Autumn Sunset Tablescape

The colors in this runner remind me of an Autumn sunset.
I chose a dark green tablecloth, dark red charger and dark green dinner plate.

This was topped with a reddish rust leaf embossed plate. The setting was quite dark.

But when I added the orange flower top plate and some gold flatware, the whole table brightened.

Goblets with fall leaves were perfect for this seasonal table.

I went out into my yard and clipped some maple tree branches and some burning bush sprigs to fill a pumpkin for the centerpiece.

Three gold/dark red chunky candles at different heights completed this table.

Friendly Spooks

I've got a table full of friendly spooks!

Some of them may look scary, but they just like to tease.

Look! That ghost just flew up to sit on the black cat's tail.

I hope they don't get into all kinds of mischief when I go to bed tonight.

Isn't Halloween fun?

The Blogs--They Are A'Changin'

I have not checked my main email account for over a month.

I really only use email for my blog, which is a yahoo account. I am not one who sends multiple emails every day.

A few years ago on my main email I set up some google alerts for certain topics that I was interested in. When I began posting about tablescapes, there was almost nobody else posting about the topic, so I set up an alert for tablescapes. About once every couple of weeks, someone other than me would post about tablescapes.

Then I started making table runners and set up an alert for that.



Now there are tons of people posting about both every day. I really should delete these alerts because I don't have time to read so many.

I guess I was on the cusp of something big and never knew it! I should have found a way to profit from it as I notice many other new bloggers have. Now and then I receive emails from companies on the web who want me to advertise their stores. They will give me a gift to use for a giveaway. I ignore them all. As far I am concerned their emails are spam.

Ads on blogs turn me off, but it does not seem to bother anyone else. I noticed that some of these new bloggers even have a separate page to entice paying advertisers by boasting about how many hits a day they get, etc. Every day I see more and more of them having give-a-ways from the same advertisers who emailed me. People flock to comment to get in the drawing. The blogger links to the advertiser's site numerous times in the post and gushes over how wonderful their products are. I find this a huge turn off, but it seems to be the way of future blogging. I can't imagine that these bloggers are making much money. Maybe I am wrong. Perhaps they are raking in the dough and I should lower my standards and do the same thing.

Is it just me or are you guys noticing a change in blogs? If you are, does all the advertising bother you? I have seen sidebars with at least a dozen advertising links. Is anyone really making any money with this advertising?

I would love to hear what you all think about this.

Golden Wheat Vintage Tablescape

Quite a few years ago, when I was in my prime dish collecting stage of life, my sweet husband stopped at a garage sale and bought me a box of dishes. He was so excited when he brought them home to me.

Many of you will remember these Golden wheat plates from the 1950's.
This particular set has a gold band around the edge and this set is in almost perfect condition.

The gold band is not even worn. As you can see by the above photo, there are no wear marks on the backside of the plates. I don't even think this set was used. My DH made a great buy!
I decided that these plates needed a dark rimmed charger and changed to my brown metal set.

These plates just say "autumn" to me, so I used some gourds,fall-colored candles and a scarecrow for the centerpiece.

Dh loves when I use this set. He is so proud that he found them for me.


You just have to love a man who gets excited finding a set of dishes for his wife!

Black and Orange Tablescape but Not Quite Halloween

I love to bring out the pumpkin dishes for autumn.


The pumpkin vase is filled with cannas from my deck that are not fully opened. I had to bring them in due to freezing temps.




I love the little spiders on the orange candles.

More spiders...cute and creepy at the same time.




The Vaseline candlesticks pull in a bit of the yellow from the runner as do the center of the dahlias that I also cut down from the deck containers.

All in all, I love this table!

Over the weekend I made a new runner. Since I was eager to try it out, I swapped it with the existing runner. I also changed the centerpiece flowers.

I like this runner, but I like the first one best. I will probably like this one more when I use my fall leaf plates and glasses. I do love that the cookies I made go so well with the table!

Butterscotch & Black Tablescape

I think this fabric is beautiful and makes a great tablecloth.

I decided to try a black and butterscotch table. These chargers were the start.

After adding a black dinner plate, I decided to use these Tiara glass salad plates for some sparkle.

Libby's Gold Leaf glasses provided a touch autumn ambiance.

One dahlia floats in a water-filled Tiara dessert cup on each salad plate, providing a bold splash of color.

Lots of amber votives and

two tall black tapers provide the candle light.

I think my next table will be totally different with this runner.

I made it last year and it's one of my favorites.

The Table is Done

When I said in my last post that I might need to go under the cover of darkness and clip some foliage from the planters I did at work, I was only joking. I would never go in the night and steal someone's flowers!

I did the planters I was talking about. I snip them regularly to maintain their shape. So while I did snip a few sprigs from those containers, it was not something I did in the dark. I snipped them off as I left work at 3:00 p.m. Just want to clear that up...LOL.

If any of you follow my main blog, Perennial Passion, you know I have a lot of flowers of my own. When I got home yesterday, I went out on the deck and snipped off a few of my own Tropicanna® leaves.

I spent a few moments considering what I would use as the container for my centerpiece. I wanted something small enough so that my table runner would show (after all, I don't do all the work to make these things just to cover them with a huge centerpiece!). I finally decided to use this elevated bowl. It's big enough to hold all my foliage, yet still show the table runner.

I began with some Tropicanna® and some Tropicanna Gold® leaves that I clipped from my deck.

I like it already! These leaves are perfect with this runner. Then I added the coleus 'Sedona' , the ipomoea 'Sweet Caroline' & ipomea 'Blackie'. (Ipomea is sweet potato vine)
Look at that. I decided I did not even need any flowers. I think all the gorgeous foliage is enough. I guess there are a few flowers since the coleus is blooming.

I love this centerpiece! I can't believe how I was inspired as I got out of my car at 6:30 am. and walked past the planters!

I told you I would probably add a second glass and I did. . . a martini glass filled with Vodka and Sweet & Sour Margarita mix.

I call it a Margaret-tini. Not only is the drink the perfect color for this table, but it is very delicious.Once I got the idea for the centerpiece, this table fell into place.


I am happy with it.