A Casual Summertime Tablescape

 Hey there!  I told you I would try to get this post out last week.  Well, life got in the way again but for a good reason this time.  I have a new grandson!  And he is adorable!  We are over-the-moon happy!  His birth was somewhat of an emergency situation, so my mind was elsewhere last week, and I wasn’t able to make good on my sincere effort to get my post out.  Things are still very busy, but I am finally here to share with you today.  

To begin, I was given some pretty plastic strawberry-themed dishware by my daughter, Brittany, the new mom, back in the spring and I thought it would be beautiful in a tablescape.  I purchased a few larger plates as the season went on and included them, as well.

Another part of the tablescape that I included were mini-individual flower arrangements for each table setting.  I originally was going to incorporate arrangements made in soda bottle caps.  I discovered these arrangements on Pinterest and was intrigued by the idea but found the bottle cap to be too small to really make an arrangement that would look right and would have stability on the table.  I ended up using containers I found at The Dollar Store. More to come on these arrangements in another post in the future.

I am lucky to have a large deck right off of the kitchen which makes entertaining very easy. This tablescape is meant to be casual, almost spur-of-the-moment.  I used items and elements available to me from my home and from my yard.

                                       The elements I used in this tablescape are:

                                                  (4) Gray Round Placemats
                                                  (4) Salad Sized Strawberry-themed Plastic Plates
                                                  (4) Bread Sized Strawberry-themed Plastic Plates
                                                  (4) Small Strawberry-themed Bowls
                                                  (4) Pink Plastic Cups
                                                  Silver Plastic Silverware
                                                  (4) Individual Flower Arrangements 

The table we have on the deck is a round table so round placements look best I have found.  I used rectangular ones just because I had them and they were handy but round placemats most definitely look the best.  I started the tablescape by placing the gray placemats down first.  Next, I layered the plates...large, small and then the bowl.  Then came the silverware, the glasses and finally the mini arrangements.  That was it!  Very easy!

Here is a closer look at the place setting.  The pink plastic glasses went perfectly with the look.

The plastic silverware was from The Dollar Store also. I thought it went well with all the other elements.

It was an economical and quick addition to the tablescape.

Having already filled the deck area with flowers and plants also helped when setting up for a casual gathering and tablescape.  Half the work is done if you have made the space pleasant to look at already.  It also means you don't have to fuss with much other than the table and the menu.

Offering colorful food creations can also add texture and interest to the tablescape.

Aside from forgetting napkins, I think this casual summertime tablescape works well for last-minute occasions or even planned ones.  (I will include napkins somewhere in the tablescape next time 😀.) This set up is probably too fancy for when my husband is working from home and one of the kids drops by for lunch but, I think it would look lovely if a group of ladies were to stop by.  

This tablescape works well for me as a go-to for the summer.  I think it is always good to have a plan in place, just in case.

As I said earlier in this post, I want to explore these little individual arrangements further.  I would like to tell you what worked and what didn't so, be looking for a post on that coming soon.  

In the meantime, the ones I had made turned out to make a cute centerpiece for the round table.  They created a circle arrangement around the umbrella pole.

Thank you for being patient with me as I have been going through my recent life issues.  I will do my best to be more consistent in my posting in the future.

Until next time,

ENJOY!!!

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