Opening Day for the 2013 baseball season was yesterday, despite the lack of Spring-like weather in much of the United States. Fans shivered through 9 innings of heaven or hell, depending on how their team fared in the end. (Our Royals fell to the White Sox, 1-0..but we shall have our revenge! :-))
INSPIRATION:
A baseball.
I created this baseball tablescape for a recent tablescaping class I teach through Longview Community College. I’ll apologize for the less-than-stellar photos as it was quite dark on our lower level which is nearly completely devoid of natural light. Nonetheless, this is a sports tablescape with ideas that might work for your next casual get-together to cheer on your team whether it’s opening day, the playoffs, or “The Big Dance” a.k.a. The World Series. I am rooting for our Kansas City Royals whose home opener will open a big ol’ can of Whoop A$$ against the Minnesota Twins on Monday, April 8th! Go, Royals!!!
(Click on any photo, then click again to enhance/enlarge it.)
I was lucky to find this brilliant royal blue round linen at LinenTablecloth.com. It’s pretty darn close to the official hue of our Kansas City Royals and the perfect foundation for this casual sports-themed tablescape!
Each place setting is anchored by a “base” made with a 12″x12″ sheet of decorative paper topped with an clear acrylic square, both from Hobby Lobby. The white melamine dinner plates (Target) also reminded me of a base with their curved edges. They are topped with a royal blue plate and a fun baseball salad plate from Tuesday Morning. (You would have thought I personally won the World Series the way I carried on when I found the baseball plates!!! :-))
White-handled flatware from TJ Maxx works well with this very casual setting.
Clear glass pilsner vases found at a local thrift store hold royal blue LTC napkins folded to resemble the majestic crown that is a part of the Kansas City Royals logo. Each place setting is also outfitted with a tin pail of good old-fashioned ballpark peanuts. The buckets are from Target. TIP: Make food and drink a coordinated part of the table decor as seen here with the peanuts and bottles of Mike’s Hard Lemonade.
A floral oasis sphere on a wooden stand + about 60 white silk carnations + very thin red satin ribbon cut into 3″ strips, folded in half and inserted with a straight pin
After much fumbling around and a few surprisingly painful pin pricks,
all of this↑↑↑…
…became this fun floral “baseball” centerpiece! I surrounded the baseball with moss mounds to resemble the outfield and flanked it with two “at bat” figurines from Hobby Lobby. I placed the figurines to appear as if they were making dead-on contact with the baseball. A grand slam, for sure! (TIP: It really helps if you have an actual baseball to look at as you create your floral ball! Making those ribbon “seams” curve just right can be a real challenge!)
Making memorabilia a part of your overall decor lends a fun touch! A baseball personally signed by members of the Kansas City Monarchs (Negro Leagues) who so graciously took part in my 1995 celebrity “Softball Slam” event is in the foreground. A ball signed by members of the 1990 Kansas City Royals (including George Brett, Frank White, Bo Jackson, Mark Gubicza, and Bret Saberhagen!) is in the center. A signed baseball from an old flash-in-the-pan flame who played left field for the Boston Red Sox is banished to the far end. (And that’s all I’m going to say about that…except that he was brave enough to go into the Royals bullpen to get autographs for me! ;-)) The little placard is from TJ Maxx and serves to bring a feminine touch to the look! (I should have bedazzled it!)
Take me out to the ballgame!!!! Go, Royals!!!
Other sports-themed tablescapes on this site:
“Kansas City Chiefs In the Red Zone“
“Home of the Lions“
“Hometown Pride – Kansas City Chiefs“
Blog parties I invite you to join with me this week for lots of inspiration and fun:
A New Creation with Jessica at A Humble Creation
Centerpiece Wednesday with the Style Sisters
Let’s Dish! with Cuisine Kathleen
Tablescape Thursday with Susan at Between Naps on the Porch
Festive Friday Fiesta with The Home Girl
Finally, a HUGE THANKS to Kim at Curtain Queen for featuring my “Better Kansas City” morning show post on her blog to help others “de-Easterize” their Spring tablescape!
Tablescapes at Table /Twenty-One 
Hah! I love what you did with that centerpiece! It really shows that just a little attention to detail makes a big impact. I’m going to have to agree, this table is a Home Run!!!
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My family would love it if I did something like this, we are huge baseball fans! But for us it can be nothing but the SF Giants. Remember we won last year? 😉 Clever centerpiece!
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Love this, I love baseball season….we watched the Met game yesterday and it was great, they won!! Don’t know about the rest of the season? LOL!
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This is the greatest! Love the centerpiece and I would also have shrieked if I found the baseball plates. They are perfect. Love all your memorabilia. What treasures to have. Have a blessed week, Ginger
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How cute for Opening day, or any time for a true fan of baseball! xo
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You hang out with some big time people don’t you? No wonder you are now a TV star in your own right! Seriously, I love the back stories in all this — and the table is pretty great too. I can’t imagine having the patience to make that carnation baseball.
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Being a baseball girl!!! Having spent 26 years on the bleachers with my boys!!! I. LOVE. THIS. TABLE!!! I have to do this next year for first day of opening season when it doesn’t coincide with EASTER!! We did watch that evening after watching the Bible. but oops so far the Rangers lost, the Yankees lost.. be still my breaking heart!! I am going, no running to Hobby Lobby for acrylic squares. How brilliant is that. And the flower baseballs.. well just the icing on the cake. The figures help too, but the flowers reign supreme. Love the plates! Alycia, you hit the home run with this one!!
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You found BASEBALL plates!!!!!!!!!!!??????????? That is amazing! LOVE the centerpiece too, I bet you had some sore fingers though! Great idea to fold the napkins like that too. I’ll tell Joe what you said…and Ramon too:):) XO, Pinky
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Oh what fun, I bet the idea would work for softball too. (: You got me with the ball plates. Those are something I’ve never seen and they are great. Houston Astros will be playing Royals this year as they’ve just been moved to the AL. We’ll have to have a little something going on those games.
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Alycia, you never cease to amaze me! I love this tablescape (and I’m not even a real baseball fan)! The flower baseball is so ingenious and all the details make me want to go out to the ballfield. Thanks for sharing this inspiration!
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As much as I love the elegant tables and the holiday tables, my favorite ones to look at are the theme tables. That’s where the real creativity comes in. I love this!
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Cute cute cute!! What a fun change up! I know you we’re jumping up and down when you found those baseball plates! Score! Your centerpiece is adorable, it was worth all your hard work!
Jenna
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Love your baseball enthusiasm Alycia! Your carnation baseball is amazing! I love your creativity with the paper and acrylic square mats~ I bet your students are blown away by your classes! Do they get to partake of the stadium fare of peanuts and lemonade? 🙂
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My hubby is such a baseball “nut”…give him some peanuts and cracker jacks and great seat at the ball game and he is a happy camper….I love, love the tablescape…You have given me inspiration to do one this summer…but I must say that he is a loyal Yankee fan…Cannot believe that you found those great plates at Tuesday Morning!…Love all of your memorabilia…and must say that I have so enjoyed visiting Cooperstown a couple of times for the Induction Ceremonies…a beautiful town and love the Hall of Fame…Really enjoyed your pictures Alycia!!
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The blue in the tablecloth seems suspiciously similar to Cubbie blue! So very cute! I love the carnation centerpiece.
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Looking good Alycia! Your creative side was in gear! The floral baseball centerpiece is too cute! I love your enthusiasm for your teams!
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Good thing I don’t teach tablescaping or else I’d have to build on an extra room to house my dishes! Fun baseball theme, Alycia. I like the “base” that is angled like the infield!
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I am a huge baseball fan – my Atlanta Braves won on opening day – yeah!! I love your idea – everything is so cute. I, especially, like the centerpiece and the peanuts – great touch. What a wonderful photo of you and your son with Mr. O’Neil. I am sure he has some interesting stories to tell. A “Home Run”, my dear!!
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Aww what cute pics of you and your dear son, Alycia! I would’ve loved to have seen you in Tuesday Morning when you found those darling baseball plates!!! The floral baseball is sooo pretty. What a perfect theme for your favorite team!
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Alycia….this is awesome!! since I have 5 grandsons, my idea turned immediately to how wonderful this would be for one of their birthdays…I like so many things about your table..the carnation baseball….ingenious….I surely enjoy your creativity and your love of life. it comes through all of your words and I can almost hear your laughter….
wonderful..
Love, Mona
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Hi Alycia,
Home Run, that’s all I have to say! Dianne
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I can just see you, running out the store with those baseball plates, Girl! They are soooo perfect for this & any other summer time event.
The centerpiece was a brilliant spark of creativity.
I got to watch the KCTV-5 episode & it was so fun to hear & see you. You did a great job, too.
Congratulations on being featured in the magazine too. You’re becoming quite the celebrity. May I have your autograph??? *wink*
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What a very fun table. Even though I would think it would be a challenging theme, you did a great job making a Home Run!
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Boys will be Boys but that isn’t to say you can’t guide them through a Life of Beauty and Creativity 😉 and bits of Glam.
Turned out lovely and yes very manly 😛 (men don’t see carnations as flower; or at least they consider it “muscle flower” which it is, and perfect for the arrangement you had in mind)
Your pictures on the beggining of the post are amazing to watch. True Beauty never fades as your “ancient” photos prove ahahahahah
Thank you for sharing,
Teresa
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Hi Alycia
The detail in your tablescapes is truly amazing. I love the baseball plates. I can see why you went crazy when you found them! And I love how you put the peanuts at each place setting. And the floral baseball. Just incredible. Your are an amazing tablescaper. The college is lucky to have you teaching there!
Patty
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You are so clever and creative. That baseball centerpiece is adorable. Another fantastic table, Alycia. Lucy ones who get to attend your classes.
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OK, Alycia…enough is enough!..now you have baseball plates?????!!!!!! LOL…I love those plates!! The baseball centerpiece is fabulous, I never seize to be amazed by your creativity and this table is terrific, any mail guest would be so pleased! You look soo pretty in those “ancient” photos, my friend…I still think you are one very pretty girl, darling. What a great idea for the college to have you teaching..never heard of a class like this around here!!
Love,
FABBY
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It is wonderful! I have some baseball plates, must use them! I have 4 gsons, so it will be appropriate! But my gdau is a sports nut too!
Love your centerpiece.
DH is a big Red Sox fan, not easy when you live in Yankee and Mets land!
But decor would be easy, socks died red, lol, filled with popcorn as favors, haha!
Thanks so much for linking this fun table to Let’s Dish. A snow ball table would be more appropriate here!
May I have your autograph?
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Hi Alycia,
what a cute idea………….so neat you found those baseball plates…..you sound like me, when I am trying to decorate for a special occasion and score on something that works well………lol …. isn’t that such a joy!!
LIked how you made the baseball out of flowers, so pretty.
Bet all your baseball fans loved it. That royal blue was both of my kids
high school colors, Blue and white, and I have done some Blue and white
tables for graduation celebrations, and they were fun just because it wasn’t
the normal colors I would use. Well done sports table hon.
Hope all is well with you and yours,
Blessings, Nellie
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Not a baseball fan but loved your table. For those who don’t have baseball plates use red sharpie pen on a white plate must be permament sharpie and put in oven .
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Those baseball plates are darling (am I allowed to use that term for baseball?). The centerpieces are amazing – worth of few pins.
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Loved the centerpiece..Wow!!! How creative!!! However, we’re prepared to go bat-to-bat today in Philly! Welcome, but we gotta do what we gotta do!!! Just selling a few “wolf tickets”. It’s all good! PEACE & LUV!!! Danni
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Home run for sure! I love the way you carried out the theme in a classy way. Incorporating a few tasty treats always works. So you say your lips are sealed huh?
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You truly are a sport’s nut and incredible designer.The baseball plates are
Dynamite! Love the details and your creative centerpiece.
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This is such a fun table! Love the baseball plates and all your cute details! Not loving that you’re a ROYALS fan, though! That’s only because we’re CARDINALS fans here! hee hee! Just teasin’! =D
This would be such a fun table to put up for a baseball game get-together! Thanks for sharing it on the FESTIVE FRIDAY FIESTA! Can’t wait to see what you come up with next!! =D
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You hit it out of the park!! Great table. I have LA Dodger plates and set a baseball table during last years All Star game. Great post!
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The floral centerpieces are just so creative. I would prefer that you were a Philles fan, but I guess the Royals will do! LOLOLOL!!!
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Yes, another morning with Alysia. I’m loving the baseball tablescape, since my Astros are finally in the World Series. The Astros and Houston really need this win. I lived 30 years in Austin, Tx and am a BIG Astros fan.
Also, while surfing the web this morning, I found a site you might like since you use alot of table and chair covers. It’s http://www.esty.com/YourChairCovers. They seem to be cheaper than Sur la Table.
I fell flat on my nose this week, so I’m kinda staying low and at home with you to keep me entertained.
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