Tablescape Thursday-A Holiday Table

Holiday Tablescape

The dining room is festooned with feathers & ice-dusted pine. Topping the table is a silk arrangement of feathers & poinsettias in an earthy terra cotta shade. It sits atop a faux block of ice-(a glass block window) atop a skirt of peacock feathers surrounded by faux berries, pine & orange pomanders studded with cloves & coppery glass ornaments. The tablecloth is a burnished bronze with gold accents-(a gift from my husband the previous Christmas). Three gold & embroidered runners cross the table. The centerpiece is flaked by a pair of English barley twist candlesticks & a pair of woven baskets with glass inserts filled with cranberries & two pillar candles.

The chargers are gilded melamine & the dinnerware Holly & Ivy by Portmeirion. These are my everyday dishes throughout the winter. I bought them all in bits & pieces on eBay throughout the years. The silver is my “company silver”. I call it that because it has to be washed by hand so I use it only for “special” occasions. The glassware is Bavarian etched crystal with deer, pheasants, grouse & ducks. They are lovely in the candle light & bring a bit of a “lodge” feel to the table. I bought them all at a yard sale this past summer for $1.00 each-(What a find). American Brilliant cut glass lends to the feel of sculpted ice. They all have some small imperfection but are beautiful none the less. Red plaid napkins complete each place setting. Sparkling votives twinkle in gold glass cups scattered around the table. The lighting is soft & intimate befitting a dinner of family & friends.

Portmeirion Holly & Ivy china.

Sideboard centerpiece lit with sparkling white lights.

The Pomanders are a tradition in my family. When I was young, my mother & I made them every holiday. The spicy fragrance always reminds me of Christmas. These pomanders are faux. I used real cloves to stud them but the oranges are from Michael’s & the Dollar Store. I made a pattern using mini cookie cutters traced onto paper for the hearts & stars. For the bands encircling the orange, rubber bands did the trick to keep the rows even. I used a permanent marker to place dots on the areas I wanted to insert the cloves. Using a tool to start holes-(It came in a mini screwdriver set of my husbands) I poked a hole just deep enough to insert the clove. The oranges feel like plastic on the outside but have an interior made of Styrofoam so they were fairly easy to work with. Faux lemons or limes would work just as nicely. Everyone thought they were real & but these pomanders will still be lovely next year.

Happy Tablescape Thursday to all. Be sure to Visit our hostess Between Naps on the Front Porch for more eye candy & fabulous ideas.

Thrifty Thursday-A Cache of Treasures

Thrifty Thursday -head on over to Bloggaritaville to check out the bargains!

Being self-employed paychecks don’t arrive on a normal schedule. Sometimes it is “feast or famine), so I have learned to look for treasures in all avenues to fuel my shopping passion. My mom is my “junking” buddy. She is 84 years young and still can shop with the best of them.

I just have to show off a few of my favorite junking buys! The first is this fabulous red & mustard tole cachepot. I bought it at a Salvation Army thinking it was a knock-off made in China, but it was pretty, so for $3.99 it was a deal. When I got it home and cleaned it up, I was pleased to find in neat black script on the bottom, Made in France. The Francophile in me was thrilled! It now graces the table in my family room. I filled it with pears, but will change it with the season. Maybe someday I will use it for an arrangement.

The second is this Mason’s aqua jug. I bought it to sell, but it has not made it to the co-op just yet. I am still enjoying it. Thrift find, it also cost a whopping $3.99.

On a $3.99 roll, my mom bought me this fabulous antique reproduction sheep at Goodwill.

I also found a Crate & Barrel tablecloth and matching ten napkins for $10.00. It is a jacquard fruit print in my favorite shade of mustard.

I am just crazy for mustard right now! I bought this clock-(originally from Target in original box) at a thrift store for $9.99. Sold “As Is”, I just had to tighten the hands, pop in some batteries and it works great.

The first yard sale of the season is coming up Saturday. It will be a little chilly, but I’ll fill my thermos with some nice hot English Breakfast tea and be off at the crack of dawn. (I’ll probably make it home before my husband has his first cup of coffee), loot-(I hope!) in tow. Last year I found a huge, wicker peacock chair for $10.00. It has become my favorite place to read on my front porch.

Happy thrifting everyone!

Toile Tales

A toile party!
A toile party-count me in! I just love anything toile! There are bits &pieces of it throughout my house. All colors and sizes-chairs, clocks, pillows, bedspreads, lampshades, dishes…the list goes on. My most toile-rific room is my guest bath. It is decorated in a garden-themed Toile de Jouy. I found the fabric on eBay. My red and white dishes have a toile sort-of-feel to them and I topped off my lights with toile shades as well. I have a fun black & white toile clock in my workshop. My cat Micky seems to gravitate toward toile-asleep on my guest bedspread and one the bench in the library.
There’s a blue & white toile runner on my dresser in the kitchen. I use a black & white country toile on my tables at craft fairs & herb festivals. Don’t forget o join the other party guests for a toile good time. Hosted by Pretty Organized & Wendy at The Shabby Nest.

Breakfast room.

Pretty snuggly cats! Micky

Pee Wee under the covers!

Our Toile de Jouy guest bath.

Victorian Screen was a

consignment shop find.

My neighbor made the toile pannels.

I bought the fabric on eBay.

Found the light at a consignment co-op

for $10.00.

There’s a blue & white toile runner on my dresser in the kitchen. I use a black & white country toile on my tables at craft fairs & herb festivals.

Don’t forget to join the other party guests for a toile good time. Hosted by Pretty Organized & Wendy at The Shabby Nest.

Table at Breast Cancer Awareness Benefit.