Posts Tagged ‘Dinnerware’

Planning a shower is the same process as planning any event.  Last summer I shared with you the 5 W’s to planning a party. To  review those tips click on July 2009 at right.

Once you’ve answered the Why, Where, When, What, and Who questions, you can get to the details.   Use this check list so you don’t forget  anything.  If a section doesn’t apply to your event, cross it off!

Theme

• Having one makes the planning easier
• Choose a color scheme

Invitations

• Formal, professionally printed invitations
• Buy ready made invitations where you fill in the blanks
• Make your own
• Send invitations by e-mail
• Invite by phone

Menu

• Will it be catered
• Make everything yourself
• Pot luck

Food and Drinks

• How many courses
• Gather your recipes
• Shopping
• What can be made ahead of time
• Who will serve
• Guests help themselves
• Hire waiters, bar-tenders
• Hosts serve guests

The Table

• Tables and chairs
• Dishes, glassware, flatware, etc
• Tablecloth and napkins
• Will you use real dishes/napkins or disposable
• Sit down meal:
• Plan a seating chart
• Place card holders
• Informal or buffet
• Where will guests sit

Centerpiece

• Flowers
• Order an arrangement
• Flowers from the garden
• Candles
• Other ideas

Entertainment

• Music
• Live or recorded
• Games
• Party favors or gifts

Timing

• What time will guests arrive
• What time will food be served
• If party has a specific purpose:
• What time will the guest of honor open gifts
• When will speeches or toasts be made
• If it’s a surprise:
• What time will the guest of honor arrive
• What time will everyone leave

Clean-Up

Tip # 6
Tea light candles are the perfect size for little egg cups.  Set one at each place setting at your dinner table or make them part of the centerpiece.  Every interior design scheme should include candle light!

Here's another tip: leave the tea lights in the metal case. You won't have to clean out melted wax!

Pastels With Punch

Pink and grey are perfect for an Easter meal.

An easy way to introduce retro into your home decorating is at the dinner table.  Unpack grandma’s good china and use it every day.  Sets of dishes from the 50s and 60s can be found for a song at flea markets, resale stores and antique shops.  Make an investment before the market realizes their popularity and their value sky rockets.

Check out the little handle on this bowl. It's a perfect dish for kids.

Speaking of bargains, I love this set of pink and grey dishes I found at Goodwill.  Although they are unmarked, the hand drawn lines are reminiscent of a few decades past.  The best part of collecting dishes, it doesn’t matter if they coordinate with your interior design, dishes do not have to match anything!

The touch of grey keeps the place setting from being too feminine.

What could be more perfect for an Easter luncheon?  The square salad plate offers a nice contrast to the round dishes.  Even if I don’t serve a meal with multiple courses, I still use lots of dishes just to make the setting more interesting.  If you aren’t having a salad, save the plate for dessert.

The most interesting tables have layers and contrast. The square salad plate gives an edginess to all the curves.

If your dining room table has a beautiful finish, no need to cover it up with a table cloth.  These pink linen napkins are big enough to serve as place mats and offer a nice contrast.

The napkins almost looks like bunny ears!

There are dozens of ways to fold napkins.   Tucking a grey cotton napkin into a frosted polka dot glass keeps the table from being too serious.

Instead of the usual Easter basket, serve candy in old-fashion apothecary jars.

Have fun with your centerpiece.  Instead of flowers, fill apothecary jars with jelly beans, chocolate eggs and Easter grass.

Plastic Easter eggs can hold love sentiments, notes of thanks or even gift cards.

Hide little surprises in the plastic eggs for your family to discover while you’re dining.

Celebrate the season the old-fashion way with Retro dishes.

Celebrate the season!

Everybody’s Irish on St. Patrick’s Day.  I don’t have to pretend, I’ve got Irish ancestors and strawberry blonde hair to prove it!  Because of my hair color,  I was always told that redheads should dress in Kelly green but never did until lime became fashionable (I was such a rebel!).   So I decided to create a St. Patty’s Day table using the non-traditional chartreuse.

Create an updated Irish table with lime green

Monochromatic color schemes (everything one color only) can work in interior design and on the table if you incorporate different shades, hues and lots of texture.  I wanted to set my table with what I already had around the house and didn’t have any trouble finding enough for a table for 4!

Place mats are a good alternative to a table cloth

I pulled out an antique side table with drop leaves from my living room for an intimate dinner.  The woven and embroidered placemats cover most of the top when overlapped.  No need to worry about spills or hot food.

Classic white dinner plates can be the foundation for any table

If you don’t have a set of white dinner plates, start looking for some.  I bought these on sale from Pottery Barn a few years ago and have two other sets from Goodwill.  You can never have too many white dishes.

The clear salad plates with a cut vine design came from an antique store. The label said Heisey, but I haven’t been able to verify that claim.  If you know one way or the other, please leave me a comment below.  They are very pretty and delicate and sold as a set of 8.

"Paint" your own dinnerware

No need to purchase special dinnerware for a once a year meal.  Create your own by placing a little design under a clear plate.  I cut out shamrocks from some left over green craft foam I had.   I drew mine free hand, but you can look for clip art to copy.

Napkins are tied with a matching green plastic wire.

Tie a cord around fan folded napkins

My sister gave me some battery-light candles.  No dripping wax or fear of fire (she knows about my passion for lime green).  I scattered some polished glass stones and craft ribbon on the table.

I added a little drawing to the centerpiece. Looks like an Irish village.

I love this little drawing of an antique village.  Could it be Ireland?.

Beer is the beverage of choice to go with corned beef and cabbage and will look great in the cut glass pilsners.  Add a postcard to each placesetting and the conversation will be off to a great start.

Toast to good health and friendship.

May you always have work for your hands to do.
May your pockets hold always a coin or two.
May the sun shine bright on your windowpane.
May the rainbow be certain to follow each rain.
May the hand of a friend always be near you.
And my God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.
~Irish Blessing

The 14th of February is a day devoted to celebrating love.  You can express your affection to that special person in the usual way (go out to dinner, box of candy, over priced flowers) or with a little imagination and for a lot less cash, celebrate at home.

Create a romantic dinner for two.

It doesn’t matter if you are planning dinner or a leisurely breakfast, make it cozy and intimate.  Food in front of a roaring fire is always romantic especially if you are seated at a low table with floor pillows.  You can use a coffee table or in this instance an old wood trunk.  Cover it with a table cloth or a piece of red fabric.

Pull up an old trunk for a cozy table for two

I fell in love with this bold red and white print at IKEA. It's perfect for a Valentine's Day tablecloth.

There isn’t a single heart or flower in this setting.  Instead of placemats, I pulled out old Scrabble board games  Write a message or spell out your feelings for each other with the tiles.

You can use almost anything as a placemat or charger. Have fun with Scrabble boards.

An old muffin tin is the perfect size for extra letters, votive candles and candy (no expensive and fattening box of chocolates here!).

You know you will want extra Scrabble pieces with this dinner. Use a vintage muffin tin for candles and letters.

The valentine card is vintage, but the XOXO says it all.  Use dinnerware you have left over from Christmas.  Square red plates set “on point” complement the square game boards.

You could buy a new valentine, but I love the sappy sentiments on old, vintage cards!

XOXO equals 18 points!

Little copper napkin rings surround softly folded white napkins.  Dinner should be simple.  After all, the emphasis should be on dining, not cooking.  Chinese take-out allows you both to share.

Tuck a pair of chop sticks in the napkin ring.

Add a couple of floor pillows and you have a romantic evening ready to surprise someone you love.

Tell your love how you feel.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning said,

“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.”

I say spell it out!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Red and green may be the traditional colors of Christmas, but why not try something different?  Blue and white are perfect for a Hanukkah meal or New Year’s Eve late night dinner as well as Christmas brunch.

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas right at my table.

This would be a fun setting for a Hanukkah table.

Start with at pale blue snow flake table cloth.  Add snowflake dinner plates and a salad plate or soup bowl in a coordinating pattern.

Snowflake plates were a lucky find at Goodwill

Keep the monochromatic scheme going with blue glasses.

Let your guests take home the snowflake and little ornament as a memento.

The napkin is an ikat design tied with a snowflake and little ornament.  I love to incorporate little gifts for my guests at the table.  They can take them home as a remembrance of a lovely time.

Or you can set the napkin on the plate for a different look.

The centerpiece has white pine and poinsettias, but giant snowflakes or paper whites would work too.  Just stick with blue and white.  A sparkly garland looks just as festive on the table as it would on a tree.

An all white centerpiece keeps the monochromatic color theme going

Enjoy your holiday by sharing your time, your table and a meal with family and friends.  It doesn’t get any better than that!

“The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other.”

Burton Hillis

Look for new and creative ways to display your Christmas collections.  If you collect ceramic houses or have an entire village scene and always put it under the tree or on the mantle, try something new.

Group your "homes" on the table!

Use your collection on the dining room table for a festive centerpiece!   Group the houses together and add candles, fake snow or pine branches.   Your family and friends will be entertained at the dinner table and you get to enjoy your collection up close and personal.

The village can start all kinds of interesting conversations!

Break the ice with a little village on the table.

A good plan is the best way to enjoy a stress-free or stress-less holiday season.

Start a notebook just for December.  Make sure it’s small enough so you can carry it with you.

Make a list of what you plan to accomplish and eliminate the things you don’t enjoy or have time to do.

Gift shopping

• Who you are buying for
• Gift ideas and where you can make your purchases
• Budget, how much will you spend?

Wrapping

• Paper

• Boxes

• Tissue

• Ribbons and bows

• Tape

Entertaining

• Set a date for the party (parties)
• Make out guest list
• Send invitations or make phone calls
• Organize table linens.  Wash and iron
• Check supply of paper plates and napkins
• Do you have an adequate supply of glasses, dishes, silverware, serving pieces

Food and Drinks

• Plan food, appetizers and drinks

• What will other guests bring?

• Shop for food and drinks

• Prepare anything that can be made in advance

Cleaning

• Do a little at a time and skip rooms no one will see

• Better yet, hire a cleaning service

Decorating

• If you spread it out over several days or weeks, it won’t be so overwhelming

• Enlist help from the rest of the family

Cards

• To send or not to send?

• Purchase cards

• Stamps

• Consider New Year’s cards instead

Baking

• Make a list of items to be baked

• Make out shopping list

• Shop for ingredients

There’s something to be said about tradition.  Red and green never go out of fashion at Christmas time. A great table doesn’t mean you have to break the bank.  I found everything on this table at Goodwill SEW stores!

Festive centerpiece

A simple plaid runner works on any size or shape table. I love candle light, especially on a table.  These unique retro red votive cups are a great contrast to the traditional Christmas plates.  Green holly garland makes the centerpiece simple yet elegant.  Be sure to use unscented candles so the scent doesn’t overwhelm the food.

Retro votive cups add to the elegance of the centerpiece

Traditional red and green for Christmas brunch or dinner

The holly dinnerware originally came with matching soup bowls, salad plates and cups and saucers.  But mixing pieces from different collections makes the table much more interesting.  This contemporary stoneware soup bowl offers a striking contrast to the fine china plate and bright red cotton napkin.

Layering dishes makes for an interesting place setting

Who said the napkin has to be placed under the fork?   When placed between the pressed glass compote and bowl it sets off the colors.

Ornaments are perfect party favors

No need to wrap party favors, use them to decorate the place setting and your guests have a keepsake from a great party.  Or use them as place cards.  Select an ornament specifically for each guest.  Let them figure out where they sit by matching the ornament to the person!

This Halloween table setting is so easy to do with things you probably already have around your house.   If you don’t own an orange table cloth (and how many of us do?), look for an alternate.  This zigzag stitched cloth is actually a shower curtain I found at Goodwill for $3.00.

Put together is Halloween table setting in no time!

While I was shopping, I found a black rug pad.  The rubber mat that you put under area rugs so they don’t slip.  I love the texture and how it contrasts with the fabric.  All I had to do was cut it to placemat size!  No sewing required.

The napkins are dish towels I bought last winter and cut in half and hemmed.  But you can always find paper napkins in any color in a pinch.  I just folded them in thirds and placed a little witch’s broom my sister found in her craft box.

No need for a napkin ring, set a little witch's broom on the side

Everyone has white plates.  If you don’t, start looking for a set.  White dinner plates can be used over and over and depending on how you set the table and never look the same twice.

Black is the new color in dinner ware, so you shouldn’t have any trouble finding black salad plates.  You probably already own  a set of clear  plates.  I am not a big fan of translucent dishes.   I’m not sure why I don’t like them.  Not a pet peeve, just a quirk!

You really don’t need two salad plates, unless you only eat greens, I just love what you can do with the duo.  I sandwiched a jack-o-lantern cut-out between the two and voila, instant Halloween dishes.  I can’t wait to use this idea for other dinners.

You don't have to invest in special dishes for Halloween, make your own with paper cut-outs

I always use some sort of place card when entertaining.  Maybe it’s the power of telling people where to sit!  Anyway, this idea takes minutes to do.  Cut a little strip of paper and make ribbon ends.  Write your guest’s name and weave between the tines of the fork.  So simple.

Tell your guests where to sit with a bit of paper and pen!

The centerpiece is a stack of mini pumpkins and gourds, black garland, a white cake stand and decorative dish.  Or you can display the jack-o-lantern your kids carved out.

The centerpiece is so easy when you use lots of pumpkins and gourds

You can put together this holiday table with very little effort and expense just in time for October 31!