It’s time for another Thursday Tablescape with Susan our hostess at Between Naps on the Porch. Hope you will join in the activities and I look forward to seeing your posts.

Having traveled to Paris twice now, I can tell you I am in love with the city of romance and would go back in a heartbeat. Bistro table settings looking upon the Eiffel tower can be found throughout the city.

The Paris plates I bought at Hobby Lobby 50% off.  I wanted two of each type so I could mix and match. Sometimes it’s just me and Robert and I only need two, but if I have company and need to set the table for 4 they all go together beautifully and all have the French bistro look to them.

The white plates were from Mary, my mother-in-law.  When she passed away a few years ago I was blessed to receive many of her dishes and these white plates  were a basic set of dishes she used for everyday but ones I find dress up and show off special plates nicely.

I made the napkins specifically to go with this table setting…aren’t they gorgeous!

I used my black beaded place mats to begin the setting.

Added Mary’s beautiful white plate, doesn’t it look gorgeous on the black!

I used my two Paris plates with the Eiffel tower on two settings and the fleur de lis on the two other settings to complete my table of four.

Nest came the white salad bowl and I am ready for the final touches.

I gathered up candles, greenery, ceramic birds, more candles, silver, glassware and the table was ready for my napkins and guests.

Bon appetit

If you would like a set of the Eiffel Tower napkins you can purchase them at   www.creativechics.etsy.com

As promised, I wanted to share with you my favor bags and birthday stickers I used for my granddaughter’s recent birthday party. The pink paper bags were picked up at a craft store in the food prep aisle I believe. They’ve been sitting in my pantry for some time so I can’t say I quite remember where I got them.

What you’ll need:

- hole punch

- bag of tootsie rolls

- cookies, or candies to put inside favor bag

Place candies or cookies into the bottom half of the bag. Fold down the top of the bag one time.

Hole punch through the folded down portion of the bag two holes about 2 inches apart.

Slide tootsie roll stick through the punched holes to hold the bag closed.

Place sticker or other embellishment on the bag. That’s it! That simple.

So here is a set of the Thank You stickers for you to use.  Just click on the image to download to your computer to print. These are 2″ stickers.

Please honor my copyright and not redistribute this download; but I will gladly let you link to my blog so others can download it for free also.

I’ve got a recipe for punch that is sure to please your guests. I’ve made it twice now and both times my guests drained the punch bowl so fast my head was spinning!

Now I also put fresh pineapple and maraschino cherries on the little cocktail umbrellas and placed in each cup of punch for flavor and mostly for fun!

I created the napkin rings out of paper strips. All you need is a little clipart, imagination and an image editor.

Or you can download a set of these napkin rings to use for your own party if you prefer to have this already done for you Just use the solid green lines as a cutting guide. Roll paper napkin rings around napkin. Use two sided tape or craft glue to attach the two ends together.

Please honor my copyright and not redistribute this download; but I will gladly let you link to my blog so others can download it for free also.

Tomorrow, step by step on creating party favor bags and another free download of Thank You stickers.

Welcome to Tablescape Thursday hosted by Susan at Between Naps on the Porch.

My little grandbaby just turned 5 years old this past week and we had a grand party for her. As usual I plan things last minute but I have to admit that when I was done it didn’t look that way.

Today I’ll show you the highlights and in the coming days I’ll have more of the details along with a party favor craft ideas and free downloads, so check back.

My goal was to use only things I already had in the house (keeping costs down). The few things I bought were napkins and fresh tulips and candy for the favor bags. A great way to destash! But didn’t it turn out so pretty and spring looking?

The Hawaiian leis I had used for a party last summer. I draped them through the middle of the table to add color and softness. The tulips are nestled amongst the leis.

The pink favor bags were stuffed away in a drawer. They are filled with tootsie rolls, suckers and chocolate kisses The tootsie pop holds the bag shut (I’ll give a tutorial on this later in the week along with the Thank You stickers you can download and use.) A “Thank You” bag of treats sits in front of each paper plate (yes paper plate).

Aria is a lover of ice cream (like Grandma!) so we set up a simple ice cream bar with various toppings like gummy bears, chocolate sprinkles and multi colored sprinkles, chocolate chips and salted peanuts. The goodies were placed in ramekins and then set on top of a cake platter. In the center I used a striped vase that held spoons. The leis spread around the cake platter soften the look and add a punch of color. See the cocktail umbrellas in there too?

I had to use those umbrellas elsewhere so in each glass cup, I placed a slice of fresh pineapple and a candied cherry on the toothpick to sit pretty in the homemade punch.

Colorful, spring feeling and festive. She was so excited when she saw the pretty table when she walked in.

This was the cake Daddy bought. WOW, is there any cake amongst all those princesses? She LOVED this as any little girl would!

Happy Birthday to my grand baby Aria, not such a baby anymore. Thanks for visiting us and seeing our prettier thank pink tablescape today!

Welcome to Tablescape Thursday hosted by Susan at Between Naps on the Porch. Be sure to drop over there and see all the wonderful tablescapes listed this week.

Kevin and his friends had their high school dance last weekend. To keep costs down for the event, the girls decided to cook dinner for the guys at our house. To make it special, Kevin suggested we set the table real pretty. He was so cute asking how to set the table, where does the silverware go, where are the “good plates”. But here are his final results.

Daylight (getting it all ready)

Candlelight for romance.

When his girlfriend came in and saw the table, she was like “oh Kevin, you are SO sweet!!!” Yep, he earned some brownie points for sure, but he is kind of a romantic at heart too Oh and of course I have to show you the sweet couple dressed to the nines!

Thank you for joining us for Tablescape Thursday! We hope you come back to see us again soon

See all of this Thursday’s tablescapes at Susan’s Between Naps on the Porch. Valentine’s can be a bit of a pricey “holiday” if your spouse takes you out to a nice dinner. And it seems every restaurant  knows that based on their menu prices that night too, not to mention getting reservations is a bit tricky.

So a few years ago we did something different with friends.  We hosted 5 couples for a Valentine’s dinner. Each couple contributed $25 towards the food which I prepared and they all brought one bottle of wine for sharing. Lots of candles and imitation roses added the feel of Valentine. I used red napkins with an imitation rose inserted within each napkin ring.

I made up the dishes about an hour before hand and placed the food in chafing dishes to keep the food warm. Once the guests came, we were able to share a meal together that was fun and affordable. I guess the risk with this arrangement is your guests don’t like your cooking

If you asked anyone if I am a dreamer, they would say definitely YES. My mind create more than I could ever get done. I KNOW a lot of you ladies can relate! My mind always seems to be in overdrive. While cleaning my PC off this last week I ran across a few mock-ups I had created of dinnerware and coordinating stationery. I bet you didn’t know I did graphic design on the side, besides sewing. Like I said I love to be creative.

I would love to get into the textiles business, or perhaps I’d just love to have these plates for myself

So I thought I’d share with you some of the dreams I had that have sat on my PC for over a year, unattended, and perhaps waiting for a future at another time…or perhaps they’ll remain just that, a dream.

Oh yes, I had dreamed it all. Placemats, napkins, dinner and salad plates, invitations and thank you cards. Sigh, a girl can dream can’t she? Do you have dreams you’ve put on the back burner, waiting for the right day, right time, or just time to nurture them and bring them to life?

Welcome to Tablescape Thursday, hosted by the ever talented and delightful hostess, Susan at Between Naps on the Porch.

This week I finally had the opportunity to use my two place setting dishes of GORGEOUS chocolate brown, cream and greens. I picked them up at Marshall’s Home Goods a few months ago and haven’t had a chance to use them yet.

At one point I thought it would soon just be me and Robert at home in the evenings. No need to have tons of place settings when there is just the two of us. Ironically it has been a rare occasion that we’ve actually had the evening to ourselves of late! That’s a long story for another time.

See the small leaf bread plates? Too cute!

What to fix when it is just us two? Oh something healthy like a nice garden salad and fish of some sort since Kevin is not so fond of it. We always eat it when he is gone So grilled salmon with balsamic glaze and a side of grilled asparagus. Mmmmm good! Sorry, no leftovers to share.

Thanks for joining us this week. Have a fabulous weekend!!!!

It is Tablescape Thursday and our hostess Susan invites you to see all of the tablescapes today at the following link,   http://feeds.feedburner.com/BetweenNapsOnThePorch. Thank you Susan for hosting this weekly event for everyone to enjoy.

I was eager to show everyone the gorgeous spring dishes Deb gave me for Christmas.  We had visited Pier I prior to the holidays and I had taken them to checkout and decided at the last minute I did not need any more dishes in my little apartment but bless her heart she went back and got them for me anyway:) I am sure you will love them too….

Spring, Spring, Spring that is what this beautiful green cup and flowers say to me!

I will have to make some napkins to more appropriately go with the dishes but I love the little kitten vintage napkin rings so I used them for my lunch today.

Isn’t the pattern on the plate beautiful??? Yes, yes..I think so.

The beautiful green goblets from Kohl’s were already in my stash and are purrrrrr-fect for this setting.

Many luncheon’s will be enjoyed on these, thank you Deb…

And the beautiful pink bowls she added to the set, today they held rice for my Chinese luncheon but I am sure a fresh vegetable soup or some ice cream will fit perfectly too!

Thank you Susan for letting me share my beautiful
Christmas present on Tablescape Thursday.

Welcome to Tablescape Thursday, hosted by the delightful and lovely Susan of Between Naps on the Porch fame. And aren’t we all excited to decorate our tables this time of year? I know I am!!!

Oh I can’t wait to show you this incredible centerpiece I bought at the art show we were at a week ago. It’s a good thing I sold some items so I could pay for this beautiful new Christmas decoration. So please, dear friends, come on in!!!

The “tripod” is a Celebrating Home product that I will be able to use for all year decorating. There is a cake plate set in the middle of it with a wreath of green ornaments and bows sitting on top and a hurricane vase with candle nestled in the center of it. My pictures just don’t do it justice I tell you.

The plates were a find after Christmas last year at Kohl’s. I picked them up for next to nothing and I love how they have creamy white berries and holly on the rim. A casual elegant look I think. Oh and those decadent dinner napkins, well my Mom made those. They have this fabulous gold thread stitching around the whole outer edge.

The stemware is a mixture of old and new. The crystal wine glasses were my mother-in-laws that she brought back from Europe on one of her many trips. They are so elegant and beautiful and I love them because they hold special memories for me. The dessert glasses are very inexpensive garage sale finds and perfect for holding the sweet stuff, don’t you think?

And now for a little candelight to set the mood for our dinner. Thank you SO much for coming by and joining us for our Tablescape Thursday.