Breast Cancer Awareness Luncheon

September 27, 2011July 27, 2017 / Alycia Nichols / 137 Comments

Finally! After months of “entertaining drought” I finally got the chance to do something at home again!!! Thanks to two dear friends who so generously provided all the food and libations, I was able to host my most cherished annual
Breast Cancer Awareness Luncheon.

This is always a very intimate event, but one of the very biggest in my heart as the same friends gather each year to celebrate the battle won for one of us.

Again this year we dined out on the deck, basking in the sunny warmth of a perfect 72 degree autumn day.

A generous layering of brown, pink and white linens is the starting point.
I chose to use an 85″ x 85″ square top layer over the round ones beneath to provide a little more visual interest.

Glossy silverplate chargers are topped with deep chocolate brown and white silver-rimmed “Delfina” china from Z Gallerie. (Click here and view “Just Us Girls” to see this china used in another pink, brown & white tablescape.)

Soft pink cotton napkins are fashioned into replicas of the much-recognized pink ribbon that is the international symbol for breast cancer awareness.

Godinger “Dublin” highball glasses are used to serve pink lemonade, while two Cristal D’arques goblets await wines served with the appetizer and entrée.

“Royal Danish” sterling silver flatware.

Pink organza bags of Good & Plenty licorice candies are a sweet treat for each guest.

I used an adjustable height bust form from my dressing room as the foundation for the centerpiece.
I chose to keep her uncovered so as to “expose” us all to breast cancer awareness.

A fragrant combination of fresh roses, hydrangea and Gerbera daisies along with some faux pink wisteria creates a dramatic “head” on the bust form centerpiece that symbolizes flowery, upbeat thoughts! (I wired together the flowers, then just removed the bust form’s cap and stuck the stems down the neck. Easy peasy!)

As many ladies do for luncheon, this bust form is adorned in a triple strand of pearls. The necklace peeks out from beneath a pink ribbon arranged to mimic the international symbol.

Clumps of fresh and faux flowers are arranged on a large silver tray at the bust form’s foot.

To bring a touch of autumn to the table, I bought 4 mini pumpkins from the local grocer (just $.50 each) and spray painted them in Krylon’s “Ballet Slipper.” After a day of drying, I painstakingly (and I do mean painstakingly!!! :-() blinged out the pumpkins by adding tiny pearlescent beads purchased at Hobby Lobby. I used clear Elmer’s Glue for those on top and a great little newly discovered product called Zap-A-Gap on the sides. (I strongly recommend wearing gloves when working with this stuff. Even nail polish remover wouldn’t get it off my fingers!!!)

A small side table dressed in pure white linen offered sweet pink lemonade on a silver tray and two kinds of chocolate dessert cookies on silver beaded edge pedestal trays. A diminutive bouquet of pink roses and a Gerbera daisy was arranged in a tiny Mikasa “Petit Points” crystal vase.

After the luncheon, each guest went home with a pumpkin and this note to remind her to get that all-important mammogram. Additional bling pumpkins were delivered a few days later to beloved neighbors.

Please be sure to schedule that yearly mammogram, ladies! (Guys, encourage the women in your life to go! And as for you fellas, uh….prostate check!!!) It could be – as with my friend who was diagnosed early – a true matter of life and death.
Choose life. Get that mammogram!

More tablescapes on this site using shades of pink that could serve to honor Breast Cancer survivors:
“Showered in Pink”
“Pinky Peter Cottontail”
“Pleasant Under Glass” go to page & scroll down
“Au Revoir” go to page & scroll down
“Coming Up Roses” go to page & scroll down
“Just Us Girls”
“Tea Roses” go to page & scroll down
“Princess Pink Birthday Dinner”
“Pink Plaid & Posies”
“Peonies & Pearls”
“Blushing Bridal Shower”
“Pretty In Pink” go to page & scroll down
“Peony Power“

Join us, won’t you, for Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch and Bev’s “Pink Saturday” at How Sweet the Sound! And don’t forget to check us out on BeBetsy.com!!

Blessings, thanks, peace & love to Liz at Infuse With Liz
for helping me to spread the word!

Autumn Blues

September 20, 2011October 5, 2017 / Alycia Nichols / 109 Comments

This week – September 22 to be exact – I celebrate one year of sharing my craft with all the other tabletop enthusiasts who look forward to Susan’s Tablescape Thursdays at Between Naps on the Porch. I have made some incredible connections through my association with this group, and it has been a wonderful journey down a road paved with the exchange of neat ideas. Beyond that, it has been an experience that has created truly supportive and caring friendships with people I have never had the pleasure (yet, anyway!) to hug in person. I am further beholden to all of you fabulous folks who have so graciously become a follower. You guys rock, and I thank you!

A happy and very unexpected extra this week: I discovered this morning that I am the winner of Yvonne’s StoneGable Giveaway!!! The prize is English Transferware from Nancy’s Daily Dish!!! Thank you to Yvonne for hosting the giveaway and to Nancy for her incredible generosity!!! I feel like Melissa McCarthy at this year’s Emmy Awards!!! 😉

I have posted some fairly over-the-top tablescapes the last several weeks. This week I am toning it down just a bit for a more laid back summer-into-fall transitional tablescape that is easy to replicate and that I hope you will enjoy.

This tablescape is one that would work well for an intimate evening with close friends or sharing a meal with another couple. It deliberately strays from the trappings of a traditional autumn table so that it can simultaneously represent the official close of summer.

The full-length table linen transitions from summer white to a deep ivory. A pretty April Cornell table runner from TJ Maxx brings color as well as the only floral element needed to the table. The runner’s brown background captures the essence of autumn while the varying shades of blue keep a foothold on the last bastion of summer.

A deep brown charger is topped with creamy ivory dishes with a scalloped edge from Pier 1. (These were purchased 6 or 7 years ago.)

The menus were created on my desktop computer using a soft blue lightweight cardstock backed by a deep brown heavier weight. The pages are secured using simple silver brads purchased at Hobby Lobby.

Beneath the menus are April Cornell napkins folded in the easy “Double Ring” style as illustrated on page 17 of Denise Vivaldo’s book “Perfect Table Settings“. This easy napkin fold allows the menu to enjoy a cushioned pedestal rather than lying flat. This particular fold just happened to yield a really interesting design!

The flatware is a faux mother of pearl from Target.

While using the same pattern of stemware for a setting is lovely, it’s often just as pretty (and sometimes prudent!) to mix the colors and patterns. Here a single deep blue stem from TJ Maxx dutifully breaks the monotony of the clear glass at its sides and mirrors the blue in the runner, napkins and menus. The trick when mixing is to identify some fundamental element of the stemware that either matches or complements.

Individual salt & pepper shakers are always a nice touch.

Sometimes simple is better, and in this case that certainly rings true. The centerpiece is composed of a clear glass globe set atop a very traditional lacquered wood stand from Old Time Pottery.
(To see another tablescape using glass globes, click here.)

Fresh curly willow nestled in the bowl resembles the meandering vines found in the runner and napkins. To achieve this simple, inexpensive (and totally reusable!) look, wind fresh curly willow tips tight enough to slip past the mouth of the bowl. That’s it! The willow will stay green for several days and darken gracefully with time. It’s beautiful either way. I store several bowls with the willow still inside it so that I don’t have to buy fresh every time!

One of my dearest friends, Monica Goodwin, gave me these fabulous (and very heavy!) carved candlesticks for Christmas one year. I like the height they provide without taking up a lot of space. Here’s another fun little trick: If you prefer chunky pillar candles as seen here instead of slim tapers, simply use a bit of Cling or other floral adhesive to temporarily adhere the candle to the top of the candlestick to steady it. On particularly breezy evenings I suggest taking the safety measure of using LED pillar candles as seen here.

Well, that’s another one for the books! Thank you again to Susan, my blogging colleagues, and all of you who stop in each week to let me know how I’m doing.
Happy Almost Fall! 🙂

More tablescapes on this site using curly willow:
“Copper Zen”
“Welcome Back, Joel”
“Blushing Bridal“

Won’t you please join Yvonne, Nancy and the rest of us for Tablescape Thursday again this week? You’re always a welcome guest!

September Wine

September 13, 2011April 25, 2018 / Alycia Nichols / 98 Comments

Not to take anything away from anyone else, but I honestly think I have the best neighbors in the world. They are kind-hearted, generous of spirit, supportive, talented, and an absolute hoot to boot. When I asked my next-door-neighbors to the east of us if I could borrow their tree-filled back yard for a photo shoot, they generously obliged and even helped out with the 7-hour process. The lady of the house pitched in with styling the table, and the neighbors behind us came over to help with breaking it all down. Such sweethearts!!!

After all that work, we deserved a good meal and a crisp, refreshing glass of September wine!

Given the sultry temps we continue to experience in the Midwest, it’s hard for me to break out the pumpkins just yet. This late summer/early autumn tablescape (what I like to call “summer adjacent”!) has rich, deep hues tempered by creamy ivory in the full-length underlay, background of the overlay (a 6-yard length of fabric purchased from a remnant table several years ago), candles and other tabletop elements.

No charger used here so as to allow more of the overlay design to show. Clear glass dinner and salad plates from Bed, Bath & Beyond are the perfect choice to do just that! Clear chargers – perhaps with a colored edge – would work great here if you have them.

Click here to see another fun way to use clear glass plates.

Two-tone cotton napkins from Pier 1 are folded to expose a generous portion of both colors thanks to my neighbor, Barbara, who also nailed the placement of the napkins on the plate. The menu is simply deep ivory lightweight cardstock embellished with grape clusters that pick up the pattern & color in the overlay. Leaves I plucked from Barbara’s sycamore tree resemble a grape leaf.

Clear glass stemware for lots of wine tasting during dinner! Inexpensive all-purpose glassware can be purchased on sale at stores like Pier 1 or Old Time Pottery.

Lightweight and versatile faux mother of pearl flatware from Target.

Breadsticks are displayed in clear glass stemware.

The much-maligned clear glass hurricane sleeve is actually one of my best decorating friends. I have them in various sizes, and I find they can dress a table up in a heartbeat. Here a mix of 24″H and 17″H hurricanes from Pottery Barn create the desired high/low look. The 2 outside hurricanes are placed in huge metal-banded wooden bowls that are filled with fruits and a profusion of faux leaves that mimic the design in the fabric overlay. Centerpieces using fruit continue to be a favorite of mine for autumn tablescaping. (These black seedless grapes from Costco were inexpensive and SO tasty!!!) An ivory pillar candle elevated on a bronze candlestick provides a subtle glow.

Click here for “Simply Bittersweet”, another table using varied hurricane sizes.

A side table dressed in a full-length ivory linen holds pre-dinner party sips & nibbles.

Flavorful cheeses are displayed under multi-sized cloches.

Wines are displayed on a wine barrel Lazy Susan from Pottery Barn.

I like to think of different ways to display simple things. Loaves of crusty bread take center stage in an ivory-napkin lined stone urn.

Suggested chairs for this table: dark wood chiavaris with an ivory pad.

Check out “Brilliant Italian” for another wine-inspired tablescape!

I’ll be joining Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for the 160th Tablescape Thursday, and I hope you will, too!

Hello, Dahlia!

September 9, 2011July 31, 2017 / Alycia Nichols / 25 Comments

I don’t think I have ever posted on a Friday, but I’m feelin’ frisky this week…so please indulge me! This is just a little extra something-something that I didn’t want to let slip through the cracks.

After peeking at this post, I’d like for you to take a moment to visit my blogger friend Vernice’s site at We Three Dogs & Me. Vernice put together a very touching patriotic tablescape that, as we inch closer to the disturbing anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on America, reminded me of how many lives have been sacrificed in the scant 235 years our nation has existed. She includes memorabilia from WWII, our nation’s costliest war in terms of human life in which over 100,000 American lives were lost. So if you get a moment, please peek in on Vernice’s blog post entitled “Independence Day”, dated August 31. (Scroll down 3 posts on her home page!)

Without further ado, I give you “Hello, Dahlia!” which was actually shot last year but never published. I set this up for a little before-shopping excursion so we could get our energy levels up! 🙂 This table would also be nice for ladies’ teas or luncheons.

Floor-length layers of white and scorching hot pink linen cover the table which is set for coffee and sweets.

Each of the four place settings is set with Noritake “Spectrum” china and “Royal Danish” sterling flatware. The napkins – truly a favorite in my collection – sport floating images of hot pink dahlias which, like summer in which they bloom at their heartiest, will soon begin to fade with the approach of cooler weather.

Dahlias are an excellent cut flower and come in a variety of colors, sizes, and varieties. They present beautifully in clusters as shown here or interspersed in a variety bouquet. Cut the stem off, and they are gorgeous floaters!!!

The florals are displayed in an silver antique reproduction tussie mussie. The cool thing about this tussie mussie is that it comes with its own decorative stand that automatically turns it into a vase! I have used the stands as candle holders on occasion. I wish I could tell you where to purchase these lovelies, but I bought them many years ago wholesale and have no idea where! (Same goes for the pretty silver cake stand in the photo below. Sorry!)

My trusty silver coffee pot all shined up and waiting to serve!

I hope you enjoyed this little “hiccup post.” Like I said….feelin’ frisky! Have a great weekend! 🙂

Other teatime posts on this blog include:
“Tea Roses“
“Coming Up Roses“
“Tee Mit Hans Dresden“

If you’d like to see more photos of tables suitable for ladies’ luncheons and teas, click here or on the Fun Stuff tab above and scroll down!

Raining Orchids

September 6, 2011July 21, 2017 / Alycia Nichols / 117 Comments

Yes, I am going to be stubborn about this. SUMMER IS NOT OVER YET!!! Temperatures have cooled from the horrific triple digits in most parts of the United States to something that feels like autumn, but I assure you it is temporary. It’s a fluke. A hiccup. An anomaly. The autumnal equinox doesn’t start until September 23 for countries in the Northern Hemisphere, so for the next two weeks I’m going to party like it’s 1999!!!

The one concession in my quest to savor the last days of summer will be a move toward deeper colored flowers. A profusion of richly hued orchids (accented with Asiatic lilies on the lamps) are the star of this September/late summer tablescape.

I decided to go with relatively simple pieces down low on the table to allow the higher pieces to fully shine. Standard white full-length poly-cotton table linens are topped with braided edge gold chargers. The gold-banded white china here is from Pier 1.

The white cotton monogrammed napkins are laid upon the plates with a simple fold. Each is topped with a stem of orchids. Because my wallet is lighter than usual these days and this is a demo table, faux orchids are used here. I would, however, recommend the real deal for guests. Orchids can last for hours and hours out of water under temperate conditions.

Bright gold flatware with a barely there pattern is right in line with the simple design.

The stemware is from Godinger’s “Chelsea” collection. I tend to serve a lot of beverages before, during and after dinner, so my table is almost always loaded down with various drinking vessels. Clusters of gleaming crystal always looks great!

Crystal decanters filled with the spirit-du-jour always look pretty. These were a great buy from Tuesday Morning.

The center floral on this 12-ft. long table is a glass cylinder filled with 6-ft.H orchid stems. I arranged the stems to appear to be “raining” over the center of the table. (Click here and scroll down to “Autumn Orchids” to see another way to use these super tall orchid stems in glass cylinders!)

I am a big fan of bringing the indoors out for a little air. Almost everything you love inside your house will look twice as great outside! These lampshades are from our dining room where the palette is predominantly orange.

The lamp base here is constructed of a simple clear glass 31″H cylinder. (Glass cylinders can be your very best friend!! Click here and scroll down to “Love and Orchids” for another great glass cylinder & orchid combo!))

Suspended from the lampshade frame and “raining” into the glass cylinder are garlands of bling along with silk orchids sewn onto fishing wire. I hot glued a rhinestone to the center of each bloom to give it a little more “oomph!” and amp up the sparkle within the glass base.

This offers a glimpse as to how the lamp looks in pitch darkness. I used an uplight turned upside down to project light downward into the glass cylinder. Click here or on the Table Tips tab above, and scroll to Tip #29 to see how this lamp is constructed for this total effect. (For more candle lamps on this site, see “All A’Bloom for Spring“, “Should Have Put a Ring On It“, “It’s All About Me!“, and “Just Us Girls“.)