Another Type of Halloween Witch!

The inspiration for this table came the day I opened a package from FedEx and discovered these darling witch glasses that I received from Jenna at the Painted Apron.  I was so excited when I learned I had won four of her adorable witch glasses in one of her giveaways!! What a thrill!! Many thanks, Jenna, for your creativity and generosity!!

As I started to think about this year's Halloween tablescape, I knew that I wanted to highlight the joy and whimsy of the witches on these glasses, so I decided the table would reflect the fun nature of a happy Halloween witch:  one that doesn't scare and reach out with crooked fingers, or toss back her head with a wicked laugh; but a Halloween witch who is more prone to dressing in brightly-colored tights, zipping around on a broom which occasionally gets left behind after a journey of fun, and one whose hat flies off while zooming around in glee!

Here's my Halloween Table:

Here's How It Was Created:

I started with the Halloween tablecloth I bought at HomeGoods last year.  I absolutely love the color combination of white, black and orange.  Do any of you use this color combination on your table for occasions other than Halloween? It's so striking.  This cloth happens to have a fine silver thread through it as well.

Next, I have my spider web placemat from the Dollar Tree store.  I HATE spiders and try to keep them out of my Halloween decor, but these placemats are my one concession for the holiday.

My dish stack starts with a black dinner plate labeled Zanzibar from the Home Collection at J. C. Penney's.  I like the pebbled border on this plate.

On top of this I've added my orange dinner plate labeled Stoneware Dinner Plate from the Home Design Collection at Rite Aid! (a surprise find at a local pharmacy!)

My stack is completed with a napkin from Pier One that reminds me of candy corn!  I used a napkin ring from Bed, Bath and Beyond and tried to shape the napkin into the figure of a witch by adding a witch hat pick from Dollar Tree, and tying the napkin with Halloween ribbon.  I also took apart a garland of witches' hats from Michael's and added a hat to each place setting.

The place setting is completed with orange flatware from Walmart, and the place of honor at the place setting is the glassware from Jenna at the Painted Apron.

For the centerpiece, I started with a candy dish from Tuesday Morning that is perched on  black mesh netting.  I love the witches' shoes that are acting like a pedestal.  Filled with Halloween candy, you'll notice the witch's broom that has landed on the cauldron of candy!  The votive candle holders are from Pier One.

As accents for the table, I placed two Halloween plates I bought from J.C. Penney's many years ago. They are usually in my wall plate hanger for this time of year.

So, my Halloween table is complete! I hope I achieved my desire to place the accent on a different type of Halloween witch. I'm looking forward to seeing the smiling faces of all the trick-or-treaters that will be showing up on Halloween. And, maybe there will be a few with brightly colored tights, a large pointed hat and a whimsical smile that mirror the figures on my new Halloween glasses!! Enjoy your Halloween celebration!!

I'll be linking up to Susan's Tablescape Thursday at  www.betweennapsontheporch.net
     and Christine's Table It! at www.rustic-refined.com.  Thank you, ladies, for all your efforts to keep  
     these parties going!

I love to hear your comments.  They are always encouraging! Many thanks!!

If you'd like to become a subscriber, just go to the top of my blog, fill in your email address where indicated, and hit "Submit"! Thank you...

A Purple Fall? Really?!

I approached this fall table with trepidation.  I had bought new salad plates for a fall table, but when Kathleen from Cuisine Kathleen issued a challenge for a fall table with the rules being: NO orange, lots of purple, plus a requirement that it had to "scream fall", I was in a real quandry. So, I started to plan my table.  I knew I could create a centerpiece without too much trouble, and I did have some purple items in my tablescaping stash, but I REALLY wanted to use my new salad plates that had been patiently waiting in my dish closet for recognition.  So, this is what I came up with:

Here's How It Was Created:

I started with a tablecloth I had gotten at Anna's Linens.  I had been wanting to use this colorful cloth for a while and this seemed like the perfect time.  I always associate fall with "apple pickin' time" and with the colorful apples on this cloth, it was part of my plan to have my table "scream fall"! Luckily, the apples are red, the pears yellow and the grapes purple!

Next came my purple straw placemat I found on sale at HomeGoods.  I love these round placemats that are so popular now; they act like chargers in a plate stack and really help delineate the beginning layer of the stack.

My purple dinner plates from Anna's Linens were an obvious choice for the next layer.

The next addition to my table could eliminate me from the challenge, but I just couldn't help it.  These salad plates from Hobby Lobby jumped into my shopping basket in the middle of summer!  I'm hoping the "touch" of orange gets covered by the napkins, or maybe looks more gold than orange in the photos (wish I knew if photoshop could change the color of something!) Anyway, I have been waiting to use these colorful plates (they are marked Fall Table, 2013; now I know why they were on sale this July!) for a while, and as far as tablescapes go, they don't really have a long shelf life, since these colors won't work in many other seasons!  I also thought the colorful pattern would work well with the tablecloth and add more of a "country feeling" to the table.

To top the stack I chose a green napkin from Pier One and napkin rings from Bed, Bath and Beyond. I then decided to add a band of burlap ribbon around the napkin and a faux fall leaf to make the place setting reflect fall a bit more.

I completed the place setting with my Treble Clef flatware from World Market (it matches the napkin rings well).  I also added my purple wine glasses from Hobby Lobby.

The centerpiece is grounded with an antique wooden shoe polish box I found while antiquing two weeks ago on a road trip through Ventura. It is resting on some straw from Michaels.  I placed the matching napkin from the new tablecloth on the bottom of the box and added the following to the display: faux purple flowers, faux grapes, a white ceramic pumpkin  and a grapevine wreath all found at Dollar Tree. The wooden thread spools were found while antiquing in Santa Cruz. I then added random faux fall leaves, hoping to make it look like they just landed on the table from a passing fall breeze!  I placed an eggplant in the front for some added interest, and added purple!  Flanking the box are two purple votive candle lanterns I recently found at Target!

For accents I added two pieces.  One is a wooden box I found at Michaels (for the "Apple Challenge" last year!) that I filled with a mango and apples to coordinate with my tablecloth and the fall season of apple pickin'!  The other accent piece is a flat pottery piece made by a very dear friend (actually my roommate from college: we live 3,000 miles apart, but are as close as ever after 49 years of knowing each other! Thank you, June!)  This piece holds a place of honor in my home, and I'm glad I got to share it with you on this table. My hubby just purchased the wooden spoons from our adventure to the William-Sonoma store this past weekend!

So here is my purple fall table.  I don't know if it "screams fall", but perhaps it whispers it to you.  I had fun completing this challenge and giving a unique look to a fall tablescape.

I'll be linking up to Christine's Table It!  on Monday at www.rustic-refined.com
                               Kathleen's Let's Dish! on Wed. at www.cuisinekathleen.com    and
                               Susan's Tablescape Thursday  at www.betweennapsontheporch.net

Many thanks, ladies, for continuing to host these wonderfully fun parties!! Be sure to take a look at all the creativity going on at these sites!!

If you'd like to follow my blog, go to the top, fill in your email address where indicated and hit       "submit"! Thank you.

Many thanks for your comments.  Your encouragement is always appreciated.    Rosie

Revisiting A Fall Table

I have been trying to get a Fall Table together for weeks, but as they say, "Sometimes life just gets in the way!".  I thought I'd bring back a table from last year because I don't like to stay out of the loop too long. So, please enjoy my table from last year!

Just click here.

Happy October!!!



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

Rosie

It's Almost My First Blogaversary!

Last September 12, 2013, I began my adventure into the world of blogging.  It was the start of a hobby that has given me so much pleasure.  A good friend, more like a family member, came over and set up my blog for me.  He used Blogger, showed me how to fill in the blanks of the template, and I began.  My first blog post can be seen here.  Since then, I have changed my layout somewhat and learned much more about photography ( got an attachment for my flash unit for better lighting; decided I liked the "x-large" size of photos; and, tried some creative shots of dishes and accent pieces).  It's gotten so much easier to put a post together.  When I started, it took many hours to set up the table; then it took a long time to take pictures that weren't too dark or didn't highlight the tablescape very well; then it took forever to actually compose the post (figuring how to download photos from iPhoto; figuring how to to link up to parties----I didn't even know what a "thumbnail" was!)  It really was at least a two day project.  Things have improved dramatically.  And I credit the sweet fellow bloggers I have met in the course of starting this hobby, for making that improvement.  Thank you, Susan, from www.betweennapsontheporch.net  and Dawn from www.wecallitjunkin.com for your encouragement and willingness to answer my questions.  In those beginning days of confusion,  you both really kept me going, and I'm so very grateful.

It's been wonderful over this past year sharing my love for dishes, linens, flatware, crystal and accent pieces with other tablescapers who share this same fascination.

For this blogaversary tablescape I decided to challenge myself.  I'm still trying to use things I haven't used before.  I did that for my last post, so by the time this post came, it was really difficult to find new components.  But, I was determined.  So, everything on this table has not been used this entire year.



Here's The Result:

Here's How It Was Created:

I started with a placemat I had purchased at Pier One just as I began blogging:

The first layer of the dish stack is the only dinner plate I haven't yet used.  I got it at the Shinoda Design Center, and it was my determination to enter the world of more contemporary table design that convinced me to get a square-shaped plate. I decided to go with white so I could pair it up with any other plate design or color.

The next plate is a salad plate I found at World Market. It is just marked on the back, Made In Portugal.  I loved the pattern and colors, and would have preferred pairing it with an orange dinner plate, but I realized I had already used my orange plates for last Halloween, and so I couldn't use them for my challenge!  I know it was a stretch to pair this plate with this particular placemat, but I felt the orange in the placemat "sort of" went with the orange in the plate's border design.

The first hiccup in my plans for this table were the napkins!   I had nothing I hadn't already used or any napkins that would really complement the salad plate or placemats.  I found these napkins in my napkin storage and thought, "Umm...they've got blue and gold...maybe they'll work."  The second hiccup was that I had found these napkins at World Market on the clearance table and there were only three left.  So, my table became a table for three. The gold napkin rings are from Bed, Bath and Beyond.

To complete the table setting, I used my mother-in-law's flatware.  It is only labeled "V.U. Stainless Nickel Bronze". Since I did not have any glasses that I hadn't already used, I decided to use these Netas: Made in Italy mugs I purchased from HomeGoods a few Thanksgivings ago.  Their color blended well, even if I rarely serve dinner beverages in mugs!

The centerpiece was very hard to produce.  I searched all around the house for something I had yet to use in a tablescape, and couldn't find anything at first.  A placemat that I use on my sideboard seemed to coordinate with the colors on the table.  Then I found a blown glass vase that I had bought at a street fair in Ventura, whose color also blended with the table components.  I looked outside, and the last of my dahlias was blooming so I grabbed it and flanked it with two LED candles my hubby got me for Christmas.  I wanted a little height, so I turned a tray upside down and "voila!"

I added a gold tray (a Christmas gift from a dear friend) and the serving pieces from my mother-in-law's flatware set to fill the empty spot where the fourth tablesetting would have been, if I had bought four napkins instead of three!!

So, I was able to complete the challenge I had set for my first blogaversary.  There is nothing on the table that has been used during the entire year.  Thank you for stopping by and helping me celebrate.  Know that all of you who have become followers hold a special place in my heart.  Your support means more than I can say.  And to those of you who take the time to comment, thank you.  You truly do make my day.  I've so enjoyed getting to know all of you over the year, and appreciate every comment you make.  I never realized how important this hobby would become to me.  It's made me push myself to learn new things, organize myself and get the cobwebs out of the creative side of my brain which had gotten pretty congested since I retired!

I'll be linking up to Susan's Tablescape Thursday at www.betweennapsontheporch.net
and Christine's Table It! Link Party at www.rustic-refined.com.
Thank you, ladies, for hosting these parties and giving us a chance to share our ideas.

If you would like to become a follower of The Magic Hutch, just go to the top of my blog, fill in your email address by "Follow by Email" and hit "Submit"! Many thanks.

September Road Trip!

These are three words that are music to my ears!  Ever since I retired from high school teaching, the month of September has taken on a new meaning.  The word used to loiter on the edge of my consciousness throughout the summer;  then it would intrude into my thoughts about the middle of August, and by Labor Day it would pounce into my awareness like an intruder who's been waiting for an open window to wreak havoc on my sense of serenity!  And the year would begin.  Don't get me wrong; once I got into the routine of interacting with new students and personalities; once I reconnected again with colleagues; and especially once I jumped into the curriculum of treasured literature and the challenge of sharing my love of the written word with my classes, I would remember what brought me to the profession in the first place, and I was actually happy to be back in my classroom.

However, I have to admit that the sense of freedom that retirement brings with it, is a very close second to the fulfillment that my teaching years brought to me.  One thing this freedom brings is the ability to travel outside of the summer months.  And traveling is much easier then.  So, when my hubby said he had to attend a conference up in Northern CA,  I opted for a Road Trip, rather than a flight.  This way we could take a few extra days and "explore some little towns" along the way.  Translated, this means visit "some antique malls to search for more tablescaping goodies!"

This whole explanation is a very long way of explaining why I produced this tablescape today.  I suddenly got to thinking that I really should use some of my current dishes that I haven't shared with you yet, before I continue to add to my inventory.   I've been thinking about blue and yellow for the past couple of weeks, so I searched the house and this is what I came up with:

Here's How It Was Created:

I started with my navy blue tablecloth (I love this cloth; spills just bead!)

I then added a yellow straw placemat found at HomeGoods.  I like the color contrast.

My dish stack started with a royal blue glass charger I found while antiquing in Ventura, CA.  I've been wanting to use them for a while.

The next layer is my yellow Metaceramica dinner plate from HomeGoods (seen many times in my posts).

I then placed a navy blue linen napkin from World Market to separate the salad plate from the dinner plate.

I've been waiting for the right table to share these salad plates.  These were found at a store in Ventura that raises money for animal rescues.  I was delighted to contribute to their cause!  The pattern is called Summer Fruit 174, and it is from International Tableworks.  It really was the inspiration for this table of blue and yellow.  I love the pattern and it reminds me of a picture out of a coloring book!

The place setting is completed with my lime green flatware (from the supermarket!) and my blue glasses from Mexico (found at Pier One).

I've noticed other blogs where the tablescaper has chosen to place the "centerpiece" at the end of the table, instead of in the center. I decided to try this look for this table. It was a real change for me, but I have to admit, I really like the change.  I especially could see this working for a meal with many serving dishes.   They could be lined up along the middle of the table for ease of serving, yet an attractive vignette can still be a part of the table without getting in the way.  My centerpiece, or in this case, table vignette, consists of a tray from HomeGoods, lined with a yellow linen napkin and filled with pieces I found around the house:  a sunflower plate marked Italy and found at a swapmeet;  a salad plate also just marked Made in Italy and found the same day; two blue and white ceramic pieces found at Hobby Lobby, a candlestick and bird (they have no markings); and a floral arrangement found at Michael's.  The tray is flanked by two white lanterns given to me by a very special friend who encourages my hobby!  Thank you, Mary Beth!

The other accents on the table include a thin runner of burlap ribbon on which sit a Godinger & Co. plate from HomeGoods, and a ceramic teapot given to me as a birthday present.

In one of her posts over at Between Naps on the Porch, Susan had shared the idea that the arrangement with two settings on each side of a square table, promoted easier conversation and closeness at a table (those weren't her exact words, but that was the idea I carried away from her comments).  So, I decided to try it, and I really liked the intimate feel of the table.

So, I've shared some plates with you that I haven't used before, which frees my guilty conscience up a bit to explore for some more!  I'll let you know how the road trip goes.  I'm looking forward to the change of scenery, but I also wouldn't be disappointed if a vintage tablecloth came home with me!

I'll be linking up to Christine's Table It! Link Party at www.rustic-refined.com 
and Susan's Tablescape Thursday at www.betweennapsontheporch.net

Thank you, ladies, for hosting.

If you'd like to become a follower of The Magic Hutch, please go to the top of my blog, enter your email address where it says "Follow by Email" and hit "Submit"!  Thank you!

Your comments absolutely make my day! Thank you for taking the time to do so.......