Lambs on an Easter Tablescape

Since I started tablescaping I have created ten different Easter tablescapes. You can see them all here, (scroll down to Easter). I have done the usual Easter themes, bunnies and Easter eggs, so now I am looking for different ideas. Three years ago I did a yellow chick theme for Easter (you can see that one here). I had been pondering other ideas since then and I decided that lambs would work. I found these cute plates and then I found this cute lamb tablecloth on sale at Spoonflower online last month. If you look closely at the tablecloth you can see four leaf clovers on it so it would work for St. Patrick’s Day too as well as Spring.

I love these vintage style ceramic salad plates with their scalloped edge. I have them for a few different holidays now. These lamb salad plates are made by Mr. Christmas and this design is called Mr. Cottontail, Follow the Magic. When I am looking for a certain plate design, once I find what I want, I google the name and buy them online wherever they are the cheapest. These lamb salad plates came from Ebay and Poshmark last month.

After I bought the salad plates I was trying to decide what color the dinner plates should be. I kept noticing the large pink bow and the other pink accents on the salad plate. I have a few different pink dinner plates but they tend toward a peach color rather than a true pink. I decided to check Amazon and these LIYH pink plastic dinner plates popped out with matching salad plates. I took a gamble that the pink color was a true pink and I bought them because I knew that I could easily return them with free shipping if they didn’t work. The actual pink color is a bit brighter pink than this photo shows. I like the color and the ruffled edge and I am happy that I finally have plates that are a true pink color.

I have a pink charger that matches the dinner plate but when I put them all together with the salad plate it was too much pink and it looked too much like a baby shower so I pulled these turquoise glass chargers and they worked. I have had these turquoise blue glass charger plates for several years, I think I bought them on Amazon. They were made by Bormioli Rocco, an Italian company, and the pattern was called Inca. I have them in a few other colors as well. They are heavy glass and I really love how solid they are.

I pulled blue, turquoise and pink flatware sets to try on this tablescape but the pink set looked the best. This pink frosted flatware set was made by Bugatti for Vietri and the pattern was called Aladdin Brilliant. I bought the set at Macys several years ago. I have several sets of frosted flatware, these are 18/10 stainless, and I really like the frosted design. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying flatware here.

I think the napkins came from Pier 1 several years ago, I love the intense turquoise color. Two years ago I did a Summer Farm Animals tablescape and I bought these lamb napkin rings to use on that tablescape. I found them on Ebay and they were made by Lipco. You can read my blog post for ideas about how to store napkin rings and place card holders here.

Here is the Farm Animals table setting from two years ago with the same lamb napkin ring. Originally the lamb had a red ribbon around its neck but Hubby repainted it for me for this tablescape.

These Kate Aspen lamb place card holders came from Ebay last month. I bought the pink place cards on Amazon a few years ago.

The turquoise acrylic goblet on the left came from Pier 1 several years ago. I have this goblet design style in several colors in acrylic and in glass and I use them often. I found the pink glass goblet at World Market a couple of years ago. Tall true pink glass goblets are difficult to find so I am happy to have these. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying goblets for your tablescaping collection here.

I had been on the lookout for a lamb centerpiece for several months. I was meeting some librarian friends at a restaurant down the freeway a bit and there was a small group of gift shops and an outdoor shopping area there as well. I got there early and as I was wandering around I suddenly saw this larger lamb. It was labeled as vintage but I am not sure that it is. They are made of some kind of clay I think. I saw the smaller lambs too but I didn’t buy them, (a mistake!) because I thought I could find a couple of smaller lambs to add to the tablescape somewhere else. I was still looking with no luck when Hubby was planning a trip south to pick up something and I decided to have him stop by and buy the smaller two matching lambs as well. I was lucky that they were still there! I added pink ribbons to them that I bought on Amazon to match the salad plates.

I like the soft colors on this tablescape, they always seem to signify Spring to me.

To see 220+ tablescapes that I have created, including 10 other Easter 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 for more tablescaping tips and tricks.

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

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Fairies on a Spring Tablescape

I have been thinking about this tablescape design for a couple of years at least but I have never been able to find what I needed to create it until now. I decided to set the table without a tablecloth to suggest a wood forest. This solid wood table was made by Stickley as were the chairs and hutch. We bought the set many years ago.

These fairy salad plates were not made to hold food, they are collector plates. They are purely for decorative purposes. They would be removed from the table before the food is served. I purchased six different plate designs for this table setting. This fairy plate is called The Lavender Fairy and it was the First Issue in the Flower Fairies Collection inspired by the works of Cicely Mary Barker. It is labeled Heinrich Germany Villeroy & Boch. This plate design was based on an illustration that was a part of Cicely Mary Barker’s The Fairies of the Garden series of illustrations. Cicely Mary Barker’s Flower Fairies drawings were first published in 1923. She was an English illustrator. There were 170 original illustrations and they have been reproduced on many different products including plates and ornaments in several different series. You can find them on the secondary market in stores and online. I found all these fairy plates online a few months ago from several different sources after googling fairy plate. I planted lavender last year and it is doing well in my garden.

This fairy plate is called The Sweet Pea Fairy and it was the Second Issue in the Flower Fairies Collection inspired by the works of Cicely Mary Barker. It is labeled Heinrich Germany Villeroy & Boch. This plate design was based on an illustration that was a part of Cicely Mary Barker’s The Fairies of the Garden series of illustrations. When I was growing up we had sweet peas all along the side of the house that my mother planted I think. I have started planting them myself and I can’t wait until they are tall and the flowers have bloomed.

This fairy plate is called The Candytuft Fairy. It was the Third Issue in the Flower Fairies Collection inspired by the works of Cicely Mary Barker. It is labeled Heinrich Germany Villeroy & Boch. I was not familiar with Candytuft until I found this plate. I am not sure if it would grow in our ocean climate. This plate design was based on an illustration that was a part of Cicely Mary Barker’s The Fairies of the Garden series of illustrations.

This fairy plate is called The Heliotrope Fairy. It was the Fourth Issue in the Flower Fairies Collection inspired by the works of Cicely Mary Barker. It is labeled Heinrich Germany Villeroy & Boch. This plate design was based on an illustration that was a part of Cicely Mary Barker’s The Fairies of the Garden series of illustrations. Now that I have this plate I might try to grow heliotrope.

This fairy plate is called The Blackthorn Fairy. It was the Fifth Issue in the Flower Fairies Collection inspired by the works of Cicely Mary Barker. It is labeled Heinrich Germany Villeroy & Boch. Blackthorn won’t grow in my California climate. It is found in the Northeast and Europe. This plate design was based on an illustration that was a part of Cicely Mary Barker’s The Fairies of the Winter series of illustrations.

This fairy plate is called The Apple Blossom Fairy. It was the Sixth Issue in the Flower Fairies Collection inspired by the works of Cicely Mary Barker. It is labeled Heinrich Germany Villeroy & Boch. This plate design based on an illustration that was a part of Cicely Mary Barker’s Alphabet Fairies series of illustrations.

This is a Fiesta dinner plate in the color Green Meadow. I love Fiesta dinner plates. They come in lots of great colors. According to online information Fiesta is a line of ceramic glazed dinnerware manufactured and marketed by the Fiesta Tableware Company of Newell, West Virginia since its introduction in 1936 with a hiatus from 1973 to 1985. Fiesta is noted for its Art Deco styling and its range of often bold, solid colors. In the years since Fiesta was first produced, there have been a total of 47 colors in the line. Today, The Fiesta Tableware Company introduces one new color each year. Over the years some colors are retired as new ones are added.

I found these sage green crochet doily place mats at Bed, Bath, and Beyond several years ago. I wish they had come in other colors too because I really like the ruffled edge and the way it sets off whatever is set on top of it.

This flatware set is Milano Ginkgo International LePrix and the color is Moss Green. Not sure where I bought it. I also have it in a few other colors. It’s 18/10 and really good quality flatware.

These sage green linen napkins came from Sur La Table a few years ago. All of the napkin rings that I used on this tablescape were made with a fairy ornament temporarily attached to a sage green ceramic napkin ring. I found all these fairy ornaments online a few months ago from several different sources after googling flower fairy. This fairy ornament was called the Heliotrope Fairy and it was part of The Original Flower Fairies Collection copyrighted in 2012. This ornament design was based on an illustration that was a part of Cicely Mary Barker’s The Fairies of the Garden series of illustrations.

This fairy ornament was called The Strawberry Fairy and it was part of the Flower Fairies Collection, Series II copyrighted in 1999. This ornament design was based on an illustration that was a part of Cicely Mary Barker’s Alphabet Fairies series of illustrations.

This fairy ornament was called The Poppy Fairy and it was also part of The Original Flower Fairies Collection, Series II. It was copyrighted in 2001. This ornament design was based on an illustration that was a part of Cicely Mary Barker’s The Fairies of the Summer series of illustrations.

This fairy ornament was called the Mallow Fairy and it was part of The Original Flower Fairies Collection. It was copyrighted in 2012. This ornament design was based on an illustration that was a part of Cicely Mary Barker’s Alphabet Fairies series of illustrations.

This fairy ornament was called the Geranium Fairy and it was part of The Original Flower Fairies Collection. It was copyrighted in 2012. This ornament design was based on an illustration that was a part of Cicely Mary Barker’s The Fairies of the Garden series of illustrations.

This fairy ornament was called the Bluebell Fairy and it was part of The Original Flower Fairies Collection. It was copyrighted in 2012. This ornament design was based on an illustration that was a part of Cicely Mary Barker’s The Fairies of the Spring series of illustrations.

These small resin fairies that I am using as place card holders on this tablescape came from Amazon last month in a set of four. I set them on a clear square place card holder. I bought these crystal place card holders at HomeGoods several years ago when I first started tablescaping. They were made by Oleg Cassini. They are heavy and solid and I really like the design.

I can’t remember where I found the green glass goblet on the left. The green acrylic goblet on the right came from our Pier 1 store before it closed a few years ago.

I found this fairy figure at HomeGoods a few months ago. I had her sitting in my study on a small table next to the chair that my husband sits in sometimes and he said she was giving him the eye…Lol!

Because everyone needs a little fairy dust now and then…

To see 220+ 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!

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How to Tablescape, Part 1, Developing a Theme

My tablescapes are themed tablescapes and they usually start with an idea or a theme. Many people create generic table settings with special dishes and a flower arrangement and/or candle centerpiece and these can be really pretty but there are hundreds of them, and they look somewhat the same in photographs. Others create themed table settings and these can be lots of fun to create and sometimes they are really unusual and grab your attention. My tablescapes are mostly theme related and they usually include several elements that are tied to the theme. You can see my 270+ themed tablescapes and read all about everything on each table and where it all came from here: https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/tablescapes .

How to pick a tablescape theme idea.

I start with an idea and sometimes it will take as long as a year to gather all the elements to carry out the theme on the table. The searching can take that long but it also spreads out the budget for the table and that can help keep the costs down. I usually have several different themes that I am thinking about creating and working on at any one time to find items to carry out the theme. This table started with some card plates and a large dice I found at a garage sale. I already had the vintage tablecloth and so an idea for a tablescape was born! But it took several months before I gathered all the other theme elements. This Playing Cards Table is always an attention getter. To read more about this tablescape please click here.

How to develop your theme using your centerpiece and salad plate.

The focal point on the table is the centerpiece and it can make or break the success of the tablescape. The two theme elements that I start with are the centerpiece and the salad plate because it is on the top of the plate stack and that image will be repeated around the table. It is those two elements that can visually set the theme for the table and create the unity that you want for the table setting. These salad plates were the last element I found for this Lobster themed tablescape. I was beginning to wonder if I would ever find the right salad plates but these were perfect. I found them after a Google search.

How to find the pieces that you need to carry out your theme.

There are so many different theme ideas, the sky is the limit. You can do holidays, seasons, food, insects, travel, ocean, beach, animals, and special interests like camping or hobbies. Sometimes I will think about a table theme and then try to find all the elements to carry out the theme. When I knew that I was going to do a lobster themed tablescape I searched for a centerpiece to carry out that theme. I always start with a Google search for whatever I am looking for, in this case, a lobster, and I found this one on Etsy and then I added a piece of faux coral for it to climb from HomeGoods to use as the centerpiece. When I am out and about I am constantly looking for things that I could use as centerpieces wherever I am. I find many of my tablescaping items online after a Google search on various sites or on Ebay, Etsy, Poshmark, or Mercari or at HomeGoods or Michael’s. Amazon is another source, I often look there first because I am a prime member and shipping is free. My husband loves estate sales and garage sales so we find many things there also. You can read more about this Lobster themed tablescape here: https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/blog/2020/5/27/lobsters-for-dinner-definitely

How to find ideas for themed tablescapes.

Sometimes I will find a special themed salad plate or centerpiece when I am out shopping and that discovery will start the theme I want to create. One Christmas I suddenly found a Grinch salad plate and at almost the same time, a Grinch cookie jar that I could use for the centerpiece, so that tablescape was off and running.

It was not a theme that I would have thought of but the items I inadvertently found suggested the theme. I am constantly looking for unusual large objects that can serve as centerpieces. You can read more about this tablescape here.

How to repurpose items to use as centerpieces.

Hubby once found a lighthouse lamp at a garage sale and we removed the lamp part and I put it on a stand and used it as the centerpiece on a lighthouse themed table. Sometimes I find something but it is not the right color so we paint it whatever color that I need. Sometimes we paint it more than once!

I bought a larger bowl shaped like a shell at HomeGoods as soon as I saw it because I realized that it could be used all summer long on different summer table settings.

How to use lanterns and candles as centerpieces.

I also have generic centerpieces items like lanterns and candle holders that can be adapted for different theme tables with the addition of decorative elements. When I started tablescaping I bought various lanterns and candlesticks in primary colors so I would have them when I needed them to add as accents on a tablescape.

How to use Cookie Jars as centerpieces.

Cookie jars can be a perfect centerpiece, I have used them many times. If you are looking for a centerpiece for a theme, search for a cookie jar. It can be set on the table on a small stand as a perfect centerpiece.

How to organize your tablescaping items.

I usually divide my table ideas into seasons, Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall and purchase accordingly. For example, buy items like napkins in fall colors that can be used on table settings starting in the Fall through Thanksgiving. When you buy an item for a tablescape think about how you can use it on different table settings and try to purchase items that are versatile, that way you won’t have to purchase so many. I try to store things by season too which makes it easier to find them. Think about what theme you want to create on your table and then start slowly looking for the elements to illustrate that theme. I post a new tablescape every week and I keep a list of the themes week by week for the entire year, trying to do advance planning for what I will need for each themed tablescape throughout the year.

How to find other tablescape ideas.

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

To see over 270 different tablescapes that I have created please click here. If you are on Facebook, join my Table Settings and Tablescape Ideas Facebook group (4,000+ members) for lots of tablescaping inspiration, just click here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2553689988183392

If you live in Southern California join my Facebook tablescaping group Southern California Tablescapers BTS Group. (240+ members) https://www.facebook.com/groups/440356398581157 . We had a gathering in January and plan more in the future.

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

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Shamrocks on a St. Patrick's Day Tablescape

I obviously needed to create a Shamrocks tablescape this time of year. I think that this shamrocks tablecloth came from HomeGoods a few years ago. I love tablecloths that show things in their true colors and not some weird shade of that color or another color completely.

I found these melamine shamrock small salad plates at Wayfair online two years ago. They are the perfect green color. When I did a Shamrock tablescape before, I called a four leaf clover a shamrock and someone corrected me. Three leaves is a shamrock and four leaves is a four leaf clover.

I am using my go-to basic white dinner plate on this table setting. Every tablescaping collection needs at least one basic white dinner plate. This plate is labeled Club Porcelain, Ralph Lauren. I found them at HomeGoods several years ago.

Hubby bought these chargers at the Dollar Store last year and spray-painted them Kelly Green for me so that I could use them on my tablescapes. We have done that a few times before when I needed a certain color and I didn’t have a charger the right color.

I am using my Celtic flatware again on this tablescape as I did last week. This flatware set is labeled Helmick/O.M.C. and it is called Celtic Crusader. I have also seen it under the brand, Ginkgo International. It is 18/10 stainless and I have learned to buy 18/10 stainless because with cheaper quality flatware sometimes the fork tines have not been filed enough and they are really sharp. I always test flatware by touching the fork tines to see how sharp they are. 18/10 flatware is heavy and really well made but it is more expensive. I love the way this flatware looks and it is perfect for St. Patrick’s Day. I can’t remember where I bought it after I saw it on another blog. I bought a few place settings at a time online over several months. I think that the hammered design and the shape of the end of the handle really illustrate the Celtic style.

I found these lucky napkins at HomeGoods a few weeks ago. I was lucky to find them for this tablescape! Their label says cupcakes and cashmere.

I bought this four leaf clover place card holder on Amazon a few weeks ago. I already had the place cards, I can’t remember where they came from.

These green glass goblets and iced teas are made by Mosser Glass in the United States. The pattern is called Arlington and the color is Hunter Green. They are really heavy glass and very good quality. I have bought a few pieces at a time over the years online where I can find them at the lowest price. I also have this pattern in red and cobalt blue.

I was wandering around HomeGoods last month with Hubby and he was getting in line to pay. At the last minute I suddenly saw this shamrock tree. I immediately picked it up and took it over to him. He took one look at my face and he knew it was going home with us. Smart man! He is the kind of person who will ponder a purchase forever and I am the kind of person who knows immediately if I want something or not, especially things for tablescapes. As soon as I saw this tree I visualized the tablescape design (with a few tweaks).

Because the centerpiece is tall and narrow it needed something else on each side of it. I had just bought these green glass taper candle holders at Sur La Table online. Even though they are not quite the same shade of green glass as everything else on the table, they work. Hubby cut a couple of white candles that I had shorter for me so I could use them. The candlesticks are a delicate thin glass. Sur La Table had them in a pretty bright blue color too so I bought those as well.

I added a Hunter Green Mosser Glass Panel salt and pepper set to the tablescape and a White Mosser Milk Glass Panel salt and pepper set as well.

We are ready for a St. Patrick’s Day dinner!

To see 220+ tablescapes that I have created including eight other St. Patrick’s Day 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 for more tablescaping tips and tricks.

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

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