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Vintage Tips – Staining with Tea for a Classic Vintage Look

Want the classic creamy vintage color for a tablecloth, lace overlay or any piece of cloth? Try using a tea stain! It’s easy, inexpensive and fast.

This past week I was on the hunt for a few more lacy overlays for Casi’s upcoming wedding. I finally found one beautiful crocheted tablecloth with several stains and one white lace overlay. They had the dimensions I was looking for but I needed to do a bit of work on both. For one I needed to get the stain out and the other I needed to put the stain in!

The stained crocheted cloth had to be carefully soaked. After soaking in Oxiclean and gently washing 3 times followed by a concentrated overnight soak and a final wash, it is now ready. I should have taken a before photo but you can definitely appreciate the after. So beautiful!

The white overlay had to be treated in an entirely different way – I had to stain it. I wasn’t sure if it was going to work because it’s not a cotton material but it did! Here are the easy steps.

First, steep the tea. I used 5 family size bags and added hot water to a pitcher under my Keurig machine. I ran the water 4 or 5 times until the tea bag released all the tea color. After stopping up my stainless steel kitchen sink, I added the brewed tea and enough water to cover the cloth. One tip that was shared by the antique dealer I bought it from was to make sure the tea was evenly distributed so I used a wooden spoon to stir the tea. Then I added the cloth.

Pour into a stainless steel sink or container.

I quickly made sure all of the cloth was getting soaked in the tea. Standing there at the sink, I continuous moved the cloth through the tea water. Periodically I lifted it up to check on the color. When I got the soft creamy color I wanted, I wrung it out and put it in the dryer under low heat with a lavender dryer sheet. Don’t rinse or you’ll lose some of the color but the good news is that if you stain too much, you can rinse some of it out before drying. Also note that the dryer may pick up some tea stain so after I dried this lacy overlay, I put in a brown towel to clean off any of the tea color on the dryer drum.

Here’s the before and after!

The perfect creamy color! Now I have to remember to hand wash this as recommended but that’s no biggie because I can always dye it again. Want to add a little vintage color? Use tea! These and other lovely vintage overlays, crocheted and lace, are available at Southern Vintage Table. Our inventory is growing and we have many different sizes available.!

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Southern Vintage Table Event – A “Spirited” Southern Tradition Delivers a Perfect Day!

With Ralph’s bottle of bourbon buried at the wedding site, the perfect day was delivered! According to Southern Living, legend has it that all you have to do to insure fair weather for your outdoor wedding is bury a bottle of bourbon, full and upside down, on a beautiful, sunny day weeks before the wedding date. After Mary, the quintessential Southern lady, read that bit of Southern tradition, it just had to be done for her and Ralph’s beloved daughter, Melanie. Well, it magically worked because Melanie’s and James’ wedding day was magnificent – perfect temperatures and a gorgeous Carolina blue sky.

After the wedding ceremony, Ralph digs it up!

Southern Vintage Table was thrilled to be a part of this celebration! Our first assignment was to set up a lemonade greeting station for guests as they arrived to this joyous occasion. With a charming assortment of vintage punch cups and two vintage punch bowls, Mary’s Yaya friends – Cis, Louise, Jami, Pat and I – served lemonade and welcomed guests. Rock Quarry’s vintage 1950 truck was parked next to us, joyfully bedecked with wedding photos of the bride’s and groom’s families. Southern Vintage Table‘s vintage suitcases and trunk helped complete this endearing tribute.

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC — Rock Quarry Farm’s vintage 1950s truck

The second station was the coffee bar. Pairing the vintage teacups, Cis, Jami and I arranged them on the table. We also displayed several on the rustic shelf above. What a beautiful table with the teacups all lined up! At the end of the evening it was fun to see which teacup guests selected for their coffee as they enjoyed the delicious wedding cake baked by Sweet Memories Bakery.

Perfect day, perfect wedding, perfect love and all oh-so Southern! More photos coming later from photographer, Martha Manning.

Congratulations, Melanie and James! We all wish you a life full of love, happiness and joy!

We also want to send best wishes to Jill and David who were married on this gorgeous day in Graham. Thank you so much for inviting Southern Vintage Table to be a part of both of your wedding days.

Participating Vendors
Rock Quarry Farm
American Party Rental
Durham Catering Company
Sweet Memories Bakery
Southern Vintage Table
Martha Manning

PS – Thank you, George, for sharing these fabulous photos of this beautiful, happy couple!

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Vintage Feature – Inspiration from P. Allen Smith with Unconventional Planters

My friend, Carrie of Fernrock Farm, shared with me a terrific episode from P. Allen Smith’s Garden show. It featured a farmhouse dinner table set in one of my favorite vintage patterns, Blue Willow. With beautiful bouquets of yellow-green flowers and blueberry springs in a lush green outdoor setting, the dinner party was ready for guests. The second part of the episode was devoted to unconventional planters made from logs and branches. Carrie often has these at her stand at the Carrboro Farmers’ Market. As we were talking about my blog for this week, Carrie suggested I share my own version of unconventional planters in milk glass, porcelain, metal and wood. Brilliant!

I love vintage milk glass and with hens and chicks and other sedums, the milky white color just pops! I supplied the milk glass compotes and Carrie filled them with the greenery for an upcoming wedding next month. She and Gerri made a burlap bowl so the arrangement can easily slip out of the container. They are so charming!

Vintage Milk Glass Compotes with Succulents

Have a chip, crack or handle broken? No worries – turn the unusual or beautiful china dish into a planter! Drill a hole in the bottom with a porcelain drill bit and it’s ready for planting. These two cups are from a vintage Franciscan pattern from the 1980s. Below is an assortment of teacups, creamers and bowls filled with sweet sedums.

Metal dishes are even easier to convert into planters and Fernrock Farm usually has vintage copper molds available at their market stand. I found this blue metal pitcher someone had used to mix paint. The inside looks messy but who would know with a beautiful mix of sedums hiding it? The two metal bowls, one aluminum and one silver plated, also make wonderful, distinctive planters.

Here are two whimsical planters – a fountain and a egg basket. The pump on the fountain no longer worked so I drilled a few holes in the bottom for drainage and the basket is so quaint with a small plant tucked inside!

I love this transformation! With a vintage blackboard framed sign, guests immediately feel welcomed with this greeting station!

These lovely, sedum-filled, unconventional containers and planters are available from Southern Vintage Table. Add vintage and garden beauty to your table at your next gathering!

Be sure to also check out Fernrock Farm‘s offerings on their Facebook page or visit their market stand at the Carrboro Farmers’ Market on Saturday mornings. Their locally grown flowers are beautiful, especially the dahlias!

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Vintage Feature – 5 Reasons to Invite Southern Vintage Table to Your Next Occasion!

Planning a birthday party, wedding reception, baby shower or any special occasion? Here are 5 reasons why Southern Vintage Table can help you make it an unforgettable event for your guests!

Reason #5: Southern Vintage Table is a one-woman-owned small business. As a small business, personal, individual attention is top priority. Working together and sharing ideas with you to create a gathering that is unique, beautiful and memorable is as important to me as it is to you!

Reason #4: Going vintage is eco-friendly and environmentally responsible. Our inventory of dishes, silverware, linens and decor are all vintage items found at thrift stores, auctions, yard sales and consignment shops. Many family treasures also have been generously bestowed to Southern Vintage Table by friends. When we use, repurpose and repair vintage treasures, we are not only reducing our ecological footprint, we are embracing something very profound – that our shared past is to be revered, not thrown away.

Reason #3: Vintage means variety. There’s retro vintage, rustic vintage, boho vintage, elegant vintage, shabby chic vintage, farmhouse vintage and simply vintage. Invite Southern Vintage Table to help you uncover your vintage style!

Reason #2: Vintage has a story to tell. Encapsulated in every vintage dinner plate, goblet or silver spoon is a unique history. Once set on the family dinner table or present in the home of women such as Edna, Clara Mae and Clementine, these now vintage pieces bring a rich, historic energy to any occasion. While sharing them brings me tremendous joy as the proprietor of Southern Vintage Table, I also imagine their previous owners would love that their family treasures are appreciated by so many today!

Reason #1: Vintage instantly brings smiles. Setting a beautiful table with vintage treasures connects the love of families across generations. The collective positive energy radiating from each vintage item creates a wonderful memory-making experience and your guests of all ages will love it! Embrace your vintage style and invite Southern Vintage Table to help you with your next family gathering!

Southern Vintage Table Vintage Chins Rental NC — Top left photo by Theo Milo Photography, top right by Gents & Belles Photography;, bottom left by Scott Faber Photography; middle bottom by Kait Miller Photography.

Southern Vintage Table Event – Miss Julia’s Birthday Tea Party

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental

We were all oh-so excited about Miss Julia’s birthday tea party! Turning 5 is pretty awesome all by itself but when you add family, friends, vintage teacups and hats to the celebration, the excitement just escalates! With the help of their family and Southern Vintage Table, Erin and Jeremy planned a fun-filled morning for their sweet daughter and her friends.

Our party preparations began at Raleigh’s Baileywick Park. Erin and her family crew – Phyllis, Jerry, Rowena, Doug and Melissa – transformed the shelter into a delightful, charming tea party atmosphere with organza drapes, balloons and paper lanterns. A “happy birthday” sign and a beautiful bright-colored bunting sewn by Jeanine were hung to greet the party guests.

The two picnic tables were covered with vintage pink and blue tablecloths. To coordinate with Erin’s happy spring theme, Southern Vintage Table chose a wide array of teacups, dessert plates and serving dishes with most of the big, bold patterns coming from the mid century era. A hat station was created with a vintage trunk and suitcase and the bright colors of our vintage hats blended in beautifully. I imagine all of the previous owners of those lovely hats were so tickled, as my mama used to say, to be a part of this celebration!

Choosing the right hat was definitely the fun part of dressing up for the tea party and these girls got it just right. They all look so chic! After making that important fashion decision, it was time to enjoy the healthy snacks – petite peanut butter sandwiches and croissants, fresh fruit and fruit filled miniature pastries. The vintage teapots were filled with ice-cold lemonade and ready to serve!

Dessert was Erin’s handmade cake created for Julia’s tea party. With a lovely garden scene filled with gummy flowers, chocolate rocks, a fountain and even a miniature tea party, it was definitely a showpiece! After admiring the cake, making birthday wishes and blowing out candles, it was gift-opening time. I’m not sure who enjoyed this part the most – Julia, who loved every single birthday present – or the rest of us, reveling in the delight of a darling young girl!

Happy birthday, Miss Julia and thank you for inviting us to be a part of your special day! From birthday tea parties to wedding receptions, Southern Vintage Table is ready to help you celebrate those memorable, sweet life events!

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Southern Vintage Table Event – Linens, Lace, & Lingerie Bridal Shower for Melanie

A more beautiful day just wasn’t possible! The cosmic powers delivered a warm, spring green day for Melanie’s shower – the grass, trees and flowers were all freshly watered by the previous day’s rainstorm and the sun was sweetly gleaming on the lovely backyard of Louise’s country home. The stage was perfectly set for Southern Vintage Table and the Yayas to host this happy occasion!

We first set up our sawhorse table with cedar planks as our tabletop. My friends from Fernrock Farm, Carrie and Bill, helped me design this rustic look and I love it! With the pink bordered vintage tablecloth and bunting, it’s the main feature of our rustic Country Farmhouse decor theme. We used lots of vintage wooden items as food stands as well as a vintage radio and scale. With Jami’s stunning tiered floral centerpiece we achieved just the look we wanted – quaint, country, pink and sweet!

The other two main tables were then designed. The accessories’ and dessert tables featured a beautiful mix of vintage china, silver, napkins, serving pieces and decor. I especially love how the yellow flowers trellis up the vintage candelabra.

We covered our dining tables with vintage tablecloths and Jami created individual floral centerpieces for each. Louise’s rustic picnic table was treated with a beautiful double-ring vintage quilt! Perfectly lovely!

Our final two stations were the mimosa bar and gift stand. At the mimosa bar we arranged our juice-filled vintage decanters in an enameled pink tub and a pink vintage Coleman cooler chilled our champagne. A mix of vintage pink, green and clear glasses were selected for guests to make their own special drink. With the striking red rose bouquet and a mix of vintage decor, the final display was beautiful!

With stacked vintage trunk and suitcases along with vintage wooden boxes, the gift stand was created. We tucked in a few special vintage items such as the chicken and egg basket filled with the flowers, the copper sifter and sedum-filled vintage dishes. I especially love the vintage linen tree with the chalkboard sign!

With vintage teacups filled with petite arrangements, the bride and bridal party left with a sweet reminder of our wonderful occasion – a beautiful day with friends and family celebrating Melanie’s and James’ upcoming wedding. How sweet is that!

Invite Southern Vintage Table to help you celebrate someone’s special day! Whether a bridal shower or a birthday party, we can help make your occasion memorable and uniquely vintage!

PS – With just a few exceptions, these spectacular photos were taken by the talented Katherine Miles Jones. Check out her Facebook and website for more fantastic photos and ideas!

PPS – Loved hosting this bridal shower with my Yaya friends – Louise, Jami, Cis, Pat and Mary!

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Vintage Feature – Planning a Bridal Shower with Friends

It was Friday and I started to panic. Usually by now I had decided on my weekly post topic, taken all the photographs, edited and uploaded them and written the first draft. Well, with all the preparations for our Yaya bridal shower, I kept pushing blog stuff to the back burner. I know next week’s post will be about our lovely shower, but what about this Sunday? Then it came to me – I should set the stage for next week’s post by sharing a little about my friends and our shower planning. Won’t be as many photos but next week there should be a plethora of images, thanks to Katherine Jones Miles, who is coming to take photos!

My friendship with this wonderful group of women goes way back to when we were young teachers. Most of us worked at one school together for years and when the new school opened, we all followed our incredible principal, Charley. That was 1994 – 20 years ago – and as our working relationship strengthened, we also became very close friends. Somewhere in there we officially became the Yayas.

We love spending time together – whether we are lounging at Louise’s beach condo, eating dinner at Margaret’s Cantina or Dick & Jane’s Martini & Tapas Bar, savoring our Christmas feast at Mary’s home or planning one of new adventures, we love sharing our lives with each other. Now two of us have retired, two more will retire this year and in the next few years, the younger two will join the rest of us. We all look forward to spending more time together!

When Mary told us her daughter was engaged the rest of us were so excited for her and for us, too, because we knew we would be planning a bridal shower together! Cis got on her computer and our first email was entitled “Initial Delegation of Duties for Melanie’s Shower.” Classic Cis – getting us organized and ready! Knowing Mary, the quintessential Southern lady, we easily came up with the menu – country ham biscuits, pimento cheese and cucumber sandwiches, chicken salad, cheese straws, vegetable tray, fruit salad and deviled eggs. Our drink list included iced tea and a mimosa bar. Desserts featured Jami’s key lime tarts and Pat’s top-secret-recipe chocolate cake. Yummy!

Our duties were divvied out – Pat, Cis, Jami and Louise had the food covered, I would handle the tableware and decor, and Jami would design our flower arrangements. Louise offered hers and Pete’s beautiful country home as our venue and she and I would take care of the invitations. It may not take a village to host a bridal shower but it’s definitely more fun when you have good friends!

With help from Pete, Van, Carrie and Bill, we were ready for Saturday’s “Linens, Lace & Lingerie” bridal shower. Check in next week to see how our Country Farmhouse decor theme works out. As Louise would say, we are sooooooo excited! Right on, Louise!

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Southern Vintage Table Event – Mixing & Matching with Family Heirlooms

Recently Sarah called Southern Vintage Table to help set her table for her family’s traditional Passover feast. She also had an enchanting request – to include her grandmother’s china and her husband’s grandmother’s crystal in the eclectic place settings. I instantly loved her idea! Including Ann’s vintage china pattern and Thelma’s crystal from the 1930s was a wonderful tribute to their blended family at their Seder table.

After Sarah and I shared ideas, I borrowed pieces of Grandmother Anne’s beautiful china, Phyllis by Noritake. For this important family ritual, I wanted each guest to have one piece of Anne’s china so I designed the table settings in pairs. The first pair had Anne’s dinner plate, the second had the soup bowl and the salad plate was used in the third. Using this schema, I mixed and matched the place settings down the table.

To further accent with Sarah’s grandmother’s china, we tucked saucers under the sedum teacups provided by Southern Vintage Table and arranged them down the table. We also placed Grandmother Thelma’s delicate wine glasses at the adult place settings. With Sarah’s tulip centerpiece, the lovely Seder table was ready for her family and friends.

Sarah’s family dinner was filled with tradition, history, beauty and love. Invite Southern vintage Table to help you set your table for your next family occasion – we’d love to mix your family’s heirlooms with our vintage collection for a beautiful and personalized table!

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Southern Vintage Table Event – A Sweetly Vintage Wedding

It was a radiant April day at the Cape Fear Botanical Gardens in Fayetteville. The lovely grounds were covered in colorful spring blooms, the sun was shining, a gentle breeze was blowing and two people were ready to share the rest of their lives together. What a joyful day for a wedding!

I first met Ashley via email last October when she told me she found Southern Vintage Table‘s website and wanted to know more about our vintage china. We corresponded through the months about her wedding and shared different ideas about the table setting. I knew she and I were planning something very special.

During this time I had discovered the charm of vintage postcards from my friend, Priscilla. We used them at her Christmas party and I fell in love with the look. I found a way to make a stand from vintage forks and started a collection of vintage cards. When I asked Ashley if she’d like to feature some on her table she was delighted because she also collected vintage postcards. It was a serendipitous moment!

With mixed and matched vintage patterns, we set the table with a dinner plate, salad plate, silverware, goblets and a trio of sweet vintage postcards. Ashley’s choice of flowers, wedding favors and linens completed a stunning table display for her guests.

The myriad of place settings featured soft hues of green, blue and pink. Vintage goblets of green, blue, pink and clear accented the vintage china. The vintage silver flatware also included different vintage patterns. As I gazed at the beautiful, cheerful tables I envisioned the many dinner tables these pieces had once graced. I believe their individual history brings eloquence to such a joyful day.

We also provided vintage dessert plates and forks to serve this gorgeous wedding cake. Love the flowers and the Precious Moments couple on top!

Thank you, Ashley and Jamie, for inviting Southern Vintage Table to be a part of your special day. Wishing you two endless happiness and sweet love!

PS – Here are the vintage salad plates I mentioned in last week’s blog – the pattern name is Cherry Blossoms by Diamond China. This week I happened upon a dinner plate in this same pattern!

PPS – Thanks, Alexandria, and happy birthday!

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A Vintage Adventure – Elegant to Retro Vintage Finds

Rainy Sunday afternoons are made for browsing antique malls so last Sunday I headed over to Grandaddy’s Antiques in Burlington. If you haven’t been to Grandaddy’s, it’s a treasure trove of anything vintage from teacups to linens to comic books to furniture. Different vendors have spaces or booths in this revamped department store and that means you can find different prices on the same stuff. But, like most antique stores, there’s some bargaining room if you talk to the right person. This time I didn’t try to negotiate because I bought things that were already marked down but the last time I was there, I bought a set of china at a substantial savings.

You could spend all day there but I was on a mission – to buy a few special salad plates for Ashley’s wedding. I found some plates and – you guessed it – a couple of other things that are now part of our inventory at Southern Vintage Table.

The two gorgeous teacups pictured above were one of my first finds. Not exactly salad plates, but they definitely caught my eye! There’s no mark on the bottom and they didn’t have saucers but I found some on our shelf that look perfect. Aren’t they beautiful? Update! Mary Jane Pearson Baker of Springbranch Landscapes just told me these are “Forget-Me-Not” flowers. I should have picked up on that since I wrote a blog post on a china pattern featuring this lovely, blue flower. I’ll not forget this next time!

I also found this Fire King planter – I had never seen anything like this and, maybe more importantly, it was in the half-price booth. As I was trying to arrange the camellia blooms in the planter I realized I needed something to anchor the stems. Guess what I used? Wine corks! They float to the top of the water and hold the stems in place. Pretty neat trick, I’d say.

The camellias look lovely in this vintage vase, too. I love the creamy color, the shape and the quaint flower bouquet. Sweet!

Picking blackberries when I was growing up is one of my favorite memories. There were bushes alongside the roadway and, if we picked enough, mom would make her delicious blackberry cobbler for us. We were lucky to make it home with a bowl full because we loved picking and eating. Washing them before popping them into our mouths never even crossed our minds. This artistic plate made by Homer Laughlin brings back those sweet, carefree memories.
The last treasure is an incredible retro casserole dish called Blue Diamonds by Iroquois. I didn’t get this at Grandaddy’s – it would have been priced too high. I found it at a nearby thrift store on the bottom shelf and immediately loved it. Produced from 1958-68, the blue color, squat shape and the handle on the lid are amazing. This pattern was part of a series called Informal and was created by industrial designer, Ben Siebel. Definitely dig this look!

What a terrific set of eclectic treasures if I must say so myself! From elegant to retro, Southern Vintage Table has the vintage style to fit your gathering!

So where are the salad plates I went to find? Well, I forgot to take a photo before packing them up for Ashley’s wedding. I’ll be sure to point them out In next week’s blog!

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