"Pretty Summer Tablesettings".......

#1-Welcome to my table!....With this setting I have used a piece of scrapbooking paper as a placemat, a dishtowel for a napkin( a new one!), & twine & a packing label as my placecard!....This is my everyday "white ironstone", a jelly jar is serving as a votive cup & I stole the crock of hydrangeas from my living room end table!...The feeling is warm, inviting, especially when faux raspberries are scattered about!


Hello Friends, I hope you have all enjoyed the start of a new week!.....As promised in my July newsletter, "Living Little" with Heidi..... I am posting tonight about pretty "summer tablesettings"!......I am a few days "tardy" posting, since our days have been overtaken with warm weather activities, so please forgive me!......As I mentioned in my newsletter, I LOVE setting beautiful tables!...Now this doesn't mean fancy, expensive tablesettings, but instead "everyday" ones that are simple & easy to put together!....These are lovely settings that are meant for your daily meals! Afterall we all know that food tastes much better when you use cloth napkins & dine by candlelight!

Tonight I am sharing with you a few of my favorite "tablesetting ideas"!...I have photographed 3 placesettings that are very typical of what I enjoy doing!...& remember my "Living Little" philosophy, these are all ideas that take very little time, space or money! So what could be better! My hope is to inspire & share what has worked for me!...."Happy Tablesetting All"!......All my best!....Heidi XO

Here is a closer peek at my blue/white dishtowel napkins!...Dishtowels are wonderful to use, since they are large, absorbent & always made in the most lovely checks & plaids!....& the added bonus is this...after you use them for a time as napkins, they can be repurposed as true dishtowels!.....

#2- With this placesetting, I borrowed a piece of "ticking fabric" from my sewing room to use as a placemat.......I also decided one of my antique mixing bowls filled with ripe tomatoes would be a lovely centerpiece, along with a pitcher of bright pink geraniums!...and sometimes the meal you have planned requires just a "single fork", so why wash anything more!

#3- With this third placesetting, I used another piece of scrapbooking paper in a pretty yellow/brown print under my white ironstone plate. I also thought adding a brown transferware salad plate was a simple way to dress it all up a bit!...I also used a combination of silverware, which is always "proper" & much more interesting than a set!....Another idea is to use a couple different flowers together on your table....I thought a pitcher of soft yellow roses, along with my white hydrangeas would give a nice touch to my table!... Bringing in this twig container, filed with dried lavendar & a chunky candle adds such a fabulous scent!....And tucking in a little shell box ( a small wood box that I adorned with gluing shells to the lid), along with a tiny shell placecard holder (given to me through a dear swap partner) displaying "XO", reminds us of the summer season we are all enjoying!

One last hint is this.....Especially when temperatures are warm, bring to the table an extra container of whatever it is you are drinking!....I just recently found at IKEA, these syrup bottles that are the perfect size to place next to each person's placesetting, offering a refill without having to get up from the table!.....They are very inexpensive & look so charming!