Snowy Woods Tablescape

 

I always associate the month of January with snow, but statistics indicate that, in my part of the country anyway, more snow falls in March than it does January. Go figure.

This table setting came about because, in looking back at all of the friendships that I have lost due to their passing, I remembered one Christmas about 25 years ago when friends of ours gave us a crystal snowman. What is unique about the snowman is that the silver-plated metal arms that look like twigs are held in place by magnets embedded in the snowman.  That way the positioning can be changed up anyway that you like.

 

The last time I remembered using the snowman was at my former home that I haven’t lived in since 2012. That sent me on a quest to the belly of the beast wherein I dug through every box until I found it. I can’t tell you how happy it made me to find this. I put it on my table in the Conservatory, little tufts of polyester fiberfill snow around it, and put a couple of lighted trees in place to make it look like winter.

 

I chose an unobtrusive beige tablecloth, as well as tin chargers. I wanted a silvery frosty look, and that worked for me. On top of the tin chargers are smaller Italian chargers that used to belong to my mother. They have a forest green border, and I chose them so that they would pick up a little bit of green in the evergreens in the centerpiece.

On top of these, I have simple gray plates from Arora, topped with a cute little snowman plate, a part of the “Snowman Forest” pattern from Mikasa.

I chose simple, gray napkins, so as not to compete with the snowman design on the plate, and hammered flatware (also from Mikasa) to give the place setting a bit of an icy look. I combined La Rocher glassware with a vintage juice glass, again to get a bit more sparkle.

 Scattered around the table are my favorite snowflake tea light holders that I got years ago from Crate & Barrel; they have certainly served me well over the years. In addition, I have little white wooden snowflakes, in three sizes, to set the snowy mood. Cups and saucers are simple snow white cappuccino cups.

I intend to enjoy this table throughout the month of January. I like the icy coolness of it.

Stay warm!

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 This post is linked to: Tablescape Thursday

Cozy Winter Table

When the green tablecloth that I had planned to use for my second dinner table at my annual Boxing Day dinner didn't fit, I had to get creative. Rummaging through my tablecloth closet (read: the jam-packed craft closet in my office/studio that only has about three feet of space for actual hanging which is where my tablecloths are stored), I knew I was going to be in trouble. The cranberry tablecloth was way too big, the white tablecloths way too blah. I had a patterned one that worked well in the past, but had something different in mind for the centerpiece, so reached for, the first time ever at Christmas, the blue one.

It looked great in the room, blended perfectly with my new Santa pillow, and ended up being quite popular once I decided to swap out my planned evergreen plates for my Currier & Ives winter scene ones.

This is a table that, if I wanted it to, will take me all of the way through winter. There is nothing about it that screams Christmas, just winter coziness. 

As it turned out, everyone loved this table and raved about it. It was set for eight during the party, but for every day, it will just be set for four.

The centerpiece is one that is a mishmash of some of my favorite things, including wooden trees that I have used in the past here and here. Twig reindeer are also more winter than Christmas and from Pottery Barn years ago, a purchase that I have never regretted.

The “tin houses” are pure genius, fooled everyone, and were the brainchild of Debbie of the wonderful Confessions of a Plate Addict blog, whose easy instructions I followed, and am I ever thrilled that I did (read: buy houses, buy paint, spray). I do not recommend waiting until the last minute and putting on the final coat on the day of the party, but this darling trio of cardboard houses from Hobby Lobby (that stack inside each other for easy storage) will appear again and again. For only $15 for the houses and $5 for the Rustoleum Hammered Silver spray paint (that I found at Wal-Mart), I ended up with these super cute tin look houses. Even up close people were completely fooled, and can you imagine what I would have spent had these houses been actual tin? Lots!

The flickering tea lights inside are from Pier One and are battery operated. Do NOT use real candles. No.

The tabletop greenery is actually a taken apart swag that I bought days before the party at Home Depot for half off. I love using fresh greenery not only for the looks, but also for the fresh pine fragrance, and it is nothing additional to store.

 Plates - decades old
Napkins - Pier One
Flatware - Oneida
Crystal - “Marquis” by Mikasa

This post is linked to:

Amaze Me Monday

Metamorphosis Monday 

Cooking & Crafting Monday

Make It Pretty Monday

Making Memories Mondays

The Scoop

Inspire Me Tuesday

Tuesdays At Our Home

Tutorials and Tips Tuesday

Homemaking Party Tuesday

Wow Us Wednesday
Work It Wednesday

What’s It Wednesday

Create It Thursday

Think and Make Thursday
Home and Garden Thursday

Thursday Favorite Things

Tablescape Thursday

Foodie Friday & Everything Else

What To Do Weekend 
Weekend re-Treat

Weekend Blog Hop

Simple Saturdays

Saturday Sparks

Bouquet of Talent Saturday

Bathing Beauties Coastal Tablescape

Who doesn’t like to set a pretty table?  My guess is no one.  Whether dinner is a quick bite, or a time to revere the evening repast, an attractive table can make any meal more enjoyable.

A couple of weeks ago I shared my Seaside Picnic table setting.  It’s one for which I have a particular fondness because of the lovely Pottery Barn linens.  So I decided to enjoy them a bit longer, but switch the table up a bit and turn it into something, seemingly, brand new.

You can do the same.  Swap out an element or two in your centerpiece.  Switch up the placements, change the napkins.  Suddenly you have something completely different.

Take a look.

I changed the rustic rectangular placemats for these round ones.  I kept the chargers and white plates, but swapped out the blue fish plates for the more subtly colored starfish plates.

Scallop shells await filling with Coquilles St. Jacques.

White plastic flatware gave way to the bamboo flatware.

 Pressed glass punch cups replace the white cups, but on the same saucers.  A few pieces of faux beach glass add a hint of color and a lot of whimsy. 

Salmon glassware was removed in favor of this stemware by Mikasa, the Marquis pattern.  Gray napkins that complement the tablecloth were given a special folding that resemble the graceful waves of the sea.  You can learn how to fold them here. 

The starfish candle holders were removed from each individual place setting and became a part of the centerpiece, joining these two lovely bathing beauties from One King’s Lane. 

Very easy, completely new, and with a minimal amount of effort.  I like that!

This post is linked to:

Show and Share

Table It Monday

Inspire Me Tuesday

Tutorials & Tips

The Scoop

Centerpiece Wednesday

Wow Us Wednesday
Work It Wednesday

What’s It Wednesday

Clever Chicks Blog Hop

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The Weekend re-Treat

Come for Pasta!

Sometimes I get stale. I admit it. Sometimes, I take a look at what I have and wonder how I can spend another moment looking at the same stuff. This is particularly the case where table linens are concerned. I mean how many times can I use the same tablecloth?  I do try to mix things up a bit. I'll use glass chargers, or colorful placemats, or top the table with an afghan. But there are days when I just completely run out of ideas, and think that I have thrown absolutely everything but myself on top of the table and now have come up completely dry. 

So when my cousin asked if I wanted a tablecloth and napkin set that was too small to fit her new, larger dining room table, I jumped at it. Sight unseen, I said yes. And then I saw it and I thought, huh, this looks vaguely familiar. The napkins, I think, were a gift from me. It was also something totally out of my comfort zone. 

Colors in a combination that I'd not used before, and stripes! Never in my life have I used a tablecloth that was striped. I do love a challenge though, and this got my creative juices flowing.  It also sent me to rummage through several closets looking for what might work, and mixing up and layering things that I would have never considered before. 

The end result is this table set for a pasta dinner. I like it!  The Fitz and Floyd salmon chargers I have only used with the similarly colored “Coquilles” set of dinnerware. What a nice backdrop it provides here for the painted pasta bowls. 

The multiple colors in the stripes also allowed me to use a trio of glasses in a variety of colors and styles. 

Water will fill the clear glasses, red wine will be served with the pasta in the cranberry colored glasses, champagne will fill the cobalt blue flutes and be served with the tiramisu. 

My favorite round placemats tone down the stripes, pressed glass crescent bowls will hold Italian salad. 

The Pottery Barn flatware, heavy antique replicas, are the perfect touch for this comfort food meal.

The centerpiece, a favorite that I use again and again, has been adorned with empty cheese boxes with a nod to antipasto.

I used no coffee cups in this setting, opting to serve espresso in cups purchased in Europe years ago to finish the meal. 

Buono Appetito!

Tablecloth and Napkins - Crate and Barrel
Water glasses - Mikasa “Marquis”
Wine glasses - Crate and Barrel
Placemats - Pier 1
Flatware - Pottery Barn
Chargers - Fitz and Floyd

This post is linked to:
Amaze Me Monday
Metamorphosis Monday

Table It Monday

Inspire Me Tuesday

Tuesdays At Our Home

Tutorials & Tips

The Scoop

The Charm of Home
 At The Picket Fence

Centerpiece Wednesday

Wow Us Wednesday
Work It Wednesday

What’s It Wednesday

Clever Chicks Blog Hop

Tablescape Thursday

Create It Thursday

Home and Garden Thursday

Home Sweet Home

Show and Tell Friday