Fall Tablescape

A trial Thanksgiving Day Tablescape to share today....

Here's how the dishes stack up...

Spode Copeland Buttercup

Depression glass.... These were a super bargain! They are the very rare Blue Royal Lace pattern. They are normally about $12-$20 each. I got 6 for $12! (shock and awe)
I think they are gorgous!

Johnson Bros. Turkey plates...

My Burlap Tablecloth is perfect for this Thanksgiving table.
If you want to see how I made it... click here.

Many more lovely tables at Between Naps On The Porch.
Be sure you stop by.

Beth Moore

This is a new Bible Study that I picked up and have started.
It's by Beth Moore.

David
90 Days With A Heart Like His

So far I am really liking it a lot. Has anyone else done this study?
Leave me a comment.
I would love to hear what you thought!

Sad, Sad Day

Friday morning I received an email stating that November 21st Gooseberries Tea Room will close their doors. This is very sad news. Gooseberries has been a favorite lunch site for years in the Central Phoenix area. It was so busy the day of The AZ Blogging Luncheon that I thought for sure they would survive. But with lagging sales, its closing was eminent.

All my best wishes to Debra and her husband as they move to the next chapter. You will still be able to visit them on line at

Gooseberries Tea Room and Boutique

How To Make A Burlap Tablecloth

I decided this fall that I wanted a different look for our Thanksgiving table. So I looked at the trends and noticed that a lot of burlap is being used. Now I have never worked with burlap before.

I was pretty intimidated. Plus, I have made square tablecloths but never a round. Yet another challenge. I was pretty sure that this wasn't going to work out well.

But I really felt that this was the look that I wanted. So I decided to just get on with it. I went on line and got inspired and some instructions. The first blog that I noticed a really cute burlap tablecloth at, was Cherry Hill Cottage. Miss Tina had featured one of her friend's home and in her dinning room she used the most adorable little tablecloth. You can see her pictures here.
Thank you Tina

When I bought the fabric, the gal at JoAnn's said not to preshrink....but she also looked at me funny when I told her that I was making a tablecloth for Thanksgiving.....
didn't figure she was the expert.

So .... I looked a little more and found a darling blog.Eileen at Star's Fault shared that you can and should preshrink the fabric. Which certainly made more sense to me. Plus it gave the fabric the more relaxed feel that I wanted. She also has a beautiful blog. You can see her pictures here.

And then the last bit of help I got was from About.com. I have included their instructions below. My comments are italicized in parentheses.

About.Com How to Make a Round Table Cloth

Determine how much fabric you'll need.

Measure the diameter of the top of the table. To that number, add 2 times the amount you want the tablecloth to hang from the top all the way around. If you want a floor length tablecloth, measure from the top of the table to the floor. Double that number and add the result to the diameter. Add 1 1/2 inches (3/4" all the way around) for the diameter of the piece of fabric you'll need.

Prepare the fabric.

( I washed my Burlap 2 times before I did anything with it. If you don't prewash the fabric you won't be able to wash it once it is done. It shrinks and ravels a lot. Because it is so inexpensive I purchased twice the amount that I thought that I needed.)
Sew panels of fabric together to create a square whose width is the diameter of the circle you've planned to make. Use the full width of the fabric panel for the center section and add the needed widths on each side.

Sew the fabric.

Sew the side panel or panels to the center panel, keeping the seams straight. Finish the seam allowance on the underside by zigzagging or overstitching.

( with the burlap, all of the seams have to be overstitched to prevent raveling.)

Carefully press the seams flat, pressing the seam allowance to one side of the panel.

(I used high heat and steam, but it will still be wrinkled)

If your fabric has a pattern or plaid, be sure to match the pattern or lines of the plaid so that the top of the tablecloth is perfect.

Measure for the round.

Fold the panel in half, corner to corner.

Fold the panel again along the folded edge from corner to corner. You now have a square of fabric, four layers thick, with all the folded edges along one side.

Get ready to trace the outline.

Tie a pencil or piece of fabric-marking chalk onto the end of a piece of string. Cut the string to a length 1/2 the diameter of the desired finished tablecloth plus the hem allowance. Tie a knot in the free end.

Secure the knot of the sting into the folded corner of the fabric panel with a pin.

Mark the pattern.

Starting at one side edge, trace the length of the string onto the fabric, marking an arc onto the fabric.

Cut the round.

Remove the string and cut through all four layers of fabric along the marked outside edge. You'll now have a circle of fabric the desired diameter for your tablecloth, plus the hem allowance.

(I had to do 2 layers at a time)

Prepare the hem.

(I saved myself a lot of time by cutting my 3 inch ruffle on the salvage. No hemming needed!)

Place the fabric circle right-side-down on an ironing board. Fold up the 3/4 inch hem and press up all the way around.

With pins, fold under the raw cut edge of the fabric and pin the hem in place.

Sew the hem.

Carefully either hand-sew or machine-sew the hem around the outer edge, taking care to keep the stitches an even distance from the edge.

Finishing touches.

Press the finished panel, carefully keeping the hem flat and even.

Tips:

Be sure to purchase enough fabric. A round tablecloth takes much more fabric than you'd think.
Consider using a decorative king-size sheet for your fabric. You'll get a lot of coverage for the money and might not have to piece the panels together.

Be sure your scissors are sharp and strong. It might be difficult to cut through four layers of fabric.

Have a large, clear surfact to work on. A dining room table or clean floor is the best place so that you can spread things out.

For a decorative touch, add fringe, beading, or cording around the bottom edge.

This ended up being a really fun and easy project. I bought enough burlap to do 2 tables for less than $20.00. I hope you will try it and let me know how yours come out.

A Spooky Halloween Give Away

About a week ago Laura at Decor to Adore offered a very generously spooky give away in celebration of All Hollows Eve.... eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeK!

Now Laura is an AZ Blogger. We're both special that way. So we got to meet at Gooseberries Tea Room for Lunch on Friday for the AZ Bloggers Luncheon. I'll post more about that later next week. Marty from a Stroll Through Life put it all together for us. It was awesome!

This is the hauntingly beautiful bag that she put it in..... Darling ...Right!?

But one cute side isn't enough.....this is the other cute side!
That girl! She is so creative!

A super, secret, scary pouch.....what's in there???? Looks like a bag of potions...
or maybe rotten hobgoblin teeth???? eeeewwwwwwww!

Nope! It's a bag of inspiration!
The first thing I thought of was a cute and scary Hall-o-ween Garland for next year!

Look at this little cameo ring... I'm wearing it tonight to
Phantom of the Opera!
How perfect is that?!

A sweet silhouette note holder! LOVE IT! (with refills...how thoughtful)

This is soooooo going on the front door!

Who needs needs to go trick or treating? Not Me!

Sweet Daughter noticed right away.... 2 Edwards', 2 Bellas' and 2 Jacobs' ! Funny ! Now there is only one Edward... spooky disappearing act on Halloween????

Thank you Laura! It was so nice to meet you. Your a doll! When I make my garland I of course will post it and let you know!

Happy Halloween!

Pretty Kitty

Dis my gooder side....

Dis my udder goodest side!

Tea Staining

Have you ever tried tea staining before? It is one of my favorite things to do. I remember reading about it in Victoria Magazine when I was in my twenties (long, long ago). I thought it was one of the coolest things ever. So Easy!

Hot water and tea bags. The more tea, the more time,
the darker the stain. I did these in our kitchen sink.
Pretty simple stuff.

I can't wait to show you how these turned out. I had 4 linen hand towels. One really old and 3 pretty new. I wanted them to all be the same antique white. They are all going to be hung in our front bathroom on a little cabinet that I still have to put together. Along with some vintage style bottles...it should look pretty cute. I'll show you when it's done. That is if it looks good. If you never hear about it... then you know it didn't turn out... SIGH... :)

Tea Towels ......LOVE 'UM!

It's been crazy busy here. This weekend we will be re-arranging some furniture in our family room. Yay! It will be just like new!

These are some cute towels I hung on the towel rack that hubby installed on the end of the cabinet for me. He's sweet that way.
These make me happy.
Thanks Big G! ; )

See more pretty Pink stuff at How Sweet the Sound. Thank you Beverly!

Time for Tablescape Thursday!

Friday will be my 47th birthday. I am not ashamed to say that I look 47. I have earned every wrinkle and age spot that I proudly wear. Okay....Truthfully, I try to cover them as much as I possibly can.

I know I am blessed. I have it good with no complaints.

So, to celebrate, I am taking the day off. I'm not sure what I'll be doing.....

Maybe...morning tea in bed....
maybe spend the day reading????

Who knows! The possibilities are endless!

For more beautiful ideas please visit our most gracious host
Susan at Between Naps on the Porch.

4 of 101 Things To Do With A Cake Mix

Cheesecake Bars

Bottom Layer:

• 1 yellow cake mix
• 1 cube of margarine, melted and cooled
• 1 egg, beaten

Top Layer:

• 1 pound powdered sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add cake mix and beaten egg to melted margarine. Spread mixture into bottom of a greased and floured 9 x 13-inch pan. In a separate bowl, mix together powdered sugar, eggs, softened cream cheese, and vanilla until smooth. Spread mixture over bottom layer. Bake 30-35 minutes.

I'm giving you an honest review on this one...... I didn't particularly care for these. They were very moist and looked really good. But there wasn't really a very strong cheesecake taste. They were a little too sweet as well.

EDIT: Hubby and Sweet Daughter loved these!