Happy Wednesday! I am so excited today to be participating in Swap It Like It’s Hot! This is my second time joining in this flea market swap, and it’s always so fun! (You can read about my first time, and see what I created here.) And thank you so much to Charlotte of Ciburbanity for organizing this madness!
If you are hopping over here from Windgate Lane, welcome! Bee of Windgate Lane is the one who sent me my items, and I LOOOOVED them so much! She nailed it! I didn’t even really do much to them as you will soon see.
So I apparently didn’t take pictures of my items fresh out of the box…. OOPS! But I didn’t really alter the either, so it won’t be hard to use your imagination. Bee sent me a fabulous pewter and brass urn, and a set of place card napkin rings with spaces for photos.
I wasn’t sure what I would do with them, but when I was out shopping in downtown Frederick one day, inspiration struck. I headed into Silk & Burlap, and found the most beautiful linen table runner, handprinted in Australia. (Fyi, they carry the pillow version online). The runner had my favorite blues, as well as purple which was outside my comfort zone, but I thought would be a fun touch for Spring in the dining room. It was a splurge for me, around $60, but sometimes those individual splurges can really take up the level of an otherwise entirely thrifted and inexpensive vignette.
So now let’s take a look at how it all looks put together, with dishes I already had on hand, paper napkins I had on hand, a $3 grocery store hyacinth, thrifted candlesticks, and a little DIY touch.
If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you know that my kitchen and dining room feature lots of blues, so this tablescape was a natural no-brainer for me.
I love how it works with the room as it is, but brings in the colors and spirit of Spring. (Now I am just waiting for the spirit of Spring to show up outside).
The dishes and runner bring in the blues from the fabulous Lacefield curtains. And Emmy’s self portrait watches us from the window as we eat.
Can you believe this beautiful pink hyacinth was only $3 at Safeway?!?! And it fit perfectly into the urn Bee sent me!
I was lucky to find these candlesticks out thrifting for just $6 for the pair!
The bowls on the table are a combination of bowls from West Elm, and another downtown Frederick shop, Relish Decor. I love the mix and match bowls. They all carry the blues, and are the same size, so they work perfectly together. And again, they are all affordable. The West Elm bowls are just $6 each, and the Relish bowls were a gift, but I believe similarly priced, maybe $8 each.
Now, you’ve caught a little glimpse of my DIY by now. To fill the place card napkin rings I was sent, I decided to draw inspiration from the runner, and created little watercolor “paintings”. I borrowed watercolor paper from Emmy, and pulled out an old set of watercolor pencils I have, and drew away. Then with a cup of water and a small brush, I gave them a more watercolor look. I am no artist, but I was happy with the overall effect.
Using the runner as my guide, I drew butterflies, flowers, and added dragonflies. (And I just love the tarnished look of these!)
The plates are our every day plates, and they are from Ikea, so you know they are affordable!
One other “splurge” item on this table is the Wallace Peacock Flatware Set
I love how this table came together with just two splurges, and so many steals! The elegance of the runner and the flatware really bring the entire table to a more luxurious feel, even though most of the items are in the $3-10 dollar range.
Now head on over to Queen of Everything to see what see what thrifted items I sent along to Heather and what she created! I can’t wait to see what she came up with!!!!
Be sure to check out everyone else this week, too!
Day 1
Run to Radiance
Decor Adventures
Year of Serendipity
58 Water Street
Don’t Disturb This Groove
Like a Saturday
Artsy Chicks Rule
Day 2
Two Purple Couches
While They Snooze
The Gathered Home
Black and White Obsession
Ciburbanity
Restoration Redoux
Confessions of aSerial Do-it-Yourselfer
Day 3
Primitive & Proper
Queen of Everything
That’s My Letter
Finding Silver Pennies
Migonis Home
Windgate Lane
Day 4
I Am a Homemaker
Town and Country Living
Thoughts from Alice
Our Southern Home
Chic Little House
SG Style
Two Thirty~Five Designs
Day 5
Gourley Girl & Guy
The Thinking Closet
The Charming Farmer
2 Little Superheroes
Shades of Blue Interiors
Live Pretty on a Penny
This post contains one little affiliate link (the silverware)… the rest is all just stuff I love and wanted to share, too!
I am sharing this post here: Inspiration Gallery, Catch As Catch Can, Best of the Nest
