Lucky Leprechauns

With St. Patrick's Day only a few weeks away, I thought I'd join in with Susan's Tablescape Thursday over at BNOTP by showing a tablescape I did a couple of years ago (before I was a blogger) for this Irish holiday.

The colours green and gold with a white lace center are the foundation for this theme.  Instead of a pot o' gold, I created a vase o' leprechaun as a centerpiece.

 

Usually, it is still very much winter here in March so I had left my snowflake decor hanging from the chandelier.

  

I don't have any themed dishes for this holiday but used a green rimmed salad plate on top of a gold rimmed dinner plate.  Gold chargers and flatware complete the place setting.

  

I can't believe how much snow we had 2 years ago at this time (by windows, after Mr. Delight had shoveled the roof).  Fortunately, this year, we have only about a foot of the white stuff left.

  

All of the shamrock pieces you see were from a local Dollar Store.  I used vinyl cling-on type stickers on glassware (votive holders and centerpiece) to get a themed look without buying actual pieces.  The leprechauns and pots of gold were from a local drug store.

  

We even got to have just the right music with our dinner...when you push the leprechaun's belly, it plays "When Irish Eyes are Smiling"

 

I'm sure some Irish luck will follow you as you head on over to BNOTP and check out the other wonderful tablescapes.

Workday Birthday Party

This is a bit of a different tablescape for me as I hauled all my pretties down to work and set it up in the Staff Room there.  I thought it would be fun to share with the crowd who joins in Tablescape Thursdays at BNOTP
so will be linking up to Susan's for that.
    

At the office, we celebrate all the birthdays for the month on a day that they all happen to be working.  This time, I decorated the staff room table while someone else made the cake (we take turns baking).  Since there were no "male birthdays" this month, I used a pink and yellow theme with individual place settings to make the birthday girls feel more special.

Yellow roses float in a lidded vase as a centerpiece and a single rose and baby's breath was placed at each setting. Their places were marked with name cards I made and put in wooden rests.

 

I used a table runner of tulle which has a star pattern on it.  The china is my wedding china called Dimity Rose by Royal Albert.

  

The little presents around the centerpiece and at each place setting are actually little "Lego" blocks I wrapped up.  I use them quite often for decorations for birthdays.  I've only had one person actually unwrap one to see what they were!

 

The birthday girls were thrilled with the extra effort I extended to make it more of a birthday tea party. The cake was delicious and a good time was had by all. The only problem was, we sure didn't want to leave the table and get back to work!

Hope I have inspired you to make your workplace more pleasurable and increase the morale at your office by taking a few of your pretties to decorate your Staff Room!  For more tablescape inspiration, be sure to check out BNOTP.

Valentine's Party!

I'm joining in with Laurie for her Valentine Party! Should be lots of great decorations and tablescapes to check out!




I'm just going to go with a bunch of random pictures of Valentine things!  Enjoy!

 

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

 

  

  

 

 Thanks Laurie for hosting this fun party!  How about some Raspberry Trifle?

 

Valentine Luncheon

Happy Valentine's Weekend to All!  Hope your sweetheart treats you to a little romance along with the usual love and tenderness!

I am sure there will be a lot of great ideas for setting a pretty table for the occasion over at Between Naps on the Porch where Susan is the queen of tablescapes!  

I am showing a tablescape I did for a little Valentine's Ladies Luncheon two years back (before I had a blog).  Unfortunately, I have only a few pics but I hope you can get a feel for how it looked anyway.

  Using red, black and white, I created a Valentine theme for the table.  I like the drama that the  addition of black makes.  I hung red hearts cut from construction paper and my snowflakes from the chandelier.

 

Martini glasses were used as placecards and each one held some faux snow, a white rose, a red glass heart and the name card.

The glasses were set on small red plates atop my black/white salad plates and black chargers.  These were moved to the side once we began eating.

 

  

 The centerpiece consisted of a tall vase filled with white sand and two heart picks flanked by a red pillar candle on a chunky black holder on each side.

 

If I remember correctly, the menu consisted of roasted red pepper soup to start, mushroom frittata and Cesear salad with chocolate cake, strawberries and ice cream for dessert.  The guests included my mom, my aunt and my grandma so it was a "family affair" for that special "love" holiday! 

  Happy Valentine's Day! 

Head on over to BNOTP and share the love!

Valentine Treasures

I was so excited to see these lovely Valentine bottles/vases in a local antique store window the other day.  I went inside to inquire about the price but there wasn't one on any of them.  The lady working there said she couldn't sell them as they belonged to someone else who sold things there.  I was somewhat miffed - after all, why have items in a storefront window if they are not for sale!  Nevertheless, I returned to the store a few days later and asked a different clerk about them as there still was no price visible.  She phoned the lady at home and found out they were $5.99 each and I quickly snapped up all four!

 

I know they are not antiques but I've never seen anything like them around here. They did have a "Dollarama" sticker on the bottom so I've probably paid way too much but I really wanted them!

I put some white tulips and red carnations in them and tried them out as vases. Wrapped and curled white ribbon around the necks. 

(Sorry for the blurry pictures, should have got out my tripod!)

 

 We have a special service at our church this Sunday to install our new pastor so I took them over there and used them as a centerpiece for the potluck which will follow.

Shown here as a grouping but I moved one to each table.

You will no doubt see them in many more Valentine tablescapes to come.  I tried putting white mini-lights inside one and it looked pretty neat too!

Mantel Friday

 

 Although I've posted these pics in a previous post with my winter decor, I really wanted to link up to Beth's great meme of Mantel Fridays at her blog Stories from A to Z.   I apologize to those of you who might have already seen these.

This is how I decorated the mantel for winter after I took down the Christmas decor.

 

I laid icy branches over white LED mini-lights, added snowflakes and two pillar candle holders on each side.  I am always a fan of using Battenburg lace as part of my winter decorations.  It has a "snowy" look to me. (I'm not sure why the lights look blue in the pic but IRL they are a very white colour)

  

Real pine cones were sprayed with faux-snow from a can.

 

Be sure to head over to The Stories from A to Z and check out all the other fabulous ideas for decorating your mantel.

Winter Blue & White

Yeah! Time for another Tablescape Thursday!  This great meme is hosted by Susan at Between Naps on the Porch.  Be sure to check out the fabulous tablescape Susan will have for us as well as those that link up.  (Click on button)




I am doing a repeat of a winter tablescape I posted when I first started my blog.  It only had one comment then so I'm pretty sure it will seem new to most of you.

This tablescape started with some lovely blue and white plates I received as a Christmas gift last year from my dear daughter. I love the delicate pattern on the border. 

I put them with some square bowls I had, setting the bowls on an angle for a different look. (Bowls were from a set I got at a local boutique)

For a centerpiece, I used a Snowflake Hurricane Shade by Partylite surrounded by an icy wreath and blue/white battery operated LED lights.

 

On each end of the table, I placed a trio of candle holders, also by Partylite, with floating candles inside. A mirror coaster and acrylic ice chips add to the frosty look.

Square vases filled with faux snow and a votive holder flank each side of the centerpiece. Each place setting has individual silver coloured votive holders surrounded by faux silver berries.

While I love the frosty look of this winter tablescape, I think I'm ready for some colour and am looking forward to the upcoming Valentine's Day and St. Patrick's Day tablescapes.

Did you notice my "blooper"? I had taken away a silver charger to use elsewhere and forgot to put it back before taking pictures! Oops!

...Now pour yourself a nice hot cup of tea and relax while you take a virtual trip around Blogland accepting all of the invitations into dining rooms, kitchens and cozy nooks to see a miriad of tablescapes!

Winter Decor

I thought I'd share with you some of the winter decor I've put out around our home since taking down the Christmas decorations.

Long silver branches in a glass vase with faux snow sit on one side of the sofa table.

I used my three large glass hurricanes with silver snowflakes, faux snow and frosted pine cones on the other end of the sofa table.

 

Apothecary jars are filled with faux snow, pine cones and faux icicles. Excuse the dated Hunter Green countertops.  The kitchen is on the list of reno's!

  

  

The following are the different shelves of an etagere we have in our living room.  I've tried to create an "icy" theme on each shelf.

You will soon notice that most of my decor is placed atop my Battenburg and/or cutwork runners and tablecloths.  I think they have a "snowy" look to them.

  

  

  

  

Centerpiece created for kitchen table -  Pine cones, faux snow, faux icicles and a candle in a glass bowl surrounded by an icy wreath.

  

Fireplace mantel takes on a snowy/icy look.  I put white LED lights under the branches but they look blue in the pictures.

  

All of the pine cones you see in the pics are real ones which were given a spray of faux snow (from a can).

  

Yes, that's my tripod you see reflected in the mirror! Oops!

 

I am going to link up to Barb's Tabletop Tuesdays at Grits & Glamor for the first time.  Thanks Barb for hosting this exciting new meme!