isles! I love it!! The cricut additions add that unique feature to make your guests feel extra special and I’m sure they loved sitting here for your lunch. I sing alone in my room, too, and today I’m sure I’ll be singing Dancing Queen all day! Beautiful interpretation of this fabulous musical! Linda

  4. such pretty Colors! I will say it again, I sure wish we all lived closer so that I could borrow everyones dishes!!!

    have a great day

    1. KariAnne, thank you so much for visiting Bluesky Kitchen. It was a fun theme to work with on the tablescape blog hop. And the lunch was super fun.

    1. Kathryn, thank you for your sweet comments. It was fun project to work on. I loved creating the embellishments for the tablescape. I’love be sharing the how-to’s on the blog on TUESDAY.

  5. So fun, Carol! I love Mamma Mia and was excited to see someone creating a setting out of it. My daughters always joke that we’ll do a Mamma Mia family costume one Halloween! I love your wine glass embellishments and your adorable place cards. Great interpretation! I hope you have fun at your luncheon – and that you were playing Abba in the background!

  6. What a warm and beautiful table. I love the colors and its so lovely. You have put a great deal of work into this. I saw mamma mia a few years ago in NYC. Hugs Maria

  7. This beautiful table definitely feels beachy and the blue cloth runner is perfect. You made great use of your Cricut and I’m sure your girlfriends will be dazzled. I’m looking forward to the menu and Now I must go to Youtube for a little Dancing Queen music !!

  8. Carol, your table looks lovely. I love Mama Mia. We saw it in London and it was fantastic. Everyone in the audience at the end stood up and sang and danced. Your colors are so perfect and soothing for this backdrop of the movie. The dancing queens place cards are so cute! Take me away Greece. Chair bands are chair sashes that are spandex.Chair bands

  9. You have transported me to Greece with this fun blue and white island inspired tablescape. I feel like I need to put on some ABBA music and start dancing around the house! Adding the washi tape to the glasses is such a creative touch! How fun to tag your guests as “dancing queens”! Thank you so much for being a part of this blog hop!

  10. Carol, I love the music in Mamma Mia. I was fortunate to see it at London’s West End. Dancing Queen will be playing in my mind all day😊 I love your Tablescape interpretation. The records hanging from the chandelier is a creative idea. Your table brings back memories of the our trip to the beautiful islands of Greece. Your guests will have a fun time sitting at your very creative table. I wish I could join you! Great job’

  11. This is so tranquil and lovely! You did an absolutely beautiful job! I love the centerpiece especially! I’ve enjoyed visiting your blog as well

  12. Just beautiful Carole! Love your interpretation of the bright Greek beaches with your sandy centerpiece and lovely pale shades, it’s so serene and just lovely! Your cri cut creations are adorable, I just love your little umbrellas! The records are such a fun touch! Mama Mia is one of my favorites too, and I’ m pretty sure Abbas songs will be running through my head all day now! Your friends are in for a treat!

  13. So creative, Carol! I know your friends will have a wonderful time and feel so special at your themed tablescape. I’m impressed with your tablescape elements.Those napkins steal the show and guide you to your lovely swirly blue plates. Then your Cricut skills are charming with cute umbrellas, shells, crown placecards and records!

  14. Tommy Tune and Sandy Duncan in “I Do, I Do”? That’s weird casting. I love them both but I’d never imagine them in that one and together (in that). That stopped my brain for part of the post and it took a minute to get it back! (But Rex Harrison in “My Fair Lady”? You lucky soul!)

    Your table is lovely and it’s a wonderful interpretation of Mamma Mia! I wish I had photos of all my Broadway tables from years gone by. I did a lot of those for musical-themed parties when I was doing more theatre. Yours is smashing. It really captures the environment and I love how your brought the show itself into play with the “CDs”. Very fun.

  15. Lovely seascape table, perfect as the Mamma Mia backdrop, Carol. You’ve added some really great elements with your cricut and that washi tape (love!). Plates and flatware are gorgeous. Have a blast with your friends. Dancing Queen is a favorite in my family, and has been used to celebrate a daughter moving and a sister retiring. Great memories attached to this one!
    Rita