Cupcakes and Polka Dots

What color tablecloth would you use with a red plate, a green-striped plate, an orange napkin and a gold charger? I think a bold combination like this will need a bold tablecloth, don't you?

So, how's this for bold?

Now what would you eat on a bold table like this? Well, how about something fun like cupcakes?

Of course, I won't be serving them from this cupcake holder/carrier. I want them to look extra special so they are worthy of celebrating a birthday. So I served them in a zigzag stemmed martini glass--the same glasses I used on the martini table. These glasses are so versatile. I use them more for desserts than I do for martinis.

If I had wanted to go "over the top" I could have decorated the cupcakes with cut out fondant circles that matched the tablecloth. That would have been perfect, but WAY too much work for someone like me who has no cake decorating talent. So I just shook a few sprinkles out of a jar.

The centerpiece was just a pedestal cake platter full of more cupcakes and surrounded by candles in many of the colors of the polka dots.

By now you have probably noticed that I have a lot of fun with my chairs. This time I just placed a long section of a coordinating striped fabric over the silver/gray backs that are too formal for this birthday table.

Each cupcake in the martini glass had it's own candle. That way everybody gets to blow out a candle, not just the birthday person (we are never too old to enjoy blowing out a birthday candle). It also makes a nice presentation when your guests walk into the room.

Oh, I forgot to mention that I used tall blue glasses. They are a pretty good match to the blue polka dots.


I had a birthday table in mind right from the day I bought this fabric (last year). I think this table lived up to my original vision. It is a fun birthday tablescape for adults who are young at heart.