Oh how I adore the spring!! Colors are returning. New buds are emerging. Time for all of us to bring forth our new thoughts, ideas, and imaginings, and let them blossom! Hope you love my spring-inspired table centerpieces and decor!
“The spring is fresh and fearless
And every leaf is new,
The world is brimmed with moonlight,
The lilac brimmed with dew.Here in the moving shadows
I catch my breath and sing —
My heart is fresh and fearless
And over-brimmed with spring.”
– Sara Teasdale
Why vintage?
Lovely pearls that hailed from another time, another place, lace that once adorned a treasured frock, what depth and romance these offer to designs motivated by the gentle, loving energy of the emerging spring! By including items such as these, the seasonal inspiration truly feels cyclical, old into new, not just birth but rebirth. Treasures from a bygone era used fresh again allowing what was once loved a renewed place of honor. Vintage beads, pearls, hankies, linens, lace, cameos, china, and the like have all found a place on my latest tablescape.
Tablecloth, Placemats, & Runner:
- Tablecloth: A very simple, gently used white linen tablecloth edged with soft scallops from ebay was just what I was looking for. Its lovely quality and airy feel through the visible weave were the perfect backdrop to the featured elements of color and texture. I also once again valued so immensely its richness of history, not being “new”.
- Place Mats & Runner: For months I have been acquiring vintage handkerchiefs, knowing deep down that they needed to find a place on my spring table but not sure exactly how I was going to execute it, and then voila! Pinterest to the rescue! I found this lovely post suggesting their use along with interspersed doilies as a table runner! Perfect! I expounded on that and used them as place mats as well! For sure their variety is part of their charm. Nonetheless, I did look for some uniformity by choosing pastel tones echoing shades of pink and pale green. I also decided to use both white and ecru doilies (vintage of course) of differing textures, shapes, and sizes. Once more all were purchased used from ebay, rich with history and low on cost.
- Embellishments: Multi-colored pastel pearls both resting on the table surface as well as draped over some of the centerpiece items act as the frosting on the cake! These were purchased inexpensively on ebay as a vintage lot of costume jewelry.
Dishware:
Playing with flowers, ruffles, pastels, and coordinated mismatch, this lovely dishware includes the following:
- Dinner plates: Harmony House Cascade. Mine are family heirlooms, but many pieces are available at Replacements Ltd.
- Salad plates: Beautiful Mikasa French Countryside dishwasher-safe dinnerware purchased gently used on ebay.
Glassware:
- Water glasses: Recycled Starbucks Cappuccino Jars (you get to enjoy the beverage and then reuse the containers – perfect!) embellished with eco-friendlier and healthier than plastic, paper straws, covered in playful pink polka dots. (Thank you Naomi for the inspiration – see Peter Rabbit Christening pics)
- Wine glasses: Expounding on the jar idea, these Bormioli Rocco Quattro Stagioni 8.5 oz. canning jars have such a lovely shape and decor, almost reminiscent of stemless wine glasses. These came from Amazon and could certainly be reused for canning or future glassware… or both!
- Tea Cups: These are bone china heirlooms passed down from my Grandma’s personal collection. I cannot express the joy I feel in featuring these, adding an element of love and family connectedness to the already rich vintage energy of the celebration. I highly recommend using family treasures if possible, even if you have a relative who wouldn’t mind lending them for the holiday. If you do need to purchase them, once again, used from ebay or estate sales are a fantastic way to go. This method of purchase results in no contribution to the increased production of “stuff” or the importing of goods as well as all of the earlier stated advantages to including vintage, loved pieces.
- The saucers are embellished with dainty sugar cubes adorned with iced rosebud. So sweet. These are available at Victorian Trading Co, or you could make your own!
Table Centerpieces:
- Vases: The vases consist of recycled bottles garnished with lace, ribbon, and a vintage cameo. The one containing the pale pink hyacinths is another recycled Starbucks Cappuccino Jar embellished with a pale pink satin ribbon bow. The pale aqua milk bottle containing the pink and white rosebuds is adorned with vintage lace and a cameo brooch, both purchased from ebay. The bottle itself is recycled and was purchased from the gift shop of Drumlin Farms, a wildlife sanctuary run by the Mass Audubon Society. The white porcelain pitcher is available on Amazon. It contains cream colored silk roses purchased on deep discount from my local Michaels Craft Store and adorned with beads purchased from the vintage costume jewelry lot referenced earlier. Finally, the small white wine bottle was recycled from a dessert wine served in petite quantities. It is embellished with an aqua fuzzy ribbon also purchased from my local Michaels Craft Store and filled with a selection of delicate white flowers.
- Milk Glass: The lovely milk glass selections derived from a lot of used Westmoreland and Fenton Milk Glass purchased on ebay and included the following: two candy dishes containing Cadbury Mini Eggs, one larger serving bowl containing decoupaged goose eggs, and two candle holders containing wax-decorated egg candles.
- Tiered White and Pink Beaded Multi Cake Stand: The center of the table display is this perfectly shabby chic cake stand lined with traditional white doilies purchased from my local Michaels Craft Store and displaying vanilla cupcakes wrapped in perfectly printed floral paper cupcake holders imported from Great Britain and purchased on ebay.
- Fenton Two-Tiered Serving Tray: At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I must admit that this, too, was purchased gently used from ebay. It was lined with traditional white paper doilies from my local Michaels Craft Store and displayed delicious treats including homemade egg biscuit cookies and lovely frosted petit fours.
Napkins:
Gorgeous vintage white linen napkins lined with minty green stitching and purchased from ebay made the ideal napkins for this setting. Instead of displaying them at each seat, I placed groups of two at each corner of the table.
Chair Treatments:
- Side Chairs: These White Cotton Duck Dining Covers purchased online from Target and then draped with vintage hankies bought in a used lot from ebay are perfect in their simplicity. The knots are covered with fabric strip selections from Moda Athill Range Jelly Roll Quilt Strips 35210JR purchased from Amazon.
- Arm Chairs: As the above treatments were unavailable for arm chairs, I had to choose an alternative, and I was inspired by a baby shower design featured on “The Hostess With the Mostest” blog. I tried a similar treatment by tying on my leftover fabric strips. I joined them together in the back with accent flowers purchased at my local Michaels Craft Shop, and then coordinated these with the side chairs by similarly draping them with vintage hankies from my ebay lot and adding accent, ruffled seat cushions (pillow shams purchased on ebay covering pillows purchased at Michaels). Below are front and back view photos.
Other Embellishments:
Place Card Holders:
These lovely holders are a discontinued Bethany Lowe Design. I scoured all over to purchase these cuties because I loved them so much and ended up finding some of them on ebay and the rest from a virtual village called JZ Rose. They came with adorable French-inspired place cards but would work with any cards you either chose to purchase or make. Last spring, I made lovely floral place cards. Click here for instructions.
Hurdy Gurdies:
These timeless mini music boxes have been an instant guest favorite at my holidays. They are available at Victorian Trading Co.
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Happy spring!
May your table centerpieces and décor inspire you,
and may hopes and dreams flourish! ❤
