I enjoyed doing some tabletop decorating last week and I combined two different decorating styles in my table setting. I love the look of fragile crystal and goldware mixed with chunky pottery, natural grapevine napkin rings and woven baskets. “Elegance meets Rustic” and “opposites, do indeed attract” (; … as this duo is lovely together and the contrast of styles makes a cozy woodland tablescape.To make the woodland centerpiece I took the plastic covering off of 2 blocks of floral foam and hot glued them into the bottom of a woven basket I had. Then I began filling the basket with a collection of grasses, cattails, pine cone floral stems, pheasant feathers and birch twigs I had “amassed” over the years. The tallest part of any arrangement should be in the center, so after anchoring my tallest pieces I began “fanning down” both sides from the center of the arrangement, inserting my filler into the florist foam. The last addition and focal point I added to the arrangement was a metal art piece … a copper stag among metal fir trees. For my place settings I used pieces of vintage Hull and Pfaltzgraff pottery, a treasure that Richard found and bought for me at an auction he went to with his brother, Bob. The dishes are a sweet remembrance for both of us since Bob passed away this past October. <3 The pattern on this stoneware is known as “Brown Drip” pattern, a favorite of both the Hull and Pfaltzgraff Stoneware Companies during the 1930’s.These simple, rustic napkin rings are made using mini-grapevine wreaths. I downloaded my free woodland tags from Decorator’s Notebook by Bethan John. After printing and cutting out my tags, I punched a hole in each tag using a standard hole punch. Then I inserted a moss-green satin ribbon into the hole of each tag and tied the ribbon into a bow to the grapevine, making sure the tag was facing out as I pulled my knot of the bow, tight.I love these darling little bean pots and keep collecting them whenever I see them at antique stores. They look charming holding BBQ beans for autumn wiener roasts … filled with Chili con Carne on cold winter evenings … brimming with Stuffed Pepper Soup on breezy Spring picnics … or in the summer, filled with colorful Cajun Beans (recipe coming at a later date!) alongside grilled steaks! Crystal glasses and little goblets from Germany are etched with grapevines and are rimmed in gold and have golden bases. I love the look of the fragile crystal contrasting with the heavy pottery and the comparison makes the crystal seem even more delicate. And this hand painted canoe makes a darling caddy for sweeteners!A mixture of metals … the copper stag and the goldware add gleam to all the forest browns, moss greens and the deep brown dishes. For a final touch of coziness, I added this little lamp that looks like it was made for my woodland tablescape! The golden lampshade matches the carved canoe and also highlights the goldware and golden goblets while the dark silhouettes of the spruce trees and moose on the lamp shade adds more “depth” to my rustic theme.You know how I love using every day objects in unusual ways?! I pulled Richard’s cashmere muffler from the closet and thought it made the perfect table runner for my woodland tablescape! The softness of the muffler contrasted with the rough basket centerpiece and it’s color … the same browns and moss-green colors found in the forest!Juxtaposition/definition by Merriam-Webster: the act or an instance of placing two or more things side by side often to compare or contrast or to create an interesting effect. Hmmm … crystal next to pottery, textured, woven centerpiece sitting atop soft, luxurious cashmere, and rustic grapevines mixed with elegant goldware??? I love juxtaposition decorating! (:P.S. We saw 2 Bald Eagles, yesterday!!! Neither Richard or I had ever seen one except in books or film! Then, we saw 2 in one day! The first eagle we saw around noon just nonchalantly sitting in a tree and the second one we saw in a totally different area, near sunset, also perched in the top of a huge Sycamore Tree. After our second Bald Eagle flew off, our “Blue, Super Moon” was just begin to rise and it was gorgeous! I couldn’t help but think of the scripture I had just read that morning …“Praise the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, you are very great; you are clothed with splendor and majesty. He wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches out the heavens like a tent and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters. He makes the clouds his chariot and rides on the wings of the wind.” Psalms 104:1-3
From my cottage to yours ~ TrendaThank you for reading my blog! To have all my posts delivered to your email address, just click FOLLOW in my post above .. or click on my site: cottagegreenonthelake.com
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I’m joining Chloe Crabtree with Celebrate & Decorate
Carol from The Red Painted Wagon
“I’ll have a blue Christmas without you …”
“Here we come a-wassailing …”
“Daddy, how does this thing fly?”
“And a hundred other where’s and whys …”
 “When you look down in those trusting eyes that look to you, you realize …”
Do you ever stop to think or wonder why? The nearest thing to Heaven is a child
  Oh, I hope you enjoyed seeing our Christmas at Cottage Green and I hope you had a wonderful, blessed Christmas filled with moments that will warm your heart throughout the year. Our grand daughter told me, “Grandma, I’m sad Christmas is over” … I’m sad Christmas is over, too, but I promised God I am keeping Christmas in my heart, all year long! <3
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 I bought a package of these little boxes at Hobby Lobby on the party aisle where the crepe paper and favor bags are.  They are called Gable boxes and they come 12 to a package for only $3.99. (Download the Hobby Lobby App to get 40 percent off  on one regular priced, that can be used each time you shop at Hobby Lobby!) Using my Recollection tag die-cutter, I punched out tags from stock card in a variety of Spring colors and stamped them with bird nests, “For You” and a filigree frame (I wrote each guest’s name inside the frame) and used my hole puncher to punch a hole in each colored tag. Then, I filled each favor box with a fine sparkly shredded grass, nestled in some individually wrapped chocolates, tied a ribbon around each box and added a “set” of tags (1 of each … a bird nest tag, a “For You” tag and a filigree frame with the guest’s name on it) and tied them on to the ribbon of each favor.
“Tra la! It’s May! The lusty month of May!” Vanessa Redgrave sang in the Broadway musical, CAMELOT. The charming but now archaic definition of lusty, according to Merriam-Webster is merry and joyous.  Looking out our open screen door to blue skies and hearing the birds joyously “tra-la’ing” as they go merrily about picking up choice “bits and pieces” to line and feather their nests, it is definitely “the lusty month of May!”  The month of May is filled with promise, celebrations and events. One of the preparations I enjoy the most before any holiday or get together is getting the table ready and “dressed” for the occasion. Look at these darling place cards I made with matching grapevine napkin rings; perfect for a woodland theme Bridal shower, a Spring Tea Party or Mother’s Day Brunch!
All right, we’re off! First stop … The Secret Garden. The first time our daughter saw this forgotten garden she was only 9 years old. In excitement she breathlessly told me, “Mommy, I found the Secret Garden!” (: We’ve called it “The Secret Garden” ever since. <3 These yellow roses rambling over a beautiful wrought iron fence are the more common variety of the Lady Banks Rose … and still reflect the hands that once planted and cared for them.
Gorgeous grape-like clusters of Wisteria dangle from the tangled vines within “The Secret Garden.”
Azalea Majestic’s bright magenta buds, blossoms and green foliage contrast beautifully with the texture of the rough landscaping bark.
It’s time to head home. Hope you are enjoying some beautiful weather where you are, even if it is only February! If you are still in the “throes of winter” … I hope these pictures will remind you that Spring is “right around the corner” and soon you will be seeing “adorably lovely Robins” showing off in your own backyard! (:
“Love is patient, love is kind …”
Later, as I drifted off to sleep, the last lines of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem, “Under A Spreading Chestnut Tree” came to mind.
Presuming it will freeze tonight, I gazed a little sadly at our still blooming Encore azaleas, roses, begonias, impatiens, coleus, and ferns. However, Richard (forever surprising me) brought in one last winter rosebud he found blooming in our yard, put it in an antique vase that belonged to my grandmother, and set it on my vanity, where I happily discovered “it” after I showered! (imagine a picture of a heart, here!)
Getting ready for “winter-on-the-lake” comes with a long to-do list … filling bird feeders, decorating the outside of the house with Christmas decorations, putting the potted begonias and impatiens away in their winter residence -our cedar greenhouse (: and last, covering the boat and draining our sprinkler system (which our son came over and helped his father with. PLUS … he also helped his father with our latest DIY project, the remodeling of our upstairs bathroom (pictures upon completion!)
