cobalt blue cylinders

Splendiforous Forsythia & Thinking Of Ukraine

/ Alycia Nichols / 7 Comments

I’m trying to stay upbeat, but it’s hard to do when so many are needlessly and through no fault of their own suffering so much. I’ve felt this way regarding many people targeted by bullies, and today (as in the weeks since the vicious and unwarranted attack began) I’m thinking more than ever about the people of Ukraine.🇺🇦 I began pulling together a tablescape meant to be a joyous representation of Spring and ended up in tears. I’m going to post this without a lot of further commentary because I’m otherwise going to start cussing…and crying again.🤬😢

The blue-rimmed chargers are from Hobby Lobby, the “Mirandela” pattern dinner plates (last featured here in August of 2021) and cobalt blue stemware from Pier 1, the J.A. Henckels “Bellaserra” flatware and Cristal d’Arques “Capella” wine stems from Macy’s, and the cream soup sets from Nell Hills in Kansas City, MO. The “Opera” Royal Crystal Rock glasses were an estate sale find.

While these are faux greenery (Kirkland’s) and flowers (Kirkland’s and a wholesale outlet), fresh ones on your table would be glorious. I found the curvy cobalt vase at Z Gallerie some years ago.

I often take liberties with candlesticks and employ them as finials.

Lighting candles of hope.

This is by no means the definition of “art imitating life”, but the people of Ukraine are on my mind and in my heart, and their plight is burning a hole into my very soul. May God bless them all. 🇺🇦

There are a couple of other blue and yellow tablescapes on this blog you might like to see that incorporated these same Pier 1 dishes:

Other tablescapes that use forsythia:

And finally, other tablescapes using cobalt blue tableware:

Summer Blues… and Greens!

/ Alycia Nichols / 3 Comments

SUMMER BLUES…AND GREENS!
(a re-post from August 2010)

There is really nothing quite like the cooling, soothing look of cobalt blue in a summer tablescape! Mixed here with grassy greens and cloud-like white, it takes on a casually sophisticated look that is one with nature.

For each place setting, I started with a crisp, white cotton linen. The beautiful blue & white placemats are a vinyl reversible from Bed, Bath & Beyond that caught my eye. The stark white square dinner plates, also from BB&B, are from the B. Smith With Style collection. The deep blue salad plates and graceful finger bowls are from Pier 1 Imports. I like these bowls because they can be used in so many ways! I’m sure you’ll be seeing a lot of them in subsequent tablescapes. Simple Pfaltzgraff “Legacy” flatware and cobalt blue glass tumblers from Old Time Pottery finish the look.

I picked up this gorgeous green & blue glass compote several years ago, and I am always thrilled to get a chance to use it in a tablescape! Filled here with an abundance of juicy Granny Smith apples, succulent limes, and cymbidium orchids, it really stands out. Orchids are so pricey that I often can only afford a single stem or two. Plucking the blooms and floating them in water (or tucking the stem into a water tube as in the centerpiece) is a wonderful option with a lot of impact. The flames of white candles in the cobalt hurricanes dance when the sun goes down. The potted grass is just another way to pull in the color green and to add texture and interest to the overall centerpiece.

Another way to punctuate the tablescape’s look with a bit more green was to place individual bottles of refreshing Perrier at each guest’s setting.

Want to see a couple of other tablescapes using blue and green?:
Under A Paper Moon
Butterfly Kaleidoscope

          

 

Surf & Turf Dinner

/ Alycia Nichols / 49 Comments

Back in March I created a tablescape as part of a live auction package for the 13th Annual Taste of Lee’s Summit benefiting the Lee’s Summit Educational Foundation, Inc. (LSEF). I made good on that prize this past weekend at the lovely home of board member Mary Stilley and her husband, Jim, who hosted a fabulous gourmet dinner for ten. I agonized for months over what to do. In the end I decided to use starfish-shaped plates to represent the “surf” part of the meal, and a play on words and stretch of the imagination landed me at moss-covered balls to represent the “turf.” (Football on the brain already!!! 🙂
(Click on any image to enhance/enlarge it. All photos by Sheri L. Grant)

Starting with a plain white palette (upper left-hand corner and going clockwise), each layer went down in a painstakingly slow manner, measuring to make sure every element was precisely set.

When all was said and done…and after a few very tense minutes when Mary, Sheri and I found ourselves having to raise the billion pound light fixture to accommodate the height of the centerpiece…this is what we had. (Gosh, I wish I had pictures of that! ;-))

Starting with the photo in the upper left-hand corner of the collage and going clockwise, I started by layering two chargers: One a square rattan, and the other a round silverplate. By layering the two, I felt it gave the table the depth it would need once the plates were removed to the kitchen for the actual dinner. It also added both a sort of rough-hewn texture and a glossy shine, two elements I thought represented the surf and turf theme. The square white dinner plate was a good foundation for the colorful mix of blue and white starfish salad and appetizer plates you see here. These plates were in place upon the guests’ arrival, but then whisked to the kitchen just before the start of the meal.

The flatware is from the hostess’s personal collection. I liked the clam shell pattern that fit in with the “surf.”

The cobalt blue stems, seen in various posts on this site, were for water and the clear stems for wine.

The foundation of the centerpiece is the indigo blue “Logarno” glass vase from Z Gallerie topped with a large moss ball. The vase is lit from underneath with a multi-pinspot LED uplight designed to direct light upward into floral arrangements. (Lower right-hand corner of collage.)


The rest of the centerpiece that extends down the length of the table includes a number of repeated elements. Cobalt blue cylinders with the same color as the water stems have chunky white candles for ambient dinner light. Smaller clear cylinders, mimicking the colorless wine glasses, dot the table with white Fuji mums. Smaller moss balls and a few cobalt blue votive holders complete the look.

It was an honor and a delight to work with Mary Stilley who was most gracious to Sheri, Ramon, and me as we set up and broke down the table. She is indeed “The Hostess With the Mostess”!
Many thanks to the Lee’s Summit Educational Foundation, its Board of Directors, Advisory Board and staff (including Sheryl Franke!) for allowing me to participate in the auction for such a worthwhile cause.

Other posts on this site using blue and green:
“Summer Blues & Greens“
“Under a Paper Moon“

Other posts on this site using cobalt blue:
“Daffodillyicious“
“Peony Power“
“Blue & White 30th Birthday“
“Summer Blues & Greens“

Other posts on this site with a tropical flair:
“Tropicana“
“Summer Breeze“
“Hot Tropical“
“Flamingos in Paradise“
“Oranges & Blossoms“

I’m joining Cuisine Kathleen for the fun blog party known as “Let’s Dish” starting at 6:00 p.m. CDT on Wednesday. I’ll also be joining Susan for “Tablescape Thursday” on Thursday morning starting at 9:00 CDT. If you want to see the work of some really talented tablescapers, click on over to join us!

Daffodillyicious Tablescape

/ Alycia Nichols / 55 Comments

Last night brought a close to my first class series, “The Art of Tablescaping – Buffet Styling” through Longview Community College. It was a night I simultaneously dreaded and happily anticipated. All told, I think it went pretty well for my first time at bat, and I’m looking forward to starting the second class series,
“The Art of Tablescaping – Sizzlin’ Summer Soirées” on June 12, 2012.

Photo by Sheri L. Grant

To cap this first class series off, everyone grabbed a little snack to munch on while enjoying a slide show of the wonderful buffet tablescapes created by each student. (Cobalt blue martini glasses from Pier 1.) They really did a good job, and their work really showed they had been paying attention! The evening ended with a sit-down awards dinner at a colorful Springtime table specially prepared for these fine ladies. Sure, a buffet meal would have been apropos, but I wanted them to relax after all the hard work and effort they put into their individual tables.

It may have been raining cats and dogs outside, but inside was all about sunshine and blue sky! The Tuscan-style table was decked out in bright cobalt blue and yellow. This would also be a wonderful tablescape for a Spring wedding rehearsal dinner or birthday, and would work just as well outdoors as inside!

Full-length white linens provided a blank slate for the brilliant colors on top. A lemon yellow cotton placemat from Bed Bath & Beyond, turned to drop vertically off the side of the table, hosted a white ceramic charger (Old Time Pottery) and beautiful “Mirandela” dinner plates from Pier 1, topped off with a white-rimmed yellow salad plate from Old Time Pottery. (Click HERE and scroll down to “Sun & Sky” to see these “Mirandela” dinner plates used in a luncheon table setting.)

Bright yellow cotton napkins from Bed Bath & Beyond are cinched at the waist with bold cobalt blue napkin rings (Tuesday Morning) that look very much like jewelry. The flatware is Hampton Silversmith’s “Patriot” in the mirrored finish.

The cobalt blue stemware is from Pier 1.

Scoops of whipped butter in miniature silver Revere bowls and tiny salt and pepper shakers fill in gaps down the table center.

Heavy cobalt blue votive holders bring both color and light to the table’s surface.

Aside from daisies, I just can’t think of a happier flower than the daffodil! Three chunky cobalt blue vases filled with the sunshiny yellow flowers are flanked by silver Revere candlesticks.

Congratulations to the first Art of Tablescaping “graduating class”!!! Desta, Denise, Linda S. 1, Linda S. 2, Marie, Natalie, and Ty…you ladies did a fantastic job! Thank you for making it fun for me, and I hope you have acquired some techniques, skills and knowledge that you can carry with you for a lifetime of buffet-style tablescaping!

To see more posts on this site using cobalt blue:
“Peony Power“
“Brilliant Italian“
“Blue & White 30th Birthday“
“Summer Blues & Greens“
“Surf & Turf Dinner“

For more information or to enroll in “The Art of Tablescaping – Sizzlin’ Summer Soirées”, contact the Community Education Department at Longview Community College, 816-604-2030.

Please be sure to join me for Tablescape Thursday again this week. I’m also joining a new blog party this week over at Cuisine Kathleen’s called “Let’s Dish“. Check it out!
Happy Spring, everyone!!! 🙂