Let's Dish Challenge!

I'm joining Cuisine Kathleen's Let's Dish Challenge! This month's challenge is Destination.
The Destination I chose is English Countryside. I'm using my Cottage dishes by Thomas Kinkade, these dinner plates were a steal at $3.99 at Marshall's a few years ago:

And the salad plates only $2.99:

These thatch-roof cottages remind me of some you see on an English countryside.

Which is your favorite scene? I'm partial to this one since we have a large painting of it:

They do make a pretty tablescape!

For the centerpiece I used a tea pot and tea cup as I'm sure you find these inside each of the thatch-roof cottages!
The tins of English teas are on the tray.

Left to right: London Tea, Harrod's Special Blend Tea, and English Afternoon Tea.

The white rose is in honor of Princess Diana:

And, of course, English Ivy entwines the tray!

Cream colored napkins and cream handled flatware is used with the spring green tablecloth.

I placed a crystal water goblet along with a small brandy sniffer, because we are likely to be offered a brandy or sherry with a meal at an English table.
I know this because we have a British neighbor who invited us to afternoon tea and she offered us sherry before the tea!

Here's a place for you!

Which tea would you choose?

I hope you enjoyed my English Countryside tablescape!

Back in September 2009 I did another tablescape using this china with a burgundy tablecloth and a different centerpiece. If you would like to see this tablescape, along with most of our Thomas Kinkade wall paintings, click here.

Thanks, Cuisine Kathleen, and to all the ladies who hosts the parties so we can play with our dishes!

I'm also linking to Susan's Tablescape Thursday and Alma's Seasonal Sunday's. Click on their names for looks more inspiration.

English Countryside tablescape

Thanks for visiting!

Tabletops Tuesday

Thanks to Barb, at Grits and Glamour for hosting Tabletop Tuesday. Click here for lots more!

I forgot about Tabletop Tuesday until it was already dark, then I had to use the flash with the camera. Something happened to my camera and the pictures don't show the true colors (everything looks too yellow!) I want to join in on the fun anyway, so please try to visualize more beige tones! Times like this I wish I had my old fashioned camera back!! Operator error, I'm sure!

I'm sharing my old sewing machine and the vignette I keep on top most of the year.

The larger framed photograph is my grandmother's baby picture. The small oval framed photo is of my grandmother when she was about 16. The clock and the candlestick was my grandmother's, and I'm so happy I was the proud recipient of them (there's also another candlestick!)
The picture above is Thomas Kinkade's "A Perfect Yellow Rose" The Rose Collection III.

I like the two vintage books, tied with a ribbon, to complete the vintage look.
I've had this old sewing machine since the 70s. It has been several colors at different times. Once it was avocado, then country blue, then cream colored. When we moved here and have the Blond colored walls, I sponged that color over the top of the cream and now have what we used to call "antiqued."

I apologize for the poor pictures, I hope to do better next week!

Have a happy day!
God Bless.

Katherine

Tablescape Thursday

It's Thursday, time for Tablescape Thursday! Thanks to Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for hosting this fun party for us each week!

Today I'm sharing a Thomas Kinkade tablescape. Last week I went to Marshall's and found these Spode "Cottage" dishes by Thomas Kinkade. I went back on my word again about buying more dishes! Now how could I not buy them since they were so inexpensive and go so well with our collection of TK paintings!

All the plates have a different design on them.

These first four are the dinner plates



The following four are salad plates:

The centerpiece

I had a little trouble putting this tablescape together. I had planned to do it last week, but couldn't decide on a centerpiece. (I was trying to use a few of TK books.) Yesterday I found this in one of my stash boxes that I thought would work since it kinda looks like a house. The base is a picture frame. The flowers are faux hydrangeas.

I also had difficulty with the napkins, I have wine colored napkins but they aren't a perfect match to the tablecloth. I decided to use the sage colored napkins. Speaking of tablecloths, at first I used my green tablecloth, but decided to switch to this one since a lot of wine color is used in TK paintings.

These four pictures show the different combinations of plates and salad plates

The plate above is the same as one of our TK paintings. Here's our painting, it is in our family room,

it is "A Quiet Evening"

Below are the four TK painting hanging in our dining room:

This painting above is "Tea Cup Cottage"

The painting below is "Old Porterfield Tea Room"

The tea room paintings above hang on each side of the door to the kitchen

This painting above is Stillwater Bridge/Sweetheart Garden I. It hangs in the corner between the china cabinet and the window beside the tea cart.

The painting above is "Lamplight Village," it hangs over the curio cabinet in the dining room.

Another TK painting in our house:

This is Stairway to Paradise/Visions of Paradise I.

I also have TK's The Perfect Yellow Rose/The Rose Collection III, is also in the living room.

Okay, do you think I should have bought these plates? I only bought four of each!

The backs of the two sizes of TK plates, to show the prices!

The dinner plate

The salad plate

I do enjoy them!

and the centerpiece was "free!"

For chargers I used the large dark brown/bronze trim plates I bought last summer at Hobby Lobby, for $2.80 each.


I hope you enjoyed seeing my Thomas Kinkade tablescape, and our collection of TK paintings!
My husband and I are very opposite, but we agreed on the TK paintings. We bought most of them when we lived in Indiana and dh was working on a wonderful job!

As you can see I only bought four dinner plates, and four salad plates. I never buy a whole set of dishes! Some people must think I do as I'm asked often by other bloggers where I store all my dishes. I don't have as many of most of you, I just keep using the same ones over and over, with different accessories.

Have a happy day!
God Bless.

Katherine