June Weddings in Vintage Linens

I have a collection of vintage linens, needlepoint, embroidery, and other handwork. Because in the past June was traditionally the most popular month for weddings (now it’s August), I decided to share a few of my pieces that illustrate weddings. How I appreciate the time that was spent on these special pieces. It would be fun to frame some in some way.

This is a series of dish towels that depict the wedding day. Here is the bride coming down the stairs ready to wed. Some of these vintage patterns are still for sale so it is difficult to determine what is vintage and what is not but I don’t care. I just really love the visuals.

The bride with her flower girl.

The flower girl but it looks like it wasn’t finished.

The Bride and Groom.

Cutting the cake.

Another dish towel series depicting a courtship and marriage. Here is the proposal. I love the background details.

The formal wedding portrait.

Off to the honeymoon. Love the details on the clothing.

Now a family and on a walk. Love all the details here. I really should use all these dish towels but I don’t have the heart to, at least not for now!

This is a small square tablecloth with wedding related images in the four corners.

These were used sometimes over small tables set for card games or tea parties.

These small guest towels aren’t wedding related but they are fun to share. I put them out sometimes for guests.

This is a fun hankie that depicts the different traditional gifts given for each wedding anniversary.

An unusual humorous hankie that illustrates a marriage game with circles for the scores. This may be from the late 50’s or early 60’s. I love the bold colors on this one. I bought all these items at antique malls or on Ebay. I don’t collect anymore, I have run out of room!

This blog post was featured at My Thrift Store Addiction: https://mythriftstoreaddiction.blogspot.com/ and Love my LIttle Cottage https://lovemylittlecottage.com/ Please visit these blogs, you will enjoy them!

Green Gingham and Strawberries, a Tablescape for Summertime

It all started when my daughter was in high school. She got the nickname Strawberry because of her auburn red hair. So she started collecting everything strawberry. This went on into college and her first apartment. Eventually she moved on from strawberries and I inherited all her strawberry “stuff”. Over the years most of it has moved on but I still have a few things left. I have been thinking about a strawberry table for a few years but couldn’t find the right strawberry plates until I saw these strawberry salad plates at Sur la Table this month.

I bought the green gingham tablecloth on Amazon. I have had really good luck finding tablecloths there that are great quality and inexpensive. The place mats came from Pier 1.

The strawberry salad plates are melamine and they are nice heavy plates. Sur la Table has had many great melamine plates lately with fun designs.

I added an extra plate to the plate stack for design purposes. The next plate down is from Pottery Barn, their Cambria pattern in red. It is a smaller version of the charger plate that I am using here. I love these plates and use them often.

This dinner plate is made by Fiesta and the color is lemongrass. I think I bought them at Macy’s.

The final plate in the stack is a Cambria charger in red from Pottery Barn. I use this charger often in my tablescapes.

The flatware is made by D & D Inox in Italy. I bought it at Neiman Marcus or Bloomingdales during a major sale a few years ago. There are similar patterns available online now. This set pops up quite a bit in my table settings.

Using my red Waterford Marquis Brookside goblets again, a repeat on other tables this Spring. I have used this goblet four times now this spring in my Valentines, Spiders, Cards, and Stars and Stripes tablescapes. I think if I were starting a tablescaping hobby, a set of red goblets would be one of my first purchases. They can be used several times a year. I bought these goblets years ago at HomeGoods. HomeGoods is selling this pattern in clear right now. I bought a set because I love the fact that they are a bit taller than other goblets and the design goes with everything. The green goblets came from Pier 1 several years ago, I use them several times a year. I like how tall they are and the simple design.

The strawberry napkins came from Sur la Table last year and they are a close match to this year’s salad plates. I bought the wood strawberry napkin rings on Ebay several years ago. I only have six, I wish I could find six more to match them.

Can’t remember where I found the glass jar place card holders but it may have been online at Wayfair. At the last minute I decided to fill them with tiny strawberries but my order didn’t come in time so I used buttons instead. Not quite the same impact, the others would have shown up better. Will add a photo when they get here.

I have had this small jam jar for a long time. It has a cute little spoon with a strawberry on it too. It is labeled MWW Market. Can’t remember where I bought it.

This salt and pepper set, the strawberry cookie jar, the three part relish dish, and the strawberry pitcher all came from HomeGoods this month. They are made by Arlington Designs.

As I have said before in other tablescaping blog posts, I love pitchers. This one had to come home with me.

I usually don’t start planning a tablescape until I know for sure what the centerpiece will be because I struggle with that sometimes. I had been looking for a red strawberry cookie jar for a while but they were all too expensive or not the right color red. When I found this one a couple weeks ago at HomeGoods, I knew my strawberry tablescape was off and running. I put it on my Pottery Barn Rhodes drink dispenser stand to give it a bit of height.

I have had this tiny salt and pepper set for many years. It isn’t marked. I just love their expressions!

HomeGoods had four of these bowls this month too, they aren’t marked. Because my kitchen is red and white I can always use red dishes. These are a nice size.

This table setting makes me think of my daughter, and my mother as well because my mother loved strawberries.

If you like fruit, visit my Lemons tablescape here: https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/blog/2019/4/30/i-got-a-lemontable

To see 120+ 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.

Please check out the March 2022 issue of Country Sampler magazine for a photo of one of my Spring tablescapes.

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

This blog post was featured at Miz Helen’s Country Cottage, https://www.mizhelenscountrycottage.com/ and Life and Linda, https://www.lifeandlinda.com/ , Please visit these blogs, you will enjoy them!

A Preview of our Cozy Cabin

This is our family’s tiny, old, and rustic cabin in the High Sierras of east central California. It is only 525 square feet and it was probably built in the 1930’s or 1940’s, maybe even earlier. It started as a rental cabin at a local resort and then was moved to its current location and remodeled a bit in the 1950’s. It is difficult to get a good photo of the entire cabin because of the fence, it keeps wild animals at bay for the most part. The cabin is definitely a work in progress but we want to keep it rustic and simple. (I wrote another blog post about some of the furnishings previously.)

We can drive to it year round even when the snow comes.

This photo shows the tips of the six foot fence this winter, we had a lot of snow!

This is what the front porch looked like before we bought it.

This is what it looks like right now, a work in progess still but much better than it was! Definitely need a new door mat! And the door will be replaced as well. Eventually the entire cabin will be repainted.

This is the view from just above the cabin, there are large falls at the top center of the photo.

In the spring there are several seasonal falls that appear when the snow run off is heavy and the large falls become even larger. We can hear the water’s roar sometimes.

This is what the kitchen area looked like when we walked through before we bought the cabin. A young man lived there with two very large dogs and a giant aquarium. We still can’t figure out why he had that large refrigerator but he left it behind so we are using it for now even though it takes up a lot of space. The kitchen floor was ancient linoleum. He was painting the cupboards so all the cupboard doors were off. That fish wallpaper border on the soffit was a question as well!

The kitchen space as it looks right now. We replaced the linoleum with engineered wood and redid the soffit, no more wallpaper. There isn’t an oven but we brought in a microwave and toaster oven. Hubby added lighting under the cabinets which really makes a difference. He probably will add some under the microwave shelf as well. We will get around to painting the cabinets eventually. At some point we may put the water heater (enclosed on the left) outside and relocate things so that the sink is in front of the window. The kitchen area is tiny, simple, and rustic but that’s the way we like it.

There wasn’t any space for eating so we found a small table that just fits on the wall in the kitchen area. It has two leaves that open up to seat four if we move it out into the living room area so that solved that problem. The chairs fold up as well so the extra two can be stored when not in use. The table can be used for food prep as well which adds counter space.

There was an old wood stove against a crumbling wall and dirty shag carpeting in the living area.

We added a new stone wall.

And replaced the wood stove with a more efficient gas stove so we wouldn’t have to worry about buying wood every winter. You can see the new flooring in the living area in this photo.

When we bought the cabin there was dirty paneling in poor condition on the walls and the ceiling was acoustical tiles.

Once we removed the paneling on some of the walls we found this, original half logs with daylight showing through between them in some areas.

We filled the holes, added new paneling on the walls, removed the acoustical ceiling tiles, and left the original wood ceiling. It looks rustic now, as it should. (Yes, under the nasty carpeting in the living area was more linoleum!)

That corner as it is now with new wall paneling and new flooring. My brother donated his old furniture and the lamp table and lamp came from a Habitat for Humanity ReStore. I bought the curtains at J.C. Penneys.

I found a 1958 topographical map of the local area on Ebay that actually has a small square showing where the cabin is located. I had it framed and it is a real conversation starter. People love to see what was in the area in 1958 and what was not built yet.

At some point a front porch area was added onto the cabin. When we bought it there was weird carpeting on the floor out there and a washer and dryer blocked a door that was in bad shape.

We put the new flooring out there as well and we are in the process of turning the door into a new window because we already have the front door on the other side of the porch. Hubby added electrical outlets in every room and replaced the ceiling lights in most of the rooms.

We replaced the carpeting with new carpeting in the two bedrooms. It can get really cold up there in the wintertime, we wanted the warmth! We left the wood paneling in the front bedroom and just added bunk beds with a trundle to sleep more people.

The back bedroom had dark paneling on one wall and thin wall board on the other. I was going to replace the ceiling light fixture in there but it is so funky I decided to leave it.

We replaced the wall paneling and carpeting in the back bedroom. We bought a new queen bed and the bedside tables came from a Habitat for Humanity ReStore. We bought the lamps at Lamps Plus I think.

The bathroom is tiny. We replaced the accordion door (crazy!), painted the walls, bought a new toilet, added shelving above the toilet, and replaced the flooring.

Not much space in the bathroom so we added hooks and towel racks behind the door for towels.

At the moment, we are having a deck built onto the cabin. It will be so nice to sit out there, maybe even have a fire pit and barbeque.

There will always be something that needs to be done but for now, the cabin is perfect.

Read more about how I furnished the cabin at https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/blog/2018/6/7/pine-cones-and-pine-cones-1

A Stars and Stripes Forever Tablescape

This is a 4th of July Tablescape that I did several years ago that has been pinned more than any others on my Pinterest Tablescapes board. I decided to post it again because it is one of my favorites. The patriotic tablecloth and napkins came from Sur la Table several years ago. They are soft and heavy, really good quality, and I love the simple design.

I have always loved a red, white, and blue color design. For many years the family room was decorated in that color scheme and there are still a few of those design elements left in that room. I have a weakness for patriotic tableware. These salad and dinner plates are melamine and they came from Sur la Table several years ago. They sometimes have cute holiday designs and I wait for the after season sales and buy online.

The red place mats came from Pier 1 many years ago. I have several colors of this placemat.

My phone camera changes the red tone a bit, it is actually more of a burgundy red.

The chargers are plastic, I can’t remember where I bought them. I have had them for several years.

I bought the frosted white flatware on sale online at Wayfair a few years ago, it is made by Cambridge. It is 18/0 instead of 18/10 so the fork tines are a bit sharper than I would like but I really liked the frosted color. Wayfair has really good sales on flatware sometimes. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying flatware here.

I am using my Waterford Marquis Brookside goblets on this tablescape and I added the matching iced teas too. I think if I were starting a tablescaping hobby, a set of red goblets would be one of my first purchases. They can be used several times a year. I bought a set because I love the fact that they are a bit taller than other goblets and the design goes with everything. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying goblets (including the colors I use the most) for your tablescaping collection here.

I bought the napkin rings at Pottery Barn several years ago. The napkins and tablecloth came from Sur la Table several years ago. They are soft and heavy, really good quality, and I love the simple design.

I can’t remember where I bought the metal star place card holders. I have had them for years. The set came with three navy, three red, three turquoise, and three white stars in the set.

I can’t remember where I bought the salt and pepper shakers. My family jokes because sometimes I put special salt and pepper shakers on the table and I forget to fill them!

This set of creamers or small pitchers makes me laugh. We are a two party household so when I saw them I had to have them. They are from Fitz and Floyd, I can’t remember where I bought them. I have had them for a long time.

I have had this Uncle Sam Nutcracker for many many years. He is much loved but he needs some paint touch ups. I never remember that until I see him again. Maybe this year I will do it! I don’t have any idea where I bought him.

I collected Uncle Sams for a while when the family room was decorated with red, white, and blue and I bought this Uncle Sam pitcher several years ago, I can’t remember where. It was made by Department 56. I have always loved pitchers, I think because with a large family we always had one on the table while I was growing up. My mother never allowed a milk carton on the table! One of my four brothers tried to sneak one on a few times but it never worked. Then they would sometimes put it on the floor next to their chair! I love this pitcher, it is one of my favorites.

Three cheers for the red, white, and blue!

To see 200 other tablescapes that I have created including 13 other 4th of July 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. (Please note that if I don’t see any Facebook activity on your Facebook profile page, I won’t add you because of fear of someone having taken over your Facebook account.) 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!