Depression Glass Tablescape

I fell in love with these dishes the first time I saw them... they seem so delicate and beautiful. The design is called Federal Georgian Lovebirds (I mean what is more delightful than 'lovebirds'!)

If you want to see the story of how I found them and got them home, click here.

Today I will show you how they all look on my table. 

I love the softness of the colour combination.

Here is how it came together:

Silver Charger 

White dinner Plate rimmed with silver

from my first china set

Green salad plate

White & silver bread and butter/dessert plate

Green berry dishes

Aren't those berry dishes adorable!!! They make me smile every time I look at them! (OK, maybe a little weird...)

The other parts of the table included:

The centrepiece

The pink runner is a piece of fine tulle that I've gathered in the middle to give more emphasis. I've set the two small plants in more berry dishes, and the glass candle holders are from a local thrift store. The candles are silver but I'm looking for a green that would complement the dishes.

Here you can see the crystal tea light holders; the cutlery (unnamed) and the napkins I used.

The stemware is Czechoslovakian, and called Thistle. I purchased it in 1980 and need to find more of it if I can!

Ah - the candles look a little straighter in this shot, I promise they weren't all wonky like they looked in the others...

Now I'm going to sign-off like Pat and Katie at The Welcomed Guest tablescaping blog (LOVE it!!!) by listing where I obtained the items used (I find that so helpful).

Thanks for stopping by!
Carol

Where it came from:

Tablecloth - Avon

Silver Chargers - Bed, Bath & Beyond

White & Silver Nikko "Renaissance" china (retired) - Sears 

Green Depression Glass Federal Georgian Lovebirds - eBay

"Thistle" Crystal - Panhandler 30 years ago

Glass taper holders - local Thrift store

Crystal tea light holders - a gift from my Mom ages ago

Miniature Plants - Michaels

Silver Tapers - Michaels

Tulle - Dollar Store

I'll be participating in the following this week:

"Dishing It! & Digging It!" at Rustic & Refined this Sunday:  http://www.rustic-refined.com/ 

"Tablescape Thursday" at Between Naps on the Porch: http://betweennapsontheporch.net

The Things We'll Do for Plates...

As you may, or may not, know - I live in Atlantic Canada. Nova Scotia to be specific. Population wise we're a very small part of the country (sort of like a medium sized city in the US - seriously!)

I live in the little purple province on the right... population 942,000

All this to say that our source of dishes and vintage is much smaller too, so you'll often catch me drooling over the possibilities found on the US eBay site... And there are so, so many... Unfortunately the shipping costs are often more (sometimes twice as much) as the item you want to purchase.

Well, we have a daughter living in Columbus and we had a visit planned for late April. About a week before we left the lightbulb went on in my brain... I could have things shipped to her and bring them home with me!!!

We were flying so I was limited. I had found a set of six green glass plates with a beautiful etched design for $15 US. They were so pretty and so cheap! I figured I could get them home safely, as long as they were delivered to our daughter in time.

To me they were just pretty green glass dishes, which would go wonderfully with pink, making my favourite colour combination. The fact that I had no pink china was not of consequence at this point...

But I have a habit of doing research on everything as a result of my writing jobs, and I googled 'green glass plates' just for fun.

Who Knew?!! (most everybody but me) They were Depression Glass! Federal Georgian Lovebirds pattern. These dishes were made in the US and Canada during the 20th century depression era to provide inexpensive and attractive dishes for the general population.

The plates arrived in Columbus before we did, and we brought them home safely in our luggage (claiming them of course).

But the story doesn't end here. When I put them together with my white dishes I KNEW I needed one more piece to make the setting work. Back to eBay... found them! 11 berry dishes in the same pattern, asking $55!

I'm not a bargainer, it's just not in my make-up, but I didn't have the $55US at the moment so I crossed my fingers that no one else would buy them for a week, until I did. Then I noticed a little place where you could 'make an offer'... what the heck - they would never see my face - I wouldn't be talking to them in real time...

So I did! An almost rude offer of $25US... and they accepted!!! (See Carol squealing with glee and dancing around the room) Again I shipped it to my daughter and asked her to bring them home when she visited in October. But sweet, understanding woman that she is, she sent them home for Mother's Day.  Thank you Jacqueline!

And you know what else I discovered during my search? They made Depression dishes in PINK too!!!

Next time I won't write so much and I'll show you my Depression Glass table setting.
Thanks for stopping by!

Carol

Tablescape #2, I think I'm getting better...

So, things are looking up! 

Shortly after I set my first (oh-so-simple) tablescape (here), I started looking on Kijiji for affordable china...

And WOW! Did I strike paydirt!! This is what I found:

A complete set of eight place settings of Czechoslovakian china with extra serving pieces for under $100 (Canadian). It's light, but very strong (I've dropped one already!!) And I love the colours! Lots of possibilities for mixing and matching.

So I picked it up, drove home, washed it all, and set the table...

After taking photos I realized I need to brush up my photography skills too... and I thought tablescaping was just about the dishes!!

The light blue tablecloth I've had for years, and the flatware as well (don't know the name!)

The blue water glasses are from Avon, and I love the pop it gives the table! The crystal wine glass is from my Czechoslovakian collection of red and white wine stemware. It's called "Thistle" and I've had it for about 30 years.

The centre piece is a bouquet of faux lily-of-the-valley. The napkins are a set I found on sale at a boutique shop several years ago. They are white damask with lace borders.

I hope you can see that I'm 'working on it'. Still no chargers but at least I'm layering the plates. 

Today I'm linking up with Vintage Charm Party, and Tablescape Thursdays, they are definitely worth a look!

Thank you for stopping by, and next time I have another 'find' to share with you.

Carol

My First Tablescape

Welcome to "At The Rookery"! I will be blogging about beautifying our home and garden, with lots of tablescapes (my passion at the moment), a bit of DIY, and possibly some crafts.

This is my first At The Rookery post, although I have been blogging for the past ten years as a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, (www.creatingwithcarol.com) I have retired from SU and now I'm looking for my next challenge. Below is a shaker card I made for my granddaughter's birthday.

Today I want to share with you a tablescape I put together after discovering "Between Naps on the Porch" and "The Welcomed Guest". And while I highly recommend that you visit these blogs, please finish reading mine first!

I do not have sponsors, or numerous sets of dishes, but with inspiration from the other bloggers I hope to up my game!

OK, did I mention that I found the tablescaping blogs in May, and ran out to my dining room after spending 2 hours looking through their blogs... 

I had one set of good dishes, and the only chargers that I owned at this time were red (for Christmas) ... so I skipped those! But here is my Spring Table.

I've had the china since 1980, it's Nikko "Renaissance". At least it's a basic white that I can mix with other colours. 

The flatware I've had as long, and I have no idea what it is called. I found the set of eight individual salt & pepper shakers at Winners at least 10 years ago. (I had aspirations of creating great tablescapes, I just needed mentors!)

For a centrepiece I used my African violet, along with two tealights, and two faux flower rings placed on tealight holders.

The tablecloth is one of my favourites, although very old and inexpensive, and the napkins came as a set with a tablecloth to match. The white runner is from the Dollar store!

The napkin rings are miniature plastic plant pots in different colours (spring theme). 

And this, ladies and gentlemen, was my first officially planned tablescape... Thank Goodness I have improved! A little... haha!

Thank you for visiting, and please come back again to check on my progress!

Carol