Sand Dollar Shipping Tag

Hi Bloggers, just wanted to announce I've recently listed some new items @ my Etsy Shop...Hope you enjoy!

Have a great Friday, Michelle

Creole Tablescape

It's Tablescape Thursday and a big thanks to Susan @ BNOTP for hosting! Please be sure to visit Susan and all the scapers here!

Have you ever heard of D.H. Holmes? Neither had I until now...

I was shopping in the GW and ran across these 4 spectacular salad plates...a beautiful speckled white stoneware; 2 with a crab and 2 with a shrimp/crawdad. I also found 2 chowder/gumbo bowls, both with a crab. I know you know the thrill!!

This is on the back of each plate and bowl...
I got curious...who was D.H. Holmes and why was there dinnerware designed for him? It didn't take much research to find out! Daniel Henry Holmes opened a restaurant on Canal Street in New Orleans in 1849!! That explained the shrimp and crab motif! Oh the thrill!!
The D.H. Holmes main building was considered a landmark primarily because of the clock on the front of the building. "Under the clock at D.H. Holmes" was the proverbial place to meet someone. (Courtesy of Wikipedia) The restaurant closed in 1989 and is now a hotel. To find out more click D.H. Holmes at the top!

How these beauties ended up in Missouri, I'll never know...but that adds to the history right? Right!
That was all the inspiration I needed to create a Creole Sensation!!

I brought out a festive tablecloth in a seersucker fabric with all the right colors. I used water hyacinth chargers and a beautiful sunburst plate with a slightly tiki feel

I had to do it...Pickle jar hurricanes! How fitting!!

The crab bowls are fantastic!

I also use IBC Cream soda bottles for my bud vases! :)

I used a twiggy basket to hold a cylinder vase with sand and a candle...

I gotta tell you how special that lantern is...it's and authentic, oil burning lantern, solid brass. My dad bought that for me years ago...second-hand of course! :) It's one of my favorite pieces!

I tied some jute around the silverware...quick and easy.



Love the fish netting!


I used some thumb tack to secure burlap around the candles, I couldn't decide if I liked it with or without the bow...so I did both!


I hope you have enjoyed this week's Creole Tablescape! I am excited to see all of yours!

Thanks for stopping by!

Thanks again Susan for hosting one of my favorite parties!

Michelle

Findings!

SCORE!!!

I stopped by a little antique shop called the Beaver's Dam, in downtown Webb City today and found these awesome printer's blocksThe smaller one is actually metal

What Fun!

Michelle

Three or More Tuesday!

It's time for Three or more Tuesday!

Be sure to visit Tam and everyone at the Gypsy's Corner!

OK don't cringe!

I know everyone has just cleaned all of these out...

In my defense, I am a 70's girl...

I have 3 or more OWLS!!

I really don't like the realistic looking owls figurines or the macrame' owls, but I gotta tell ya, there's something kinda cute about an owl. :)

They remind me of that story...when I was in The Brownie's...The Brownie Story, with the Wise Old Owl...you know the one.

I mean look at this one...wink, wink!!

Here's another cutie!

Speaking of cutie's...this is Logan, my side-kick...he helps me with all my Met Monday's, tablescapes and staging for photos for Etsy, he's my helper! :)Sorry, I couldn't resist!

I like wearing my little owl necklace too...




Thanks for stopping by!

I can't wait to see what you have 3 or more of!



Michelle & Logan

Hooked on Gray or Grey!

Hi Bloggers and welcome to another edition of Hooked on _______! (You fill in the blank :) Be sure to visit all the participants at Hooked on Houses http://hookedonhouses.net/

This week I'm featuring Grey and/or Gray, which ever you prefer...I'm not sure when it started happening...I've always enjoyed the look of zinc and grey is in my wardrobe, but sometime in the last, oh, let's say 6 months there has been a surge of grey on the market and I'm hooked!

I found these beauties at Target , I'll let the pictures speak for themselves...I can't quite explain them...they are quite large, wickery-ish, painted orb thing-a-ma-bobs...they presently live in my unusable fireplace. I really like the controlled chaos of them...


Bedding, from Thomas O'Brien, this was a splurge...I must admit.

Thank you for stopping by! Are you hooked on grey too?

Michelle

Ode to the Ocean Tablescape

Hi bloggers! It's Thursday again and you know what that means! Susan at Between Naps on the Porch has graciously hosted another Tablescape Thursday! Be sure to swing over to the porch and visit all the wonderful tablescape inspirations!
http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/


I want to invite you to a seaside retreat, where the cares of the world slip away into the sounds of the crashing waves and the only distraction that occurs is the constant cries of the hovering seagulls. The dinner bell has rang and it's time to saunter over to the dining table....Man, I need a vacation!!!

Why is it as soon as the weather turns warm, I'm ready to hit the beach! Unfortunately, it's a little harder to hit nowadays, I'm a little landlocked right now...but I can dream! Maybe in July, I'll get to go home...in the meantime I have conjured up an "ode to the ocean" tablescape! I began pulling together this table based on the inspiration of my bargain placemats...you remember them from Met Monday, right? Well I gotta tell you: I LIKE COLOR! It was kinda hard for me to stay within the blue and white scheme...not that I had to keep within some kind of boundary, but to see if I could!





I started off collecting from around the house...

Seashells, seashells, and more seashells...I pulled some cylinder vases that I have in my collection and decided to use them as candle holders...lots of room for sand and shells...I love my creamy white candles...that's about the only color I use.
Another inspiration piece is this fantabulous aluminum serving dish. I picked it up at the Goodwill last year for $2.98...why anyone would give this away is beyond me! :)

Call me crazy...I dug WAY back in the cabinet, you know, way back in the back that you can never reach, back, and brought out my silver charger plates usually for Christmas, silver seemed to be a common thread developing....

The dishes, the obvious choice, the Claremont dinner plate and salad plate and whilst I was stretching to reach the chargers, I happened upon my little appetizer plates that I got @ Pier 1 at a ridiculous low price (after Christmas, year before last) that just so happen to have blue and....silver, yes, come on little fellas you're going to the beach too !

I do need to introduce you to some new pieces, I got this pitcher and creamer at the Maxx last week. They are really a beautiful white china.
Now that I've got all the elements (except the food, glasses, and silverware:)...let's get going to the beach!

Napkin/bowl...bowl/napkin...I could make up my mind...

I picked up those napkin rings up at the Goodwill...the painted napkins...

I had these little Blue mercury glass votives in my bedroom, they've made an appearance too...

I love my little silver urchin...
I hope you have enjoyed this weeks "ode to the ocean" Tablescape...I'll be dreaming of Emerald Isle, NC and visiting all of your tables...I can't wait!

Thank you so much for stopping by and visiting!

Michelle

Painted Napkins

It's Met Monday again! Thank you to Susan for hosting. Check out all the other metamorphosis at the porch!
http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

I have a "sneak peek" project for this week.

I was in the Maxx and spied these beautiful placemats in the clearance area...4 mats for $7.99 is not bad, but 4 mats for $2.00!?! Yeah!
The blue was a little funny, not quite aqua, not quite gray, but I decided I could find napkins to coordinate somewhere in my excursions...

After some searching, I could not find any napkins that coordinated, nothing was just the right shade or just didn't coordinate at all. I settled for white napkins...white goes with everything!



I really love the pattern and I started looking at it a little closer. It dawned on me that I could reproduce a part of the pattern on the white napkins!





I considered doing the entire pattern, but I decided to do the little corner flourish instead, the entire pattern would be too much, I just wanted to coordinate not match! :) So I drew out a pattern on Kraft paper and cut it out.


I placed the pattern on a corner of the white napkin and used a colored pencil to sketch out the pattern.

I mixed some paint until I felt it was a close match to the placemat...I used light blue, green, gray, even black.

I painted all four corners of all four napkins. It was a little tedious, but it didn't have to be perfect because I wanted the hand-painted, batik look.

Here is the finished napkin, I really like how it turned out! I think it coordinates great! I was excited about how close I got the blues to match...after so many attempts @ finding the perfect napkin- hand-painting was the way to go!

I hope to feature these placemat and napkins on Tablescape Thursday...I can't wait!

I hope you have enjoyed this project and hope it inspires you to paint your own napkins!

Thank you for stopping by

Michelle