Ketchup with a Summer Picnic Tablescape

June 04, 2025 by Beth Wilson in Tablescapes

Summer will be here soon so I decided that it was time for a picnic themed tablescape. I have done this theme a few times before but this one is a bit different. (You can see my other picnic themed tablescapes and 270+ other tablescapes that I have done on my blog here: https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/tablescapes .) The process started with me finding these small hamburger plates and then I wondered if I would be able to find a hamburger cookie jar and hamburger napkin rings as well, and as you can see, my search was successful. One of the parts of tablescaping that I love is the hunt for the perfect item to add to a table’s theme. I am a retired librarian and I love research and looking for things online. The red cotton gingham tablecloth came from Amazon last year. Red gingham always makes me think of picnics!

These ceramic hamburger shaped small appetizer or tidbit plates came from World Market online. As soon as I saw them while I was browsing the World Market site online, I knew that there was a picnic themed tablescape in my future. I had to buy them. I love the graphics, they include all the necessary food elements for a good hamburger!

Often when I add a small appetizer sized plate to a plate stack I end up with an extra plate on the stack because of the size differences. The stack looks better with plates that are gradually larger from the top to the bottom. I added one of our Fiesta luncheon plates in the color Scarlet to this plate stack. We bought them to use as every day dishes when we remodeled our kitchen several years ago, probably at Macy’s.

Next on this plate stack is another Fiesta plate in their dinner size and in the color Shamrock. This color has been discontinued but you can find it on the secondary market online from time to time. I probably bought them at Everything Kitchens online several years ago or on the Fiesta web site.

This is a Color Spectrum charger by Mikasa, the color is called Sun Yellow. I bought these chargers on Ebay a few at a time over the years because I loved the quality and the colors that were available. They are discontinued now but you can find them on the secondary market sometimes. I have them in several colors now.

I love this plate stack because the colors of the plates match the colors on the hamburger plate. I was trying to decide what color plates to use and I was staring at the hamburger plate and the light bulb went on. Use the colors that are in the hamburger, and it works!

I tried green and then yellow flatware on this table setting but decided that this red flatware set was a better choice. The set is called Milano Ginkgo LePrix. Le Prix was first created for Ginkgo in the late 1970’s in a small village in Southern France. I have had this set for many years but it is still for sale. Not sure where I bought it, if you google it you can find it. I have it in a few other colors as well now. I like to use it on my more informal tablescapes. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying flatware here.

I can’t remember where i bought these red cotton napkins, I have had them for several years now. I found this vintage set of ceramic hamburger napkin rings on Etsy. I just love them! The colors match the colors on the plate stack. I have such a weakness for napkin rings and place card holders. I have a huge collection. I am currently trying to finish my inventory of them, counting them, taking photos, and getting that information into folders on my computer so that I know what I have. To read about the What, When and How of napkin rings please click here.

These stretchy rubber hamburger toys that I am using as place card holders on this tablescape make me laugh. I found them at Oriental Trading online. Each hamburger came with the bun divided in half and then the five different hamburger parts all each divided by plastic so I basically put each hamburger together. Each one included separate lettuce, meat, cheese, tomato, and a pickle. Would be a fun toy for a child too when they get old enough not to put things in their mouth. To read about the What, How and When of place card holders, please click here.

I set the hamburgers on a red plastic napkin ring that I have to make them a bit taller.

I can’t remember where these red plastic cup goblets came from. I love using them on my picnic themed tablescapes. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying goblets for your tablescaping collection including the colors that I use most often here.

I found this ceramic hamburger cookie jar at Mercari online. I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to find just what I was looking for to use as a centerpiece on this tablescape. I love it, especially the pickle handle on the top. The cookie jar is sitting on a red Rhodes stoneware drink dispenser stand from Pottery Barn. I bought these stands in a few colors several years ago to use when I need to add height to a centerpiece.

These ceramic condiment containers came from Williams Sonoma several years ago but I think I bought them on Ebay maybe.

Will be time for a summer picnic soon if our weather ever warms up! Southern California has had a really cool Spring so far.

To see over 270 different tablescapes that I have created please click here. If you are on Facebook, join my Table Settings and Tablescape Ideas Facebook group (4,000+ members) for lots of tablescaping inspiration! Just click on the Facebook Search box at the top of the page and type in Table Settings and Tablescape Ideas or click here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2553689988183392

If you live in Southern California join our Facebook tablescaping group Southern California Tablescapers BTS Group. https://www.facebook.com/groups/440356398581157 . We had a gathering in January 2025 and we plan to have others as well.

Don’t miss the Tablescape How-To tab at the top of my blog for DIY tips and tricks or click here: https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/tablescapehowto

I put a new tablescape on my blog every week, please check back!

A Cherrific Summer Tablescape

May 28, 2025 by Beth Wilson in Tablescapes

I have been thinking about a cherries themed tablescape for a few years now but I finally found everything that I wanted for it more or less. The cherries tablecloth came from Spoonflower online. Their tablecloths are still too expensive but I watch for sales and sometimes I will buy one even though they cost more than I would like to spend on a tablecloth. I have a large table and I set six place settings so I need a large tablecloth. This is the third fruit themed tablescape that I have done this month. You can see the other fruit themed tables and 270+ other tablescapes that I have created over the past several years on my blog here: https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/tablescapes .

I looked for a long time for a cherry themed salad plate with no luck until I found these. I bought these Oneida Majesticware Cherries Jubilee salad plates on Ebay. They were made circa 2003 to 2005. They show a bit more wear than I would like but they were the only cherry plates that I could find that I liked. I may keep looking for another design for cherry themed salad plates.

Here’s my old faithful, a Fiesta dinner plate in the color called Scarlet. I use it often on my tablescapes and it is our every day dish set. I love the true red bold color. We bought them several years ago when we remodeled our kitchen, probably at Macy’s.

I really can’t remember where I found these bright green resin chargers last year. They are a perfect match for the green on the tablecloth.

This green flatware set was a Mother’s Day present from Hubby. I love this flatware design. It is labeled Mepra Inox and the pattern is called Fantasia in Apple Green. The color is a bit brighter than this photo shows. This flatware comes in several other colors as well and it is difficult to find flatware sets in different colors so I have my eye on a few other colors when it goes on sale again. I now have this set in apple green, black, orange, yellow, tan, and blue. I have never seen a flatware set that comes in so many different colors. We googled the name and I can’t remember where we found the best price for this set and bought it. It is available on several sites online. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying flatware here.

I can’t remember where these red cotton napkins came from, I have had them for several years. These cherry napkin rings came from Ebay.

To read about the What, When and How of napkin rings please click here.

My daughter-in-law gave me these Kate Aspen Topiary Tree place card holders several years ago. I see them for sale online from time to time online on various sites. To read about the What, How and When of place card holders, please click here.

The green goblet on the left came from Macy’s a few years ago. The pattern was called Qualia Glass Meridian. I like the height and the beautiful green color. The red goblet on the right was labeled Cristalleria Fumo Italy. I found them at HomeGoods last year. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying goblets for your tablescaping collection including the colors that I use most often here.

I bought this white woven basket decorated with red cherries earlier this year and now I can’t remember where I found it. I did a google image search and it didn’t turn up either. I filled it with faux cherries that I bought on Amazon and I set it on a green drink dispenser stand that I bought at Pottery Barn several years ago to give it a bit more height.

These cherry candle holders came from HomeGoods a few months ago. I put one on each side of the centerpiece.

Time to buy some cherries!

If you live in Southern California join our Facebook tablescaping group Southern California Tablescapers BTS Group. https://www.facebook.com/groups/440356398581157 . We have 270+ members and continue to grow. We had a gathering in January 2025 and we plan to have others as well.

Don’t miss the Tablescape How-To tab at the top of my blog for DIY tips and tricks or click here: https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/tablescapehowto

I put a new tablescape on my blog every week, please check back!

A Berry Sweet Summer Tablescape

May 21, 2025 by Beth Wilson in Tablescapes

This is the third strawberry themed tablescape that I have done and posted and each one is a bit different than the other ones. I had planned to do a strawberry table this season and I was thinking about reposting the one that I did five years ago. I have new readers all the time and I sometimes repost old tablescapes again especially when life is busy or we are traveling. But I joined a vintage tablecloth group because I collected vintage tablecloths for a few years and I decided that I wanted to use one of my vintage strawberry tablecloths on this strawberry table setting. You can see my other strawberry themed tables as well as 270+ other tablescapes that I have created on my blog here: https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/tablescapes I found this vintage strawberry themed tablecloth on Ebay several years ago. It was made by Beauty Kraft and the design was called Strawberry Festival. Because vintage tablecloths are smaller than modern day tablecloths, I put this tablecloth over a plain white cotton tablecloth to cover the entire table.

I was planning to just use the salad plate that is under this strawberry plate on this tablescape but it just didn’t look right to me, it was too busy. The table needed more areas of solid red color so we found these ceramic strawberry appetizer plates at World Market online and Hubby went over and bought them for me. They just say World Market on the back. I thought that I had some larger melamine strawberry shaped plates but we couldn’t find them! I was going to just use this strawberry shaped appetizer plate on a green dinner plate and change the charger color to red but Hubby suggested just putting the strawberry shaped plate on top of the other strawberry plate and I like the way it looks.

I found these melamine strawberry salad plates at Sur La Table last year. I love strawberries, as my mother did, and they remind me of her so I love doing strawberry tablescapes. They also remind me of when my daughter was growing up, her friends called her Strawberry because of her auburn colored hair, and she collected anything strawberry for some time.

I picked my Fiesta dinner plates in the color called Scarlet to use on this tablescape. These are our every day dishes and I love the bright red color. We bought them probably at Macy’s when we remodeled our kitchen several years ago.

These chargers were made by Mikasa and the pattern was called Color Spectrum, this one in the color Hunter Green. I have several different colors of this charger and I really love the size, design, and shape. They were discontinued but I bought them all on Ebay a few at a time over the years as I saw them. One has to be patient when gathering tablescape matching items on the secondary market!

This Milano Red flatware is by Ginkgo International LePrix. Le Prix was first created for Ginkgo in the late 1970’s in a small village in Southern France. I have had this set for years but it is still for sale. Not sure where I bought it. I now have it in other colors as well. I like using this set on more informal tablescapes. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying flatware here. You can see the strawberry basket design that is on the tablecloth in this color. I love it!

I have had these red strawberry wood napkin rings for several years, I bought them on Ebay several years ago. I love these green cotton napkins. They belonged to my mother-in-law, and my sister-in-law recently gave them to me. I am so happy to have them and use them on my tablescapes! The camera makes the fabric look tweedy but it isn’t. It is a perfect green cotton. To read about the What, When and How of napkin rings please click here.

I was thinking about the baskets on this tablecloth and I suddenly remembered these tiny baskets that I bought a few years ago. I can’t remember where I bought them but if you google tiny basket, lots will pop up. I bought the miniature strawberries on Ebay. I buy miniature items from time to time to use on napkin rings and as place card holders and I love the way that these strawberries look in the tiny baskets. I often use a small item as a place card holder and then set it on something else, in this case a small red plastic circle place card holder. I can’t remember where I bought them. To read about the What, How and When of place card holders, please click here.

These red and green glass goblets came from The Vermont Country Store online. They are made in the United States by Mosser and the pattern is called Georgia. They are really heavy glass and they are very good quality. I have bought a few at a time over the years until I had the number that I needed. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying goblets for your tablescaping collection including the colors that I use most often here.

We took a long driving weekend up the Pacific Coast a few weeks ago and we were wandering around an antique mall in Cayucos and I suddenly saw this strawberry tureen. Of course, I had to have it! I knew it would make a perfect centerpiece on a strawberry themed tablescape. It was made by Temp-tations by Tara and the pattern was called Figural Fruit Strawberry. The pattern was made 2016-2017 but you can still find pieces online on the secondary market. I love the matching ladle! I set it on a small white plastic cake stand to make it a bit higher on the table.

This strawberry salt and pepper set came from HomeGoods a few years ago. The set was made by Arlington Designs.

I have had this small jam jar for a long time. It has a cute little spoon with a strawberry on it too. You can just see the tip of it. The jar is labeled MWW Market. It is a good match for the centerpiece strawberry tureen. I can’t remember where I bought it but it might have come from a wonderful gift shop near here that went out of business several years ago.

Time to buy some strawberries!

Don’t miss the Tablescape How-To tab at the top of my blog for DIY tips and tricks or click here: https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/tablescapehowto

I put a new tablescape on my blog every week, please check back!

This blog post was featured at The Cottage Market, https://thecottagemarket.com/ Please visit this blog, you will enjoy it!

Tulips on a Spring Tablescape

May 14, 2025 by Beth Wilson in Tablescapes

This tablescape theme idea started with these red tulip place card holders. I saw them and I thought that they were so cute but I passed them by. Then I started seeing tulip photos all over and I decided to create a tulip table. I circled back and bought them and then the hunt for tulip items was on! This Yanlin Spring Tulips Milliken Signature Tablecloth came from Wayfair online. I love the bold bright design. It came in other colors as well. You can see several of my earlier flowers themed tablescapes and all my 270+ other tablescapes that I have created on my blog here: https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/tablescapes . I also have written several blog posts about Tablescaping DIY and you can read them here: https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/tablescapehowto .

I found these Tulip Tyme Stoneware Collection salad plates on Ebay and Replacements online. The design was copyrighted in 1985 by JMP Marketing. I knew that I wanted to use red, yellow, and blue tulips on this table setting and these plates were perfect! They have more wear than I would like but it doesn’t show that much.

I am using my Fiesta Scarlet salad plates on this tablescape. They are our everyday dishes and I love the bright red color. We bought them when we remodeled our kitchen several years ago, the kitchen is red and white. I think the plates came from Macy’s.

The dinner plate is also made by Fiesta and the color is called Sunflower. I have this plate in several different colors because it is a great basic pattern to use on a plate stack. It may have come from Everything Kitchens online. They often have good prices on Fiesta plates.

This charger was made by Mikasa and it is called Color Spectrum in Royal Blue. I love this charger, it is heavy and a great color. I have this charger in several other colors as well. This charger was discontinued but I bought them all a few at a time on Ebay over several years.

This Milano Red flatware is Ginkgo International LePrix. Le Prix was first created for Ginkgo in the late 1970’s in a small village in Southern France. I have had this set for years but it is still for sale. Not sure where I bought it. I now have it in other colors as well. I like using the set on more informal tablescapes. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying flatware here.

I have had these red cotton napkins for many years and I can’t remember where they came from. I love the true red color. I found the yellow wood tulip napkin rings on Etsy online. I love it when I start looking for items to carry out a theme on a table and I find the perfect thing! To read about the What, When and How of napkin rings please click here.

This is what started the idea of the theme for this tablescape. I found these red ceramic tulip place card holders at World Market online. The yellow place cards came from Amazon. You can read my blog post for ideas about how to store napkin rings and place card holders here.

Hubby found the red glass goblets on the left at an estate sale several years ago. I think they are hand blown Iris Ruby Red Bubble Glass Goblets made by Artland. You can find them for sale online from time to time. It can be difficult to find yellow glass goblets that don’t have a gold tint to them so when I saw these yellow goblets on Etsy I immediately bought them a few years ago. I love the color and the size of them. I don’t know who made them or what the pattern is called but they are a good match for the red one. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying goblets for your tablescaping collection including the colors that I use most often here.

I decided to use my Fiesta Scarlet vase as a centerpiece on this tablescape. I can’t remember where I bought it online. I have had it for a while. I added faux red, yellow, and blue tulips to it that I bought on Amazon last month.