It’s been a crazy week getting ready for our family gathering and I haven’t been able to work on my weekly post but I do have a few pictures to share from last night. Many, many thanks to family and friends who helped celebrate the marriage of our daughter, Taylor, to her Aussie husband, Cameron! More to come next week!
Check in next week!
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I am very excited about our next event because this time it’s very personal. Although I’m not ready to reveal details, I’d like to share how I will be making this family gathering festive and colorful by making a set of no-sew buntings. This is my third time making these (one for Melanie’s Linen’s Lace & Lingerie shower and the other for Gerri’s baby shower) and now I have some terrific hints to share with you on how to make your own!
For this family party our color scheme is blue, white and yellow. I decided to go with two blue patterns, two amber and one white. I love paisley and floral prints as you can see! My basic formula is to select one large print, two smaller ones and a polka dotted or striped pattern. Another idea for fabric would be to use vintage pillow cases, sheets or colorful prints from vintage clothing.
With 1 yard of each, I will easily have enough to make 2 buntings with large triangles and several smaller ones as well. It’s also nice to have some extra cloth for small touches in other areas of the decor. I don’t have a plan for that just yet but I think something will come up. If you are making only one or two strands, you can probably get by with less but the needed yardage depends on how many prints you will be using and how long you want your strand to be.
In addition to the fabric, you’ll need to get bias tape and fusible bonding web. Purchase two rolls of fusible bonding web – 1/4 inch and 5/8 inch. When you glue the sides of the triangles it will be so much easier with the smaller width. The wider width will come into play when you press the bias tape to the triangles.
You’ll also need a good pair of scissors, an iron and I would also recommend using starch when pressing the fabric. It will stiffen up the fabric and help with wrinkles at the same time. The triangle with the A is a from a former paper bunting that I am now repurposing as my pattern.
Using your triangle pattern as a guide, fold over one end of the cloth, spritz with starch and press a crisp edge at the fold. I usually pin the pattern and then cut one triangle at a time down the folded edge for each of the fabrics.
Open the fabric triangle and cut two pieces of fusible bonding web on the edge of the triangle. Refold the fabric and press with your iron. Start at the folded edge and move to the point by picking up the iron as the glue melts. Read over the directions on the package for more guidance. Here’s a tip – once you have glued the edges to a triangle, I found it easier to use as my template than the paper one.
First, find the center of the bunting and pin it. This is where you will glue your first triangle. Then decide the order of the prints. The middle print will be first triangle to add at the center of the bias tape. Open the tape and insert the triangle. Cut a piece of fusible bonding web and press. You’ll add each triangle, one at a time down the tape. If you will be tying the bunting to something when you hang it, be sure to leave about a foot of the tape free at each end.
Once you have added all the triangles, you’ll need to flip the bunting strand and glue the other side of the bias tape. When doing this side, you can just roll out the fusible bonding web and press down the length of the tape without cutting for each triangle.
That’s it! You have a festive, colorful and custom bunting to hang! I love seeing them on the front of a food or drink table, across the entrance doorframe and even on a cake. (Thank you, Tammy, for all of these ideas!) I plan to make 2 or 3 large triangle buntings, several medium and a couple of teenie ones. Somehow I know I’ll find a place to use all of them!
Next weekend is our family gathering so you’ll see these on display in two weeks!
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Rebekah and I started working together last fall on the table details for her wedding reception. For their September wedding, she and Joey had chosen Mt. Lebanon Chapel in Airlie Gardens for the ceremony and Saint Thomas Preservation Hall in downtown Wilmington for their reception. Saint Thomas Preservation Hall, a restored former Catholic church built in 1846, is a wonderful setting for a vintage wedding reception. They had fallen in love with its beauty and to complement its rich history, Rebecaa wanted vintage table settings. As you might guess, Southern Vintage Table was thrilled to help!
Her wedding reception vision was vintage romance with elegant vintage china and goblets. In addition to the vintage inspired guest tables, Rebekah and Joey’s dessert table idea was both unique and personal – they wanted to offer their favorite tea flavors with the wedding cake at a tea and dessert bar. When she shared this idea with me, I remember thinking what a wonderful idea!
With our vintage dessert plates tucked in the drawers of the vintage cabinet provided by Simply Put Vintage Rental, and our teacups displayed on the vintage sewing machine, also from Simply Put Vintage Rental, the dessert and tea bar was charming and beautiful! One of my favorite features on the tea bar was the samovar, a Russian hot water kettle. Finding this treasure was very memorable and you can read more about it on this post, “Vintage Adventure – A Thrift Shop Miracle.”
We set the tables with our elegant vintage china collection. My staff (aka friends, Mary, Louise and Jami) layered the dinner, salad and appetizer plates to create a beautiful, mixed and matched setting for each guest. Along with our vintage silver flatware, napkins, clear goblets and gorgeous flower arrangements by Kickstand Events, the reception tables were splendidly romantic!
As a special request from Rebekah last fall, Southern Vintage Table gathered a collection of small vintage goblets for their wedding toasts, and although we don’t have photos of these from that evening, we do have a previous post that features them, “Vintage Feature – Small Vintage Goblets are Perfect for the Wedding Toast!” We think you will want them at your wedding, too!
Congratulations and best wishes to you, Rebekah and Joey! Thank you for letting us be a part of this romantic, lovely and magical experience. Also, thanks to Anna Kirby Photography for many of these extraordinary photos and, again, to friends Mary, Louise and Jami for all of their help!
Folks who helped with the beautiful, romantic wedding reception include:
Photography: Anna Kirby Photography
Reception Venue: St. Thomas Preservation Hall
Event Coordinator: Jill White
Floral Design: Kickstand Events
Vintage China and Tableware: Southern Vintage Table
Vintage Furniture: Simple Put Vintage Rental
Reception Entertainment: Stray Local
Caricaturist: Bill Smith
Catering: Pine Valley Market
Baker: One Belle Baker
Lighting: High Performance Lighting
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Southern Vintage Table has now been in business for about a year and a half but I have been collecting vintage things for almost two. As I reflect on these past two years, I can hardly believe how much I have learned! When I started this company I knew almost nothing about vintage anything. Really. I don’t think I even knew the name of one china pattern and I can’t remember ever ironing a napkin or polishing anything silver. As I gleefully embraced my new-found enterprise, I collected in a frenzy. I probably went hunting at least 5 days a week and, as you can imagine, have amassed quite a collection for our rental business.
Now, however, as hard as I know it will be, it’s time to sort, organize and let go of a few things. As I begin this arduous task, I have come up with a plan – as my friend, Mary would say – and here it is in 5 steps!
Step 1: Pull out my least favorite china patterns.
The operative phrase here is “least favorite” because frankly, I haven’t seen a pattern I haven’t liked. But there are a few in our collection that kinda disappear on the table. Admittedly, these were some of the first pieces I picked up and if I were to find them today, I don’t think they would become part of our inventory.
Step 2: Reduce the numbers of the same pattern.
When I first started my collection, I couldn’t help myself – if I came upon 20 plates in one pattern, I’d buy every one. Today I am a bit more savvy and, if it’s a new pattern, I’ll buy no more than 5. With our philosophy, “a little of a lot”, I want to have lots of many different patterns rather than multiples of the same. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule; I have a few patterns that are just extraordinarily beautiful and I cherish each and every plate in that same pattern.
Step 3: Coordinate a visit to a reseller.
Fortunately, I live close to a huge china reseller and can easily sell my extras to them. The trick is to find out what they are buying and that’s pretty easy. I called and asked for a quote in the patterns I wanted to sell. They sent me one via email and now I know their offer and what to pack up. I made an appointment and I’m headed there next week.
Step 4: Sell via a yard sale or Craigslist.
I’m still working on the details of this but I’m considering joining a parking lot sale a local antique business is sponsoring. For $25, you get 4 spaces to sell your wares. Sounds pretty easy. But then again, I may just skip this step and go straight to Step 5.
Step 5: Donate to a local thrift store.
The only hard part to this step is deciding which one. We have many in our area that support a host of different causes and that’s a good problem to have! I think most of my things are headed to a no-kill animal shelter re-sale store, one of my favorite places to find things for Southern Vintage Table.
With my plan in place, I am now at step 3. By next weekend, hopefully I will have reduced our inventory to our best offerings, ready for your next event! Of course, letting go also means more room for the new, like this vintage cake plate I picked up this week. Don’t you love the manufacturer’s mark on the back?
~ On a side note, the graphics for this post were created using one of my favorite iPad apps, Camera360 (thank you, Caitlin, for sharing!) and BorderFX, a free plug-in for Apple’s Aperture. I had fun creating them!
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When I met Maria last spring, I felt this instant connection as she shared her wedding vision with me. She and Jonathan were getting married at Bass Lake and, like all couples, they wanted their wedding to be memorable for themselves, their family and friends. Even though we all appreciate the look of delicate, elegant, vintage china, Maria’s vintage wish for their wedding was whimsical, cheerful and vibrant. I was certain our casual vintage china collection with vintage jewel-toned glasses would fit perfectly!
The mid-century vintage collection at Southern Vintage Table is wonderfully eclectic – some patterns are bold, some are demure, and others are just charming – and seeing them all together is delightful. The spectacular sparkle on the tables was our gold, green, pink and blue vintage goblets. With our vintage stainless collection and vintage napkins, the final look was so lovely!
Maria artfully designed her vintage-inspired welcoming station. Along with our vintage suitcases, crate and books, Maria created a collage of photos clipped to framed chicken wire, decorated a mailbox for cards and displayed a welcoming sign for her guests. She also used a vintage window to frame the seating charts which stood on our large easel. This happy wedding ended with a dazzling sendoff with the sparklers ready to go in our wooden bucket.
The prominent feature of the dessert table was the stunning cake with its vintage record player pedestal. The dark vintage wood against the creamy cake icing and vintage overlay created a dashingly dramatic look. The vintage dessert plates and dessert forks in vintage silver trays completed this gorgeous display.
Vintage is a style with many interpretations. It can be romantic, elegant, shabby chic, retro, bold, charming, quaint or any combination thereof. For Maria and Jonathan, vintage meant sharing a vibrant, memorable experience, filled with love of family and friends. Thank you for inviting Southern Vintage Table to be a part of your wedding day. Wishing you endless love, joy and fun!
These folks helped make this a memorable wedding for all:
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I remember the day I saw it at a local thrift store. It was last summer at the height of my collecting spree for my new business, Southern Vintage Table. As I was browsing the items on the shelf, I spied this unusual coffee urn, or at least that’s what I thought it was. The shape, handles and spigot were all so magnificent. As I opened the top and looked inside, I couldn’t figure out how the coffee was added and the bowl on the top really stumped me. Surely, I thought, there must be missing pieces. Relunctantly, I decided not to purchase a broken coffee pot and left the store.
About an hour later, as I am standing in another thrift store, I felt a sharp twinge of regret. I knew I would never see anything like that coffee pot again. A seasoned thrift store shopper knows that if something interests you, you better pick it up right then or it will be gone. I decided to go back to get it before it was too late. As I excitedly opened the door to the store, my heart sank. I saw a woman pick up my coffee pot.
As I am kicking myself, I noticed she didn’t immediately go up to the sales counter. Something told me to wait around – to see if she actually will buy it. So, there I was – thrift store stalking. While keeping a good distance away, I tracked her, waiting to see if she was going to put it back on the shelf or go through the door with it. I realized she was trying to decide what to do.
Finally, she went up to the cash register. I moved closer, picked up something off the shelf nearby and tried to look uninterested. She put the urn on the counter and asked the cashier, “How much?” And then it happened – a thrift shop miracle. “That’s too much,” she complained. She then put it back on the counter and walked out. I almost couldn’t believe it! As soon as the door closed behind her, I picked it up. I remember telling the young cashier, “It’s not too much for me,” and the strange coffee pot was mine.
It wasn’t too hard to uncover that this coffee urn is actually a samovar, a Russian hot water kettle, and it’s used to heat water for tea. The top bowl holds a smaller pot of tea concentrate that is heated through the vents in the lid of the larger vessel. With “1990” engraved on the bottom, it’s not really old but the look is definitely vintage. Here’s one site I found that gives a nice synopsis of the history of the samovar.
This samovar traveled to Wilmington this past weekend for Joey and Rebekah’s tea bar at their wedding reception. Doesn’t it look terrific with the vintage cupboard and teacups? This gorgeous vintage-inpsired wedding will be featured in an upcoming blog. 
PS – I have to thank friends, Louise, Mary and Jami, for helping set up the reception tables and again to Mary and Louise for washing and packing until the wee hours of the morning. I am truly blessed with the miracle of friendship! 
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In a recent post, A Celebration of Numbers, one number we were very excited about was our 18 events at the end of our first year. Since that post, Southern Vintage Table has provided vintage items for 13 more happy occasions – a birthday party, a baby shower, nine weddings, one dinner party and one family reunion. We are so happy to share our vintage dinner plates, luncheon plates, silverware, reception table decor, vases, teacups, tiered stands, serving dishes, vintage glasses, milk glass pieces, lace overlays, tablecloths, napkins, suitcases, trunk, wooden ironing board, blackboard frames and so much more!
Now you can see photos from many of our events on our new Pinterest boards. With images from actual celebrations, we hope you will be inspired to see how we can help with your next family occasion. As always, we are very appreciative when you entrust us to be a part of your special affair!
SVT Weddings
SVT Birthday Parties
SVT Baby & Wedding Showers
SVT Family Dinners
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The purpose of a vase is simple – to hold pretty flowers. The vase, however, is also the frame for the bouquet, creating a look that might be beautiful, elegant, colorful, fun or whimsical. Today’s post, short on words but long on photos, features the eclectic mix of vintage vases and containers at Southern Vintage Table and how they display their lovely flowers in many different ways.
Beautiful flowers always are appreciated at any affair and even more so when framed in a vintage vase or container. Southern Vintage Table has many choices – milk glass, blue mason jars, petite ceramic, silver pitchers, green glass vases, teapots, sugar dishes and creamers, small bottles and even a Coleman jug or two. To see more of our collection, take a look at our new Pinterest board, Vintage Vases. More pins are on the way!
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Another delightful vintage accent for your next event – decorative metal trays. Along with their metal partner, vintage tins, these trays are beautiful, historic and practical. As I surveyed our small, growing collection at Southern Vintage Table, my organizing instinct just kicked in. I decided our vintage collection fell into three categories: advertisement, decorative printed and hand painted.
This grouping of trays tell a story about America in the early 1900s. Heinz, Pepsi and Coke were three of many companies that used trays to advertise their products. Although these are reproductions of their original run, they are all vintage 1970s. Check out the evolution of the latest fashions depicted in these advertisements!
These trays, with their printed motif, are all interesting. The round tray has a well around the center, perfect for crackers or cheese, and the raised center could hold the dip – in a vintage bowl, of course. The small red floral tea tray is very dramatic and would definitely add color to a table. The gorgeous, romantic rectangular tray, made in England, is a Daher tea tray from the 1970s. A bowl of treats would look so sweet on this lovely tray.
The oval “Old Ironsides” tray was produced in 1976 to mark America’s 200th anniversary and would be perfect at a bar or drink station. As the story goes, the wooden sides of this 18th century ship, officially called The Constitution and named by George Washington, were so strong that British cannon balls would bounce off. One other tidbit – it was one of the first original six frigates of the Unites States Navy and is the “oldest commissioned ship in the world still afloat.”
These three trays are literally works of art. As you can see, each has a handwritten note or signature that gives it that one-of-a-kind uniqueness. I think each qualify as tole trays – hand painted metal trays. According to French Garden House, tole refers to a tray or metal ware that has been painted.
Tole refers to decorated tin and iron wares from 1700-1900; but most people also use the term to refer to various painted metalware from the late 19th to mid 20th Century… American Toleware features fruits, florals and symbols. Mostly these pieces were painted by amateur artists using the “one stroke” technique with the paintbrush loaded with several colors at once.
Along with our vintage tins, collection, these vintage trays would add beauty and history at your next gathering. Our collection of both now can been viewed on our new Pinterest board, Vintage Metal Tins & Trays!
For more information about metal trays, check out these articles.
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Each week I wait for an inspiration for my Sunday post. Typically I don’t actively look but instead I trust, with my antenna up and ready, that I’ll receive this cosmic message. It’s kinda magical – waiting for something you don’t know when, where or how it will appear – but it can also be a little nerve-racking if nothing has shown up by week’s end. But, knock on wood, that didn’t happen this week and my inspiration was truly delightful.
Here it is – these darling, vintage tea napkins with embroidered roosters. I found them at one of my favorite haunts and instantly loved them. As I studied their delicate stitches, so many questions came up. Who did these once belong to … who would stitch small roosters in the corner of her tea napkins … was tea time a daily part of her life … did she love roosters…? As I stood there, admiring these dainty, charming napkins, I knew my inspiration message had arrived. Chickens and roosters!
I went through our inventory at Southern Vintage Table and starting pulling together vintage items that featured chickens and roosters. I knew they were there but I hadn’t thought of them as a group onto themselves. Not surprisingly, I came up with some dishes, baskets, a tub and salt & pepper sets.
First, let’s look at the dishes and start with, of course, deviled egg trays! My aunt Aline always prepared deviled eggs for our family reunions and she also loved to collect deviled egg trays. I am so pleased that two from her vast collection are now available at Southern Vintage Table. Thank you, Aline!
These vintage patterns and dishes all feature chickens and roosters. I especially love the Provincial pattern by Scio and Weathervane by Taylor, Smith & Taylor. There’s something wholesome and good about having a chicken on your plate or in your bowl!
Here are more vintage chicken treasures in our collection – two chicken baskets, a pair of roosters and even an enameled pan with a painted rooster on the side. Aren’t they all charming?
As I am taking these photos, I remembered the first time I met a chicken. One summer our family, with eight children aboard, loaded up the station wagon and made a road trip from Maryland to Dunn, NC for a long visit with mom’s parents, Susie and Wiley. With chickens, pigs, a mule and a huge vegetable garden, we learned how to gather eggs, pick peas and feed the pigs.
In the cool evening air, we often sat under their big tree and, with an enameled pan in our laps, we shelled peas while Grandma’s chickens roamed freely in the yard. I remember how much Susie loved those chickens, calling out to them by name and throwing corn at their feet, but I also remember that she made the most delicious chicken and dumplings. Sigh. Some tough lessons were learned that summer and I am so grateful for that time we spent on the farm with my hardworking, loving grandparents.
My sisters, brothers and cousins all have these sweet childhood memories about our summers on our grandparents’ farm. Today when I see a chicken, real or on a vintage napkin, I oftentimes think about Susie. Add a little vintage chicken to your next family gathering. Chances are someone will have a cherished memory to share as well.
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