Buttercup, Buttercup Tablescape

Buttercups remind me of my grandmother. I lost her when our eldest son was 18 months old. She never got to see him and I really regret that.  We were on our way to Germany when she passed away. I miss her so much some days.  - Okay, I do know those are not buttercups in that photo. I can't dare bring them into the house, our little inspector likes to chew on plants and buttercups(part of the Ranunculus family) are poisonous. I didn't know that as a child, did you?

But these buttercup plates by Copeland Spode are harmless and bring me much pleasure.

I love the scalloped edges of these salad plates. I love the Fleur de Lis like inner border. I love the basketweave/wicker portion, too. And I. am. totally. smitten. with the buttercups. Did you ever place a buttercup under your chin? Did your skin reflect the yellow color? Then you like butter. I'm sure my chin glowed brilliant yellow!!! I've read where some people can have a reaction to this seemingly innocuous darling, little blossom if it touches their skin.

I paired with with a gingham place mat and a solid yellow napkin. Click HERE to link to a fun post on pairing dishes with napkins that I wrote about on Monday. It's a tutorial on a fun iPhone/Pad app.

The darker brown faux bamboo flatware was a perfect choice to pick up the browns in the plates. I also used a gingham napkin with the two solid yellow place mats that were on each end of the table. I had to mix, only have 4 of the gingham place mats and you know perfectly well that it's okay to mix, right?

The still thriving ferns came to the table yet once more. Adding some sweet yellow fauxs in the pots almost gave the feel of sitting in a wonderful, grassy field filled with some buttercups while whiling the hours away.

A little bit of history from somewhere on the web: Copeland Spode appears on some pieces of nineteenth-century English porcelain. Josiah Spode established a pottery at Stoke-on-Trent, England, in 1770. In 1833, the firm was purchased by William Copeland and Thomas Garrett and the mark was changed to Copeland Spode. In 1847, Copeland became the sole owner and the mark changed again. W.T. Copeland & Sons continued until a 1976 merger when it became Royal Worcester Spode. The company was bought by the Portmeirion Group in 2009. Pieces are listed under the name that appears in the mark. Spode still appears in the mark for pieces formerly made by Copeland Spode, pieces that include earthenware and bone china. I think this mark is from 1891-1900+. Spode designed this pattern in 1885. There is more history on this pattern found by clicking HERE.

Three stemmed hurricanes filled with ice cream salt and some candles are placed amongst the ferns.

 

I also brought out my sweet birds. Yellow and white. Easy conversation pieces.

 

My Little Buttercup

(Randy Newman)

My little buttercup has the sweetest smile
Dear little buttercup, won't you stay awhile
Come with me where moonbeams paint the sky
And you and I might linger in the sweet by and by, oh...

Dear little buttercup, with your eyes so blue
Oh little buttercup, you' re a dream come true
You and I will settle down in a cottage built for two
Oh, dear little buttercup, I love you...

Everybody !

My little buttercup, has the sweetest smile
Dear little buttercup won't you stay awhile
You and I will settle down in a cottage built for two, oh

Dear little buttercup
Sweet little buttercup,
My little buttercup
I love you

I am so glad you dropped in today and got to play with my buttercups for a bit. Maybe they took you back in time to fields of flowers, sitting on your grandma's lap, and relaxing in the midst of summer.

Cast:

Placemats and yellow napkins - Villeroy and Boch

Gingham napkins - Pier One

Chargers and napkin rings - Pier One or World Market

White dinner plates - Wedgwood Windsor

Salad plates - Copeland Spode

Glasses - Mikasa French Countryside

Stemmed Hurricanes - TJMaxx

Linking to Cuisine Kathleen's Let's Dish on Wednesday evening

and to Susan's Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch.

Do come by and see the pretty settings the ladies and gents have prepared for you.

A Tablescape in Remembrance - Memorial Day 2013

Welcome to a tribute to the fallen.

Memorial Day is to remember those who have fallen while in the service of our country.

However, when tragedy strikes close to home, the lines blur.

At first I was not going to do a table, it seemed so trivial in light of the devastation wrought in Northern Texas and Oklahoma.

 

But then I recanted.

Last week tornadoes ripped through Granbury and then Cleburne in the Dallas area.

Lives were lost.

I prayed for them.

 

Last Sunday, a tornado ripped through Shawnee, OK.

I remembered all the wonderful people I met when I taught at Sue's Sewing Shoppe.

I prayed for them.

 

Then came Monday.

And Moore, Oklahoma was struck with an EF-5 tornado.

Winds of between 200-210 miles an hour.

At least a mile wide.

Almost the same path that the 1999 tornado took.

And I prayed for them.

 

One by one friends and family checked in.

First my dear friends in Edmond.

Then a post from our beloved Cherry Kay.

Our Bernina dealer.

My friend Debbie.

I praised God.

 

While praising God and weeping for those whose loved ones were lost,

I remembered that God is with us always, in good and bad. He rejoices with us when we are full of joy. He cries for us when we hurt.

 

1 Peter 5:6-10

⁶ Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. ⁷ Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

⁸ Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. ⁹ Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

¹⁰ And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

 

So I carry on. With a deep hurt in my heart for all those in Texas and Oklahoma.

And I ask for prayers, our tornado season is just starting.

 

I remember those fallen for my freedoms.

I praise them for their bravery and conviction.

We owe them a debt we cannot repay.

 

So I set this table for us to enjoy this weekend.

Amidst our bbq and gatherings,

I promise to remember.

And to be thankful.

 

Thank you Cherry Kay for this gorgeous tablecloth. I couldn't wait to use it.

I hope this is a fitting debut.

Cast:

Tablecloth - Cherry Kay from Entertaining Women

Dinner Plate - Queens Calico

Salad/soup Bowl - Villeroy and Boch Burgenland

Bread Plate - Arzberg Blaue Blueten

Flatware - Cambridge

Red Water Goblet - Stein Mart

Blue Wine Goblet - Libbey, Dollar Tree

Red Napkins - unknown

Napkin Rings - Dollar Tree door hangers

Centerpiece - Grape Milk Glass

 

I'm linking to Cuisine Kathleen's Let's Dish on Wednesday evening.

On Thursday, you can find me at Susan's Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch.

I hope you will drop in.

And here's to hopping the brick is re-laid on the patio by Sunday! ;-)

 

Hoppy Easter 2013 Tablescape

 

I welcome you to my warren. A warren of bunnies that is. 

 These darling bunny plates hopped their way from their warren at Williams Sonoma to their new warren in Lubbock, Texas via UPS!  Here's a tip: If you see something on line that is out of stock.. call the catalog, they can tell you which stores still have stock. Call the stores, order your merchandise and it shall come to you!

Ordered some. Needed more. Followed the tip above. 

Aren't they darling?

I paired them with their matching napkins on a gingham placemat that I was the lucky one to win from Linda at More Fun Less Laundry. Just love these. So very versatile. Run over and pay Linda a visit and tell her I sent ya!

And I pulled out those green DT goblets again. You know, the color is just so good. I keep checking to see if they get them back in. A girl can never have enough dishes, glassware or shoes! They are still available online HERE.

I might just have to order a dozen more green, the blue is out of stock :-(!!

And then. 

I invited the Pier One dancing bunnies. They sure know how to party.

Just say I told you so. 

And the green vases I found a while back from, ya you guessed it, Dollar Tree.

I just knew they would be so perfect to march down a table.

With all the frivolity going on, the silver came out to tone down the partying bunnies.

I used some fabulous fauxs for this table. Just because it's not quite Easter - yet.

Even the sun came out to play when it saw how much those frolicking bunnies were having.

Silver trays for chargers, white Wedgwood plates, Old Company Plate silver and World Market floral napkin rings. Here's another tip: if you can't find the finishing pieces to Estate Sale silver, check Ebay. You be surprised at how reasonable you can find the missing pieces. I have enough of this now to serve a small army, or the entire family and their friends.

Some is monogrammed, some not. Antique dealers want 5x more than what I paid on Ebay.

This pattern came about in 1950. The majority of the pieces came monogrammed. 

Pier One had the cutest bunnies this year. I did remove the brown gingham ribbon from around their necks and change it out for some green. I've got a few more around the house sporting pink, orange and blue neckware. 

Promise I'm not on a ladder. My Canon has a vari-angle viewer. I reach way up by the chandelier, point down and click away.

For the new potatoes, I like to serve chive butter in individual butter dishes. 

Set the butter out to come to room temperature. Work it with a fork, or the beater blade of your mixer. Add in a bit of salt, I always buy unsalted, and then the chopped chives. 

I was so excited to be able to use chives from my basket on the kitchen porch! They came back from last year. Oh yeah, I was pleased as a peach.

Cast:

Placemats - checked and yellow - Villeroy and Boch

Silver trays - estate sales

Dinner Plates - Wedgwood Windsor

Salad Plates - Williams Sonoma Yellow Banded Easter

Napkins - Williams Sonoma Yellow Banded Easter

Silver - Old Company Plate

Candlelabra - Vintage

Green vases and Goblets - Dollar Tree

Bunnies - Pier One

Butter dishes - One Kings Lane

Napkin rings - World Market

Wishing each of you a beautiful day and a blessed Easter. 

Hallelujah! Hallelujah! On the third morning He arose, Bright with victory o'er his foes. Sing we lauding, And applauding, Hallelujah!

John Mason Neale

I love your comments and get to know you more that way! What a blessing that is.

I'll be sharing my joy at

Cuisine Kathleen's Let's Dish

and

Susan's Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch. 

See ya there!

 

A Pre-Valentine's Day Tablescape

Playing with dishes really is a lot of fun! While I have another table planned for next week. I was dying to use these new Juliska plates! And it is still winter, you know. Really go check the calendar.. not the thermometer. LOL, we sat outside and had lunch today. Kind of unheard of.

So I paired those sweet dishes with a red plate I found, wait, that found me.  Added a silver heart, some lace and tulips and the red flatware and called it a Valentine. It could pass, couldn't it?

I think the lace on the napkins really does tone down winter and brings out more of the love.

Yes, these red plates jumped into my basket at Tuesday Morning, after Christmas, during one of their sales. They were a whopping 1.87! Now with that price there was no second guessing. And for those who played along earlier, HERE, those dishes haven't made their trek back to Pier One. Yet.

I really love the edge of the Juliska plate. So curvy!

I "planted" the tulips in a vintage Burgenland serving bowl. They are really not too tall to leave on the table. A silver candlestick and a red votive holder complete the centerpiece.

There's a story to the red votive cups. Our youngest son and my father conspired to bring a lot of mom's stuff (that no one else wanted) to rest in our garage. What a horrible mess it was. Last Saturday, I bagged up 8-10 bags of fabric, a vhs player, a bag of ribbon, some clothes, etc and we took those to Goodwill. Amongst some of her things there was a bag purchased at a now defunct Christmas store. Inside the bag, amongst some pinecone ornaments that I love love love, I found these red crackle glass cups. Love them too. You might think I rescued them, but they rescued me.

Sweet Mr. CJ bought these hearts for me last year. Aren't they precious tucked into the braided, red napkin ring with the lace napkin.

 

Here is the start of my latest obsession with Juliska. Youngest son gave this platter to me for Christmas. It's their Holiday Country Estate line. He loved it, I loved it. And I love him for it!

 Flowers were very scarce last weekend. What's up with that? So I found these red and white potted tulips and thought they added a good mix of pretty to the table. 

 

 I added a bit of green dried stuff to the edges of the bowl to soften the look and plopped an unused heart into the bowl.

Because the Juliska plates were so curvy, the Mikasa French Countryside goblets fit the bill for a glass. Their curves mimic the edges of the plates. Repeating elements on a table or any other design, is always pleasing to the eye.

As if to give a stamp of approval, the sun broke free of the clouds and danced across the table with joyous abandon.

I was skeptical of the red flatware, thinking it might be too much, but it just brought the plate outward and completed the setting perfectly.

 I brought this lace runner back from Switzerland as a remembrance of working there. Andrea took me to the textile museum in St. Gallen. Also HERE if you can read German. It is certainly a place that is a must see.

Each set of Juliska holiday plates has 4 plates with 4 different scenes. Well, I had a tray, I needed something to go with it, right? It was perfect by itself, but so much happier with friends!!

Cast:

Chargers - Pier One

Dinner Plates - Thomson purchased at Tuesday Morning

Salad/Dessert Plates - Juliska Country Estate Holiday

Glasses - Mikasa French Countryside

Napkins - vintage

Napkin rings - World Market

Hearts - United Market Street

Flatware - Cambridge

Lace Runner - St. Gallen, Switzerland

Bowl - Villeroy & Boch Burgenland

Silver Candlesticks - Gorham Chantilly

Thank you so much for dropping in on this post. I'm always so happy to see you've been by and love reading your comments. I am joining the following ladies at their parties this week. I sure hope you will join me. There are so many pretty tables set just for you! 

Cuisine Kathleen's Let's Dish on Wednesday evening, and

Susan's Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch on Thursday.