Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend!

Since both of my daughters became engaged last year, I was really wanting to do an Engagement Tablescape! Since we didn't get everything back in order with the house until Thanksgiving, so I didn't have time during with the holidays to get this table together. But here it is!

I started with a white tablecloth and a small ivory white footed candy dish. On the candy dish I placed my vintage Madame Alexander bride doll. Around the candy dish I scattered acrylic "diamonds" in clear, pale blue and pale pink.

I then remembered I had some glass diamond paperweights from my Breakfast at Tiffany's tablescape, so I added them also!

For lighting, I added some white Love Bird tea light holders that I bought at Target years ago.

At each table I started with a gold beaded charger and added Royal Doulton Canton plates which are white with pink and blue flowers.

The white lace edged napkins were a wedding gift that she made for me back in 1982. Many washings and a few bleachings later, they still look good! The only things I bought for this tablescape were the napkin rings.  I found them on Amazon and thought they were so cute!

At each table, I put a cute hand-lettered place card. I got these from All She Wrote Notes. I had her make up lots of place cards for our family and friends in lots of different colors and I love them all! I can definitely recommend her! 

Here is her Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/allshewrotenotes. She does all sorts of cute hand-lettered things and she is engaged also! 

I also added some glass diamonds by each place card.

I saved my favorite part of the tablescape for last. In front of the centerpiece I put the cake topper that my parents used in 1957 and that I used in 1982.

It's kind of hard to see in these photos, but it's the same one! It's exciting that it will be used again! Our first wedding will be in June. Lots of work, but also lots of fun!

I will be sharing with Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch.

Royal Doulton Canton - my "good" china

This week I will tell you about my connection to Royal Doulton Canton, which I call my "good" china. When I was a Senior in college my grandmother told me to pick out a "good" china pattern, so she wouldn't just be buying my "junk" for birthdays and Christmas. I went to Wagoner's Jewelry Store in my hometown and just fell in love with this pattern. I've always been a pink loving, girly-girl and I didn't have to think about tablecloths or wallpaper or would my husband like it.

True to the name Canton, the Oriental influence is clear with the peonies and twisted branches and asymmetrical design. According to Replacements, this pattern was made from 1978 to 1996.

I picked this pattern out when I was 20 and by the time I got married at 24 I already had a full set of 12, so I didn't register this as my formal china at the jewelry store. But I didn't use this china until I got married, so I still consider it my wedding china as you can see from this earlier blog post, 30th Anniversary Party.

Here are some closeup views.

When I consider that I chose this in about 10 minutes YEARS ago with no thought to practicality, it is amazing that I still love it! I ended up having two daughters and we had pink birthday and tea parties on this. My dining room now has an Oriental theme with cherry blossoms on crooked branches and various shades of pink and red, so this china looks right at home! You can see photos of my dining room wallpaper HERE.

I will be linking to Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch.

For the Birds, Two!

The birds are really singing today, so I am sharing a table from last spring celebrating them. Can you believe Daylight Savings Time starts on Sunday????!!!!
I am sharing this with Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch and Tabletop Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life.
My table today is inspired by all the Spring birds!



I used a yellow table cloth with some pink chiffon as a "runner".



For each place setting I used a gold charger and Royal Doulton Canton china. I picked this out before I got married and I still love it! I used pink napkins with gold napkin rings. My flatware is Oneida Stainless Wordsworth and the stemware is Fostoria and gold glasses from TJ Maxx my daughters gave to me a few years ago. At each place I used a Bird Cage place card holder & tealight holder from Target.com.





For my centerpiece, I used a larger birdcage filled with flowers surrounded by the famous Target bird salt and pepper shakers and Bird tealight holders.



I put some pink chiffon on the mantle and a glass basket with pink flowers to coordinate.



I finally got my hanging shelf hung and filled it with Eater do-dads!





My wicker tea cart has some bunnies also!



Hope you are enjoying the Spring and the birds!

Cherry Blossoms Dancing in the Wind

This week's table is inspired by cherry blossoms and the song "Concerning Past and Future Conquests" by Vandaveer. The song starts, "Cherry Blossoms, dancing in the wind, whistling a tune, same key I'm in." Doesn't that paint a lovely word picture?

Some trees have already started to flower here, but I don't have to wait until spring for cherry blossoms - my dining room walls and ceiling are always blooming! When we chose the paper for our dining room, we picked from Bradbury and Bradbury's Aesthetic Movement wallpapers. Our house was built in 1883, so this style is the correct period. Here is something about this paper from the Bradbury & Bradbury website:

  "This combination of medieval quatrefoils and Japanesque cherry blossoms in the frieze points to the Aesthetic Movement as a unique 19th century fusion of East and West. The ceiling pattern depicts the classical Japanese motif of cherry blossoms falling on cracked ice, and is surrounded by a border of heraldic crests and corner blocks of stylized Eastlake flowerpots. 

Gilded brocade panels of darting sparrows anchor the ceiling border to the cornice, held in place by gilded ribbons. The desire to surround one's self with things Japanese can hardly be underestimated in American interiors in the late 1870s and 1880s, when an appreciation of Japanese decorative design was considered the basic indicator of refined taste."

Here is a close-up of the wall. See the cherry blossoms? This paper has so much metallic gold in it, it makes it hard to photograph, but I love the way it looks in person.

Here are some close-ups of the ceiling paper which depicts cherry blossoms falling on the cracked ice.

For my Cherry Blossom table, I started with a white tablecloth and added a Cherry Tree made of jade or shells that I found in this house when we bought it. Then I added some faux branches from Target. To be honest, the tag said apple blossoms, but they look like cherry blossoms to me!

I used Royal Doulton Canton which has the Japanese Aesthetic quality and flowering branches around the border. I added gold chargers, pink napkins with gold napkin rings and gold rimmed stemware.

I had lots of trouble photographing this table - the light just wouldn't cooperate! Here are some shots of the room and the table.

I will be sharing my Cherry Blossom table with
Table Top Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life
Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch.
Be sure and visit both sites for more wonderful tables!

Clara's Dinner Party in the Land of Sweets

I modified my Nutcracker "Sweet" table from last year. Same idea, but some new tweaks!

I will be linking to Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch.

This year, I started with a gold tablecloth instead of white to give it a richer feeling. I used the same nutcracker runner and candy garland, but I got a new sleigh from Michael's. Also, behind the Nutcracker in the sleigh I added some gumdrop and candy sprays that I found a few weeks ago.

At each place I used a beaded platinum place mat and a gold charger. On top of these I used my Royal Doulton Canton china with pink peonies "waltzing" across the plate.

I found candy themed ornaments in the Target dollarish section last year and thought they would make good place card holders. I propped them up on individual glass vases and added some snowflake pick in the vases.

My guests are Clara, the Prince, Herr Drosselmeyer, Fritz, Mother Ginger and the Sugar Plum Fairy.

On the mantle, I have the Mouse King battling the Nutcracker, while Clara and Herr Drosselmeyer watch - surrounded by Sweets and Snowflakes, of course!

If you would like to see last year's Nutcraker "Sweet" table, it is HERE.

Sorry my pictures are all so small, but my card reader broke and I had to take these with my iPhone! There is always something breaking!

Hope you enjoyed The Nutcraker Table! 

Easter Parade

Happy Easter Everyone!


I have loved the pink and yellow colors of my last table, so I just decided to use them as the foundation for my Easter table -same yellow tablecloth, pink chiffon runner and pink napkins with gold napkin rings, as well as the same gold chargers and Royal Doulton Canton dinner plates with the same flatware and stemware.



BUT I added little yellow chicks throughout the table and the mantle and bird nests.



On top of the Canton plates I put my Cracker Barrel salad plates and put the matching egg cups to be used as a salt cellar and an egg pepper shaker at each place.





And I added an Easter egg place card holder above each plate.



My centerpiece is an egg tree from Target a few years ago filled with Easter egg candles, a few with chicks hatching!



Easter pretties on the hanging shelf



And on the wicker tea cart



Here is the overview





May you all have a wonderful Easter!

I will be linking to Tea Time Tuesday and Tablescape Thursday. Please visit these ladies to see some great tables!