Vintage pieces are everywhere and are the perfect backdrop for interesting blogging and photostyling.
This display was taken at Lucky Junk with my cell phone. Interesting blog photos are everywhere!
While I’m still learning about photography and photostyling, I’ve figured out a few pointers that might help people who are starting out in blogging. I’m not a professional photographer, but the difference between my old and new photos is noticeable. Continue reading
It’s that time of the week again, when I start looking around my house for inspiration for this week’s tablescape. Although I only have a small hoard cache of items to choose from compared with some of the tablescaping queens, there’s still lots of things to share with you. I wish I had a storage room in my house like the one at Biltmore, where I could store all my pretties in one place.
The Flower Room at Biltmore Estate, where the servants would create fresh floral arrangements for the house. Click into photo for source.
I’m just not in the mood to do a fake Fourth of July tablescape, so I’m waiting until next week when I’ll actually use the table setting to entertain friends. It’s still June, and summer has barely gotten rolling here in Chicagoland! Continue reading
When Cuisine Kathleen posted her “summer whimsey” challenge, I knew that the time had come to bring out my vintage Ferris wheel and feature it in a vacation tablescape.
J. Chein Disney Ferris Wheel
I grew up with this toy and played with it whenever we visited my great-grandmother’s house. I was named after her, and the toy was passed down to me eventually. I had it evaluated at one of those appraisal parties and they said at the time that it was worth about $100, but to me it’s priceless and will be one of the last items to pass on to family members when it’s my turn. The Ferris wheel brings back good memories of playing at Grandma Jennie’s house. Continue reading
14 Days until Christmas finds me back at the table creating a new tablescape. This week, we’re linking up to Cuisine Kathleen for a tablescaping challenge.The Challenge from Cuisine Kathleen: You must show us your inspiration picture from a magazine or internet, and then show us how you copied it.
The Inspiration: from Veranda magazine (November-December 2013) — wait for it.
Veranda magazine cover November-December 2013
No, this is not the inspiration, although I absolutely love the centerpiece with the amaryllis blossoms.
This is my inspiration — statuary with natural elements, back-grounded by wintry snow and recreated on my table as the Naturally Art Nouveau Tablescape.
Photo of statuary decorated for Christmas from Veranda magazine, November-December 2013.
When I first saw this photo, I knew that I had elements of this look to create a beautiful tablescape for Kathleen’s challenge. The inspiration photo screamed Art Nouveau, and I had just the pieces to bring the naturalistic style to life. Art Nouveau is an international philosophy of design that was very popular from 1890 to 1910. It was inspired by natural forms and structures, not only in flowers and plants, but also in curved lines. Designers created art that was intended to harmonize with the natural environment. Continue reading
20 Days til Christmas — but who’s counting? Well, that would be me and many of you, I’m guessing.Sometimes the most surprising items give us the most inspiration when planning tablescapes, and that happened to me this year. While going through the last of my mother’s things, I ran across a scarf that she treasured and wore during the Christmas season. Its Victorian motifs were the springboards for today’s Over the River and Through the Wood tablescape.
Growing up, my family often sang in the car, and I remember rousing choruses of Over the River and Through the Wood during the Thanksgiving season. Of course, we always said woods — who knew that it was singular? First published in 1844, the actual title is The New-England Boy’s Song about Thanksgiving Day, written by Lydia Maria Child and celebrates visiting her grandfather on Thanksgiving Day. Continue reading
You thought I was talking about diapers, right? Surprise, surprise! We’re going to talk about napkins today.
These napkins from Pottery Barn are perfect for Fourth of July and can also be used all year round.
I started using cloth napkins almost exclusively when my children were small. They were past the smash-the-food-in-your-mouth stage, but not much.
This is not either of my kids, but I couldn’t resist the combination of this child’s face and the devilish editing done to the photo.
My school lunch box was often a topic of conversation at the teacher lunch table as I pulled out my cloth napkin and stainless steel silverware from home. It just made my 15 minute lunch “hour” feel a little more luxurious and also protected my clothing from spills. Our staff spent a lot of money (that could have been used more effectively on FOOD) to supply our staff lunchroom with paper napkins and plastic silverware that were just thrown away, adding more to the chronic waste disposal problem. When I was done with my lunch, I washed my silverware and containers, put everything back in my lunchbox, and I was ready to pack a new lunch for the next day — it was a win-win. If my kids were still at home, I’d do my best to send them with cloth napkins to school as well.
Click into the link for a tutorial on how to make your own napkins for your children’s lunch boxes.
So, when a friend recently put out the question on Facebook whether or not people used cloth napkins, I was the first to chime in. I told my napkin stories and read the comments of others, but I didn’t actually tell her how many napkins I have.
But because you are my peeps in the real-world, bare-my-soul platform that is my blog, I’m going to go public.
I don’t know how many napkins I have. I have lots.
I have eight of these.
I have eight of these.
I have eight of these.
I have eight of these, too.
I have 32 of the green napkins — eight of each pattern — and you’ll see those next week. I have yet to put these away in my stash because I’m using them for a party. I have big plans for those Waverly green and brown ones as well.
Unlike some of you, I haven’t built on an extra room in my house to store my stash, but this is only part of my collection.
This post started this morning when I was ironing these napkins. I have twenty of them and a matching tablecloth, all from Tuesday Morning.
Beautiful French-style cloth napkins with a border print from Tuesday Morning.
There’s a certain calm to ironing linens which I enjoy, and it brought back memories of working side-by-side with my mother. She taught me how to sprinkle (remember sprinklers?) the napkins prior to ironing and stack them up so that they share the moisture. They were much easier to iron after sprinkling, but today I just spray them with my spray bottle from Walgreens. Not quite as romantic as these mid-century laundry tools.
Anyone remember this stuff?
My new napkins had a lot of sizing in them, so I washed and ironed the whole set together. They will get softer and softer and require less ironing the more that I use them.
I was shopping for a shower gift this afternoon for a new bride. She chose beautiful napkins and placements that are 100% polyester. I put them in my shopping cart at Bed Bath and Beyond, but after trundling them around for a while, I went back and put them away. I cannot in good conscience buy polyester napkins for a naive young girl; it’s a waste of my money and she will not be happy with them. The goal of using cloth napkins is to — ahem! — actually use them. 🙂
Does this whole post mean that I never use paper napkins? Of course not. There’s a time and a place for everything, and ribs drenched in barbecue sauce require paper. I’m not a martyr to being green. I just love the feel of a cloth napkin on my skin. I know you can make a case for the green-ness of paper napkins; they are biodegradable and don’t use water to launder them and don’t put laundry chemicals into our aquifer. But they are not the same as the collected loveliness of a set of cloth napkins, especially one that has passed down to you from a relative. There’s another whole post to be written about collecting family linens…
I’m linking up with The Scoop at Confessions of a Plate Addict today. Be sure to stop by and get the scoop from these talented bloggers!
I have to blame it on the lightning.
Tuesday night, we experienced a strong thunderstorm that brought lightning and over four inches of rain in a short time. We were already awake from the storm, and suddenly we both saw and heard a massive bolt of light hit VERY close to our house. Our electricity immediately went off and that started my day at 4:45 AM.
I had no intention of creating a patriotic tablescape this week; in fact, I didn’t even think I had enough in my stash to make one. Then I remembered the box of decorations I had put away in the garage. I had too much time on my hands this morning while I waited “patiently” for ComEd to get the power back on, so I started designing this tablescape in my head.
When I got home from my errands (really an avoidance measure to stay in the air-conditioned car instead of my hot house), I started with a crazy foil starburst decoration that I must have bought for a 4th of July party along the way. I pulled out my ironstone pitcher and it made a nice firecracker effect; I was hooked.
I checked for flowers — what would go with the firecracker? More roses, of course. I knew that my climbing rose was on its last legs after the storm, so I cut a big bunch from the bush. I had to fight with a bumblebee who was determined to get the last bit of nourishment from my roses. 🙂
And what to put on the table? My red tablecloth was not bright red enough for the placemats I made years ago, so I grabbed the blue and white quilt that usually hangs on my upper hallway bannister. Perfect! We actually eat at the table after I create the tablescapes each week, so I wanted to give the quilt more protection than the little placemats provided. One of the elements of the placemats’ patchwork effect is a blue and white striped ticking, so I got out my everyday dishtowels which also had a similar stripe. Voila! — as the French say; I had a layered linen base for my dishes.
After that it was easy. I pulled out the navy napkins, rolled them up and put them in the Pfaltzgraff Filigree cups that match my plates. I layered blue glass plates and tumblers, followed by the stoneware with a blue rim. Finally, I added my super-special shrimp cocktail glasses and filled them with delicious cherries. My table was just screaming July by this point!
Remember that I had no electricity during all of this? I pulled the curtains wide open and took the photos with my trusty Canon Rebel T3i using the afternoon sun streaming in through the window. For someone who had no plans to do a patriotic tablescape, I think this turned out darned good.
Image Credit: KSF
The power came back on just as I was finishing up the photo editing on my laptop and I was a happy girl. We’ve got a lot to celebrate in the upcoming week. The United States has its faults, but I’m proud to be an American today.
I’m resharing this patriotic tablescape from last year for Christine’s Table It party at Rustic and Refined. Hopefully I’ll have another new ‘scape later on this week — stay tuned!
One thing I’ve learned since I’ve started stalking following tablescaping blogs is that when I see a wonderful piece at a good price, I should grab it.
That was the case with this beautiful 60″ x 120″ Indian cotton tablecloth from April Cornell that I got at Home Goods for $24.99. The blue and green paisley with yellow accents was just the shot of spring I needed in my dining room — it’s unclear here in Chicagoland whether it’s winter or spring, so I voted for spring! The tablecloth has mitered corners with a sewn-in border and is stunning. Although it’s actually a traditional Indian paisley, to me it says country French and that was where I went with it.
I got to work gathering up pieces from around the house that would complement the colors of the bold tablecloth but not necessarily compete with it. I started with these very bold placemats. Nope. Too much.
I went back to my trusty pewter chargers from last week (sending a quick thank you to my mother-in-law’s memory) and layered my mom’s sweet china (Claridge from Four Crown China) with the World Market Indian cotton napkin. I like how the clear salad plate shows off the beautiful blue and grey stripes of the napkin.
Since every party at my house always starts with appetizers as people gather, I envisioned the dinner beginning with Basil – Lemon Sorbet as a palate cleanser. It would look beautiful in my inherited sorbet glasses. My mother-in-law loved these swirl dishes; does anyone know what the pattern is?
I grabbed the antique etched glass goblets and simple water glasses for beverages. The combination of complex and simple helps to balance the table.
For my centerpiece, I started with a crystal cake plate and put a large hurricane on it with the bright blue candle. Again, too much and too tall. Then I turned the cake plate upside down and put another of my glass plates as a candle bobeche. Perfect proportions.
As the pieces started to come together, I knew I didn’t even have to get fresh flowers for this table. The silk flowers and vines that I already had were perfect for the setting. The “white” flower ring from Partylite turned out to actually have a complementary yellow cast, and the ivy sets off the beauty of the Chinese and Delft teapots.
Finally, I knew that I had to have some pops of yellow to complement the yellow in the tablecloth, so I pulled out a few pieces of French Quimper pottery from my (mother-in-law’s) collection. They are not usable for eating as they are old and likely have lead in their glazes, but putting four small plates on stands completed the centerpiece.
After I arranged the fake ivy, I realized there was room for another set of candlesticks at each end, so on the table went more Quimper with votives set on top. (You’ve probably figured out by now that I hate getting wax on my tablecloths and almost always use bobeches and votives.)
If my table could talk, it would say, “Passez une bonne journée!”
We were privileged to be a part of beautiful baby Lindsay’s baptism and celebratory party. Lindsay’s flowers and her adorable photo served as the inspiration for today’s baby shower tablescape. I tucked Lindsay’s photo from her baptism invitation into a cranberry glass box.
Of course, Lindsay’s party needed to be centered around PINK so I created a floral centerpiece in my favorite hobnailed cranberry glass bowl. Everything looks good in this vase.
When planning this centerpiece, I grabbed the wood carving that my father created for my children of a stork delivering a baby.
When my mother and father visited the Netherlands, my father became intrigued with the rooftops and chimneys in the lovely cities.
Pewter chargers laid on a cream lace tablecloth and cream and pink floral placements set the stage for the place settings.
Every hostess should own at least twenty plain white plates to use as a base for table settings. Mine are Pfaltzgraff Filigree and can go from the most formal table to an outside party on the patio.
On top of the white service plate, I layered a rimmed soup bowl (Claridge from Four Crown China); this was my mom’s china and these bowls work well for salad or soup.
We received eighteen Cristal d’Arques wine and water glasses for our wedding thirty years ago. We assumed some would break along the way — we still have all thirty-six glasses! Our swirly champagne glasses would certainly be filled with pink champagne for this event.
To add a little pink flair, each place setting is topped by a cranberry juice glass with a sparkly daisy.
Setting this table was special for me, as it features both my family heirlooms and the darling grandchild of my heart. Every time I see my dad’s stork carving, I want to visit the Netherlands and find out what inspired him. He’s not here with us any longer to tell me, so I’ll have to see it for myself.
The phrase “setting the table” has different meanings for different people.
When my kids were little, it was their job to set the table. Needless to say, it wasn’t this formal for everyday. It still isn’t in our house for our empty nest meals.
For me, setting the table means to create a tablescape with my collection of tableware.
I love having my table set with a pretty seasonal display, so that if I have unexpected visitors, the dining room always looks nice. I also enjoy setting a pretty table when we have dinner guests. I’ve always told my friends that setting my table is a pleasurable hobby for me, and I’m just as comfortable in their houses with paper plates. No pressure, folks.
Setting a pretty table is just part of me, and I’m not ashamed of my little secret.
Especially now that I know there’s a whole subculture of people who like to set their tables for fun and then put the photos on their blogs. I’m linking up with Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday; please be sure to click in and enjoy all the beautiful inspiration to be found among the bloggers’ links! I’ve spent way too much happy time looking at tablescapes from bloggers’ archives, especially the amazingly talented Alycia Nichols (this one is going to make Music Man VERY nervous).
This tablescape started with this Pinterest photo from 2011.
Image via Pinterest; original source unknown
Once I figured out where to find fake lemons and limes (the dollar store), I couldn’t resist making the display, even though it was after Christmas. Next time I’ll try layering the pieces, but this worked (except for the red glitter all over the kitchen).
What’s not to like?
So, today’s my inaugural entry into the tablescape world. I wasn’t quite ready to give up the last of my Christmas decorations, and I’m showing my last hurrah before I bow to the Christmas decoration police. And since I see Italy in my table setting, my linens, and my colors, this tablescape had to have an Italian theme.
We probably all could do with a nice Italian red in our lives.
Buon Viaggio!
