Tea Time Tablescapes

I've been preoccupied with tablescapes lately, since I'm hosting my Gone with the Wind tea party this coming Saturday, and coordinating the 6th Annual Ladies' Christmas Tea at our church on December 7th.

There is nothing I enjoy more than setting a beautiful table.  I love that an empty tabletop is comparable to a blank canvas, just waiting to be transformed into something beautiful.  I was delighted to discover recently that Tablescaping is a category in the Ohio State Fair Creative Arts Division.  How awesome is that!  Beautiful tables truly are an art form. 

I pulled two great books from my bookshelf for inspiration.  The first book, Table Settings is from the editors of Victoria Magazine, so you know it's got to be good.  

 

The second book, Gracious Tables by Southern Lady is another gem chock-full of good information and ideas.

I was so excited when my hubby brought in yesterday's mail with my newest book on tablescapes - The Collected Tabletop by Kathryn Crisp Greeley.  Angela McRae at Tea With Friends featured this book on her blog last July.  I had a Barnes & Noble gift card, so decided to order it. 

What a fabulous book, and Ms. Greeley also has a blog at her website that I'm anxious to read. I knew I was going to love the book when she stated in the introduction that homes have personality and soul, and anything with personality and soul should have a name.  Her house is called Chestnut Cottage.  

I've lived in my house 35 years and never thought about naming it, but my mind is swirling now!  Since our family will all be together for Thanksgiving, I'm going to toss it out there for everyone to come up with a name for our beloved abode.  I'm even going to have a prize for the one with winning name - I'm still thinking about what that will be.

Back to tablescapes...  I pondered in my October 4th blog post whether to have an hors d' oeuvres buffet with tablescape viewings instead of our traditional Christmas tea with a sit-down meal. I'm grateful for the input of those who responded, and I've decided to keep things as they've been, but the program segment of the tea will be all about tablescaping - hence all my reading and research. Thanks to the creativity of a friend we've come up with a presentation that should make it fun and interesting, since we can't afford to invite Ms. Greeley, April Cornell or Martha Stewart.  I'll be sure to tell you all about it after December 7th.

In the meantime, I have a ticket purchased to attend a Festival of Tables event this Sunday where there will be over 30 themed, decorated tables.  I can hardly wait!

Now you know, Monday's post is going to be all about the Gone with the Wind tea, and Tuesday the Festival of Tables event, so please come back!  I hope they'll allow photography.