White with a bit of color Tablescapes revisted

June 22, 2011

It's just really hot around here these days.
I mean really hot.

I got in the car after work yesterday and the temp showed 113.

By the time I got to the bank, both the car and the bank showed 105.

ps..the links under the photos are links to the tablescapes themselves.

Thanksgivings 2011

So I've been just wiped out.

But I'm not complaining. 

We have no humidity, normally.

However, it's been like a sweat lodge.

Humidity at greater than 50% some days.

Red and White Holiday 2011

The patio hasn't been completely finished yet.
Our worker has been swamped and so we get pushed to the bottom of the list.
I know I raised him better than that :)!! LOL

Rustic Chic 2011

Needless to say,

I've been a slug.

Lazy.

Not a creative ounce in my bones.

Keeping the plants watered takes all my energy.
Slug.

April in Lubbock 2011

So while I'm longing for cooler temps,

And no new table in sight,

I thought I'd share some previous

tablescape escapades.

Wisteria 2011

And I'm praying you won't be bored.

I'm just sorry I've neglected this blog for so long.

So bad of me huh?
Slug.

Breaking the Fast 2011

But, I do have a brand new table planned for next week!
Well I hope.
Hoping cause I need some flowers.
Hoping.

A Black and White Affair

I'm hoping that the weekend will cooperate.

Cooler temps please, please.

Flowers to be had.

Inspired by Blue

And although I haven't set a table,

I have completed my set of Coalport Athlone blue dishes and Waterford Clarendon wine hocks,

via eBay of course.

A Calm Welcome 2013

And I was the lucky and most happy winner
of a set of gorgeous Noritake Piedmont accent plates.
Cannot wait to set that table!
Thank you Noritake!!!

Paper Roses and Lace 2012

And thanks to my friend Cherry Kay from the gorgeous Entertaining Women blog,
I was able to snag 10 Mottahedeh Musee des Arts pots de creme.
Yep, one more table with these...

Tribute to Mothers Everywhere 2012

So please come back again,
soon.
I know the dog days of summer
will soon be behind us.
Are you longing for Fall, too?

Garden Party 2011

Thank you so much for sticking with me.
Thank you for inspiring me.
Come visit Tablescape Thursdays and Cuisine Kathleen with me!!

A new cover for the bedroom bolster...

I had a wonderful father's day! How about you?

I've been meaning to recover the bolster pillow on our bed since we put the drapes..and that has been since 2011!!!

bedroom post 2011

 It's all a bit white here. Not bad.. but I wanted to bring a bit of the drapery fabric into the room, specifically on the bed. 

I started with a rectangle of the check fabric. I sewed on the French silk ribbon. A tip not to forget when working with ribbon: use as hot an iron as your fabric allows and steam the ribbon. This will shrink the ribbon and save you tears later on when the ribbon shrinks in the laundry or dry cleaning. I also had this gorgeous, very antique lace. 

I chose to leave it in it's vintage state. I thought about hand sewing it to the fabric along the straight pieces that you see on the left above. But decided against that. I went ahead and used my Bernina but instead of regular sewing thread, I used a 60 weight thread through the needle. It's all cotton and much lighter weight so it barely shows.

On each end, I tied a tassel tie from the old bolster cover. Sew very easy.

Here's a closeup of the ribbon. It's truly a work of art. This bolt came from Quilter's Resource in Chicago. Sorry to say, it is no more. 

The sewing fairies were working with me today! You cannot see the seam in the back, well on the plaid fabric anyway. I always prefer to seam a piece so that the seam is almost invisible, so not in the middle of plaid strip.

One more tip, when inserting pillow forms into covers, cover the form with a plastic bag (or if you purchased a new form, leave the wrapper on but slit it open on one side). Once the form is in the pillow, you can remove the plastic bag. Thanks so much for dropping by today! Be blessed.

Paper Roses and Lace Tablescape

This is one table I've been wanting to do for some time. I first saw my inspiration on Lana Austin's Motif blog. And then the pictures scurried around Pinterest. So what's a girl to do? Collect and prepare! Right?

This is what I'm talking about.. Lots of doilies lined up down the center of the table. I really have several from my mom and a couple from my grandmother, however, mom liked to use a lot of color and I wanted to stick with beige or white. Lady Luck fell on me about a month ago at an estate sale. Can you believe that 7 of these doilies were $1.00 each? Yep, scarfed those up quicker than you could say Jiminy Cricket!!

Tip: Resist the urge to sew these together. They are much easier to wash as single doilies. It would be difficult to block them when they are one.

This was going to be perfect for a Kaffeeklatsch! That's German for an informal social gathering punctuated with coffee and fueled by conversation. I pulled out some dessert trios, aka Sammeltassen (collectors trios) and set this table just for us! You'll stay for a piece of cake and some coffee or tea, right? A couple of posts with the Sammeltassen HERE, HERE and HERE.

Because the trios have a smaller dessert plate, I chose to use my gold-rimmed European dinner plates as chargers. I think I really like this look. The silverware repeats the rose pattern from the napkin rings, most of the dishes and the coffee pot.

Tip: Repeating one motif or element at least 3 times is not only pleasing to the eye, but will also cohesively pull everything together.

I first tried the smaller, side plants in my Revere bowls because I loved how the lace reflected on the bowls. But I don't have two the same size and thought the center looked off kilter.

The addition of lace edged, cutwork napkins and these adorable paper rose napkin rings just send the sweetness factor through the roof. Ya think?

Simple greenery is perfect for this centerpiece. No plants were harmed - they were planted outside after our sweet get together.

I love adding a bit of the unexpected to the table, this time in the form of the cherub sitting on a crystal block of Bernina mountain in Switzerland. He's announcing that the "best is yet to come"!

 Sometimes the sun just pops in for a short hello.

 The delicate lace and exquisite cutwork rimmed in perfect buttonhole stitches make this set of napkin amongst my favorites. The cream and sugar belonged to my great-grandmother.

 The first time I saw these napkin rings, I left them to rest cure on the shelves. But when they were still there on my next trip to Tuesday Morning, they hopped into my cart and wept with joy as they knew they were coming home with me. Notice the small vine wreath that is covered with a sheer ribbon, these wouldn't be hard to copy.

A candy dish from my grandmother filled with after coffee mints looks just perfect on the lace doily, doesn't it? The sweet white flowerpots have the faintest of lace design on them.

Cast:
Doilies - Mom, grandmother, and estate sal
Sammeltassen - grandmother, all German in origin
Coffee pot - Schumann Arzberg; Antique Roses
Dinner Plates -  Rosenthal
Flatware - Old Company Plate; Signature
Napkins - estate sale
Paper Rose napkin rings - Tuesday Morning
White flower pots - Tuesday Morning

Thank you so much for dropping in. I loved having you. Maybe we can do it again?
I'm joining the parties at:
Cuisine Kathleen's Let's Dish
Yvonne's Stone Gable's - Tutorials, Tips and Tidbits
and Susan's Tablescape Thursday. Thank you ladies for hosting these great memes!!
See y'all there!

Ode to Number 52 - a tablescape in white

Fifty Two. 52. Zwei und fuenfzig. Ciquante deux. That's right. This is the 52nd tablescape... a year of tables. Oh my. So to challenge myself I did monochromatic. I kept wanting to add a punch of color, a bit of the unexpected, but resisted. 

A lace tablecloth on the glass table. A scrappy wooden charger. White dishes. Silver. And roses. That's about it.

A white plate rimmed in scrolls and a seashell.

Topped with a less ornate salad plate. Still white.

Mix and match silver. The one on the left is my favorite.

Silver banded in gold napkin ring.

Silver goblets and silver topped salt and peppers. 

 A perfect white rose.

Gorham silver candlesticks.

Now, if you live in West Texas, there ain't no way you could use a candle outside - evah! So off to buy shorter candles, 'cause the elegant hurricanes will be on the candles!

Cast:

Tablecloth - from my husband's grandmother via my mother in law

Napkins - Belgium Linen

Napkin rings - Stein Mart

Chargers - Pier One

Plates - TJ Maxx a long time ago

Salad Plates - Wedgwood Windsor

Silver flatware - estate sales (the one I like is Signature by Old Company Plate)

Silver goblets - Spain

Candlesticks - Gorham Chantilly

There's a giveaway going on till midnight Wednesday night (June22, 2011).. run on over to Sandy Coughlin's cool blog, Reluctant Entertainer to enter for a chance to win some goodies that include a Cuisinart juicer!

Thank you so much for joining me in celebrating this milestone. I am linking up to a great party over at Susan's Between Naps on the Porch. Do come join us!