Take a peek at the table scape I designed for our Easter dinner yesterday. I used quite a bit of green with just a splash of orange!

I thought that I would share with you some of the crafty and fun decorating ideas I used and thought you might like to try them on your table.

I used gold chargers to accent the green plates from the green tablecloth. Then used vintage white linen napkins in a cute clay pot napkin ring.

Have you ever seen carrot eggs?? This was a really cute and easy idea I found online. ( I can’t remember where) You blow out the raw eggs. Dye them orange. Then at the top of the egg where you have the largest hole, you cut some green tissue paper and insert it in the opening. I decided to write every one’s names on them and use them as place cards. They are held in egg cups.

The centerpiece was another idea I found online. (Not sure where on this one either)  I took a basket and filled it with lots of lovely assorted house plants. (Got them at Home Depot) and then just added a large chocolate bunny. I found some darling green and brown polka dot ribbon at Jo Anns and added a bow on each side.

Then I decorated the base of the centerpiece with ecru shredded paper, more greenery in pots and then accented the table with some fun “Glamour Eggs” (I call them). I found the idea for these eggs on the DIY Dish.com.

Here are a couple of styles. They are made with plastic eggs that you mod podge fabric pieces onto and then embellish with gathered ribbon, gems and paper scrapbook flower pieces. I will show you closer pics and how I made them in my next blog post.

I thought that this table scape looked so springy that I am keeping it up all month. I must admit the chocolate bunny may not make it!! Yum!

Welcome to another fun Vintage ABC Party at Etsy Cottage. They are always so fun to participate in. I love to see what treasures every one shows. Come join me…

C is for China… My favorite is an English china set I got at a wonderful antique shop. I love the tiny pink flowers.

It looks pretty great with my blue transfer ware. Don’t you just love mixing and matching?

C is for centerpiece… I loved doing this English garden centerpiece, starting with a pretty vintage tea pot, lovely flowers, vintage china and vintage tablecloth. All for a garden tea party for my friends.

D is for Dolls… some of my favorite treasures are my 1940’s Nancy Ann Storybook Dolls. Such as Goldilocks and Little Bo Peep.

One year I participated in a Valentines Day Tea Party featuring several of my Vintage Dolls. This picture shows my adorable Cupie doll from 1967, a darling unknown doll from 1961 and of course another sweet Nancy Ann doll.

D is for Dresses… Vintage baby dresses that is. I have refurbished and restored vintage baby dresses for several years now and here are a sampling of some of my favorites. Take a look at this peach one with all the sweet embroidery details. It is from the 1940’s.

This fun bubble bum pink checked dress is from the 1950’s. I just love the details of buttons and lace on the bodice.

Let’s not leave out the little boys! Here is an adorable sailor set from the 1940’s. I like the cute little anchors along the front and of course the sailor collar!

There you go… that is my Vintage ABC collection for today.

Thanks for stopping by. Please feel free to leave a comment.

Now off to visit yours.

Had such a great day out in the sunshine, pruning my roses!

The flower beds always look so bare. I only did a few today. I will need to work a little every day to finish in time. I have over 70 rose bushes! Yikes!

Can you believe the size of my rosemary bush?? It’s HUGE and it smells like heaven!

I love the sweet little flowers that bloom on it this time of year.

I even got one last bouquet. It will really brighten up my Sunday dinner table tomorrow.

Feel like having a nice dinner basking in the glow of candlelight and almost feeling cool breezes. Well, you don’t have to go all the way to the islands to set the mood. At least not in my book.

My son was leaving last week to go to Hawaii and I decided kinda last minute (what else is new) to go all out and set a tropical island style table scape. So off to my cupboard I went.

I remembered that I had given a Bridal Shower for one of my special gals Nikki  a couple of years ago and she had wanted a beach or tropical theme and thank goodness I had saved most all the decorations.  So out they came. I had purchased a few key pieces at Home Goods like mugs and planters to use for the centerpiece. I had a beautiful aqua table cloth ( I just love that color) and some other pieces to add layers and texture. If you have read any of my blog decorating post before you’ll know that I love layers. Try it sometime it is so cool!

I have gold chargers from my fancy Christmas table scape last year. Isn’t it interesting how they can look casual enough for a tropical theme??  (Come on join me in thinking outside the box!) And take a look at the white paper napkin tied with a shell and jute. How easy is that? Doesn’t it make you want to go collect more shells?? I used to love to do that as a kid.

Here is the focal point of the centerpiece, a fun bright, tropical planter container filled to the brim with shells of all kinds and all sizes. I even found a little piece of brown netting to peek out over the edges.  Then I sprinkled small and tiny shells all over the table.

Then instead of using the mugs for cocoa or something like that. I filled them with tiny shells and a big fat chunky orange candle. Light them and you’ll get instant romance or drama.

So next time you want to add a little tropical flair to your table. Get out the mugs, planters, gold chargers and shells and you can create a lovely, calm island paradise that your family/friends will love.

And don’t think that decorating the table is just for girls, cuz guys really love and appreciate it too. My young adult son said “Mom, you are awesome! You always take it to the next level“. Aaawwh!

That’s so sweet!

My challenge…. take it to the next level in your home for someone that you love.

Party on!!

It starts with a lovely pink vintage tablecloth of red roses and pink hydrangeas. Add some very pretty dishes with a delicate cottage rose design.

Of course there should be fresh cut roses from the garden, displayed in a old English vintage pitcher.

A perfect setting for a delightful brunch, an English tea luncheon or just a fun get together with the girls. This was my Mothers Day table scape this year and  I figured since I am the only woman in my house,  I’m going to go for sweet and feminine. It was a fun and lovely Sunday for me, spent with my family!

Try using cottage pink and shabby roses for your next get together!

What makes you get out of bed early Saturday mornings? What makes you giggle when you find it, specially at a good price?! What makes your heart skip a beat??? and Why?

This is the theme of todays blog party. So be thinking about your answers to these questions, while I share with you some of the special things that I came up with.

Please feel free to comment. I love to hear from you….

The first thing that came to mind was getting up early for Garage and Estate Sales. They can be SO much fun and you can find SO many treasures here in California. Let me share a couple of vintage finds with you.

This is a country shed that I found at a Garage Sale several summers ago and we use it in our yard for a garden shed holding pots, seeds, sprays, and a few tools. It was a brown color when I got it  and I just had to paint it a sweet country blue. They were asking $125 dollars for it,  but I just kept waiting and coming back and at the end of the day and they sold it to me have it for $50!! I was so super excited!! What I forgot was that  it was  over 6 feet tall. How was I going to get  it home? Let’s just say where there’s a will there’s a way!!

Some other fun vintage treasures I love to come upon are old sewing notions, buttons, quilt squares, etc. I think they are so neat and I love using them in my craft and sewing projects.

Now on to Antique Shops and Thrift Stores. Two other places that make my heart skip a beat and where one of a kind treasures are always sure to be found.

I really feel lucky when I hit it just right and I stumble upon some vintage linens. They are near and dear to my heart! I have found wonderful hankies, doilies, napkins and lovely tablecloths like this one. They are bright and fun and really add to any table scape. This one I believe was $8 dollars! Score! They can sell on ebay for like $15- 45 dollars.

And now for my greatest find and biggest deal EVER!!

Take a look at this beautiful country cottage English China I bought for only $75.00. That’s right …I’m not kidding! $75.00!!  It is a 60 piece set. I’m talking 12 dinner plates, 12 salad plates, 12 bowls, 12 cups and 12 saucers. And here’s the killer… they are in mint condition and they even wrapped them all in paper and provided a box for me to take them home in. How awesome was that? I was so excited I could hardly breathe. If you are ever in Southern California you MUST go to Down Town Temecula. It is an antique or vintage lovers dream!!

Well gals, these are some of my “heart skip a beat, great deal, giggle” vintage finds.

What are some of yours?

“Romantic Homes” magazine has always been my favorite. I have subscribed for years and always look forward to each and every issue. I totally LOVE it!!

Well, this issue of Romantic Homes has a lovely full page ad for Lollishops ( a super delightful place to shop) and one of the vendors shown is none other than “CURBYS CLOSET”. Isn’t that exciting!!

It’s the June issue… so walk don’t run to your local grocery store and pick up a copy. I promise you… you will not be dissappointed. If you love shabby chic, cottage style and any thing soft pink and romantic. This magazine is for YOU!!

This was the table scape for our family Easter dinner this year. Not so much of my usual vintage style decor, because I was looking for super EASY!! My dishwasher blew up a couple of months ago. So, we all decided to go the paper plate route. And because I really don’t like doing dishes I agreed.

I began with my creamy white tablecloth and my vintage yellow linen table runner. Then I used pretty pink large plates with a fun, cute green Easter print salad plate on top. Then I found some sweet pastel polka dot napkins. I thought it looked pretty festive! And yes, I still used the gold flatware! I’m not crazy about plastic forks, etc.

Here’s a closer look. You can also see the fun pastel buckets I put in a row down the middle of the table for the centerpiece. Each bucket has a decoupage’ vintage style scene of a old fashion bunny or chick. So adorable!! Then they were each filled with lots and lots of candy!! Mostly chocolate! That’s right chocolate. If you’re going to do Easter candy it had better be chocolate in my house! Every one at the dinner took one home for a mini Easter basket treat.

And last but not least…. what is Easter with out dyed eggs!! And let me tell you these eggs were DYED!! I know because I’m the one who dyed them and let me just say that, if you put the eggs in the dye and walk away for several hours, they really turn out quite BRIGHT!! I have never done that before, but if you’d like super bright eggs next year. I say GO FOR IT!!

Anyway, I hope that your Easter holiday was wonderful and thanks for stopping by. Next year I’ll try to do more shabby, more cottage and definitely more vintage!

My best to all!

Chris

Now what could possibly be more fabulous to show than “CHOCOLATE”?? How about chocolate in a BLUE bucket? Yep, that works! It is as cute as it is absolutely delicious!! Can’t you smell the yumminess!

These were used as centerpieces on the table for our 2009 Easter dinner. They were pretty easy to make, pretty cute to look at and extremely yummy to eat!

Thanks for taking a look at my blog today and joining in on the BLUE BLOG PARTY festivities. Thanks so much to all of you for leaving such nice and sweet comments. It’s always fun to get lots of comments!!

Today at “CURBY’S CLOSET” we are  joining in with many of the “LOLLISHOP” gals to have a special Valentines Day Tea party. Our hostess today is ” Miss Kewpie Doll” herself.

So please come on in and join us. You can almost smell the yummy desserts and herbal teas. I hope that they are almost ready!

Kewpie has been one busy little girl. There has been so much for her to do.  Come and take a look at all the delicious cakes she has made and how sweetly she has set her table. She has used her finest pink china and of course has invited all her closest friends. There is always plenty of room for more guests, so please sit right down.

Doesn’t everything look lovely!! Soon the guests that Kewpie invited will began to arrive. I wonder who is coming?  Oh, here they are now. The first to arrive is “Vinnie” the vintage baby doll , right behind her is  “Nancy” the little Nancy Ann doll.

Next to arrive is “Cheerful Tearful” she won’t be tearful at this sweet party. Right behind her is the ever popular “Mary Poppins”. I bet she brought the “spoonful of sugar” for the tea!
All Kewpies guests have arrived. Everyone is excited and ready for the Valentines Party to begin. Let’s all take our places at the table. Everything looks so wonderful!

The delicate pastry cakes are delicious!  Would you care for another slice? How about some honey or lemon in your tea? We hope that you are having fun at our Valentines Day tea party.

Now what are we forgetting? Oh yes, we need to exchange Valentines. What kind of Valentines Day would it be without giving out a valentine. This Valentine is meant for you. Will you be Kewpies Valentine today?

Thank you so much for attending our special tea party. We hope that you have had a fun, sweet time. We have loved having you here.

Please take a peek at all the vintage baby clothes and quilted baby shoes for sale at “CURBY’S CLOSET” on this LOLLISHOPS link below. Be sure to look for the hidden item that is sold in my shop.

http://www.lollishops.com/curby-s-closet

And take a look at some of the other “Lollishop” vendors too! You will always find wonderful, magical treasures when you shop at “LOLLISHOPS”!!

ATTENTION!! FREE VALENTINES DAY GIFT!!

As a special Valentines Day gift from me to you. “CURBY’S CLOSET” is offering a free copy of the story “Kewpie’s Valentines Day Tea Party” that will be sent to you via email. This is an original story of the Curby’s Closet dolls having a special tea party. Learn more about each guest, see lots more pictures and find out the mystery surrounding the item that Kewpie misplaced. It is a delightful story to read to your little girls, your granddaughters, nieces, etc.

Just leave a comment below and be sure to add your email address, so that the story can be sent to you.

This offer is good from today 2/14 until Sat. 2/21. Then this story and other original stories will be for sale to download on our website. You will be among the first to have a copy. And free no less, ya can’t beat that!

Just click on the word COMMENT below. And thanks again. HAPPY VALENTINES DAY to you all!!!