Living With Thanksgiving

Welcome, to a Valentine's Tablescape Blog Hop with 21 table stylists sponsored by Chloe Crabtree @Celebrate and Decorate. You will enjoy a variety of styles so be sure to click on the links provided at the end of this post. Show them some love and leave a comment.

For me, blog hops have given me an outlet to get to know other bloggers with similar interests and learn from them. Thank you Chloe, for keeping this going for the last four years. We appreciate you!

I am so glad you joined me today. Valentine's Day is one of my favorite holidays. In today's world we need a little respite from the world's woes, so escape with me today and enjoy all the beauty and creativity found in all the tablescapes.

My table began with some mercury glass hearts from a friend and I found this etched heart you see in this picture in Texas. I placed them in sherbert glasses nestled in pink and red M&M's.

The ruffled velvet placemats I recently bought from Crown Linen Designs. The monogrammed napkins and table runner are also by Crown Linen Designs. I was so blessed to win them in the Monday Morning Blooms Holiday giveaway sponsored by Crown Linen Designs and Arte Italica. If you missed that post you can find out all about it here. I love their linens and their service is first-rate.

The centerpiece of camellias is from my garden. It includes about six varieties. I placed the flowers in an oasis that had previously been soaked in water. If you have a question about the different varieties please ask in the comments. I would love to share that information with you. My Valentine table last year also included camellias and red transferware. It was titled Love Letters~Air Mail. You can view it here.

This layering of plates includes a base plate of Johnson Brothers 'Historic America of Boston' transferware, made in England. The salad plate is my wedding china, 'Platinum Renaissance' by Franciscan, and the top plate a bread and butter size is a Currier and Ives print of 'Hudson River -Crow Nest' made in the USA by Homer Laughlin.

The etched crystal sherbert glass holding the heart and candy was my mother's and I cherish it. The Lindor strawberries and cream truffles are melt in your mouth delicious.

I placed the silverware in the french style. Betty Lou Phillips, the author of many french design books explained it this way, " Unlike other cultures, the tines of forks face down- resting on the table cloth- a custom some say developed to undercut the fork's ability to snag ruffled lace sleeves."

The etched crystal is Meadow Rose by Fostoria. I always loved it growing up when my mother used it for special occasions. She married in 1945 so it is an old pattern.

I love the pattern on the heart and you can see it in this photo well.

At this place setting, there are a few differences. The bottom plate is 'Home Sweet Home' from Currier and Ives prints made in the U.S.A. by Homer Laughlin. The top plate is made by TST Co in the U.S.A. I had four of these small plates and luckily had two of the Currier and Ives transferware bread and butter plates to make six place settings. The etched sherbert glass with candle wicking around the bottom is 'Boopie' by Anchor Hocking and I was lucky to find it among my dishes. I had five of my mother's Meadow Rose and I needed six for this table. I like mixing patterns because it adds needed texture and variety and it all worked out.

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The container for the flowers was a wedding present that was fun to use since I had enough camellias. It takes a lot of blossoms for a bowl this size. I counted twenty-five blossoms.I also realize it is not advised to have an overhead light on when taking photos but it was a cloudy day and my house is on a wooded lot so it was necessary.

You may remember the red wine glasses from my last post. I tried using other glasses and the red ones still look the best. See that post here.

In this place setting, there is one pink and one silver mercury glass heart in the sherbert glass that a friend brought me from the Nashville Antique and Garden Show. I was delighted to use them in the other four sherbert glasses too. I think mercury glass is so pretty.

I used different plate patterns but all had the same color red that coordinates or do you call it pink? It is fun to start designing a table and have enough dishes that work. I have had these dishes for years and haven't used them since my last house. They were in a plate grouping around a painting in my previous kitchen. I collected enough for that area never knowing that in another ten years I would be designing tablescapes for a blog and would use them in another way.

I love the ambiance of candlelight and used assorted sizes of votives and silver and crystal candlesticks on top of a mirrored table runner. I don't know if you have noticed or not but I layered greenery on the runner in a number of the pictures. Then, the light ran out on me and I wasn't able to finish photographing the table. The next day I decided I liked the table better without the greenery. In this picture, you can see I used a floral plate instead of transferware.

I'm going to give you something to chuckle about! I wonder if you would notice if I didn't point it out. Camellias don't last very long and some of the blossoms were older than others so I put the arrangement in the refrigerator overnight. I should have taken it out several hours before photographing.

Can you see the bowl is a little frosty? I was disappointed and time ran out again so I am admitting my mistake and here is the photo to learn from. It would have been a much prettier photo with a shiny bright silver bowl!