Annalee Easter-Tablescape Thursday

I told you in a past post about my collection of Annalee Dolls. I got my first one from my grandmother when I was a child and for several years they were something I couldn't get enough of. I rarely put them out for holidays anymore. But you know how it is...blogging makes us dig out all of our old treasures. They used to be very hard to find, but now I see them often at TJ Maxx and HomeGoods. Most of my Annalee's are Christmas related, but I have a few Easter ones that I thought I'd share with you today.

I thought carrot plates were well-suited to a table full of rabbits. The placemats and napkins are from Macy's. The flatware is my every day stainless. It is hard to see that there is a vintage crystal salad plate on top of the carrot plate. The carrot plates are the pattern Fresh Vegetables by Tabletops Unlimited. I found them and their siblings (tomato, eggplant and corn) in my in-laws garage on cleaning day. The crystal I've had several years.

Without the salad plate.

There is an Annalee duck all decked out in her Easter bonnet.

We also have the strawberry bunnies.

A little Annalee lamb is hiding under the tulips.

My husbad just happened to bring me carrot colored tulips on Monday.

All Annalee dolls have handpainted faces. This bunny has a slightly evil look!

My candlelight shots just weren't working on this tablescape.

A little boy bunny is wrapped around the stemware.

I am joining Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday.

Please go see her and all the wonderful table settings that are linked from her page.

Table Top Tuesday...A St. Pat's Blog Crawl....It is a busy day!

I decided to play along with all the activities in Blogland today. It is my first Table Top Tuesday with Marty @ A Stroll Thru Life and Kathleen @ Cuisine Kathleen is our hostess for a St. Patrick's Day Blog Crawl.  

     I have a round coffee table in front of my sofa. This is the first time I've tried to take photos of what happens to be on it for the season. I've decided that it isn't easy to get a picture without getting the television cabinet, part of the loveseat or the beagle bed in the corner. Oh well, I tried! My sofa is espresso leather, so you will notice that my table is dark with an iron base. It makes a wonderful space to display a few favorite things. My grandsons will tell you it also is the perfect height for a 1 and a 3 to race their cars. I've accepted the dents and scratches with a grandmother's love.

     This cute little guy was purchased at a local craft show several weeks ago. The iron piece is a recent Hobby Lobby find. I love it.

     The vintage postcards and the silver tray were found in my in-laws garage when we helped them clean it last fall. The postcards are dated 1911 and 1912.

     You can see the basket with the eggs that I showed you how to make here, my cloche with the bird nest and a Hobby Lobby bunny that insisted he wanted to live at my house.

I should have moved the coasters, but this is how

it really looks...so, you get the real deal!

     I wanted to play along with the Kathleen's Blog Crawl. I really don't have Irish themed items. What I do have, are three beautiful pieces of Belleek China. I love the details in the roses on the vase and the cream and sugar are very small and delicate. These pieces belonged to my husband's aunt. When she died many years ago, everyone got to pick something they wanted to have of hers. My husband and I were the last to be asked to choose of her entire family. We were shown a small box with a few trinkets in it that no one else wanted. My husband couldn't believe how quickly I grabbed these items. No one else realized what they were. They had been passed over by several family members because they were so plain. I think I won the prize. They are sitting on my grandmother's depression glass cake plate.

     Make sure you click the links above and visit our wonderful hostesses.

It All Starts With a Plastic Egg-Met Monday

Many of you who visit me often know that I don't do a lot of "craft" projects. If it requires paint, paper or glue, I'm just not that good at it. I still make the effort on occasion and sometimes I'm actually happy with the result. I did a quick project last week that was inexpensive, easy and I was pleasantly surprised with the finished product.

Supplies:

Mod Podge Classic (the first I've bought since I was a teenager)

1 dozen plastic eggs (I used white so that no color would show through)

1 standard size sheet of tissue paper in your choice of pattern, torn into pieces

1 sponge paintbrush

I selected a sheet of tissue paper that didn't scream Easter, so I could

leave the eggs out longer. This would also work with any color of tissue.

The above tissue is still folded, you will need most of a full sheet.

Tear the tissue into pieces.

"Paint" the egg with a coating of Mod Podge. Place one piece of tissue on the eggs and smooth it out. Cover the piece that is on the egg with Mod Podge and put another piece of the tissue on the egg, overlapping the first piece. Paint that second piece of tissue with the Mod Podge and apply a third piece and so on, until the entire egg is covered. I didn't worry about lining up the pattern or making the tissue perfectly smooth on the egg. The Mod Podge will hold down any creases or wrinkles. The main thing is to avoid leaving any of the egg exposed. I used a styrofoam egg carton and placed the wet eggs in it on their sides. After one side was dry, I rotated the egg to let the other side dry.

I used an old twig basket, lined it with some moss

and added the eggs and a spring bow for a bit of color.

For this last picture I used the flash and it made the overlapping layers show more than they really do when you are looking at them. It was the only way I could get a picture that was bright enough to show you the details. This entire project took less than an hour and believe me, if I can do it...anyone can.

I am linking this to Metamorphisis Monday. Please join our hostess

Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch to see a variety of wonderful projects.

Crunchy Romaine Salad-Foodie Friday

     I have made this simple salad for many years. It goes well with many things, we had it with our quiche a few days ago. It would also work well as a main dish salad if you added a little cooked chicken.

Ingredients:

1 package ramen soup mix (throw away the seasoning packet)
3 T. butter melted (I prefer unsalted)
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup honey
1/3 cup white vinegar (red wine vinegar would also work)
pinch of salt and pepper
1 bunch of fresh broccoli-broken into bite size pieces
1 head romaine lettuce torn into bite size pieces

     Break the noodles into pieces, mix with walnuts and melted butter on a baking sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes at 350 degrees until the noodles and nuts start to brown a little. I get lazy, I don't even melt the butter. I toss the walnuts and broken ramen noodles on the cookie sheet, dot with chunks of the butter and stir it all together after the butter melts in the oven. Remove from oven and set aside.

     In a large bowl combine the lettuce and broccoli, toss in the nut/noodle mixture. In a separate small bowl whisk the oil, honey, vinegar, salt and pepper for the dressing and drizzle over the salad (I think it makes too much dressing. I use about half and save the rest to use at another time) Don't put the dressing on the salad until just before serving. Enjoy!

     I'm linking this to Foodie Friday. Please visit Michael at Designs by Gollum to see all the delicious recipes that are being shared this week.

When The Bunnies Come Out To Play! Tablescape Thursday

     It's Thursday and we all know what that means. It is time to get out our dishes and play along with Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch. Make sure you stop over to see her and check out all the wonderful table settings.

     It felt like spring in the Midwest today, so I decided that even the bunnies would feel like playing among the flowers. I started with an ivory tablecloth I've had for years, lime green placemats take the place of chargers. The dark green dinner plates are from Wal-Mart. I added floral salad plates that I recently found at Kohls. I was walking past the display and I swear I heard them yell that they wanted to go home with me!

Ivory napkins with bunny napkin rings (TJ Maxx), vintage stemware and new bargain flatware (also TJ Maxx) finish the look. Do you think that little Snowbunny is trying to crawl to the rabbit napkin ring?

My grandmother's depression glass cake plate made the perfect playground for these cute little ones.

Snowbunnies don't stop playing after dark!