A Pencil Me In Fall Tablescape

August 03, 2026 by Beth Wilson in Tablescapes

I bought this school themed tablecloth a long time ago but it took several years before I pulled a tablescape together. Our schools don’t start for three weeks but I know that others start earlier. I figured this was a good time for this tablescape theme. I bought this school themed tablecloth on Amazon. It was made by Ambesonne. You can see my other school themed tablescapes as well as 300+ other tablescapes that I have done on my blog here: https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/tablescapes .

I thought I had seen pencil shaped salad plates once but I couldn’t find them again. I had bought some pencil shaped treat boxes at My Mind’s Eye online to use as place card holders but they were too big and I decided to cut some apart and set them on a dinner plate for this table.

I am using my Fiesta Shamrock dinner plates on this tablescape. Because the paper pencils were so big I didn’t use a salad plate on the plate stack.

This is a Color Spectrum charger by Mikasa, the color is Sun Yellow. I bought these chargers on Ebay a few at a time over the years as I saw them because I love the quality and the selection of colors on these chargers. I have them in several colors now and I use them often. This plate pattern has been discontinued but you can find them on Ebay in different colors from time to time.

This flatware set is labeled Mepra Inox and the pattern is called Fantasia in Apple Green. You can find this flatware online for sale on several different sites. I have this flatware now in blue, black, white, tan, orange and yellow. It comes in several other colors also. It is difficult to find flatware sets in different colors so I have my eye on a few other colors as well when it goes on sale again. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying flatware here.

These bright blue napkins probably came from Amazon a few years ago. I bought the white ceramic with black numbers napkin rings at Pottery Barn online several years ago. To read about the What, When and How of napkin rings please click here.

I have had these small wood easel place card holders for several years now and I can’t remember where I bought them. If you do a Google search something similar will probably pop up. To read about the What, When and Why of place card holders, please click here.

The green glass goblet on the left came from HomeGoods a few years ago. The amber glass goblet on the right also came from HomeGoods. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying goblets for your tablescaping collection including the colors that I use most often here.

I found these Giant Pencil Storage Container, 3D Printed Desk Organizers on Etsy a few months ago. They open to store pencils or whatever. I added pink erasers around the bottom to add a bit more interest.

I found the mini-globes at Michael’s.

To see over 300+ different tablescapes that I have created please click here. If you are on Facebook, join my Table Settings and Tablescape Ideas Facebook group (4,200+ members) for lots of tablescaping inspiration! Just click on the Facebook Search box at the top of the page and type in Table Settings and Tablescape Ideas or click here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2553689988183392

If you live in Southern California join our Facebook tablescaping group Southern California Tablescapers BTS Group. (200+ members) https://www.facebook.com/groups/440356398581157 We had a gathering for tablescapers last year in the Los Angeles area and we are planning to have another one in November in Riverside.

Don’t miss the Tablescape How-To tab at the top of my blog for DIY tips and tricks. That link is here: https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/tablescapehowto

I put a new tablescape on my blog every week, please check back!

A Totally Tomatoes Summer Tablescape

July 27, 2026 by Beth Wilson in Tablescapes

Did I really need a large red tomato tureen? No. (You know how this goes…) Did I really want a large red tomato tureen? Yes! To rationalize this purchase that I made six years ago I have used this tureen on three different tomato themed tablescapes that I have posted over the past six years and I am still really glad that I bought it! My mother loved tomatoes and I have many memories of lunches of tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches that she made us while we were growing up. Tomatoes make me think of her. The tureen is sitting on a vintage small tablecloth with images of tomato salads and their ingredients. This vintage tablecloth was manufactured by Thomas Prints and the pattern has been called Salad Bowl. Because vintage tablecloths are usually small I placed this tablecloth over a larger black and white buffalo check tablecloth.

These tomato shaped salad plates are marked Jacques Pepin for Sur La Table, Handcrafted in Italy. I bought them several years ago at our Sur La Table store that has been closed now for a few years. I love the bright red color.

This dinner plate was made by Fiesta and the color is called Shamrock. I bought them at Macys several years ago. This color is now discontinued but you can find them online on the secondary market. You can read about what you need to think about when you are buying dinner plates here.

This black glass Starburst charger is called Charge It and they were made by Jay. I bought them several years ago on Amazon. They are heavy glass and a simple design and they work well with many different color schemes.

This black flatware set is called Ginkgo International LePrix. The pattern was first created in the late 1970’s in a small village in southern France. I have had this set for years but it is still for sale. Not sure where I bought it. I use it several times a year on tablescapes. The simple design using black handles with distinct silver rivets is perfect with the casual design of this tablescape. I now have this flatware set in navy blue, moss green, mimosa yellow, milano red, and persimmon orange and I use them all often. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying flatware here.

The bright red napkins probably came from our Pier 1 store before it closed several years ago. These ceramic Ganz CBK tomato napkin rings came from Fitzula’s Gift Shop online a few years ago.

I wanted to use a small red tomato as a place card holder on this tablescape and I found these tomatoes on Etsy. They are plastic and they were made using digital 3D printing. I set them on a small square metal place card holder that I have that looks black but is actually a bronze color.

The green goblet on the left came from Macy’s a few years ago. They are called Qualia Glass Meridian. I like the height and the beautiful green color. I can’t remember where I bought these Cristalleria Fratelli Fumo red glass goblets. I like using these red and green goblets together because of their similar shape and complementary colors. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying goblets for your tablescaping collection including the colors that I use most often here.

I set this large red tomato tureen centerpiece on a small black stand that I had to give it a bit more height. It really makes a statement on this tablescape. I would remove it from the stand before serving because it is a bit top heavy.

Time to buy some more tomatoes!

Don’t miss the Tablescape How-To tab at the top of my blog for DIY tips and tricks. That link is here: https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/tablescapehowto

I put a new tablescape on my blog every week, please check back!

A Frondly Gathering Summer Tablescape

July 20, 2026 by Beth Wilson in Tablescapes

I did a palm trees themed tablescape a few years ago but then I did another one and made some changes to it. I bought the tablecloth online at Pacific & Rose. I have been watching their tablecloths for a while and when I saw this one I remembered my palm tree plates that I was waiting to use and I knew it would work well with them. The tablecloth pattern was called Ivy Green.

Tommy Bahama Palm Tree Plates

I found these melamine palm tree salad plates and matching dinner plates at HomeGoods a few years ago. They were made by Tommy Bahama. I knew I wanted to do a palm tree tablescape design different from the previous one that I did and these plates were the perfect choice.

The green color on these plates is one of my favorite shades of green, almost a Kelly Green, and I like the strong graphics on the plates. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying dinner plates here.

Wedgwood Night and Day Charger

This porcelain white charger was made by Wedgwood and the pattern was called Night and Day. We bought them at an outlet mall several years ago. I love the bright white color and the raised design on them.

I bought this inexpensive stainless and plastic bamboo flatware set several years ago when I first started tablescaping. I can’t remember where I found it, it is just marked Stainless, China but I see similar sets are available online at several places. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying flatware here.

I like to mix and match fabrics that have similar colors but different scale and this tropical leaf napkin fabric is a good example of that. It works with the tablecloth even though it looks completely different and they both are a good match for the plates. I bought the tropical leaf napkins on Amazon a few years ago. I found the metal and beads palm tree napkin rings on Poshmark a few years ago too.

I saw these small plastic palm trees on Amazon a few years ago and I decided to use them as place card holders on this table setting.

If you are looking for acrylic tropical themed goblets, HomeGoods is a great place to look for them in the early Spring. I found both of these acrylic tropical themed goblets at HomeGoods a few years ago. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying goblets (including the colors that I use most often) for your tablescaping collection here.

I am using one of my matte green pottery vases that I collected many years ago as a centerpiece. It is not labeled and I am not sure if it is vintage or not. I probably bought it on Ebay. The green color is perfect for this tablescape. The faux white hibiscus flowers came from Michael’s last year. I like the tiny pop of orange color. This is a relatively simple centerpiece because the tablecloth has such a busy pattern. With a really busy tablecloth you don’t want to clutter up the table with too many things so that the eyes don’t know what to look at first.

A local art center was having a rummage sale a few years ago and there were photos online of everything that was for sale. I saw these vintage palm tree candlesticks and Hubby went and got them for me. They are cast iron and the bottom is bronze. I wish I knew their story. I have positioned them for photos so that the candle holder part doesn’t show because I didn’t want to add candles to this tablescape.

Our neighbor has really tall palm trees surrounding their pool. Palm trees are such a California icon.

Don’t miss the Tablescape How-To tab at the top of my blog for DIY tips and tricks. That link is here: https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/tablescapehowto

I put a new tablescape on my blog every week, please check back!

This blog post was featured at Life and Linda, https://www.lifeandlinda.com/ Please visit this blog, you will enjoy it!

An Udderly Charming Summer Tablescape

July 13, 2026 by Beth Wilson in Tablescapes

The subtitle of this tablescape should be called, “Hubby brought home a cow cookie jar from an estate sale and even though I have done a cow tablescape before and I already have a cow cookie jar, I had to use it before it goes to the thrift store”. I’m not sure where I found the black and white cotton gingham tablecloth, maybe it came from Amazon. I have had it for several years. You can see the other cow themed tablescape that I did a few years ago as well as 300+ other themed tablescapes of mine on my blog here: https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/tablescapes.

I wanted to find a salad plate that had Holstein cows on it to match the centerpiece and I finally found this one. The plate is marked Tienshan Stoneware and it was made in China. The pattern was called Buttercup and it has been discontinued. I bought the plates at Replacements online. The faces make me laugh and I love the yellow bell and the pink flowers that one of the cows is eating.

This matte baby blue coupe dinner plate is marked Madam Marble, durable porcelain. I can’t remember where I bought them. I chose it because I wanted to match the blue that was on the salad plate. It is not an exact match but it works.

This black plastic acrylic charger came from tableclothsFACTORY online a few years ago. I was happy with the relatively inexpensive price for six chargers. A basic black charger is always a good purchase when you are starting a tablescaping collection. To read about what you should be considering when you are buying chargers, please click here.

I wanted another set of black flatware that was all black and different from my Ginkgo International LePrix black flatware set to use on a Halloween tablescape a few years ago and I found this set on sale at Macy’s online. It was made by Lenox and the pattern is called Portola. I love the simple design and shiny black color. I suspect this set will get a lot of use. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying flatware here.

These black cotton napkins came from Crate and Barrel a few years ago. They are a really nice study cotton fabric in a true black color. So often black is actually a dark charcoal or dark gray but these are the perfect black color. Although Hubby mumbles about tablescape storage, he is often a partner in crime. He likes to go to estate sales and garage sales and he found these Holstein cow napkin rings at an estate sale a few years ago and brought them home. He knows I have a weakness for napkin rings.

I found this hand-carved linden wood Holstein cow on Etsy. I often search there for interesting items to use as place card holders.

I like to use these black and clear goblets together because they complement each other. The goblet on the left with the black bowl and clear stem was made by Classic Touch and it is called V-Shaped Water Glass, Black With Clear Stem. I bought them at Houzz online several years ago. The clear fluted goblet with the black stem on the right is called Octime and the manufacturer was Luminarc Arcoroc. They were made in the 1980’s. I bought them on Ebay. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying goblets for your tablescaping collection including the colors that I use most often here.

This ceramic cow comes in three parts, each with its own lid. It had a few very tiny color nicks that I filled in with marking pen. Hubby found it at an estate sale and he loved the yellow chicks so he brought it home. It is a vintage Coco Dowley Holstein Cow 3 Piece Cookie Jar or Condiment Set made by Certified International in the 1990’s. As you can see it is large!

This ceramic Holstein cow butter dish was made by Boston Warehouse Trading Corp. I can’t remember where I bought it.

This is a vintage Boston Warehouse “Udderly Cows” salt and pepper set. It was part of a line of country farmhouse kitchenware released by the Boston Warehouse Trading Corp during the 1990’s and 2000’s. We found the set inside the Cow Cookie Jar Centerpiece. I suspect it is part of the same set of dishes as the butter dish shown above.

Holstein cows originated in the Netherlands approximately 2,000 years ago. The Internet says that California has the most number of Holstein cows but I am not sure that is true. Holstein cattle are the most prominent of the seven major dairy breeds in the United States. Cows of Holstein descent make up over 90% of the cows on U.S. dairy farms. Interesting!

Don’t miss the Tablescape How-To tab at the top of my blog for DIY tips and tricks. That link is here: https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/tablescapehowto

I put a new tablescape on my blog every week, please check back!

This blog post was featured at Modern on Monticello, https://modernonmonticello.com/ Please visit this blog, you will enjoy it!