A Sea-ing Stars Summer Tablescape

June 08, 2026 by Beth Wilson in Tablescapes

I love starfish and I have been thinking about putting a starfish themed tablescape together for a few months now. We live about a mile and a half as the crow flies from the Pacific Ocean and I used to walk along the ocean and watch the dolphins jumping through the waves. I love the sound of the sea. I bought this navy with white starfish tablecloth on sale at Spoonflower online. I have created two other starfish themed tablescapes, one two years ago, and one six years ago. You can see those tablescapes as well as 300+ other themed tablescapes that I have done on my blog here: https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/tablescapes. This tablescape uses only two colors and that’s exactly the color scheme that I wanted it to be.

I was so happy to see these melamine small white starfish plates at Pottery Barn several years ago and when they went on sale I grabbed them. I had been looking for small white starfish plates for a couple of years. I love the bright white color and the design on them.

I wanted to add cobalt blue Fiesta dinner plates to my tablescaping collection and I finally bought some online at Everything Kitchens LLC a few years ago. This pattern was our everyday dishes pattern before we remodeled our kitchen but they were really worn so we replaced them with red ones after we finished the kitchen because the kitchen design is white with red accents. I now have this Fiesta dinner pattern in several different colors and I use them often on my tablescapes.

This is a Mikasa Color Spectrum Charger in the color Alpine White. I have this charger in several different colors and I bought them all on Ebay as I saw them over several years. The Internet says that this pattern was only made between 1992 and 1993. I am not sure that is true but in any case they are no longer being manufactured. I have been trying to get six of this white color and pattern for years with no success until a few years ago when suddenly I found six at different places online after occasional google searches. You need to have patience when you are looking for things on the secondary market for tablescaping, that’s for sure!

I bought this frosted white flatware set on sale online at Wayfair several years ago, the set was 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 white frosted color on the handle. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying flatware here.

I can’t remember where I bought these white cotton napkins. When I started tablescaping I bought napkin sets in many basic colors because I knew I would be using them often. I bought the metal starfish napkin rings on Amazon. They were gold but Hubby spray-painted them navy blue for me.

To read about the What, When and How of napkin rings please click here.

I found these white starfish place card holders on Etsy a few years ago. They were made from real starfish. To read about the what, where and how of place card holders, please click here.

I had very very tall white goblets in my tablescaping collection but I had been looking for shorter white ones for a long time. I finally found these white goblets at Walmart several years ago. They were made by Artland and the pattern was called Veranda. I decided to use two white goblets with this pattern at each place setting on this tablescape to help break up all the navy blue. 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 wanted a white starfish to use as a centerpiece for this tablescape and so I googled it and this one popped up at Overstock online. It’s made of resin and the base is a clear rectangular box shape. I covered the base with faux white pebbles that I have had for a long time and then set the whole thing on a white drink dispenser stand that I bought at Pottery Barn many years ago to make it a bit taller.

I added two YZHZOM real starfish that I found on Amazon on each side of the centerpiece.

Just for fun I added a glass starfish that I have had for many years to the table. There is a funny family story about this starfish. When the kids were young it sat out on an end table in the living room. One day I picked it up and noticed that one of the legs was broken off and it had been carefully put back together so that the break wouldn’t show. I asked each child about it and no one would confess that they had broken it but the two older ones blamed the youngest. To this day no one will admit that they broke it. I suspect it may have been the cleaning lady but who knows! Hubby glued it back together and it has lived in one of my hutches since then. While setting up this tablescape I put it on the table and while I was putting the faux pebbles on the centerpiece stand one fell and it broke the starfish again, at the old break, and a new break, two legs off! Lol! Hubby will have to glue it back together…again!

Working on this tablescape makes me want to head up the coast and stay on the beach somewhere again!

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 (4,000+ 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 this fall.

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 Building Our Hive, https://buildingourhive.blogspot.com/ Please visit this blog, you will enjoy it!

An Octopi Your Seat Tablescape

May 18, 2026 by Beth Wilson in Tablescapes

I planned this Octopus Tablescape for a long time a few years ago and I finally got it done. I couldn’t decide what color octopus to use but I was leaning toward looking for white ones because I had seen this underwater pattern tablecloth on Amazon and I wanted to use it. You can see several other Ocean themed tablescapes as well as 300+ other tablescapes that I have created on my blog here: https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/tablescapes

Once I decided on using white octopuses I looked online and I found many octopus salad plates but none with a white octopus. I almost gave up when I found these melamine octopus salad plates at Wayfair online. They were called Whitson Octopus and the brand was called Rosecliff Heights. I love the octopus graphic and the background colors matched perfectly with this tablecloth. They pick up all the different blue and turquoise colors that are on the table.

I found this turquoise melamine dinner plate at HomeGoods several years ago. I like the beaded rim design.

This Ocean Blue Cambria charger or dinner plate came from Pottery Barn several years ago. If you read my blog you have seen a red charger like this one often on my tablescapes. I have this plate in a few other colors now too because I like the design. Pottery Barn sells the plate in several different colors.

This white Antique Beaded charger came from Williams Sonoma several years ago. If you read my blog you have seen it several times on different tablescapes. It is one of my go-to chargers when I need a white one.

I bought this frosted white flatware set on sale online at Wayfair several years ago, it was made by Cambridge. It is 18/0 so the fork tines are a bit sharper than they would have been if it was 18/10 but I really liked the frosted white color. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying flatware here.

I found the octopus napkin rings at Walmart online a few years ago. They were made by Fennco Styles and they were dark blue but Hubby painted them white for me. I bought the napkins at our Pier 1 store before it closed several years ago. I love the multi-colored design because I seem to have many different shades of turquoise, teal, and blue dishes and these napkins match many of them. I often use these napkins on my ocean and beach themed tablescapes. To read about the What, When and How of napkin rings please click here.

I am using my white clam shell place card holders on this tablescape. They were made by Andrea by Sadek. I have had them for several years, I can’t remember where I bought them but I see them on Ebay from time to time. To read about the What, When and Why of place card holders, please click here.

I think the blue glass goblet on the left came from Pier 1 several years ago. I can’t remember where I found the turquoise acrylic goblet on the right but it may have been Pier 1 as well. I have had them for several years. 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 had found a gold brass colored octopus mug holder online that we were going to paint and use for a centerpiece but I really hated to paint it. We were in HomeGoods a few years ago and I found this one, perfect! I love the spreading waving tentacles! It is sitting on a navy blue Rhodes drink dispenser stand that I bought at Pottery Barn several years ago.

I found two small plastic white octopuses on Etsy to add to the tablescape on each side of the centerpiece. They were made by a 3D printer.

I love the different shades of blue and turquoise on this tablescape. I have always been fascinated watching how octopuses move themselves through water and they are very intelligent creatures. This was a fun tablescape to pull together, lots of movement here like what goes on in the ocean.

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 Mer-mazing Summer Tablescape

July 14, 2025 by Beth Wilson in Tablescapes

Back to tablescaping, we had a family wedding and I took a few weeks off. I decided it was time to use my mermaid statue again. It normally sits in the middle of one of my birdbaths in the back garden. I have used it on two other summer mermaid tablescapes but it was painted green for one of them. I found the coastal looking tablecloth at HomeGoods a few years ago. Summertime means time at the ocean and I often create tables with ocean themes in the summer. I have created twenty different ocean themed tablescapes. You can see them all here, https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/tablescapes , scroll down to the Ocean section.

I found these melamine mermaid salad plates at Wilford & Lee Home Accents online. The back says Beachcombers Coastal Life.

My phone camera is playing tricks with the colors on this tablescape. This is a Fiesta dinner plate in the color Sky Blue but it doesn’t really show the true color of the plate. It is actually a pretty baby blue color. Can’t remember where I found them online.

This is a Mikasa Color Spectrum charger in the color Turquoise. It is a much prettier color than this photo shows. I bought them on Ebay several years ago.

I have had this frosted aqua flatware set for a few years. The flatware was made by D & D Inox in Italy. I bought it at Neiman Marcus or Bloomingdales during a major sale several years ago. I have frosted blue, gray, and pink flatware sets in this same pattern also. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying flatware here.

I think these cotton napkins came from Pier 1 several years ago. The metal mermaid napkin rings came from Tipsy Mermaid online two years ago.

I had to really improvise with this mermaid place card holder, I just couldn’t find anything that worked. I ended up with these mermaid tail suckers from Amazon. (We cut off the sticks.) I set them on my white clam shell place card holders. They were made by Andrea by Sadek. I have had them for several years and I can’t remember where I bought them but I see them on Ebay from time to time.

I can’t remember where I found these turquoise goblets, I have had them for a while. 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.

Hubby found this concrete mermaid at a plant nursery several years ago. It is solid concrete and it is very heavy! It was a gray concrete color but hubby painted it white for me. I bought the mermaid tail scatter on Amazon.

She was painted a matte white before and that looked better.

I bought these small mermaids on Ebay a few years ago, I think they are supposed to be for fairy gardens. I put a set on each side of the centerpiece.

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 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. https://www.facebook.com/groups/440356398581157 . We had a gathering in January 2025 and we plan to have others as well.

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

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

This blog post was featured at Miz Helen’s Country Cottage, https://www.mizhelenscountrycottage.com/ Please visit this blog for lots of great recipes!

A Crabby Tablescape for Summer

July 03, 2024 by Beth Wilson in Tablescapes

We live about a mile and a half as the crow flies from the Pacific Ocean. During the summer months I seem to lean toward creating ocean and beach themed tablescapes. I really don’t do them any other time of the year so I save up my ideas from year to year for the summer months. I created my first red crab tablescape five years ago then I did another different one four years ago, and another different one three years ago. If you read my blog, you can see how they all changed in design over time. Last year I did a white crab tablescape. You can see that one here. It has a very different vibe from this one. This Crabby Summer Tablescape with red crabs is closest in design to the one that I did five years ago. I have wanted to repeat that tablescape with some changes for a while. I found the red and blue crabs tablecloth on Amazon five years ago. I love the wiggly looking legs.

Many years ago I bought three small vintage crab bowls at a garage sale. I used them on an ocean themed tablescape with other ocean elements. When we were in Virginia five years ago, we were at an antique mall and I found six more vintage bowls with a similar design and one larger matching bowl, all on sale, and I bought them too. These hand-painted vintage crab bowls are marked Made in PV Czechoslovakia. I really like the color and the crab leg design.

A great bowl to use to serve Crab Bisque!

Years ago I was looking all over for salad plates with an all over pattern of red crabs but every plate had one crab or the crabs were silly looking. I was googling crab plates and these popped up from Pfaltzgraff. They were on major sale and they are microwave and dishwasher safe. So the red crabs suddenly became blue crabs and the overall design of that tablescape was tweaked a bit. This happens sometimes with my tables, I can’t find what I need so I substitute something else and change the design.

I bought these large blue dinner plates online several years ago at Ballard Designs, they are called Southern Living. They are about 11 1/2” in diameter, a good size to be either a dinner plate or a charger. I love plates that will work for either! You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying dinner plates here.

This is a charger that Hubby bought at the Dollar Store for me last year and I had him spray-paint it a bright Christmas red to use on a Christmas tablescape. To read about what you should be considering when you are buying chargers, please click here.

This Milano Red flatware set is Ginkgo International LePrix. I have had this set for years but it is still for sale. Not sure where I bought it. I now have it in other colors as well. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying flatware here.

I can’t remember where I bought the cotton royal blue napkins, I have had them for several years. Over the years I have shopped for napkins at HomeGoods, Pier 1, and World Market so they probably came from one of those stores. Several years ago I looked all over for orange-red crab napkin rings with no luck. I found lots of metal and blue ones but nothing the right color. I had bought these small plastic crabs on Amazon to use as table scatter but they were shiny red when they arrived. Hubby was going to spray paint them orange-red for me and my daughter was over and I was telling her about my bad luck finding napkin rings and she suggested that I turn them into napkin rings, genius! So Hubby bought plain wood rings and spray painted the rings and the crabs and we glued the crab to the ring and viola, cheap napkin rings! To read about other ideas for homemade napkin rings please click here.

I love these metal red crab place card holders, I found them at Pottery Barn five years ago. They were a blue red and Hubby painted them orange red for me to use on a tablescape. To read about the what, where and how of place card holders, please click here.

The acrylic cobalt blue goblet on the left came from Pier 1 several years ago. Hubby found the red glass goblets on the right at an estate sale a few years ago. I think they are hand blown Ruby Red Bubble Glass Goblets made by Artland. 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 saw this large cast aluminum crab online at Grandin Road two years ago and I knew it would make a great centerpiece someday. I think it is supposed to be yard art. It had a weathered copper finish but Hubby painted it red for me. The crab centerpiece is sitting on a small wood stand I bought online at Pier 1 a few years ago. The stand was natural wood but Hubby painted it white for me.

I found this crab salt and pepper set on Ebay a few years ago. I like to add a bit of whimsy to my tablescapes sometimes. Ebay is a great place to find interesting salt and pepper sets.

Time to find a delicious crab bisque recipe!

To see 260+ other tablescapes that I have created including 25 other different 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 for more tablescaping tips and tricks.

If you live in Southern California join our Facebook tablescaping group Southern California Tablescapers BTS Group. https://www.facebook.com/groups/440356398581157 We are planning a gathering for tablescapers next year in January.

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