Easter Finery

First things first...We are truly blessed to have the means to set a pretty table and invite our friends to join us for good food and fellowship. I am mindful that many are not so fortunate. My daughter has a passion for the work of the Food Bank. As a singer-songwriter, she has written and recorded a song that is the anthem for the world wide Crop Hunger Walk project. Her song, "Raise Your Voice" is featured in their video. I've included a link in the side margin of my blog. I hope that it will encourage you to support projects in your community that contribute to the effort to overcome hunger.

I always look forward to the blessed relationships that are to be shared at our table on the most important day of my year...Easter Sunday.  This year, we were a small group of eight.  After church services, Sweet Mister and I were blessed to celebrate this holiest of days with a luncheon for family and friends.  I must admit...I had a ball creating this tablescape.  When I'm entertaining a coed group, I generally try to avoid setting a table that is too feminine, but on Easter, all the normal rules are null and void.

  Pinks and greens were perfect for this day filled with dreams of bunnies and chicks, lovely decorated eggs, and baskets full of sweet treats...oh, and flowers...lots of beautiful spring flowers.

The Zina Vasi, "Spring Jacquard" tablecloth was an eBay find.  I did happen to check, and the seller has a few more available, if you just can't resist.  This particular cloth is 144" long, and it fits my table when fully extended, but today, I didn't use all the leaves because I only needed to seat eight.  Now I play pretty free and loose when it comes to using tablecloths.  I'm known to turn them under at one end if they are too long.  And I sometimes use two cloths if one is too short.  But this lovely presented a slightly different dilemma. Because of the pattern, it needed to fall just right at both ends.  Tip:  To make it work, I created an inverted pleat in the tablecloth right in the center of the table.  That's why I used the vintage pink linen and organdy place mats...to camouflage the pleat on top of the table. 

Here it is before I added the other design elements...

I decided that an inverted pleat would lie better and have a more subtle appearance.  Now you know my secret!  What kind of tricks do you have for making linens work when they really don't fit correctly?

Did you notice how the pleat barely shows?  

The vintage pink linen and organdy place mats were an estate sale find...$10.00 for 12 mats and 12 matching napkins.  Tip: They were pretty dingy looking when I bought them.  I washed them and then soaked them in Vintage Soak for 48 hours.  They looked brand new when dried and ironed. I buy it at a local shop, The Antique House (405-495-2221).  It works like magic on vintage natural fiber linens.

  I used the silver beaded charger to add a contrasting shine to the table.  Resting on the charger is Wedgwood's, "Countryware" dinner plate and a reticulated unnamed luncheon plate marked 'Italy.'  Both plates were bought on eBay.  

As a finishing touch, each place setting is crowned with a vintage Fenton, "Pink Coin Dot" bowl, which I used to hold our first course, a chilled Avocado and Cucumber Soup.  I'll bet that you've seen these old fashioned goodies in your grandmama's or great-aunt's house.  I really think that they were originally used as candy bowls, and I used to think that they were kind of dopey.  Then, one day I ran across a group of them, and experienced an attitude adjustment...soup bowls...dessert bowls...the possibilities were suddenly infinite!  Spoken like a bonafide dishaholic.  Today, they reminded me of sparkling glass Easter baskets.

   Our Reed & Barton, "Grande Renaissance" sterling flatware mixed well with a set of silver plate cream soup spoons that I found on  eBay.  The individual salt and peppers are MacKenzie-Childs.  I used to be one of those people who would go out and buy an entire collection of this or that.  I eventually realized that 90% of the fun is in the hunt, and I changed my ways.  I now relish acquiring one at a time.

Two more eBay finds, the water goblet is Waterford, "Simply Pink", and the wine is Bohemian AJKA, "Arabella".

The Bunny Bowl has been around for many years.  I don't even remember when I bought it.  I thought that it was a perfect centerpiece for our Easter celebration.  Once again, I've used flowers that I picked up at Sam's.  

To add a bit of bling, I flanked the bunny bowl with four small posies in rhinestone studded candleholders from Hobby Lobby.  The Val St. Lambert crystal candlesticks are interspersed down the length of the table.

A few candlelight shots taken Saturday evening.  No blue hour opportunities on a cloudy gray day.

There's a glimpse of Sweet Mister lending a hand in the kitchen.  Everything seems to be in place.  Oh my gosh...I think that I'm actually organized today.  New concept.

My daughter's car just pulled into the circle drive.  She loves pink and green; I think that she's going to really like our table.  It's going to be a wonderful day to celebrate our Risen Lord!  I pray that you've had a peace-filled Easter surrounded by family and friends, too!

Thank you, yet again, to Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for hosting her magical meme, "Tablescape Thursday.  I'll be linking my post to "Tablescape Thursday."   Hop on over HERE and check out the myriad of marvelous tablescape designs, after 9:00 pm on Wednesdays.  You'll be glad that you made the trip...it's a wonderful adventure.

You can check out KC's music at www.kcclifford.com, on iTunes, and on YouTube.  I hope that you'll take a few minutes and give her a listen.  You'll also enjoy reading back through her blog on this site.  The girl can really write!  Her latest CD is called "Orchid."  It is available on iTunes or through her website.  I hope that you'll give her music a chance.  I know that I have zero objectivity where she is concerned, but I think that you'll fall in love with her music and her!