Spring Squared

A few months ago while in HomeGoods, I spotted some blue and white dishes that really attracted my eye.  There was only one issue: they were square in shape. I am a real traditionalist and didn't have any square plates in my tablescaping stash. I started looking at this relatively "new" trend ( to MY way of thinking!) when my daughter got married in 2012 and chose square plates etched in platinum for her china. I loved her plates, but just hadn't embraced the look. So, I passed the dishes by.  Well, fastforward to a couple of weeks ago when while I was back at HG (gee-----I guess I go there alot!), I noticed the same blue and white dishes in the clearance section for only $3.00 each!! How could I resist them?! So----I took a leap! I now have some square plates of my own.  And I love them.  I thought I'd celebrate spring with my new additions. I also realized this might be a perfect table for Cuisine Kathleen's Bird, Nest and Egg Challenge!

Here's the Table:

Here's How It Was Created:

I started with my blue tablecloth from a vendor at the Orange County Fairgrounds.  It is spill resistant and never needs serious ironing.

My stepdaughter got me this Ralph Lauren table runner for Christmas.  Don't you just love it?  I do believe it inspired me to make the final decision about my new plates; the color is perfect.

Since this is a spring tablescape, and the birds are building nests all around (I've been watching a particularly ambitious small brown bird using snippets of material from my hanging flower baskets outside of my back French doors each morning!) I decided my new straw placemats from Kohl's reminded me of potential nest building material!

Here is the dinner plate to my new square plate set. It is marked CHinoiserie Toile; designed by Maxcara.  I LOVE the colors and pattern.  And the little bird adds a touch of Happy Spring to the table.

Here is the square salad plate with another pattern and a small bird just patiently waiting to begin nest building!

The next layer in the dish stack is a plate I found at the Swap Meet.  It is labeled only "Made in Italy", and I have been waiting to find the right tablescape to share it with you! I love its scalloped shape and delicate painted design. And since I knew I'd be using daffodils in the centerpiece, the choice of a dish    with blue AND yellow seemed a perfect fit! 

To top the dish stack off, I chose my blue glass sherbet dishes found while antiquing.

The place setting is completed with yellow linen napkins from my in-laws' trip to Majorca, and white porcelain napkin rings from an antique store (roses are always part of spring!)  I used my Trebleclef flatware from World Market, because their shape somewhat resembles the twigs my little bird friends have been hoisting to their nests!   I also added my Mexican glass tumblers, a gift from my daughter at Christmas.

The centerpiece was created from a platter and pitcher that were also on clearance where my square plates were! There was no way I could leave without them.  The daffodils were part of the decorations for my daughter's baby shower her sister and I put on this past weekend.  I found the birds at Michael's, and their "nests and eggs" were generously loaned to me by my dear friend.  I wanted to separate the patterns a bit, so I added two small runners of burlap ribbon.

Since I was enjoying the look of blue, white and yellow together, I shopped the house and added some accent pieces to the table.

I've had this plate so long I can't remember where I found it, but it is labeled I. Godinger & Co. It normally is displayed on my sideboard.

I couldn't resist this addition to my Polish Pottery collection that I found at TJ Maxx.

And, lastly, these favorite salt and pepper shakers came from an Italian Pottery Outlet I always make a stop at when I am in Santa Barbara. I don't think I have ever gotten out of there empty-handed!

Some additional pictures of the spring table:

Happy Spring, Everyone!! I'll be linking up to Cuisine Kathleen at www.cuisinekathleen.com for

Kathleen's Wednesday Let's Dish Challenge

and www.betweennapsontheporch.net for Susan's Tablescape Thursday. Thank you, ladies, for hosting these parties!

If you would like to follow The Magic Hutch, just go to the top of my blog, find "Follow by Email", add your email address and hit "Submit".

I love to read your comments. They are always an encouragement and always appreciated.

A Simple Salute to April

When I started this blog I only knew I loved planning and creating tablescapes.  I didn't know very much about china (other than what I liked and disliked); crystal was merely table jewelry to me, and I knew NOTHING about linens (who knew Ralph Lauren designed table linens?!) But, since I have entered the blogosphere and enjoyed the tables of so many talented tablescapers, I find that some names are becoming familiar to me and a whole new knowledge base is finding its way into my awareness.  One designer who has captured my interest is April Cornell.  I absolutely love her brightly colored tablecloths, napkins and placemats.  They are perfect for setting a table that speaks of light, happy meals and welcomes the smiles that come with the experience of a shared occasion around the family table.  So, this post will honor the talent and design colors of April Cornell.  Actually, this post honors other things relating to April, as well.  First of all, this April finds my oldest daughter celebrating her 40th Birthday! It is also the birthday of my youngest granddaughter who will be four!! My stepdaughter has an April birthday, as well as a dear cousin, whose name I carry.  And, then, the end of April is the due date for my second daughter's first child ( and I will once again have a baby granddaughter to snuggle!) So, this post is a salute to April, and all it means to me this year!!

Here's my April Cornell Spring Table:

Here's How It Was Created:

I started with the April Cornell tablecloth I found at HomeGoods.   I not only love the vibrant spring colors, but the pattern and precious edging on the cloth.

There were many colors to choose from, but I decided to use yellow as the accent color.  So, I started with my placemats from Bed, Bath and Beyond.

I first tried a green plate, then a yellow plate, and then switched my whole plan and went with purple!  I just decided to celebrate color today! These plates were found at Anna's Linens and are marked Gallery: Margarita.

The next layer is the dinner plate that I have shared in a previous post: It is English china, labeled Cotswold.  I love the way the purple in the dish pops with the purple dish underneath it.  I also llike the floral pattern on the plate against the flowers on the April Cornell tablecloth.

Next is the salad plate to the Coswold set.

The table setting is completed with gold flatware on loan from my cousin, glass mugs that I found at Ikea (absolutely cannot believe how well the pattern on the mugs matched the tablecloth! It's like they were designed together!) and the April Cornell napkins.

The centerpiece is simple.  I begin with a precious vase I first introduced in this post.  Its colors work perfectly with this tablecloth.  I added a faux garland of leaves and two brown paper vases filled with faux dainty daisies from Michael's.

So, let's salute April!! Let's salute the wonderful colors and designs of April Cornell.  Let's salute the birthdays of Lisa, Lucy, Tori and Rosemary.  And let's salute the birth of Laura's baby girl, another precious addition to our family, who will one day have a place at our family's table, no doubt decorated with one of Gramma's tablescapes!!

I'll be linking up to Susan's Tablescape Thursday at www.betweennapsontheporch.net.  Thank you, Susan for hosting!!

I love to read your comments: they are truly appreciated!!

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It's Time for Corned Beef and Cabbage!

It's hard to believe that March 17th is almost here, and it's time to celebrate St. Patrick's Day again!  I always look forward to cooking Corned Beef and Cabbage on this day (love that one pot meal!), but this year, I'm adding a festive tablescape to the plan.  Green is absolutely my favorite color, and I was surprised to realize when I started planning this tablescape that I really didn't have green dishware in my stockpile of dishes.  As a new tablescaper, I think I was concentrating on collecting neutral colors, along with the brightly patterned dishes I have always favored.  So, without breaking the "monthly tablescaping budget", I had to get creative for this post.

Here's How It Turned Out:

Here's How It Was Created:

I started with a placemat I had gotten at Pier One on clearance.  It's reversible and I think I'll get lots of use from it as spring and summer approach.

Next came a shamrock placemat I found at Dollar Tree.

I used my Open Scrollwork chargers from Maryland China Company.
Thanks for Pat and Katie from
http://tableforonetablescapes.blogspot.com and http://thewelcomedguest.blogspot.com                         for an idea I saw on their website.  I intertwined St. Patrick's Day ribbon from Michael's through the charger border to make them a St. Patrick's Day accessory.

These tea towels are from Dollar Tree and I just love the shamrock pattern!  They make for a large dinner napkin, but at least everyone's laps will stay clean!

I did make one plate purchase at Home Goods for this table.  These green glass dishes are labeled, "Villa Collection, Made in Turkey", and were on clearance for $2.00.  I stopped my dish stack here.  I usually do a buffet on St. Patrick's Day, so we'll start with salad at the table.

The setting is completed with green glasses from Pier One and my scroll flatware from World Market. I thought this flatware would work with this setting because it reminded me of a shillelagh!! (I couldn't even look this word up in the dictionary; I had to google "Irish walking stick" to get the correct spelling!!)

The centerpiece starts with one of my white placemats from Macy's.  I had bought this white vase at Marshall's and felt it would be a good addition to my tablescaping larder.  It is marked "Farval, Made in Portugal", and is perfect for holding flowers.  The green carnations are from Dollar Tree and the "baby's breath" is from Michael's.  I added two necklaces of shamrocks from Dollar Tree, but still felt something else was missing. I looked at my hubby's "frog collection" and decided these Murano Glass frogs were the perfect color and looked like they were playing an Irish Jig! So---they became part of my St. Patrick's Day table!   The leprechaun hat was from the Dollar Tree store, too.  It was just too cute to pass up.  I wonder who will end up wearing it after dinner!?

After salad, everyone will pick up a Metaceramica dinner plate from the table and head to the kitchen to serve themselves corned beef, cabbage, and boiled potatoes and carrots.

The serving pieces on the table are for applesauce, extra vegetables and Irish Soda Bread! Yum!!! I can almost smell dinner right now!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone!! I really stayed in budget for this tablescape.  It's a good thing The Dollar Tree store is close by and Home Goods is not far, either!!

  I'll be linking up to Susan's Tablescape Thursday at www.betweennapsontheporch.net  and Kathleen's St. Patrick Day's Blog Crawl at  www.cuisinekathleen.com.  Be sure to join these parties to see what others have come up with.  Thank you, Susan and Kathleen, for hosting!!

If you'd like to become a follower of The Magic Hutch, just go to the top of my blog, fill in your email address where indicated, and hit "submit".

I always appreciate your comments and look forward to hearing from you!!  Rosie

A Precious Heirloom

There hasn't been a new baby in our family in almost four years.  But, at the end of April, our eighth grandchild will be arriving, and when she enters the world she'll be lovingly welcomed to our side of the family by her parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and a precious item that has been in the family since 1906:  the family bassinet.

As I look at this cherished family heirloom, I wonder about all the nurseries that is has been a part of; the babies it has held; and, the many miles that it has traveled before it ended up here on the west coast.
It started cradling babies when my second cousin, Francis, was born in New Bedford, MA in 1906.  When his sister, Mary, came along in 1910, she spent her first days in it.  Then, when my Mom, Beatrice, was born in 1913 it became a part of our side of the family.

There isn't anyone left in the family who can remember where it stayed for many years.  My brothers and I were never in it, but when I lived in Merrick, NY in 1952, I remember it in our basement.  I can still see it nestled in a corner, along with bits and pieces of other furniture. I never really paid much attention to it, and certainly never realized that it would become such an important part of my life as a grandmother!  There was one time when this bassinet made an appearance.  I vividly remember an old family movie showing my aunt and uncle trying desperately to fit it into the trunk of their late 1940's Mercury.  I imagine they wanted to get it up to Cape Cod for the birth of my cousin, Karen, their first grandchild, in 1952.  It was a hilarious film clip as they twisted and turned the bassinet to no avail;  no way would it fit, and back to the basement it went!!

I didn't have access to the bassinet until 1982.  My daughters, born in 1974 and 1977 never got to be in it because it was back in Georgia with my brother.  When he went through a contentious divorce, my Mom, who was in California with me, had only one request of my brother: " Be sure and get the bassinet!"  It took a Sheriff, but the bassinet made it out of his former house, and onto the moving truck when he AND the bassinet joined us out in California!!  It then stayed in my Mom's apartment until her death in 1988, when it became mine.  In 2005 when our first granddaughter was soon to be born, I took it to a wicker refurbisher who made it look like it must have looked in 1906!  He also explained that it was actually willow, not wicker.  Since that time five of my seven grandchildren have spent their first months in this bassinet.

I just finished getting it ready for the next grandbaby.  The ritual is always the same:  a good wipe down; a new mattress, bumper and sheets; and, woven ribbon in the nursery colors that the mommy-to-be has chosen.

 This precious heirloom will be at my daughter's baby shower in a couple of weeks and then it will lovingly hold another member of the family who will be a part of the list of family members who have cooed and dreamed in it during their first few months on earth.  I'm hoping that my grandchildren will continue the tradition.  I'd like to think that the next generations of our family will be linked together in such a special way, and that this bassinet will be around even longer than it has been already:  108 years and counting!!

I'll be sharing this story with Susan for Metamorphosis Monday at  www.betweennapsontheporch.net
and Dawn at www.wecallitjunkin.com for her History Home and Link Party.  Thank you, ladies, for hosting!

I love your comments and look forward to reading them.  If you'd like to become a follower, just place your email address at the top of my blog where indicated, and hit "submit"!  Thanks!   Rosie