Miss Blackbirdy's Valentine's Day Tablescape

February 09, 2026 by Beth Wilson in Tablescapes

This is the third tablescape that I have created using these Miss Blackbirdy plates, I did a previous one in 2023 and then before that in 2000. Each time I do a tablescape with these plates I change things up a bit. You can see those Valentine’s Day tablescapes and 300+ other different themed tablescapes that I have created on my blog here: https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/tablescapes . I really love these plates and when I bought them I bought the matching tablecloth and table runner as well. I can’t remember where I purchased it all but if you google the name some things with pop up. They are currently available online at Heritage Lace. I put the matching table runner down the table on top of the tablecloth on this tablescape because the tablecloth has a white center.

This is a 6 inch bread and butter plate. I really love the intricate black line designs on these white ceramic plates. You can see the blackbirds on this plate that give the dish set their name.

Each plate has this design and phrase on the back of the plate. The small heart hanging over the rim of the plate is wonderful!

This is the 9 inch salad plate. The design is similar to the smaller plate but it does not have the added design element around the rim.

This is the 12 inch dinner plate or charger although if you use it as a charger the wonderful design will be covered. I just love the designs on this plate, the large vase, the hearts, the bows, the abstract flowers, and the birds including one singing blackbird. There are a few purses and one shoe as well. On the lower right at about 5 o’clock you can see where the design goes over to the back of the plate to connect with that heart on the back, (shown in an earlier photo). Such a clever tiny addition to a wonderful design. These plates also come with a similar design with white on black and I bought those large plates as well. I really love these plates!

This is the dinner plate in white on black, it is a striking plate with great contrast. I love the blackbird in the center of the plate. I have used this plate as a charger on a Halloween tablescape before although it doesn’t show that much.

I set the dinner plate on this black charger. This black glass Starburst charger is called Charge It and it was made by Jay. I bought them several years ago on Amazon. They are heavy glass and work well with many different color schemes. A black charger with a simple design is a good starter charger plate if you are thinking about starting a tablescaping hobby.

This flatware set was made by D & D Inox in Italy and the pattern was called Roma. I bought them at Neiman Marcus or Bloomingdales during a major sale several years ago. I really like the marbleized design on the handles and the stainless quilted design. I liked this pattern and it was a really good sale so I have the same pattern in cream, amber, and dark aqua. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying flatware here.

I bought these black metal heart napkin rings at Pottery Barn online last year. I can’t remember where I bought the bright red cotton napkins but I love this shade of bright red!

These black metal heart place card holders came from Pottery Barn as well.

Hubby found these red glass goblets on the left at HomeGoods a few years ago. I think the red glass goblets on the right came from Crate and Barrel a few years ago too. I had been looking for some more simple red goblets and grabbed these when I saw them online. If you are thinking about starting a tablescaping hobby, a red goblet is a must, you will use them often during the year. 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 simple centerpiece for this tablescape so I decided to use red roses in a black vase. I collected pottery for several years and I have a small collection of vintage black vases of different sizes and designs. I really like the size and the matte finish on this black vase. The faux red roses came from Michael’s.

I really love the designs on the tablescloth too.

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

For lots of other Tablescaping DIY tips and tricks click here: https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/tablescapehowto

If you live in Southern California join our Facebook tablescaping group Southern California Tablescapers BTS Group, (270+ members) and click here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/440356398581157 We had a gathering for tablescapers last year in the Los Angeles area and we hope to have others in the future.

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 Sealed with a Kiss Valentine Tablescape

February 02, 2026 by Beth Wilson in Tablescapes

This Red Lips Valentine’s Day tablescape idea was supposed to be posted last year but other themes bumped it a year. As it was, I hadn’t found everything that I wanted to use on it until this year anyway. I found the S.W.A.K. (Sealed With A Kiss) tablecloth on Spoonflower on sale and I had to have it. There is a personal story about that phrase that I will explain later in this blog post. If you want to see the eleven other different Valentine’s Day tablescapes that I have done and 290+ other tablescapes of mine you can see them all on my blog here: https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/tablescapes .

Last year I bought a salad plate with red lips on it to use on this tablescape but it also had pink stripes and I decided to use it some other time and concentrate on the colors red, black, and white for this tablescape. I couldn’t find a salad plate with red lips that I liked so I found these resin small red lips on Etsy and I set them on a small appetizer size black plate that I had. From time to time I have done this before, adding small items to a salad plate to help carry out the theme of the tablescape when I couldn’t find a plate that I liked that followed the theme. These plates are marked 10 Strawberry Street, Classic Black Porcelain. I probably bought them at HomeGoods.

This is a Fiesta salad plate in the color Scarlet. They are part of our everyday dish set. We bought them when we remodeled our kitchen a few years ago because our kitchen is red and white. It would be a great choice if you need a basic red salad plate for your tablescaping collection. We bought these plates at Macy’s. I added a fourth plate to the plate stack on this tablescape because I wanted a certain color sequence.

These black porcelain dinner plates match the black appetizer plates that are on this tablescape. These plates are also marked 10 Strawberry Street, Classic Black Porcelain. If you plan to start tablescaping, buying a basic black dinner plate is a must, you will use it often. I probably bought these plates at HomeGoods or on Ebay several years ago.

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 a few 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 pattern and color for years with no success until a few years ago when I suddenly found six of these chargers at different places online after occasional google searches. You need to have patience when you are looking for things for tablescaping, that’s for sure!

I was planning to use red flatware on this tablecape but when I tried it, it just didn’t look right so I changed to white flatware. I bought this frosted white flatware set on sale online at Wayfair several years ago, it 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 frosted color. I use this set often. If you are going to buy colored flatware, white is a good color to start with and then I would buy red, black, and green. Those seem to be the flatware colors that I use the most. 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 napkins, I have had them for a while. These ZXFINTV metal red lips napkin rings came from Walmart last year. To read about the What, Where, and How of napkin rings please click here.

I found these GlikCeil wood red lips place card holders on Amazon last year. They were gold but Hubby painted them red for me. To read about the what, where, and how of place card holders, please click here.

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 goblet with the black bowl and clear stem on the right 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. These goblets are both tall goblets and I like that because my table is large and I think taller goblets look better on it. 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 bought the red lips resin bookends that I am using as a centerpiece on this tablescape on Amazon. I set them on a small black cake stand that I had, I think I found it at HomeGoods several years ago. They were made by ZXFINTV. I can’t remember where I bought the smaller red lips planters that I set white candles in but if you google red lips planter something similar might pop up. When I saw the handcrafted cast iron XOXO metal letters on Amazon I decided that I would add them to this tablescape too. They were a black gray color but Hubby painted them white for me.

I met my husband when I was a freshman in high school and he was a sophomore. We grew up in a small town and everyone knew everyone. (We had danced together once in a dance class when I was in 7th grade and he was in 8th grade but that is another story!) We dated for a year starting at the end of my freshman year and then my parents divorced and I moved with my mother and brothers to Southern California after my sophomore year. My husband had another year of high school left. We saw each other from time to time and wrote letters to each other several times a week until he started attending a college in Southern California about an hour away from where I lived. We both saved the letters and cards we sent to each other over the years and there are a few hundred of them. I would write S.W.A.K. on the back of some of the letters that I sent him, I can still remember doing that. We pulled them down from a shelf up in the garage last week and I want to reread them before they go to the recycle bin. Hubby is having fun rereading all the funny cards that we sent each other over the years. When high school sweethearts end up marrying each other there are lots of long time great memories, that’s for sure!

For lots of other Tablescaping DIY tips and tricks 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 Silver Valentine's Day Tablescape

February 03, 2025 by Beth Wilson in Tablescapes

I have carried this tablescape idea around in my head for several years. I bought the centerpiece years ago and didn’t find the other things that I needed for the table until the past few weeks. This silver and red Valentine hearts tablecloth was designed by Rachel Zoe and I found it on Ebay. I had seen one at HomeGoods but passed it by and then later when I wanted one I had to go to Ebay to find it. Some people are in the business of buying inexpensive things at HomeGoods and then raising the price and selling them on Ebay. I try not to get involved in those buying situations but sometimes I have to because I didn’t buy things when I saw them the first time.

The silver items on this tablescape are difficult to photograph because of all the reflections. This is a prettier small silver dish than the photo shows. These small silver titanium finish heart dishes were made by Pampa Bay and I found them at Berings online recently.

These melamine red heart salad plates came from Crate and Barrel a few years ago.

This gray stoneware charger or dinner plate came from Pottery Barn a few years ago. I love this plate, I also have it in other colors. The pattern is called Cambria. It is the perfect size to be either a dinner plate or a charger plate and I love plates that have that kind of versatility.

I know the rule is don’t put a placemat on top of a tablecloth but I do it sometimes. In this case I wanted more red on the table and a certain color sequence on the place stack so I added red placemats to the table. I bought these placemats in several colors many years ago at our Pier 1 store before it closed.

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

I bought these red polyester napkins on Amazon this week because I realized that I didn’t have simple napkins that were this shade of red. The silver aluminum heart napkin rings came from Ebay a few weeks ago. To read about the What, Where, and How of napkin rings please click here.

I bought these silver heart place card holders at Pottery Barn several years ago. To read about the what, where and how of place card holders, please click here.

Hubby found these red glass goblets at an estate sale several years ago. I think they are hand blown Iris Ruby Red Bubble Glass Goblets made by Artland. You can find them for sale online from time to time. 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 this silver colored heart at HomeGoods several years ago and I knew it would be a good size for a centerpiece. I set it on a red drink dispenser stand from Pottery Barn that I bought several years ago.

I decided to add a Mosser Glass red salt and pepper set to this tablescape. I bought this set online at The Vermont Country Store a few years ago. The Mosser Glass Company was established in 1971 and it is located in Cambridge, Ohio. They sell high quality American made glassware and I love their products. I have a few sets of their goblets and a few cake stands too.

A bit of a change from my usual red and white Valentine’s Day tablescapes but I like it.

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 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 The Cottage Market, https://thecottagemarket.com/ and Miz Helen’s Country Cottage, https://www.mizhelenscountrycottage.com/ . Please visit these blogs, you will enjoy them!

Hearts and Roses on a Valentine’s Day Tablescape

January 26, 2025 by Beth Wilson in Tablescapes

This was going to be a black and pink Valentine’s Day tablescape. As you can see, it ended up as something very different. That is often how things go with tablescaping. I found the tablecloth on Amazon several years ago, Ambesonne Shabby Flora Tablecloth, and I loved the pink roses so I bought it. My mother loved roses and I have a soft spot for them myself although I only have a few miniature roses. My garden is mostly full of geraniums and day lilies because they are really easy to grow.

I was searching online a few years ago for a pink heart salad plate and this one popped out. It was made by Pfaltzgraff and the pattern was called Tea Rose. As soon as I saw it I decided to go a different direction with this tablescape and I dropped the black idea and added roses to the theme. I remembered the roses tablecloth so I pulled it out to use.

If you read my blog you have seen my red Cambria chargers from Pottery Barn several times. They are one of my favorite chargers to use on my tablescapes. I think Pottery Barn is discontinuing this pattern so over the past few years I have added these chargers to my tablescaping collection in a few other colors including this celadon color. It is a somewhat neutral green color that goes well with several other colors including pink. It actually is serving as a dinner plate on this tablescape.

This pink frosted flatware set was made by Bugatti for Vietri and the pattern was Aladdin. I bought the set at Macys several years ago. I have several sets of frosted flatware, I really like the frosted design.

I bought the green napkin rings at Pier 1 a few years ago before the stores closed. The pink magnolia napkins are by Kate Spade, I found them on Ebay a few years ago. They actually don’t match the tablecloth but the colors and pattern are so similar that they work well together.

I found the small pink heart boxes online at Oriental Trading Company a few years ago. They could be used alone to lean a place card against or they could be used to hold party favors or both. I decided to use them as a stand for my rose place card holders to add some height to them. I bought these small pink rose place card holders a few years ago on Ebay. I love searching for vintage place card holders on Ebay, I have found some great ones over the years. These were called Georgian and according to the label, they are fine bone china. The mark on the bottom stands for Marks & Rosenfeld, a US giftware distributor in the 1950's and 1960's who commissioned their own range of ceramics and gift ware.

The green acrylic goblets came from our Pier 1 store before it closed several years ago. I looked for tall pink goblets for a couple of years and suddenly World Market had these a few years ago. They sold out quickly so others must have been looking for them too.

Hubby picked up these faux pink roses at Michael’s for me. I put them in a vintage pink pottery vase. I collected vintage pottery for a few years many years ago and this vase is part of that collection.

A bit of a change from my usual red and white Valentine’s Day tablescapes but I like it.

To see over 270 different tablescapes that I have created please click here. If you are on Facebook, join my new Table Settings and Tablescape Ideas Facebook group 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

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 The Cottage Market, https://thecottagemarket.com/ and Modern on Monticello, https://modernonmonticello.com/ Please visit these blogs, you will enjoy them!