A Slalom Supper Winter Tablescape

February 22, 2025 by Beth Wilson in Tablescapes

With all the winter weather happening right now I think this skiing theme is the perfect subject for a tablescape for this week. This tablescape ski theme idea was a recent one. I first found the dinner plates while I was browsing Ebay last month and I immediately started thinking about a ski theme tablescape. I knew finding a centerpiece might be difficult and I started searching the web for ski ideas and this vintage set of small skis or ski skates for children came up on Etsy. I found the Warm Winter Woolies tablecloth on sale online at Spoonflower. Because their tablecloths are so expensive I didn’t buy it when I first saw it but I couldn’t find anything like it anywhere else so I finally bought it when it went on sale. The color combination of navy blue, burgundy and green created a perfect winter tablescape. My sister-in-law is visiting and she helped with this tablescape, she had some great ideas! It was fun to create it with someone else besides Hubby!

When I find a dinner plate with a great graphic I sometimes don’t cover it with a salad plate. I found these winter theme dinner plates on Ebay and the back just says Home, made in China. I love all the different plaid patterns on the plates.

This charger was made by Mikasa and the pattern was called Color Spectrum in Navy Blue. I love this charger, it is heavy and a great color. I have this charger in several other colors as well. This charger was discontinued but I bought them all a few at a time on Ebay as I saw them over several years.

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 many years ago. There are similar frosted patterns available online now. I really like the marbleized design on the handles. I bought this pattern in a few other colors as well. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying flatware sets here.

I bought these Perlli cotton blend navy blue napkins on Amazon last week because I couldn’t find my other navy blue napkins. I need to reorganize my napkins! Those shelves are getting very disorganized. I found the metal and enamel skier napkin rings on Ebay a couple of weeks ago and I couldn’t believe how well they matched the color scheme for this tablescape. They were for sale on two different auctions so I was able to get the total that I needed. They probably will never show up again, I was lucky! The metal was a bit tarnished but I used an all-purpose metal cleaner on them and they shined right up. They don’t have any markings on them so I don’t know who made them but they are a good quality metal. To read about the What, Where, and How of napkin rings please click here.

I found these small wooden Gondola place card holders at West Elm online last month. As soon as I saw them I knew I could use them as place card holders on this tablescape. I set them on a brown wood napkin ring that I had to make them a bit taller. To read about the what, where and how of place card holders, please click here.

I bought these hand-painted pine tree glass goblets at HomeGoods a few months ago because in the winter I have often done mountain themed tablescapes and I knew I would use them. They are perfect for this tablescape. HomeGoods often has inexpensive goblets in lots of different styles. The green acrylic goblet on the right came from our Pier 1 store before it closed several years ago. 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.

When I bought this vintage set of small skis or ski skates for children on Etsy, they didn’t have the bindings on them. Hubby painted them burgundy for me because they were a bright red and they wouldn’t match the burgundy on this table setting and then he made the leather bindings and added them for me. The original bindings were different but these work for this setting. The skis have a bit of a label left on the back and it says Service Quality Production. The original skis were made by the F. D. Peters Co. in Gloversville, New York, I would guess in the 1940’s or 1950’s.

I found these small Lemax Village Collection snow sport figures on Amazon and added them to the tablescape just for fun.

This is the perfect tablescape for a snowy winter day!

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!

A Chefs Delight Tablescape

February 17, 2025 by Beth Wilson in Tablescapes

This is one of those tablescapes that I didn’t think about for a long time. Once I came up with the idea, I just did it. I was luck enough to find everything that I wanted fairly quickly and easily. I found this black and white buffalo check tablecloth on Amazon several years ago. It is heavy cotton and it is really easy to iron with a steam iron. If you read my blog you have seen this tablecloth before on winter and summer tablescapes. I have the same buffalo print in a larger square pattern and a smaller square pattern as well. I like to use bold tablecloths sometimes.

I found these chef head small accent plates first. I did a Google search for chef plate and five of these popped up on Amazon immediately and then I found the sixth one online at Walmart. I knew the colors for this table would be red, white, and black, and these chef head accent plates were perfect.

I knew that I wanted to use these black and white check salad plates on this tablescape because they would match the tablecloth. I have had them for many years, I also have the matching dinner plates too. These salad plates are a favorite of mine. They were made by Royal Stafford, and the label says Painterly Affects, Chequers. They were made in England. I bought them a few at a time as I found them on Ebay several years ago because I loved their bold design.

This black dinner plate was made by Waechtersbach Germany and it was called Fun Factory. It was one of the first plates that I bought when I started tablescaping and I use it often. Dinner plates in basic colors should be some of your first purchases if you want to start tablescaping. These plates probably came from HomeGoods many years ago. When you are using a busy tablecloth you need to break up the busy pattern with blocks of solid colors on the table so your eyes have a chance to rest when you are looking at the tablescape.

This red stoneware charger plate came from Pottery Barn several years ago. I love this plate, I also have it in other colors as well. The pattern is called Cambria. It is the perfect size to be either a dinner plate or a charger plate, I love plates that have that kind of versatility. I also love the bright red color and I use this charger often during different times of the year.

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

I saw these chef napkin rings online in a photo of items that were for sale last month at an estate sale and Hubby went and bought them for me. I couldn’t believe that I would find them just when I was creating a chef tablescape. They were buried in a drawer in the photo and I almost didn’t see them! I bought the red polyester napkins on Amazon. To read about the What, Where, and How of napkin rings please click here.

I just love these chef figures that I am using as place card holders on this tablescape. They are actually ceramic Chef Cooking Club Trinket Boxes. I found them on Ebay and Etsy last month. There are four different designs. To read about the what, where and how of place card holders, please click here.

I love the details on these figures. The facial expressions are just perfect!

I used these red glass goblets on my last two tablescapes, I keep pulling them out! 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 chef figure on Ebay last month. When I saw him I knew that he was exactly what I was looking for for this tablescape. He was absolutely perfect! I set him on a red stand to make him a bit taller.

If you read my blog you know that I often add salt and pepper sets to my tablescapes to match the theme of the table. I found both these chef salt and pepper sets on Amazon last month.

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!

Three Snowmen Tablescapes for Winter

January 19, 2025 by Beth Wilson in Tablescapes

I am reposting three snowmen tablescapes that I did in 2021, 2022, and 2023 because I am still behind a bit from our Southern California Tablescapers BTS Gathering this weekend. It has been cold here, at least cold for us this time of year, so snowmen seem to be an appropriate theme for this week’s tablescape.

This is the first Snowmen tablescape that I did after I started tablescaping. This blue and white gingham cotton tablecloth came from Amazon. I have bought many tablecloths on Amazon, I often look there first. These snow people salad plates were illustrated by Susan Winget and the series was called Snow Friends. There were four different salad plate designs in the series. They have been discontinued but they sometimes appear on the secondary market.

I love these snowman napkins rings. They were called Sweet Shoppe Christmas and they were made by Sango and designed by Susan Lipkin. I found them online at Replacements, Ltd.

I used my red Waterford Marquis Brookside goblets for this table setting. The dark blue acrylic goblets came from Pier 1 on sale several years ago before our store closed. It’s difficult to see but they have a rope design around the top of the goblet. I often use them on summer ocean themed tablescapes.

I bought this snowman cookie jar at Target several years ago. He is sitting on a red Pottery Barn drink dispenser stand. During the Christmas season there are lots of snowmen cookie jars for sale and I must admit I now have about five of them that are different styles. I love all my cookie jars because they are the perfect size and make great centerpieces but they take up too much space in my storage areas!

More information about this Snowmen Tablescape here: https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/blog/2021/1/10/a-winter-snowman-tablescape

This is the second tablescape that I put together, this one in 2022. Tablescaping in January can be a challenge. The holidays are over and Valentine’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day are off on the horizon. I wanted to post a snowman tablescape but finding snowman designs that don’t have any Christmas elements on them can be difficult. I finally found these snowman salad plates several years ago but I didn’t have a chance to use them on a tablescape until this tablescape. This sage green tablecloth came from Amazon several years ago. I love it and it washes and irons beautifully. I went back and bought a few other colors as well. It is called maxmill Jacquard Table Cloth Swirl Design.

These cute Snowman salad plates are made by Pfaltzgraff and the pattern is called Evergreen Ernie copyrighted by Diane Arthurs. They come in a set of four salad plates with four different designs. I love the blue, green, and brown colors, they are perfect for a winter tablescape and the birds are a cute addition.

The green acrylic goblet on the left came from our Pier 1 store before it closed several years ago. I think I bought the blue goblets on the right at Pier 1 several years ago too. When I started tablescaping I didn’t pay attention to the height of the goblets that I was buying and I soon learned that I like them to be taller like these two.

These tree candles all came from Crate and Barrel over the years. I can’t remember where I found the snow people candle holder, I have had it for many many years. It is labeled Center Street Design, Snow Couple.

This flatware set is labeled SR Showroom Italy. It was made by Zaffiro and I think I bought it on sale online at Horchow several years ago. The color is called Smoky and it looks like it has been discontinued. I really liked the simple design so I bought it in other colors as well. It is 18/10 stainless and a nice heavy set. The pieces are really longer in length than normal flatware. I have mentioned this before. If you are buying flatware and it isn’t 18/10 stainless always check the fork tines to make sure they have been filed enough and aren’t too sharp. Cheaper flatware often has this problem.

More information about this Snowmen tablescape here: https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/blog/2022/1/14/a-snowmen-winter-tablescape

I created this Snowmen tablescape two years ago. I knew that I wanted to create a snowman themed tablescape after the Christmas season was over and I decided to use a buffalo check design. I found this black and white buffalo check tablecloth on Amazon. It is heavy cotton and it is really easy to iron with a steam iron.

I looked for a salad plate design that had a snowman with black and white buffalo check and couldn’t find anything. When that happens I often start looking for something to set on a solid colored salad plate and I always check Etsy. This is a circle of aluminum that has been painted. It was sold as a large ornament for a wreath but it was the perfect design for this tablescape. I set it on a square black glass salad plate. We found these black glass plates somewhere in Virginia while we were visiting our son and his family a few years ago. They were made by Luminarc France. They are salad or tidbit plates.

I turned to Etsy again to find a black and white buffalo check snowman design to use for a napkin ring. This design is custom printed on hardboard. I think I was lucky to find it! I just taped it temporarily to a simple white porcelain napkin ring that I had. These basic cotton black napkins came from Crate and Barrel.

This black flatware is Ginkgo International LePrix. I have had this set for several years and it came from Overstock.com. I have this set in a few different colors now.

I knew that I wanted black and white goblets for this tablescape. The goblet with the black bowl and clear stem on the left was made by Classic Touch and it is called V-Shaped Water Glass, Black With Clear Stem. I bought them at Houzz online several years ago. I have very very tall white goblets 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 is called Veranda.

I found this snowman cookie jar at Hobby Lobby a few years ago. I decided to set it on a small black cake stand that I had but it didn’t fit flat because of the rim on the stand so I turned the stand upside down and I actually love the way it looks.

There is more information about this Snowmen Tablescape here: https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/blog/2023/12/30/snowmen-on-a-winter-tablescape

To see over 270 different tablescapes that I have created please click here. If you are on Facebook, join my new Tablescape and Table Settings Ideas Facebook group for lots of tablescaping inspiration! Just click on the Facebook Search box at the top of the page and type in Tablescape and Table Settings 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.

I was recently asked to provide content for an article about entertaining guests for the Apartmentguide blog, https://www.apartmentguide.com/blog/how-to-make-guests-feel-welcome/ . Even if you are not an apartment renter you should check out this blog for great lifestyle articles. I enjoyed reading recent articles about entertaining for Super Bowl Sunday and Valentine’s Day.

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

A Winter Tablescape

January 11, 2025 by Beth Wilson in Tablescapes

My daughter and I did a Winter tablescape similar to this one several years ago for a dinner party she was having. I tweaked it a bit for this version. I found the snowflake tablecloth at HomeGoods a few years ago. You can just see the snowflake designs on the tablecloth in this photo.

I wanted a napkin fabric that had some movement to it for this tablescape and I found these dark gray napkins on Amazon a few years ago. Once they got here and I saw them, I ordered a couple tablecloths in different colors in the same fabric because I really like this fabric design. I can’t remember where I found the shiny snowflake napkin rings online a few years ago but a Google search will turn up several similar designs.

I found these simple white dinner plates at HomeGoods several years ago when I first started tablescaping. They are labeled Ralph Lauren Club Porcelain.

This white beaded charger came from Williams-Sonoma several years ago and the pattern is called Antique Beaded.

The shiny silver placemats probably came from Pier 1 several years ago. I like the way they reflect light.

This frosted flatware set is made by Vietri and the pattern is called Aladdin in gray. I bought it on sale at Bloomingdale's several years ago. I bought the same pattern in a few other colors because I really like the design.

I can’t remember where I found these silver snowflake place card holders but they are perfect for this tablescape. I found the snowflake place cards in my place cards drawer. I can’t remember where they came from.

On the left is a Waterford goblet but one of their less expensive patterns. I think it is called Waterford Marquis and the pattern is Markham. I bought them at HomeGoods a few years ago. I have a similar goblet in red (but the pattern is Brookside) and it is one of the most used goblets in my tablescaping collection. On the right is one of my wedding crystal goblets, a Waterford pattern called Lismore. Even after 50 years this goblet is still in style.

I found this crystal candelabra at a local consignment store a few years ago. It is really heavy. It had been mended so I got a really good price on it. There was a matching one that I bought as well. I bought the silver candles at Hobby Lobby a few years ago.

Hubby found these two cut glass salt and pepper sets at an Estate Sale a couple of years ago and I added them on each side of the candelabras.

I usually have more color on my tables but I like the combination of white, gray, glass, and silver on this tablescape.

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 January 18, 2025 in the Los Angeles area.

Don’t miss the Tablescape How-To tab at the top of my blog for DIY tips and tricks.

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