Chickadee Home Nest: crystal trees

Showing posts with label crystal trees. Show all posts

Monday, January 2, 2012

Winter Dinner 'Scape

Thank you for visiting, and best wishes to you in the new year. Emily, at Chatting at the Sky, has one of my favorite blogs She had a lovely post about a new year and the gift that it offers us all. Here's the link to her post...I hope it will bring a new perspective to you.

Our New Year's Eve was a quiet affair at our house--by design--but that didn't keep us from enjoying a nice dinner with my mother's company. At midnight we headed out to our sons' restaurant, to welcome the new year with them, so we DID stay up!

I'm calling the post a Winter Dinner 'Scape because I think this table (except for the Santa hat on
the rosemary bush on the baby's highchair in the corner :) ) would work through the cold winter months.

The crystal trees were a gift from my mother years ago. Still love them, still put them out every year.
You don't see these very often anymore--have you seen them at stores in the last few years?
I found some GORGEOUS ones at a local boutique--handblown, seeded crystal, about $200 each. Ouch.
But I'd love to bring them home too!
Tablesetting:
Lenox Eternal dishes
Silverplate chargers I've had for many years
Napking rings were a gift from my youngest son--he bought them at Bombay! That's a well-trained
son who knows to shop at Bombay for Mom! :)
The silverware is Oneida King James silverplate
Water goblets are Shannon crystal, Sutton Place
Wine goblets are Pristine, by Reizart, discontinued long ago. I've had a love affair with
this crystal for many years...It's paper thin and has a beautiful, clear quality
Tablecloth and napkins are vintage damask with a lovely feel to them. I'm pretty sure
that was a Mom gift too.
Placemats are embroidered organza.

And the holly sprig? It's real...from our yard.

Waterford Lismore pitcher

I used a mix of candle holders--sterling, cut crystal, Depression/pressed glass, and pewter.
I bought the beaded garland several years ago at Pier 1--I haven't seen them around for a while,
but they lend beautiful texture, as do the silvery pinecones.
The tree sits on a "slice" of our Christmas tree trunk, as I described
in this POST.

One final view.

May you have any happy, warm family dinners this year.
From my nest to yours~ Zuni

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I will be joining these fun parties; please stop by to see all the great things there!

House in Roses Show Off Your Cottage Monday at http://houseinroses.blogspot.com/

Amaze Me Monday at http://dittledattle.blogspot.com/

Metamorphosis Monday at http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

Motivate Me Monday @ Keeping It Simple

Newbie Party on Monday at http://debbie-debbiedoos.blogspot.com/

Tabletop Tuesday at http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com/

Wow Us Wednesdays at http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/

Mrs. Hines’ Wednesday Show & Tell at http://www.linkytools.com/wordpress_list.aspx?id=120723&type=thumbnail

Tablescape Thursday at http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

Open House Party Thursday http://nominimalisthere.blogspot.com

Feathered Nest Friday at http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/

Potpourri Friday at http://twenty-eight-0-five.blogspot.com/

Inspiration Friday at http://www.atthepicketfence.com

Show and Tell Friday at http://romantichome.blogspot.com/

Five Minutes Just for Me at http://5minutesjustforme.blogspot.com

In and Out of My Nest’s Saturday weekend party at http://inandoutmynest.blogspot.com/2011/12/r-r-weekend-party_29.html?showComment=1325569309720#c8749613812899918207

Seasonal Sunday at http://thetablescaper.blogspot.com/

Homemaker on a Dime, Sunday at http://www.homemakeronadime.com/p/link-parties.html

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

China Cabinet Metamorphosis to Christmas

One of my favorite things to do while playing house is to change the china cabinet. Now that it's December, it's time to shift from the fall decorations (HERE) to Christmas. But this year I had special reason to get it done, and here it is!

Chickadee dishes!!

I had been thinking about "winter" dishes (I already have the Lenox Holiday china--that's another post :) )

but I felt like "we" needed casual winter dishes (now, do you think the other half of "we" thought we needed more dishes?) While at TJ Maxx recently I spotted ONE little bowl waaayyy under a display of pots and pans (I think--I was too excited to notice!). I scoured the store

for the rest, but only found one more bowl

and

a prize:

These chubby guys--salt & pepper shakers.
They needed a home, and don't you think
Chickadee Home Nest
is the perfect place for them?

I LOVE the hunt. Can I find what I need?

The happy answer, after many calls for a couple of days, is

YES!!!

So here is the transformation, from fall to Christmas.

I didn't want to go too fancy; I wanted a woodland, casual feel, so I gathered lots of natural elements:
nests, pinecones (okay, some are silver and glittery), a grapevine sleigh my youngest son bought
for "Mommy" when he was very young.
But I also wanted contrast, so I added reds and whites, and silver, to complement the colors of the dishes.

I made this centerpiece several years ago, but it usually goes on the piano or the dining room table. I'd never
used it on the china cabinet, but it seemed the perfect addition to the chickadee/nature scene.

And guess who made himself right at home, right out of the Christmas decorations?

The pinecones are lit with the nifty battery-operated LED lights with a timer that I wrote
about HERE.

Let's peak inside for some of the details.

PB goblets from a couple of years ago.

You might recognize the arrangement in the red votive. It's one of two that I made last Christmas.
I used the other one in my Pomander Tutorial (HERE).
The sweet nest is a gift from DH. He put it in the tree a few Christmases ago with
a very special gift in it.

The silver Revere bowl holds a PB candle that I'll probably never burn--do you do that too? Buy a candle and not burn it because it's too pretty?
Next to it is another favorite Christmas decoration:
One of my real goose feather trees.

And here they are again. Can you see that the rim is raised and nubby and textured like a real branch?
My crystal trees were a gift from my mother many years ago. Love and cherish them too.