A Berry Sweet Strawberry Summer Tablescape

June 02, 2026 by Beth Wilson in Tablescapes

This post is a repeat of a tablescape that I created and posted five years ago. I do that sometimes now because I have created over 300 tablescapes and I continue to have new followers that haven’t seen the older ones. I had been wanting to use these vintage Cemar strawberry plates on a tablescape for a long long time. The problem was their color, kind of a mauve dark pink. I had lots of strawberry items but they were all red. I had to wait until I could find some things to match them. The green tablecloth probably came from HomeGoods or Amazon, I have had it for several years.

I found these Cemar strawberry shaped plates on Ebay many many years ago, way before I started tablescaping. My daughter’s friends called her Strawberry when she was growing up because of her auburn hair and my mother loved strawberries so they became a favorite of mine to collect. I gathered them a few at a time as I found them online. Cemar was a California Pottery company in business from 1935 to 1955. It was founded by former Bauer Pottery employees Cliff J. Malone and Paul Cauldwell. The company was a part of a large growth in the sale of California pottery during World War II when imports from Asia were restricted or banned.

I was lucky enough to find both salad and dinner plates in this pattern. I found some bowls as well.

This charger was made by Mikasa, it was called Color Spectrum in Hunter Green. If you read my blog you have seen this charger in several different colors. These are really my favorite chargers, they are heavy and well made.

I think I might use this flatware set more than any other color I have. The set was called Madeline Green and I bought it at World Market several years ago. I really like the frosted design on the handles and this shade of green goes well with many color schemes. I use them throughout the year. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying flatware here.

When I was inventorying my napkins I discovered these napkins. I had forgotten that I had them because I hadn’t taken a photo of one yet. As I was pulling this tablescape together I was trying to figure out what napkins to use (all my strawberry napkins have red strawberries) and I suddenly remembered these mauve napkins. I probably bought them at HomeGoods, I have had them for several years. I found the pink strawberry napkin rings on Ebay a couple months ago. They have no markings. I knew they would work with these plates but they were more than I wanted to pay because there were 16 of them. I offered less (sometimes that works) but the seller refused so I kept looking. I finally came back to them because I couldn’t find any strawberry napkin rings that weren’t red. I knew if I didn’t get these, I probably wouldn’t use these strawberry plates on a tablescape for some time if ever. To read about the What, When and How of napkin rings please click here.

Because I had so many, I fudged a bit and I used these napkin rings as place card holders too. They are freestanding so they worked. I knew I would never find anything that matched otherwise! To read about the What, When and Why of place card holders, please click here.

The sage green acrylic goblet on the left came from our Pier 1 store before it closed. Dollar stores often have this goblet in different colors. I looked for tall pink goblets for a couple of years and suddenly World Market had these pink glass goblets a couple of years ago. They sold out quickly so others must have been looking for them too. I like the height of both these goblets. 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 a vintage cream and sugar set several years ago to match the plates but not a teapot. Just as well, I have no room for one!

I also found a couple of vintage salt and pepper sets that matched.

Cookie jars are one of my go-to centerpieces and I was lucky to find this Cemar strawberry cookie jar that matched the plates several years ago. I have it sitting on a white drink dispenser stand from Pottery Barn. I added a small green doily for more definition.

I didn’t put the matching cup and saucer on the table because they are always to be placed on the table after the meal but I wanted to show one. I found them on Ebay several years ago too.

Time for some strawberries!

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 another one this fall. You won’t want to miss it!

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 Bandana-ful Summer Tablescape

May 25, 2026 by Beth Wilson in Tablescapes

I bought this Leacock bandana print small tablecloth on Ebay a few years ago. It had a small hole in it but I knew it wouldn’t show. When I saw the tablecloth I could immediately visualize a tablescape that I could create with it. When I use a smaller tablecloth, I usually set it over a larger tablecloth, in this case, a large white cotton tablecloth that I have had for a long time. It has a label that says KAF HOME. To see my other summer tablescapes and 300+ other tablescapes that I have created that are posted on my blog please click on this link to my blog: https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/tablescapes .

I think I bought these melamine red and blue bandana salad plates at HomeGoods a few months ago. Sometimes I see something and I immediately know that it is coming home with me and that was the case with these plates. I just loved the design and the bright colors.

This large square beaded rim white plate was made by 10 Strawberry Street. A large square plate like this is a great starter plate if you want to begin to do tablescaping and you want square plates. You can use it as a charger or a dinner plate. I have large square plates in black and brown also. I wanted to have a few square plates in basic colors in my collection of dishes. I can’t remember where I bought this plate several years ago but it was probably HomeGoods. They always have a large collection of different white dishes for sale.

I added another square white plate to this tablescape because I wanted the plate stack to be a bit taller. It is just a tiny bit larger than the other square white plate. This plate is melamine and I bought it at HomeGoods a few years ago. It has a Tommy Bahama mark on the back.

I have this Ginkgo International Le Prix flatware set also in black, green, yellow and persimmon orange and I just ordered it in navy blue. I can’t remember where I bought this red set online but if you google it, something will pop up. I like this flatware design because it is a bit more informal like my tablescaping style. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying flatware here.

When I decided to create a bandana themed tablescape I started looking for bandana napkin rings and these red and blue ones popped up on Etsy, exactly what I was looking for. I can’t remember where I bought the royal blue cotton 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 may have come from one of those stores. To read about the What, When and How of napkin rings please click here.

The red cotton napkins came from Pier 1 many years ago.

I bought these mini woven baskets on Amazon six years ago. I knew that I could use them as place card holders. They came in a set of 24 and they were brown so I took six of them and Hubby spray-painted them white for me for this tablescape. I bought a red and a blue bandana print scarf on Amazon as well and cut them down to fit these baskets. I set them on a small square white wood place card holder that I already had to made them a bit taller. To read about the What, When and Why of place card holders, please click here.

When I am working on a tablescape Hubby is always a great help because I tell him or show him a photo of what I want to use on the table and he goes out to the garage and finds it on the many racks of dishes and glasses that are out there. (Sometimes it takes both of us to find things out there!) I sent him out to find different goblets but he came back with these two and I decided that they were a better choice than what I was originally planning to use. He has watched me create tablescapes for several years now and he sometimes comes up with better choices than mine! I think the red glass goblet on the left came from Crate and Barrel a few years ago. I had been looking for some simple red goblets and I grabbed these when I saw them online. I only bought six and I wished I had bought more but Hubby found six other red glass goblets at HomeGoods that are so similar you can’t tell the difference. The blue acrylic goblet on the right came from Pier 1 several years ago. I really like the height and shape of it and I have it in several different colors. Dollar stores sell them sometimes in different colors in acrylic and in glass. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying goblets for your tablescaping collection here.

I have had this white metal basket that I am using as a centerpiece for several years. I don’t remember where I bought it but it might have been at an antique mall. I found the Hananona red and blue faux flowers on Amazon. They came in a set with white flowers too but I decided to just use the red and blue flowers on this centerpiece. The basket is sitting on a small plastic stand that I sometimes use to lift my centerpieces higher. I have had it for years and I don’t know where I bought it.

I sometimes add salt and pepper sets to my tablescapes to add a bit of interest and fill the spaces on the left and right of the centerpiece. I often buy salt and pepper sets on Amazon and I found this set there. They were made by Brighter Barns. They have the words SALT and PEPPER written in white on the back.

I also added a Mosser white glass salt and pepper set that I bought online from Everything Kitchens to this tablescape.

This is a tablescape that could be set before Memorial Day and used through the 4th of July and beyond!

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!

Tomatoes on a Summer Tablescape

August 01, 2025 by Beth Wilson in Tablescapes

This tablescape is a repeat of a theme that I did five years ago but I changed things up a bit for this one. I found the black and white buffalo check tablecloth on Amazon several years ago. It is a nice heavy cotton and it is really easy to iron with a steam iron. I have used this black and white buffalo check tablecloth before on my tablescapes, you can see them and 270+ other tablescapes on my blog here: https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/tablescapes

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 green dinner plate came from Pier 1 many years ago. It was part of their Spice Route collection and the color was called Clove. This shade of green is a great shade for Fall tables and I use it frequently during the fall season.

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 flatware is Ginkgo International LePrix and the color is called Milano Red. 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 is perfect with this busy tablecloth and the tablescape’s tomatoes theme.

These ceramic Ganz CBK tomato napkin rings came from Fitzula’s Gift Shop online a few weeks ago. I had someone on Etsy make the tomato napkins for me a few years ago. I love the fabrics! They only had fabric for four napkins but they found a similar fabric for the other two napkins. If you look really closely at the tablescape photos you can see the difference between the two napkin fabric patterns.

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.

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 a few years ago. I can’t remember where I bought these Cristalleria Fratelli Fumo red glass goblets.

I found this tomato tureen on sale at Williams Sonoma online five years ago. I really love it. It was made in Portugal by Bordallo Pinheiro. It is sitting on a wood stand that I bought at Pier 1 several years ago. It was a natural wood color but Hubby painted it white for me to use on a Beach tablescape and then black for several other tablescapes.

I wanted another pop of red on this table so I added two red ball candles to the table to mimic red tomatoes. I found them on Amazon several years ago. I have bought many many different colors and shapes of candles and candle holders on Amazon over the years. Candles can be difficult to find in stores if they aren’t common colors and shapes.

I found this 123Arts small tomato lidded bowl with a matching spoon on Amazon last week and I had to add it. Sorry about the fuzzy focus! It’s clearer in a couple of the other photos.

Red and black is one of my favorite tablescape color combinations. You can see them on my Playing Cards tablescape here and my Miss Blackbirdy Valentine tablescape here. I love the way these colors interact on this table.

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 (4,100+ 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!

A Sailor-bration Summer Tablescape

July 27, 2025 by Beth Wilson in Tablescapes

I bought this vintage embroidered sailor themed table topper on Ebay many years ago and it has just been sitting in a drawer. Then I found the vintage sailor napkin rings a few years later but it has taken me a long time to pull this tablescape together. I created it in honor of my father-in-law who was in the Navy. The sailors on the table may not all be in U.S. uniforms but I think it all works anyway. When I want to use a small table topper tablecloth I just place it on a larger one, in this case a simple white cotton tablecloth.

These salad plates came in a set of four, with anchor, ship’s wheel, sailboat, and lighthouse designs but I decided to just use the anchor and the ship’s wheel plates on this tablescape. The bottom of the plates says Euro Ceramica and the pattern is called Ahoy. I found them at Home Depot online.

I like simple designs like these plates.

I am using my Fiesta white dinner plates on this tablescape. When I need a simple dinner plate in a basic color I look at my Fiesta plates first because they are a good size for a plate stack and their simple design works well with any salad plate.

This charger was made by Mikasa and the pattern was called Color Spectrum. They came in several different colors and this color was called Royal Blue, I love this shade of blue. I bought them on Ebay several years ago, a few at a time as I saw them until I had the number that I needed. I have this charger in other colors as well.

Because the centerpiece sailors had burgundy accents rather than bright red I decided to use this flatware set. The flatware is made by D & D Inox in Italy and the pattern is called Roma. I bought them at Neiman Marcus or Bloomingdales during a major sale several years ago. There are similar patterns available online now. I really like the marbleized design on the handles. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying flatware here.

If you read my blog you know that I have a weakness for napkin rings. When I saw these vintage sailor napkin rings on Ebay several years ago I just had to have them. They are so cute! They are porcelain and they were made by Enesco. The red polyester napkins came from Amazon, probably last year.

I love the life preserver on the wave and the S. S. Napkin name! To read about the What, Where and How of napkin rings please click here.

I wanted to use small sailor figures as place card holders on this tablescape and I found a few different small vintage ceramic sailors on Ebay. Some of them are salt and pepper sets. They are mid-century and they were made in Japan. I set them on my clear glass Oleg Cassini place card holders. I bought the place card holders at HomeGoods several years ago when I first started tablescaping. They are heavy and solid and I really like the simple design. I often use them as a stand for place card holder items. If you read my blog you have seen them several times being used as a stand for something that I am using as a place card holder. To read about the what, where and how of place card holders, please click here.

The glass goblet on the left was made by Fostoria and the pattern was called Virginia in dark blue. They were made between 1980 and 1986. I can’t remember where I bought them. I bought the blue goblet on the right on Ebay, you can still find them for sale there sometimes. They were made by Libbey in the 1970’s and the pattern was called Tulip in Dusky Blue. 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.

While looking at local estate sales online earlier this year I saw these two resin sailors and I told Hubby to buy them if they were a good deal. They were much taller than this but I knew Hubby could probably cut them down for me so I could use them as a centerpiece on a tablescape. If you look closely at about knee level you can see where he cut them down and reglued the legs together. He did a great job on them! When he got them home I found old HomeGoods stickers on the bottoms so they originally came from there at some point. I really like the detailed design on the faces.

This tablescape reminds us of our Navy veteran when we look at it and all our military veterans as well.

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

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!