Grandma's Pink Tea Depression Glass Tablescape

Hubby made the mistake of bringing home some dishes he found at an estate sale for me. It was part of a set for four of Anchor Hocking’s Pink Lace Edge or Old Colony Depression glass that was made between 1935 and 1938. I immediately could see a great tablescape using these dishes and bought the rest of what I needed on Ebay.

These pink glass dishes are difficult to photograph. They look more orange pink than they really are. The tablecloth and napkins are pinker than the photos show as well.

I like the open edge on these dishes.

The salad plate is a good size for a nice salad.

The dinner plate is the same as the salad plate only a larger size.

This is the first time that I have used a cup and saucer on a tablescape. I don’t tend to buy them when I buy dishes. You can see in the background the raised slightly shiny design in the pink tablecloth.

I already had these vintage pink swirl glass goblets that I bought on Ebay several years ago. They matched the dishes perfectly. They were made in France between 1970 and 1980 by Cristal D’Arques-Durand and the pattern was called Rosaline Pink or Swirl Optic.

This photo shows the design in the tablecloth again. The sterling flatware was my mother’s wedding sterling. It was made by Towle starting in 1928 and the design was called Chased Diana. I love the plain design with a simple border. I remember it from my childhood when my mother entertained company.

I bought these tiny place card holders on Ebay several years ago. I wanted something that had the color pink and I remembered these that have a tiny pink flower among the other colors.

The set at the estate sale was sold with the cream and sugar. It’s nice to have matching serving pieces. You can see the tablecloth design here with a stripe and a raised slightly shiny pattern. I already had a pink damask tablecloth but I thought there were matching napkins and I couldn’t find any. I went on Ebay and was lucky enough to find this tablecloth with eight matching napkins. It came in the original box but I think it had been used and cleaned at least once because there was a slight small stain. It is almost impossible to find vintage tablecloths without a stain or two. The box says Imported Damask, combed, hand hemmed, mercerized, and French Hand Hemmed. The style was called Contessa.

I created the centerpiece with two larger serving bowls in the pattern on top of a small serving platter. Then I added pink roses to match the pink dishes and tablecloth.

For added interest I put a couple rose bowls on the table. I found this one at a gift shop several years ago. I love the raised design with birds and pink flowers.

This rose bowl is one of my most cherished possessions. It was my mother’s, I think it was a wedding gift to her in 1938. I can remember it sitting on a shelf while I was growing up. I love the hand-painted flowers. The bottom says, “Made in Czechoslovakia”. I have it tucked away in a china cabinet for safe keeping.

This tablescape is different from my usual bright color designs but it reminds me of my grandmothers and the lives they lived.

To see 200 other tablescapes that I have created please click here. If you are on Facebook, join my Tablescape Ideas group! Just click on the Facebook Search box at the top of the page and type in Tablescape Ideas. Don’t miss my Tablescaping How-To section at the top of this blog post for more tablescaping tips and tricks.

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

A Whale of a Tablescape

As soon as I saw these whale plates at Target, I knew I had to have them. I already had this large whale centerpiece and I was just waiting to find other whale elements for a whale tablescape. The navy blue tablecloth came from Amazon, one of the first places I look for tablecloths when I need them. They are often inexpensive and have good reviews. The whale runner was part of the set of whale items for sale from Target this spring. The whole set was created by Vineyard Vines, a company founded on Martha’s Vineyard. I found the artificial blue flowers on Amazon. The whale centerpiece sits on a drink dispenser stand from Pottery Barn. We saw the whale on a long weekend a few years ago but it was too expensive. After we came home, I found one online that was a second and it was a good price so I bought it.

I love the combination of blue and white for tablescape designs, it is so clean and crisp and the colors provide a great contrast.

This whale salad plate was made by Vineyard Vines. The back says, “Every day should feel this good”.

This whale design dinner plate was made by Vineyard Vines too, part of the set of whale table items at Target. It also has “Every day should feel this good” on the back.

The charger is my Antique Beaded Charger that I bought at Williams Sonoma several years ago. I use this charger constantly in my table settings. If you look back through my blog at my tablescapes, you will see it often. A simple white charger is a great first purchase if you want to create more interest in your table settings.

The clear goblet is made by Waterford, it’s called Marquis Brady. I bought them at HomeGoods this spring. I also have them in red. I love taller goblets like this one. I bought the blue goblets on Ebay, you can still find them for sale there. They were made by Libbey in the 1970’s and the pattern is Tulip in Dusky Blue.

This FishStix flatware is really fun. It was made by Galleyware. I love the designs in the bowls of the forks and spoon and the fish tail handles. The knife has a shark face on the side.

The metal white whale napkin rings are also part of the Vineyard Vines whale set from Target. I had someone on Etsy make the whale napkins for me. I love the way they turned out.

I found the whale bowls online, they aren’t to be used for food (they’re for plants) but they were too cute not to sit on this table.

The clam shell place card holders were made by Andrea by Sadek. I bought them online but I can’t remember where.

I added a small glass blown whale from my glass collection to the table. I have had it for many years.

I have always loved whales. Decades ago Hubby and I used to drive out to the end of the Peninsula and watch whales pass by during their annual migration. This table brings back wonderful memories of seeing those beautiful creatures.

This blog post was featured at Across the Blvd., https://acrosstheblvd.com/ and Serving Up Southern, https://servingupsouthern.com/ Please visit these blogs, you will enjoy them!

A Lighthouse Love Tablescape

Hubby loves lighthouses probably because he has spent his life’s work in navigation and GPS. We live about 10 miles from a lighthouse and we spent a vacation a few years ago visiting a few on the Outer Banks. I saw some lighthouse plates then but I didn’t buy them. When I saw this set, I bought them and started thinking about a lighthouse tablescape. I found the tablecloth on Amazon. Although it is mostly hidden, it has anchors, a chain design, and stripes.

I went back and forth a bit trying to decide what colors to use with these lighthouse plates. I started with a blue tablecloth and was working with green and brown accents from the colors on the plates. You can see how that all went out the window!

These lighthouse salad plates were made by American Atelier at Home. There are four different designs, this one is “Cape Neddick”. This actual lighthouse is in Cape Neddick, Maine near York. I bought the plates on Ebay. I love the colors and the designs around the rim of the plate.

The next plate is part of our every day dishes. It is a scarlet salad plate made by Fiesta. I bought them at Macys when we remodeled the kitchen and it became a red and white kitchen.

I bought these heavy beige melamine dinner plates at HomeGoods a few years ago and some turquoise ones in the same pattern. They were made by Il Mulino New York.

I bought these chargers on Ebay, a few at a time when I could find them. They are called Color Spectrum by Mikasa and the color is Royal Blue. I love these chargers, I bought them in several colors. They are good quality and heavy.

The bottom charger is my Antique Beaded Charger that I bought at Williams Sonoma several years ago. I use this charger constantly on my table settings. If you look back through my blog at my tablescapes, you will see it often.

Can’t remember what company made the red goblet. I bought them on Ebay and I have had them for a long time. If anyone recognizes the pattern, please let me know! I bought the blue goblets on Ebay, you can still find them for sale there. They were made by Libbey in the 1970’s and the pattern is Tulip in Dusky Blue.

The red flatware is Ginkgo LePrix in Milano Red. I have had it for several years but you can still buy it online. I also bought this pattern in a few other colors as well.

I bought the anchor place card holders at Bed, Bath and Beyond a few years ago. They were silver but Hubby painted some black and some white so I can use them more often.

I bought the nautical napkin rings on Ebay a few years ago. The red and beige and white striped napkins came from HomeGoods.

Not sure where I bought the lighthouse tea light candle holders but it was probably HomeGoods. I have had them for a while.

I think I bought these anchor tea light candle holders at HomeGoods.

This centerpiece lighthouse was actually a lamp that Hubby found at a garage sale. He knew I was looking for lighthouses. He took off all the lamp parts and there it was! It is sitting on one of my Pottery Barn Rhodes Drink Dispensers stands to give a it bit more height.

This lighthouse is Cape Hatteras on Hatteras Island in the Outer Banks. It is one of the ones we visited a few years ago. The other lighthouses on the plates are West Quoddy Head in Lubec, Maine and Split Rock Lighthouse near Silver Bay, Minnesota (upper left plate in this photo). This table setting makes me want to visit more lighthouses!

To see 200+ other tablescapes that I have created including 20 other Ocean themed tablescapes please click here. If you are on Facebook, join my Tablescape Ideas group! Just click on the Facebook Search box at the top of the page and type in Tablescape Ideas. Don’t miss my Tablescaping How-To section at the top of this blog post (or here) for more tablescaping tips and tricks.

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

A Manners Can Be Fun Tablescape

When I was young we had a book called, “Manners Can Be Fun”. It was first published in 1936 so it wasn’t a new book and it was a bit old-fashioned. When our children were young, a new edition was published and I bought it as well because the book held lots of memories for me. The book is actually still in print. When I saw these napkins, I thought of that book immediately and I knew I had to have them. I created a fairly simple table design around the napkins.

I bought the black tablecloth on Amazon. If you are looking for a simple tablecloth design Amazon has some good ones. Just be sure to always read the reviews before you buy. A black background always makes photo taking a challenge!

The black salad plate is unmarked but I probably bought it at HomeGoods. It is similar to a black Fiesta plate.

I love the silverware design on these dinner plates. As soon as I saw them, I wanted them. I have had them for several years. They were made by Emma Bridgewater in England. The pattern is called “Knives and Forks”.

The charger is my Antique Beaded charger that I bought from Williams-Sonoma several years ago. I use it often because it has a simple design that goes with everything.

I bought these black goblets on Ebay and they were one of the first sets that I bought several years ago. They are Lenox Midnight Mood black glass water goblets and they were made between 1974 and 1982. They are 7 1/4 inches tall. When I started buying goblets I didn’t pay attention to the height but now I like to buy goblets that are at least about 8 inches tall because my table is large and I think they show better. The clear fluted goblet with the black stem is called Octime and and the manufacturer was Luminarc Arcoroc. They were made in the 1980’s. I bought them on Ebay also.

The flatware is our every day stainless. It is made by Gorham and the pattern is Studio. It is still in production.

I found the napkins on Etsy a few years ago while I was looking for some other napkins. I really love the sayings!

The napkin rings were made by French Laundry Home and I bought them on sale online at Horchow several years ago.

I found the acrylic chair place card holders online at Wayfair.

My mother received the cream pottery vase as a wedding present in 1938. I have a second matching one as well. I just set a rose ball in it for this table. I added the small black chairs to match the place card holders and provide a bit more dimension on the table.

I wanted to show the entire set of napkins because they are such fun. Manners can be Fun!