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!

Can You Believe - August is almost here!!!

Really, can you believe it? Me either. At the beginning of July, I was dreading the hot weather. It's not much cooler, but with August, the nights get longer AND start getting cooler! I rejoice. And that means September is not too far away. I know I'm rushing the seasons again.. so sorry, but I am NOT a fan of HOT.

Probably our patio will be enjoyable again.

That means fishing the cooler waters in September will be right around the corner.

And a trip to Santa Fe is in the works.

 

So until the weather is more agreeable, and the new show season starts, I'll be in front of the tele watching football(aka soccer), gymnastics, equestrian events, tennis, and volleyball!

Christmas Favorites - Christmas in July

 

Today, the last day of the Christmas in July week, I want to share some of my Christmas favorites with you.

And to start off, these lovely velvet, satin, lace and wax-faced angels from Germany. I am not sure of their age, but I do know they are O.L.D. They belonged to by grandmother and I can remember them from so very long ago. 

This sweet one might just be my favorite..

Schwibbogen are also on the top of my list. They are curved pieces of wood that were traditionally illuminated with candles. However since the invention of electricity, you most find them with electric Christmas lights now. I just love this one withe the nativity scene.

 

Of course there are favorite ornaments. I think these are them right now. I've added to the collection since this picture was taken, so the tree is much fuller. Still wanting a wonderful black Indian vessel to set the tree in, but the joy is in the collecting -right? Jil Gurulé created these fabulous pieces.

 

And nothing makes me any happier than be surrounded by family. 

 

And then let's not forget this year's favorite china pattern.. Lenox Holiday Tartan....

What are your favorites? I hope you enjoyed the week and came away with some ideas for your Christmas!

Joining Stone Gable for the Christmas in July Blog hop! See you there.

Chris✞mas in July - Card Keeper

Are you a card keeper?- this is a repost of an earlier post (12/17/11), thought you might enjoy and thus be able to plan ahead. Yvonne at Stone Gable is having a Christmas in July week - I thought I'd play along some.

What do you do with your Chris✞mas cards?

You could use them from which to cut next year's tags.

You could frame your favorites.

Or you could create a sweet "album" for the cards.

My dear friend Stacy designed both of these books.

The hold the cards for the year. 

And anything else that happened that holiday season.

The inside cover is a wonderful place to adhere the labels and addresses

from "new friends"

or friends.. (each album is different)

One ends with family labels (I didn't keep a lot of them that year)

I also bind in a card that we sent out that year, this is one I made.

It's great to add pockets for photos...

or pockets for newsy letters...

I like adding stamps to the dividers, too. On the left you can see how a photo was adhered to a strip of cardstock so that when it's bound the picture isn't disfigured.

I even save a section for our anniversary cards (it's at the end of the month).

So where do you put your cards? 

In a box?

In the trash?

Do you recycle and make something fun from them?

 

Chris✞mas in July - A decorated Table

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You know it will be Chris✞mas before we know it. Look at the counter on the top right of the blog. Those days will be passing by very, very quickly. I mean, Fall is just around the corner, so Chris✞mas isn't that far behind. I know you've seen the Chris✞mas displays at Hobby Lobby and other craft stores. There were up July 5th!!!

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Since Yvonne at Stone Gable is having a Chris✞mas in July party this week, I thought what a cute idea and I wanted to play along.. the linkup party isn't until Friday. You still have time to pull it together. I did have a cute summer table all done up and ready to post, but that would have just looked weird in the middle of this Chris✞mas week. See the tablecloth in the above photo.. I used that just last Sunday for our family dinner.

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Clicking any of the source links under the photos will take you to the original blog post. Or you can just browse through and get some ideas for this year! Do you change up your table a little bit each year?

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Sometimes we eat kind of formal....

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and sometimes not! What do you prefer? Casual throughout the month and then only formal for Christmas? Or casual all the way through the month?

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This was a new set up last year. Loved those nutcracker plates! Simply adding a new set of salad plates and a tablecloth will certainly spruce up the Chris✞mas china and give you a new, refreshed table setting.

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Other than the colors, nothing on this table says Chris✞mas. Goes to show that if you use what you have, you can use it anytime with a seasonal color way!

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Are you noticing some of the same dishes? I hope so. Although I am a Chris✞mas nut.. loving all things Chris✞mas, I certainly cannot afford new Chris✞mas dishes every year. Wait, I shouldn't be buying new Chris✞mas every year. Find a way to combine the pieces you have to create something new.

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Pinterest is a very cool tool to organize all the pretty pictures you see on the web. Please respect the author's preference on 'pinning' though. I find a photo and use the 'pin' button and then select the board (think bulletin board) onto which you want to pin your photo. If you need an invite.. just leave me a message in your comment.

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Of course our fellow bloggers certainly know how to inspire us to set beautiful tables. There are just sooo many tables I see each week I would love to copy detail by detail. But you and I both know I can't go buying new dishes.. after all I made a resolution death sentence to not purchase any this year!! yeah I know. I know.. broken!!

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This has got to be one of the most pinned tables on Pinterest. I see it everywhere. I think it came from Country Living? Someone correct, I'm sure I'm wrong. I just pinned it from a blog.

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Once again a gorgeous table by a fellow blogger from California. Her style, her compilation of textures and patterns is always intriguing and just makes me want to go buy more stuff!!

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I know I'll be using my new dishes this year. I've waited a very long time for these and now I finally have them. Albeit not quite so guilt free..You know I did make the resolution death sentence. What are your plans for your Chris✞mas table? Have you made any yet? Oooh, I'm dying to know what ideas you have!

See you at:
Cuisine Kathleen for Let's Dish (Wednesday evening)
Stone Gable for Tutorials, Tips and Tricks (Wednesday evening)
Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday (Thursday)