Wednesday, 14 September 2011

Sneaking in One Last Summer Tablescape: Welcome to the 160th Tablescape Thursday!

If you've been reading BNOTP for very long, you know I love summertime. I'm always a bit sad to see it go.



Since the first day of fall is still a little over a week away, I wanted to share one last summertime table setting here on the porch.



I had fun creating the centerpiece.  It's carved from a small watermelon.






The inspiration for the centerpiece came from watermelon napkin rings I found while antiquing over a year ago.



Cabbage leaf salad plates work well with this summer themed table setting.



For chargers, I'm using platters in a watermelon motif.  These were a find at 50% off at Old Time Pottery two years ago.  This is the first time I've used them in a table setting for Tablescape Thursday.





Can you tell what shape I carved the watermelon centerpiece in this overhead shot?



Here's a view prior to it being filled with fruit.  He's a sassy little whale and his tail is flipped up over his back.    I saw this years ago in one of my recipe books and I've been itching to give it a try.  It was much easier to carve than I expected it to be...much easier than carving a pumpkin.



This centerpiece is perfect for a summer party.   It would be great as one of the appetizers for a cookout or as a centerpiece on a buffet table for a large gathering.  If you're expecting a lot of guests, you'll probably want to purchase a larger watermelon than the one I used here.



I know we're at the end of summer, but if you're interested I'll post a tutorial showing how to carve this centerpiece.  You'll be all ready when next summer rolls around.  Update:  Here's the tutorial for carving this Watermelon Centerpiece.



I placed the centerpiece atop a pedestal for a little extra height.  Magnolia worked well to camouflage the base of the pedestal.



I filled Mr. Whale with some of my favorite fruits:  Strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, grapes and of course watermelon.  I just realized I forgot to put in the fresh pineapple I cut up.  lol  Okay, just imagine pieces of bright yellow pineapple tucked in among the berries and grapes.



Update:  A photo with the pineapple added. :)


The stem of the watermelon became the whale's nose. :)   If you like, you can poke a little hole in the top of Mr. Whale's head and add a sprig of dried flowers for his water spout.



I love the color of the seed pods on the magnolia this time of year...such a pretty red.  Do you see it there on the lower left of this picture?



A view down the length of the table...



Let me know if you would like a tutorial for carving this "whale of a centerpiece."



I guess it almost time to say hello to fall.  I can't fight it forever, can I? ;)




You'll find another tablescape using similar "chargers" in a corn shape instead of watermelon, by clicking HERE.  Click on the category Tablescapes/Napkin Folds/Recipes at the top of this blog to view tablescapes for all seasons and holidays.

Watermelon Carving Tutorial can be found HERE.

Resources:
Chargers:  Watermelon Platters, Old Time Pottery
Dinner Plate:  Lenox, Butler's Pantry, Gourmet
Salad Plate:  Bordallo Pinheiro, HomeGoods and Ross
Napkin Rings: Found antiquing a year ago
Flatware:  Gourmet Settings, Trebel Clef, HomeGoods 2-3 years ago
Stemware: Mikasa, 1 year ago
Candlesticks:  Hobby Lobby, 3 years ago
Candles:  Colonial Candle


Looking forward to your beautiful tablescapes!

To receive the latest posts, as well as updates about blog parties, subscribe via an RSS Reader or have BNOTP delivered right to your Inbox.  You'll find links to subscribe via RSS and Email on the sidebar to the right.  Thanks for reading; so glad you are here!

Reading this post via e-mail or RSS feed?
*If you are reading this via email or RSS feed, to view all the tablescapes linked for Tablescape Thursday, click HERE.


Please Read:
If you are participating in Tablescape Thursday, please be sure to add your permalink below, and not your general blog address. To get your permalink, click on your post name, then just copy and paste the address that shows up in the address bar, into the "url" box when you link up.

If you would like to use the Tablescape Thursday logo button in your post, just copy and paste it to your computer and upload it to your post as you would any photo. Or, grab the html code you'll find under the "Join a Party" heading at the top of this blog.

Please link back to the party so your regular readers will find all your fellow Blogger's tablescapes, too.

Please, don't add your post name/blog name ALL IN CAPS...it tends to create big spaces between the rows of links. Thanks!

Let's try something fun today! Please visit the person who linked before you and after you...that way everyone will get some visits. Hope you'll visit more, of course.


Welcome! Thanks for coming to the party!

No comments:

Post a Comment