Easter Tablescape

So, my Easter tablescape is complete. Yay! To view photos, etc. click here. To be totally honest I had no idea what I was going to do with the wheatgrass as it's height peaked a bit before I was ready. I spent most of the weekend printing papers and assembling the pinwheels. Spent most of Sunday creating the tablescape and taking pictures of the pinwheels - both as part of the tablescape and also separately for use in selling the pinwheels. Then spent the past two evenings importing these items into Etsy. Now, I'm finally finding time to post the pictures.
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Funny story about the tablescape, I created it while Roger was working outside in the yard. By the time he came back inside for a break, I'd taken all of the photos and disassembled the tablescape. I guess I should have had him come look, but I was so rushed it didn't even occur to me. Just knew that I wouldn't have time to deal with rotting wheat grass this week so I trashed it at the height of it's prettiness. Kind of sad, I know. Although, I just volunteered to host Easter this year so I really wish that wheat grass would last weeks instead of days. As I'm a gluten for punishment, it looks like I'll be growing another round of wheat grass for my actual Easter centerpieces. :)
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Spring has Sprung

Spring has Sprung. {Yay!} And, so has my Wheat Grass. {Double Yay!} Nope, I don't eat or drink the stuff. I know, I know it's supposed to be super nutritious but the thought of ingesting anything grass related just doesn't sound appetizing to me - at all.
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So, bet you are wondering why I'm growing trays of wheatgrass. For my Easter tablescape, of course. My goal is to complete one this weekend. One thing is for sure - I need to do this soon as this grass is at the exact perfect height and green-ness. {Another Yay!}
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Years ago I attempted growing wheatgrass on my own and I failed miserably as I purchased seed and directions specifically for wheat grass that one juices. This time I purchased kits from Dogwood Farms as they actually have centerpiece kits available. I purchased their 8" round centerpiece kits. The kits come with perfect instructions on how to grow wheat grass for centerpieces - it needs to be grown thicker than wheatgrass for juicing. I was a little pessimistic, I must admit - as by day 4 I barely had any growth. But, here we are at day 7 at it's just perfect. Will definitely be using them again.
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Anyhoo, stay tuned for my Easter tablescape photos utilizing this lovely spring grass. :)

Kiss Me, I'm Irish

Okay, so you don't have to kiss me, but I am Irish. ;-) In honor of the upcoming March holiday, I've created and posted a St. Pattie's Day themed tablescape at my site. Feel free to peek your head into my shop for more photos and explanations on how to achieve this St. Patrick's Day centerpiece look yourself. Or, for a full slide show, without my annoying comments, click here.
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As always you can always visit all of my past tablescapes either here at my blog or here at my shop.
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Enjoy! It's not too long until Corned Beef and Cabbage time. Yum.

February Centerpiece Party

With the most Romantical Day of the year soon approaching I thought I'd get into the holiday spirit by participating in Cindy's February Centerpiece Party. She's kind of a big deal in blog land, but for those of you who haven't heard of or visited her blog in the past, please be sure to stop by her blog, My Romantic Home, for lots of other great centerpiece ideas. I'm sure you'll also become hooked on her blog and visit/stalk it on an almost daily basis - just as I do. :)

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Our Valentine's Day table is all set for the most romantic day of the year. To view pictures of our 2009 Valentine's Day Table and Centerpiece, click here. For those who missed out on our 2008 heart themed table and centerpiece, click here.

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Enjoy!

I can't wait to browse all of the other lovely centerpieces.

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Romantical Holiday Table

Our Valentine's Day table is all set for the most romantical day of the year. To view pictures of our 2009 Valentine's Day Tablescape, click here. For those who missed out on our 2008 heart themed tablescapes, click here. Similar pinwheels are available for purchase at our pinwhirls site. We've even launched some festively fabulous Valentine's Day themed papers and are able to totally customize pinwheels for your upcoming Valentine's Day parties.

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Speaking of Valentine's get-togethers, we are procrastinating on our plans this year. It's not a very good year to be procrastinating since the big holiday falls on a Saturday night. Not sure I'm up for going to an overcrowded restaurant. The church is once again having a Spaghetti dinner for couples on Vtines day. We went last year - with my older sister and her hubby - (in addition to White Castles and the Opera) and I must tell you, I was pleasantly surprised, but being in a gym is not very romantic - even with candles. I've been thinking that maybe we should just fondue it at home. And maybe invite the same sister and her hubby over as well and have a couple's fondue night. We shall see.

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Anyone else have any big plans or ideas for Vtines Day?

Jack-O-Lanterns Burning Bright

May Jack-o-lanterns burning bright

Of soft and golden hue

Pierce through the future’s veil and show

What fate now holds for you.

~Author Unknown

Although our Jack-o-lantern isn't burning bright, just yet (we haven't even gotten around to carving her), she has been sitting pretty on our dining room table for the past couple of weeks.

Above is our Fall (October into November) tablescape featuring fabulous fall colors and the leaves and pumpkins of the season.

Love this ribbon I found a few years ago with its lime green, orange, and yellows.

And what a simple centerpiece, a pumpkin tied with ribbon set prettily in a basket filled with moss and leaves. I had debated either glittering pumpkins (which is the new big thing this season) or poking pumpkins with tons of little daises, but to be totally honest I just ran out of time. Maybe next season. :)

I love the sheer leaves pictured above. I also purchased these a few years ago (from Hobby Lobby) and have found that I can use them to decorate both formal and fun fall tablescapes.

Full view of the tablescape. It only took me about 10 minutes to throw together and believe it or not I didn't have to purchase anything for it. (That's my kind of decorating!) It was all stuff we already had lying around the house or stored, etc.

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And in case anyone is wondering, no we never actually sit at our table. And although I would love to entertain more and show off the table creations to those besides my blog readers, I actually never have the time. Oh well - maybe some day. :)

August Tablescape - A bit (more like a lot) late!

Better late than never - here is our August Tablescape. Betcha can't guess what the theme is!!! Drum roll please ... pinwheels, but of course! The above whimsical centerpiece and tablescape would actually be perfect for an outdoor kid's birthday party as the pinwheels integrated into the decor can serve as party favors and they'll actually spin in the outdoor breezes!

I've taken a plain ol' glass cookie jar and filled it to the brim with pinwheels ...

tons of brightly colored mini pinwheels. So many that each child will find the particular design that they'll just fall-in love with. And these mini ones are just perfect for small hands.

In addition to sticking the pinwheels in the cookie jars, I've also propped a few into clear glass jars and vases.

And for seating cards I've attached one of our clothespin pinwheels to the rim of the place setting where I've just neatly slid both a place card (made of a plain old tag) and napkin under the pinwheel (great for a windy day as neither the place card or napkin will try to take flight!)

I've also stuck some of our mini pinwheels into wheat grass growing in baskets. A very unique way to display these cuties. (Even works great at larger events - just stick trays of wheat grass on your seating card tables and prop pinwheels, with the seating card flags, into the wheatgrass!)

All of the pinwheels pictured are available for purchase at both our esty shop and our website. We are also able to work with clients on finding the perfect paper to match their party theme. In addition to having papers in stock, for smaller orders, we can also order in paper, or custom design paper to match an event perfectly!

October Fall Tablescape

Just in time for the first day of Fall, it's our October Tablescape! It features the wonderful colors of fall and of course ...

our very own pinwheels (available at both our etsy shop and web shop) - in a fall theme!

And our pretty fall pinwheels that serve as both a party favor and a place card.

We are now offering place card flag attachments that can easily be slid on and off the pinwheel stick which makes for easy calligraphing (pinwheel won't get in the way) and also more fun since the pinwheel is just a pinwheel after the card is slid off after the event.

One of my favorite fall pieces - wheat tied together with a pretty ribbon and stuck into a chocolate colored urn filled with coffee beans. A pinwheel has also been neatly tucked into the ribbon for an extra-special touch of fun.

The above is a great way of propping pinwheels in a table centerpiece. Just take a ball jar, fill with coffee beans and voila the pinwheel sticks will stay perfectly upright. For a bit more fun just tie a bit of ribbon around the jars.

It's kind of hard to tell from this picture but the above is a pumpkin propped into a pretty fall basket and encircled with fall garland. And once again I couldn't help but add a couple of pinwheel accents. (Yes, I'm addicted.)

I usually have a candle propped into this super mini pitcher but for this display I've filled with coffee beans, once again, and stuck in some of my mini cupcake topper sized pinwheels - one with a leaf pattern the other with fall colored stripes.

This tablescape would be perfect for an event that has both adult and children attendees - the actual centerpiece is adult oriented but with the addition of fun pinwheel embellishments the kids will also enjoy!

September Tablescape

Yep - I realize that September is well over half-way over but I'm just now getting around to creating and posting my September Tablescape. (Don't tell anyone but I still haven't posted my August tablescape yet - although I am going to pat myself on the back because I was out this morning creating not one, not two, but three tablescapes. I even completed October already! And yet another pat because I was doing this with a head cold and sore throat. Not sure where I got this this sickness because I know absolutely no one who is sick - I swear Roger is a carrier as he works around high school kids all day and brings their illnesses back to me - although he doesn't seem to get sick himself!:))

Anyway, I digress. My September tablescape features hydrangeas, a rustic lantern, and basket and some pretty creative place cards.


I adore the above lantern and it's rustic appearance. It's actually a left-over from my brother-in-laws rehearsal dinner in July. Charlotte, my mom-in-law, was nice enough to let me take one home. (She actually offered more - I think she has 8 or 9- but I had to decline - not because I wouldn't like a ton more but because I have no space as it is. )

This lovely piece has semi-permanently made it's home on my dining room table for the late summer and fall.

And can you believe it? These hydrangeas are out of my very own garden! Freshly picked today. I heart how the blooms turn a greenish brown burgundy color during the autumn. These blooms are now 'drying' out on my dining room table. I've never tried to dry hydrangeas before so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they don't just shrivel and die and look all pathetic. :-)

And the above is one of my newest event products available at my esty shop and web shop. Chalkboard stake place cards. I have some similar stakes that I use in my herb garden (bought them years ago but the company stopped making them a couple of years ago). I shed a few tears when I learned that I could no longer buy them but I've recently started making my own. They are available in the above style with the plant marker area completely covered in chalkboard paint. Or the below ...

with a more ornate design. Both plant markers are on a stake that can be perfectly stuck into a spray of flowers or small potted plant in either the center of a place setting (as a placecard) or into plants, etc. on the seating card or escort table. (Martha did a feature several years ago where similar stakes were placed into wheat grass on the escort tables. It looked way too cool!)

These would also make clever party favors as guests can just wipe off the chalk after an event and stick these into their very own garden. (Hint: They now make paint pens that are just the coolest things - I use these in my garden to write on the plant name so that when the rain comes down the chalk isn't washed off - and the best part, you can't even tell that you've not written in chalk!)

That's it - I know, very basic but sometimes I think the more basic the better.

I'll have to keep everyone informed of how the hydrangea drying progresses. :)

Let Freedom Ring!

The first of earthly blessings, independence. ~ Edward Gibbon

Happy Independence day to all. Not sure about everyone else, but as with all holidays, I love this one. Red, white, and blue are always so cheery together. Since this is the case, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to create a tablescape centering around this holiday. :-)
I almost missed showcasing this tablescape. It seems as if I was running behind all the month of June and I had it in my head that I would finally have time to create something today and wouldn't you know it, it rained almost all day! It finally stopped later on this afternoon so after it cleared I ran outdoors to create and shoot a few shots. (And thankfully mother nature got all of the rain out of it's system today so tomorrow forecast is gorgeous!):-)

I integrated my very versatile linen tablecloth and napkins. (As I've said before, they'll go with every theme!) I've had the above vintage inspired American Flag around for years. Around this holiday it always makes it's way to my dining room table. I love it! See how cheery red, white, and blue is!

The above mini wheelbarrow is also one of my summer favorites. It always makes it's way to my table several times throughout the summer months. For this tablescape, I've draped another mini vintage inspired American Flag over the wheelbarrow. I added faux crystallized strawberries and then topped them with some yummy iced cupcakes that I've inserted my cupcake toppers into. Very festive!

And what tablescape is complete without candles? The above lantern normally lives on a shelf in my living room, but I thought it matched the theme of this tablescape perfectly as it is very Colonial inspired - it add a bit of Old World Charm. And it's super nice that the candle is contained so one doesn't have to worry about the candle blowing out throughout the evening. :-)

For the place settings, I layered my white shabby chic charger plate with red and blue dinner and salad plates. Mini chalkboards inscribed with our names are used as place cards.

Of course I utilized my favorite type of ribbon - gingham. It's so summery! And a 4th of July party wouldn't be complete without sparklers. I've neatly tucked them between the ribbon and the linen napkin.

The below plates are perfect for the outdoors! Although they appear to be metal enamelware plates, they are actually plastic! Very cool!

This tablescape is filled with almost all 'Somethings' Borrowed." I added the above memory boxes to add some height to the tablescape - they normally live in my living room and TV room. The faux flowers normally live in my dining room hutch. And the cute little clipboard normally resides in my kitchen. By the way, don't you love the font used on the '4th of July' sign? It's called Gigi - I love the little scrolls on the letters.Hope you enjoyed the tablescape. :-) Now we are off to the front of my 'cottage'.

While browsing Hobby Lobby last week, they had their flags on Sale which gave me the perfect reason to by enough to insert into my hanging planters. They were so inexpensive yet they've made our house so festive this week waving in the wind. :-)

Well, I should be moving right along. It's too beautiful of an evening to be cooped up indoors.
Hope everyone has a fun fourth filled with family, friends, and yummy food!

June Beach Themed Tablescape

Ta-da! I'm very happy that it's now warm enough to feature my tablescapes outdoors. Thinking of warmth always makes me think of the beach and thus my June tablescape is none other than Beach themed. It features the refreshing colors of sand and water - aka - khaki brown and robins egg blue. These two happen to be my favorite color combination of the season.

This tablescape utilizes a khaki colored linen tablecloth and linen napkins that I already had on hand in my linen supply. (If you don't have these colors on hand already, I'd certainly recommend purchasing as they will give you a great neutral starting point for almost all future settings.) To add some dimension - and fun - to the tabletop I've strewn a cream colored fishnet over the top (if you can find a blue fishnet, this would also work wonderfully) and I've added decorative river rocks to the top of this setting as well. Not only do these rocks add dimension, they also work wonderfully to weigh down the tablecloth on a windy day. To make this tablescape even more 'beachy', just scatter assorted sizes and shapes of seashells.

For the focal point of the table, the centerpiece, I utilized a clear and large footed vase. It's difficult to tell from this photo but tiny shell vase filler fills the bottom few inches of the vase. This filler gives off a beautifully irredescent shine when the sun hits the tiny pieces. If you are uanble to locate this type of filler, sand vase filler will work equally as well. I've placed another tulip shaped vase filled with a blue candle a top the filler. I originally decided to utilize two vases inside of each other as I was going to fill the large vase with water and add in live tropical fish - in wonderful shades of blue and purple. I even went to my local pet shop to purchase the fish when I decided that I just couldn't go through with it. It would have created a great effect and would have been a huge wow factor, but I didn't know what to do with the fish after the fact. I just knew that if I purchased fish, mine would be the ones that lived forever and being that I'm not a fish person and being that I couldn't bear flushing the fish after the fact, I decided against the purchase. But, if you or your kids would love fish as pets for awhile, I'd certainly recommend adding fish to this centerpiece. :-)

Above is the beach themed placesetting. I used creamish colored outdoor charger plates. (Believe it or not, these are plastic although they look like they are painted tin!) I love the shabby chic look of these chargers. Linen napkins were placed atop the chargers and these lovely blue starfish not only help integrate the blue color of the table, but they also serve a few more purposes. They help weigh down the napkin in case of wind, they can serve as a guest favor, and by adding a white card, they also serve as a placecard for the evening's seating assignments.

I also integrated the starfish blue color into the centerpiece.

Isn't this blue color lovely? It makes me long for the ocean!

Above is a full view of the centerpiece. I found creamish shades of drift wood, stood them up, and tied them to the vase with a ribbon featuring the colors of blue, brown, and cream. While creating this, I thought it was perhaps a bit too unique, but the more I looked at it, the more I loved it. It adds a great amount of height, plus you could hang all sorts of lovelies of the branches.

I hung some starfish off my driftwood branches, but you can just as easily hang seashells, sand dollars, flowers, or even tiny lights off of these pieces. I've even seen pieces of your night's menu hanging off of similar branches. How cool would it be to hang sea shell shaped cookies off of these branches or even decadent chocolates or fruits?

It's difficult to tell from this photo, but the above napkin fold is perfect for holding this starfish in place as the 4 uplifted points elevate both the starfish and placecard wonderfully. And even the name of this napkin fold works perfectly with our beach and water theme - Water Lily.

Below are the directions:

- This design requires a well-starched napkin.

1. Fold the corners of the napkin into the center and press flat.

2. Repeat the same process a second time - the napkin should be much smaller at this point.

3. Holding the center points together, carefully turn the napkin over.

4. Fold the four corners into the centre again - this time do not press.

5. Holding the center firmly, partly pull out the previous folds from under each corner and gently pull them upwards to make the petals.

6. Pull out the corners from underneath between the petals, to form the base leaves of the lilly.

If you are a visual person and need to visually see how to create this napkin fold, please visit this link. They use a paper napkin to create their fold, but you can just as easily use a cloth napkin. They also leave their lilly a bit higher than my folded napkin, but it will give you the idea.

I've created a slideshow with more and closer views of this beach themed tablescape.

To view them all, just click here.

Tablescape Ingredients:

Linen Tablecloth - Online or at Home Stores

Linen Napkins - Home Stores

Decorative Fish Net - Online or at Garden Ridge

Decorative River Rocks -Michaels or other craft store

Starfish Favors - Crossroads Cottage, Online, or at Garden Ridge

Shabby Chic Outdoor Chargers - Garden Ridge

Tall Footed Vase - Online or at Garden Ridge

Smaller Tulip Vase - Online or at Garden Ridge

Irredescent Shall Vase Filler - Purchased at Garden Ridge in their candle section.

Driftwood Branches - Available at most craft stores. Mine were purchased at Garden Ridge

Placecard Tags - Available at most craft stores. Mine were purchased at Jo Ann Fabrics

Blue Pillar Candle - Available at most home stores. I purchased mine at Wal-Mart

Other possible additions to a beach/nautical tablescape:

Chocolate Starfish Favors: Available online

Seagrass Placemats: Available online

Coral Placemat & Napkin: Available online

Seaside Awning Stripes Tablecloth: Available online

Rope Coil Placemat: Available online

Twig Tablerunner: Available online

Bamboo Placemat: Available online

Coco twig Runner: Available online

Spring Vines Placemat: Available online

Starfish Teacups & Saucers: Available online

Twig Salad Server Set: Available online

Seafare Condiment Serving Set: Available online

Seafare Oyster Serving Set: Available online

Assorted Seashells: Available online

We've also added many outdoor, nautical, and beach themed event items to our site including:

Genuine Starfish

Sea Shell Votive Candles

Sand Dollar Embellishments

River Stones Candy

To view all event items available at Crossroads Cottage, just click here.

Above view of tablescape!