Beach Centerpiece

This is my centerpiece for this week's tablescape.  

 Just a lot of layering and monochromatic colors  in shell and candle form.

I will link to:
A Stroll Thru Life Tabletop Tuesday

The Gypsy's Corner Three or More Tuesday
The Style Sisters Centerpiece Wednesdays 
Please join these sites and view all the wonderful decor.

 

Summer Tea Time

A little tea in the garden with a sea theme.  

The little teapot has rope around the word tea and it looks nautical.

"To Die For Blueberry Muffins"  by Shirley of Shirley's World recipe here. 

You should have smelled the kitchen when these were baking! Yum.

 I will link this to all these tea parties:

Tea Time Tuesday at Lady Katherine Tea Parlor. 

Tea Time Tuesday at Rose Chintz Cottage.  

Tea Cup Tuesday at Martha's Favorites.

Tuesday Tea For Two at Plumed Pen 

Tea Pot and Tea Things Tuesday at Silken Purse
Three or More Tuesday at The Gypsy's Corner.
Tabletop Tuesday  at Marty's A Stroll Thru LIfe.

Spring to Summer Tablescape

I had my dining room table set up for spring and Mother's Day with a centerpiece.  

 My gift for my Mother was part of the vignette so I knew I would be changing it soon.

 Since I am more than ready to bring out the summery decor; I changed the table to a message in the bottle centerpiece.

I placed sand in a shabby white tray, filled it with sea shells and placed an old bottle with a note inside for the main focus of this table.

The one rule when you change up your decor for the seasons is to have fun with it.  Use your imagination to add some personality to your space.

I added, next to the tray, a candle, shell, and coral.

I love this look.  It seems anything with shells will really be a hit this summer.

I will be linking up to:

Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch.

Before and After Party at The Thrifty Decor Chick.

Tabletop Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life.

Three or More Tuesday  at The Gypsy's Corner.

Mother's Day Centerpiece

I got inspired today and decided to swap out my dining room table decor.  I wanted to highlight, on the table, my gift for my Mother this week before Mother's Day.

But, first of all, here is the way my table has looked for spring.

Now for the new Mother's Day centerpiece.

I find myself really trying hard to hold off bringing out the shells.  But the coastal vintage look is what I am loving.  It is so hard not to put the beach in everything!  

The gift is two Spode Blue Italian plates with a little cottage style tea set.  I wrapped it in an open basket and there is a flour sack towel hanging out of the front of the basket.  I wrote about the flour sack towel in a earlier post you can read about that here. 

 The beach styled candle is easy to do.  I have my candle down in a hurricane.  I filled the hurricane with a small layer of sand, surrounded the candle with shells, and a white sea star.  My Mother was born in Florida and so was my Grandfather.  Having been there many times; gave me a love of the beach and coastal style.  My Grandfather always said, "If you return home (from Florida) with sand in your shoes you'll be back."

The knobby sea star is one of my favorites.

Hydrangeas in a sea inspired pitcher, turned into a vase, makes the perfect bouquet for our table.

 Something special for your Mom is always a treat.  Mother's Day is May 9th in the States.

 I will be linking to these sites:

Thrifty Decor Chic's Before and After Party 

Between Naps on the Porch's Metamorphosis Monday 

The House in the Roses's Show Off Your Cottage Monday 

A Stroll Thru Life's Tabletop Tuesday 

The Gypsy's Corner's Three or More Tuesday 

Botanical Print Makeover

 My little boy; who was three at the time, had collected some fall leaves and we pressed them.  I had them in a frame in my living room.  He is really crazy about trees so we have done more than a few projects involving trees.  The teenagers (his brothers) have unintentionally knocked the frame off the wall several times.  So, the frame finally broke.  It can be repaired but,  I decided to try something new on that wall.  I had a plan to again use Vintage Printable and print out some botanical prints for a grouping on my wall.

Taking a tip from Mary Carol Garrity; famous for her store Nell Hills in Atchison, KS, I used pieces of paper taped on the wall to space my pictures out.  

I have always wanted framed botanical prints in a grouping but, I have never found a way to spend money on art.  This was a affordable solution.  I had the frames from a sale at Hobby Lobby, they were 40% off (around $4 each). 

Now if the teenagers will try not to knock them off the wall they should be alright.  I will give the pressed leaves a new home in my littlest one's bedroom.

I am linking this post to:

Metamorphosis Moday at Between Naps on the Porch.

Show Off Your Cottage Monday at The House in the Roses. 

Three or More Tuesday at The Gypsy's Corner. 

Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays at Coastal Charm. 

 Please visit these ladies and see what other wonderful ideas bloggers are contributing. 

                                                       

Bottles, bottles, everywhere...

 Image Pottery Barn

Everywhere I look I am seeing bottles.  They look coastal.

 

 Image from Pottery Barn

They look romantic glowing with candles.

You get the idea.  They are showing up in decor everywhere.  And, a vintage bottle is always a great find.  So shopping the antique stores recently I came across two.

 

This bottle is similar to PB's in the first picture.  It is encased in wicker, old, and really unique.  I priced the one similar to mine, 16 inches high on PB's website, it was $179.00.  My bottle at local antique store $18. 

 

 I don't have a comparison for this bottle but it has all the great features of a vintage bottle.  The great green color, thick uneven glass with flaws, and bubbles that show it has been hand blown.  This bottle has a round bottom, so it can't even sit upright, that has me really intrigued.  This bottle I got for $5.

If you don't have any luck at an antique store.  I found this really cute bottle at TJMaxx for just $4.99.  It came with this really neat tin seahorse tag.  Love that.  I purchased the corks for the last two bottles at Walmart in the craft department.

 I will be joining these parties:

Three or More Tuesday at The Gypsy's Corner. 

2nd Time Around at A Picture is Worth a 1,000 Words.

Trash to Treasure Tuesday at Reinvented.

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at Coastal Charm.

Toot Your Own Horn Tuesday at Silly Little Sparrow.