Mixing Fruit and Flowers for an Inexpensive Tablescape
One thing about blogging is that you generally receive nice comments (99.9% of the time), and then an occasional comment that is really critical. If you’re a blogger, you know what I mean.
I so appreciate my faithful readers here at RE who know me and what my blog and message is about. Thank you!
Recently a reader said my “blog” and a “table post” was too bright and colorful, that my dishes were too-perfect, and she said I paid too much for my asparagus – which made me smile, because I bought it on sale right before Easter! (Ha! How did the reader know what I spent?)
Imperfect and inexpensive is what RE is about:
– I love a bright and cheery table.
– I most always use what I have in the house, this time, flowers from the yard (leftover roses from my daughter’s bouquet), and apples we are going to eat!
– If you notice, my son set the table and the silverware were placed in far from perfect order and spacing.
– I never pay too much for asparagus. I usually shop “what’s in season.”
– My white dishes are 20 years old in June this year (when my husband and I will be celebrating our 20th anniversary).
– My tablecloth is from Wal Mart.
– Paper napkins were left over from last year’s Easter meal.
Should I add that I shop at the Dollar Store? I love my $1 goblets.
Enough said …
Beautiful is a must, but expensive rarely happens in my house.
Moving on to the centerpiece …
Whoever thought you could mix fruit and flowers?
How to Make a Fruit and Flower Centerpiece
– Decide which tablecloth and napkins you’ll be using
– Choose a fruit that matches your “setting.”
– Stack your fruit on a plate or bowl, into a tier.
– Look for flowers that will match your “setting.”
– Cut the stems short and place in the holes between the stacked fruit.
So beautiful and simple.
Do you have a Springy, simple and easy centerpiece that you’ve recently made for entertaining table?
Why do any of us say things that are hurtful? So I will say how much I enjoy your ideas, your pictures adn suggestions. I have gift of hospitality and love to glean new ideas and appreciate the work you put into sharing them with us. Do not get discouraged. As my first Pastor’s wife taught me when stepping into women’s ministry. Put on tough skin but keep a tender heart.
In Him,
Joan
Tough skin and a tender heart. Love that. I’ve always remembered and have taught my own kids: Hurt people hurt people. Thanks for sharing, Joan!
ummmmm, bright and colorful and cheery as opposed to what? Dull and drab! Haha!! I love your tablescapes and always think they are beautiful and simple. I never buy asparagus unless it’s on sale, ideally under $2 a pound, but definitely not over $3.
I really want to get more creative with tablescapes. I just haven’t done it, and who knows if I will, but it doesn’t stop me from appreciating and admiring someone elses and being okay with the fact that I don’t do it.
I too love the Dollar Store, Goodwill and yard sales. There’s some awesome stuff out there if we just look.
I love sharing all my Dollar Store “finds” with others, too. For parties, showers, dinners, etc. I agree about the asparagus. It’s got to be a good deal. :)
I have to think that she must have been a new visitor to your blog as you have always posted about using what you have to make entertaining beautiful. I am with you about brights when I think festive I think bright and cheery.
I hope you had a wonderful Mother’s Day and thanks for your wonderful blog. I am in the process of re-reading your book. I am a little slow in the letting go of perfection part. Smile.
Ah, thanks Elizabeth. I agree – probably a new reader. Or maybe not a reader. HA.
Hope you had a fantastic Mother’s Day!
Love the centerpiece!
Love YOU and all the Mennonite Girls …
Odd that someone objected to your colorful table and the cost of asparagas. I just can’t imagine that either would bother them enough to say so. Oh well.
Meanwhile, our dining table is an antique and with the extensions it is long and narrow (narrower that most). I don’t usually have a lot of room for a centerpiece. I have adapted your idea of little individual decorations, like a flower in a tiny glass, set at each place. The most fun was using some of my antique glass toothpick holders as vases – making each little boquet different.
Keep up the good work Sandy. Just don’t spend too much money on your veggies, LOL!
Darla
Ha! Veggies are coming out of the garden in the new few months! Yay!
When I have a larger group, and we use the folding tables – they are narrow, too. I actually really like that look. Very low-line and simple :)
Sandy, I may rarely comment, but I love how you use inexpensive things – or things you already have – to make your home beautiful and welcoming. It’s inspiring to me, and I’m thankful you share what you know and love!
Thanks Mary. And I also love your “giving up on perfect” message on your blog. Very inspiring and encouraging to others! :)
People are weird and it’s hard to figure out what they are trying to gain by being so negative but it’s their loss because your ideas are fabulous and frugal. That’s what I love about you.
My recent centerpiece is simple some fake flowers (that look really real) stuck in a metal bucket that’s filled with marbles to keep the flowers from shifting. It’s simply yet pretty. Actually RIGHT NOW my table centerpiece if flowers that my boys bought me for Mother’s Day but when they are gone the fake ones will go back into place. I love real flowers but when you can’t have them for some reason really looking fake ones are my best bet.
Have a blessed day Sandy.
Ah, sweet your boys brought you flowers. Kim, you’re a long-time reader of RE so you get “frugal and beautiful.” Thanks for your years of support! :)
Love the look of this table. So…. warm and so inviting.
Certainly I’ll adopt the idea. It will be a novelty for the family.
Thank you for sharing.
Thanks Julia. It’s really practical when you consider you’ll be eating the fruit and hopefully picking a few flowers from your yard :) Send me a picture :)
LOVE that tablescape! It’s always hard to hear a not-so-nice comment. I’m not quite sure what is gained from them. I regret that I didn’t take pictures of the table for my the Mother’s Day dinner I made for my mom. We ate on our porch, and it was lovely. I used stuff I had around the house as well. I also love the dollar store! My husband and I are also celebrating 20 years of marriage in June…June 22! Hope you had a great Mother’s Day!
Blessings,
Christy
Christy, my husband and I are celebrating 20 years in June, too!
We are so blessed.
I wish you would have taken a pix of your Mother’s Day table, too! I bet it was beautiful.
:)
Sandy…well lucky for us, you do set a cheery table and you pass your frugal, yet classy ideas on to the rest of us who love you and appreciate the time and effort it takes for you to blog about a real home and good old fashioned hospitality. Chinny up! I just made a long daisy chain with scraps of paper and old string from Grammy. It didn’t cost a dime and it is so cheery. Who can’t smile at the sight of a daisy chain…and the summer memories they bring to mind. Xo
Thanks, Lisa. I love that … Chinny up!
It’s up! I love encouraging hospitality and getting people together. The mission of RE!
Thanks for sharing!