Mismatched Vintage China Rental NC Archives - Page 40 of 46

Vintage Feature – Delightful Sedum-Filled Vintage Teacups

What do you do with a beautiful vintage teacup that’s lost its handle or has a chip? Drill a hole in the bottom, fill it with an assortment of sedums, and create a beautiful mini garden!

Since they love sun, leave them outside or in a sunny window and when you need something pretty for your table, put them on a pedestal for your guests to enjoy! These are also available from Southern Vintage Table as a tabletop decor item and fit in perfectly with our Vintage Centerpiece Packages.

And, with today being Mother’s Day, we send wishes of love, compassion, and respect to all mothers and their children. To my mother, thank you for all of your gifts to us – your spirit, strength, compassion, courage, love of family, sassy smile – we miss you.

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Southern Vintage Table Event – An Easter Family Dinner

Our Easter surprise came as a last minute request to set the table for a Sunday family dinner – sweet!

Our design began with a vintage floral printed tablecloth, layered with bright green placemats and yellow napkins. We chose vintage stoneware patterns that featured green, yellow, and brown, and the sparkling jewels of the table were Sharon’s amber thumbnail tumblers – so gorgeous in the afternoon sunlight!

The centerpiece vignette included an eclectic mix of vintage gems – brass candle holders with yellow candlesticks, a mixed bouquet in a vintage vase, moss-covered egg cups and china purse, a vintage Easter postcard poised on a fork stand, and a cute ceramic basket filled with colorful jelly beans – so many fun, delightful touches to this stunning table!

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Sharon absolutely loved her beautiful table and knew her Easter dinner guests would, too. As I am in the moment, writing this post about this intimate family dinner and thinking about our upcoming wedding this weekend, I realize once again why I love our business. Each event, dinner, affair, and occasion, small or large, grand or casual, is an opportunity for Southern Vintage Table to create a beautiful, unique, vintage-inspired table atmosphere for the most important guest list – yours!

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Vintage Adventure – A More-Than-Century-Old Thrift Store Treasure

The snow is gone, spring is almost here, and it’s time to do the thrift store circuit to uncover vintage gems for Southern Vintage Table. And, what would make a great day even better? Browsing my favorite thrift stores with Jami! Little did we know we would find something really, really wonderful.

So, it was our third stop and as soon as we opened the door to the old-house-turned-thrift-store, I spied these cups on the table. Neither of us could read the mark without our glasses, but even with our blurry vision, it had that distinctive vintage look. I bought them and couldn’t wait to find out more.

Although I couldn’t find a photo or pattern name, I did discover more about the company that made them. Here’s a bit of their story.

The pottery company is Edwin J.D. Bodley from Burslem, England. Edwin was the son of Edward Fisher Bodley and originally the two worked together but later the father retired and Edwin took over. According to thepotteries.org, these are key dates for Edwin’s company:

In 1875 the father retired and the son carried on on his own accord.
In the 1881 census the company is recorded as having 140 employees.
In 1892 the company was declared bankrupt.

So, using a little bit of math, this means these teacups are at least 123 years old! Holy moly! This advertisement from The Pottery Gazette, American and Canadian Edition, January 1st, 1880, also from thepotteries.org site, gives some insight into the company’s business plan. I definitely appreciate Edwin’s quest to create “fancy goods” for the American market!

My guess is these were made for the American market in the 1880s, with all their fanciness, shape and decorative style, and bought somewhere here. Who bought them, where they lived and how many cups of tea were stylishly served in them – alas – that’s all left to our own imagination. But, we do know they now reside at Southern Vintage Table for all to joyfully admire! Aren’t they fabulous?

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Southern Vintage Table Event – An Elegant Business Dinner

Southern Vintage Table

Raffle tickets, a silent auction, delicious food and drink, awards, and people you love to be around – yes, it was Rolesville’s Chamber of Commerce‘s Annual Dinner and Awards Banquet! We were very excited to be a part of this fun event, especially because this was our first business dinner and we had the opportunity to meet a terrific group of business leaders in the Rolesville community.

With lots of on-site help, Southern Vintage Table set the tables using our elegant china collection, silver plated flatware and vintage goblets. The whimsical centerpieces, designed by Flower Creations, signified the construction of the 401 Bypass through Rolesville, complete with toy cars and a billboard ad. As shared in Brian Pate’s remarks, Rolesville is rapidly growing as more folks discover this charming, caring, and very connected community.

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

The evening began with a reception and silent raffle with items generously provided by Chamber businesses. After a delicious meal catered by Catering by Design, Jenny Rowe, President of the Chamber, kicked off the program and a delightful crew of presenters followed. Speakers included Brian Pate, Pate Realty-Keller Williams; Allen Mitchell, Mitchell Heating & Cooling; Sherwood Bobbitt, Chairman of the Chamber Board; and, Frank Eagles, Rolesville Mayor. The evening ended with the announcement of the four honorees, presented by Sandy Young of June-Neri Financial and Jenny Rowe. They were:

Ambassador of the Year – ‎Daralyn Sacarello, Mary Kay Consultant
Volunteer of the Year – Greg Rowe
Business of the Year – Jeremy Dimmitt, State Farm of Rolesville
Rising Star Award – Katherine Wiessner, Music Funatic

What a fabulous night to mingle with business leaders in the up-and-coming community of Rolesville! (Special thanks to Melanie Diehl, Your Social Media Gal , for the “people” photos!) As witnessed, many folks helped with this lovely event and special kudos go out to:

Annual Dinner Committee – Scottie Hundley, Affordable Creative Framer; Kathy Fuerst, Rolesville Buzz; Amy Lin, Catering by Design; Jenny Rowe, Chamber President // Dinner Sponsors – Ace Hardware of Rolesville; Dirty Dogs Spa and Boutique; Mitchell Heating & Cooling; Sandy Young, June-Neri Financial Services // Master of Ceremonies – Brian Pate, Pate Realty-Keller Williams // Entertainment & Sound System – Ron & Derek, The Patio Party Men, Brian Pate, Pate Realty-Keller Williams // Dinnerware – Southern Vintage Table // Caterer – Catering by Design // Flowers – Flower Creations // Program – The Rolesville Buzz // Venue – The Mill Room at The Factory in Wake Forest

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Southern Vintage Table Event – A Valentine’s Bridal Shower for Katie!

“Created by Michelle” provided this beautiful, scrumptious “naked” cake. The gorgeous backdrop was designed by Katie, Lauren, and Ryan!

One of life’s happiest events is a wedding and right up there with it is the traditional celebration for the upcoming nuptials – the time-honored wedding shower. And, Katie and Ryan’s shower was even more special because Katie is our delightful niece. She and our daughter, Taylor, grew up together which means this day was pretty special for many of us!

The event took place at the Schley’s Grange Hall – a wonderful facility north of Hillsborough that is an affiliate of the NC State Grange and National Grange organization. Their mission is to serve the local farming community and their building is available for groups to use and rent. It was perfect for our large gathering of 60+ friends and family who wanted to share their good wishes with Ryan and Katie.

To add extra sweetness to the occasion the date for the shower was set for Valentine’s day. Our color scheme featured pinks and blues with a splash of Valentine’s. Katie’s sister, Lauren, sewed light blue base cloths to peek through our beautiful, vintage laced overlays. Bouquets of roses, baby’s breath, and tulips added a fresh spring look in our vintage milk glass vases. Final decor touches included vintage frames, postcards, votives, glass candle holders, and – yum – Hershey’s kisses.

The tables were set with mixed and matched vintage china teacups with a tea napkin tucked underneath, and our lovely vintage patterns of silver-plated flatware. Vintage blue, clear, and pink goblets added the colorful sparkle. Since the delectable treats were served as a buffet, our vintage luncheon plates were beautifully stacked and ready for guests.

As a “Thank You” to her guests, Katie baked sweet favors and shared their personal meaning with us. Last Valentine’s Day on the way to a game, Ryan presented her with a box of chocolates. Now, this was no ordinary box; it contained dark chocolate turtles! As Katie shared in her story, she had mentioned how much she loved dark chocolate and Ryan remembered this. But, the other part of Ryan’s choice is they were in the shape of Katie’s beloved animal, a turtle. So, as you might guess, Katie loved his sweet gesture! This is one of their favorite memories together, and now it is also one of ours!

“Best shower EVER!! Everything was elegant and so beautiful! Shelly did a great job picking out the right china and glasses for the shower; all of the colors worked perfectly together. The Valentine’s Day theme came across well in a subtle way while still feeling like a bridal shower. I loved everything about it! Shelly even remembered a few of the pretty vintage post cards that I like and she included them in the centerpieces as well! It was a perfect bridal shower and I feel so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family that each worked so hard to help bring it all together. I had a great time celebrating with and seeing so many of my friends and family! After seeing how beautiful everything was at my shower, I’m even more excited to see the final outcome of the centerpieces at our wedding reception. I know Shelly will make it just as lovely! Can’t wait for our Big Day!” – Katie

My pleasure, Katie, and thank you! I join Katie in thanking all who put together this joyous occasion – bridesmaids, Heather, Katie, Sarah, Brittany, Krystle, and Megan – sisters, Lauren and Andrea – mother, Joy – and family friend, Cynthia. More photos will be forthcoming from photographer and friend, Jenny Swanson, and we’ll be sure to share!

Katie and her lovely bridesmaids! Heather, Katie, Sarah, Katie, Brittany, Krystle, Megan

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Southern Vintage Table Event – A Valentine’s Dinner Party

Southern Vintage Table Vintage Decor

The love of a family is life’s greatest blessing. – Unknown

The sweetest of all holidays brought a wonderful request from Sarah – an invitation for Southern Vintage Table to help with her Valentine’s Day dinner party. She loved our vintage place settings and decor when we set the table for her family’s Seder dinner last year and we were thrilled to be asked back again.

We packed mixed and matched vintage dinner and salad plates, silver-plated flatware, water and wine glasses, and decor items for her 40 guests. Since her dinner was buffet-style, our main setup mission was to create beautiful centerpieces for her tables. With Jami, Priscilla, and Sarah’s gorgeous selection of flowers, we did just that!

Our centerpieces began with our assortment of vintage silver-plated trays. Lush bouquets of roses and tulips along with accents of vintage frames, tins, votives, and bowls filled with chocolate kisses completed our Valentine’s look. On the coffee bar, stacked with vintage teacups, and around the room, Priscilla and I created sweet vignettes with Jami’s adorable moss-covered purse arrangements.

Vintage China Rental NC — Sarah’s Baby Shower

Thank you, Sarah and family, for inviting us to be a part of your family celebration! And, many, many, thanks to friends, Jami and Priscilla, for our delightful evening together! Any occasion with friends and family alongside is always magical, wouldn’t you agree?

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Southern Vintage Table Event – Love Was In the Air!

It’s been a fun weekend for Southern Vintage Table! We helped with Sarah’s Valentine’s dinner and Katie’s bridal shower – two sweet occasions filled with joy and love. After packing, delivering, setting up, cleaning up, repacking, unloading, unpacking, cleaning, and putting away, there was little time left for our weekly blog but here are a few photos from these two lovely affairs. More details and photos coming soon!

Many thanks to Katie’s friends and family for helping set up, clean up, and pack! And, I am so grateful for the creative talents of my friends, Jami and Priscilla, for arranging centerpieces, matching teacups, and making it such a fun evening getting Sarah’s dinner party ready for her guests!

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Vintage Feature – Amy’s Floral Inspiration!

I had a nice surprise this week! Amy of Knots’N’ Such Event Planning presented me with this gorgeous, fragrant arrangement in one of our vintage aluminum mugs used at a photo shoot last month at The Royal Banquet and Conference Center in Raleigh. Of course, I absolutely love the combination of flowers, colors, and greenery. As I was admiring the beautiful flowers, it came to me. This bouquet will be my inspiration for this week’s blog! I’ve been wanting to showcase more of our vintage vase ideas and these would be perfect! So after I enjoyed this arrangement for a day, I began experimenting.

First, I tried a deep purple vintage vase shared with me by a dear friend. The shape of the vase is a classic and Amy’s arrangement looks oh-so beautiful! I had to enjoy this for several hours before taking it apart to test out a few more looks.

For the next look I wanted see how the lovely flowers would look in an assortment of milk glass and vintage white egg cups. I think you’ll agree these petite arrangements are sweet against the white glass!

Vintage Decor Rental at Southern Vintage Table

The trailing plant gave me one more idea I wanted to try. Using a tall candle holder with a tea light glass insert, I created this look. It needs more of the trailing plant cascading around to hide the green floral foam but it is stunning, don’t you think?

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Thank you, Amy of Knots’N’ Such Event Planning, for the flower bouquet and for providing the inspiration for this week’s blog. We have more vases pinned on our Pinterest board and be sure to check out our vintage decor on our newly revamped website!

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Vintage Feature – New Website is Up!

Whoop whoop!! Our new website is up and running! My wonderful, fantastic reviewers (Trudy, Carrie, Priscilla, Jami, Mary and Pat) and I love the color scheme and the slide shows featuring our beautiful, vintage inventory. I am so excited our site pages and blog posts all are here at the same place! I can even check my site stats here and now everyone can pin photos directly from the site. Yippee!

~ If you are on our old blog site, go here now to view this post at its new home! ~

Email subscribers, here’s something really important to note – this will be my final post at my wordpress.com blog. I will be posting from this new website but it is super easy to re-subscribe at the top right of this page. New subscribers are welcomed!! When you subscribe, you’ll be notified via email that a new post is up, which is every Sunday. (Also note, this post and all the other posts are published on both blogs but I will be taking down the old one soon.)

I’d love, love, love (and be most appreciative!) if you’d also follow us on Southern Vintage Table’s Facebook page. I tried adding a Facebook Like Widget but I couldn’t find a position on the page that looked right. That’s one thing I need to figure out. I post on Facebook once or twice a week, mostly about new vintage finds or treasures, which I think you’ll love to see!

For those who are interested, I am using GoDaddy’s feature, Managed WordPress, which means I went from WordPress.com to WordPress.org because it’s now a self-hosted site. With this change, I now have more control over the themes and can add widgets to add all kinds of features – like the slide shows on each page featuring our inventory, a footer with contact information and a email subscription field only on the blog page. There is still much to learn! I also dropped my Dreamweaver subscription and, with the Managed WordPress on GoDaddy, I have reduced my hosting fee. GoDaddy provided a temporary url to use while building the site, took down the old site when I was ready to launch, and migrated all the pages over to the same domain name. All in all, this is a terrific update for Southern Vintage Table!

Take a look and tell me what you think! I’d love to hear your comments, ideas and suggestions.

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Vintage Feature – Revamping the “About” Page

This past week I have been working on my new website. One page I have wanted to change and update is “Our Story.” So after researching effective “About Me” pages, I hit on this idea. The page title is simply “About.”

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Hello, I’m Shelly.

I’m the owner of Southern Vintage Table, a vintage tableware and decor rental business. After two years of scouring thrift stores, estate sales, antique shops, auctions, craigslist and even my own home, I have collected lots of vintage china, glassware, flatware, serving dishes, linens, and accessories. Many things have been generously shared by friends and family. Our collection spans the 20th century and everything is available for hire.

Here are a few things about me – in no particular order.

~ I’m an optimist, like my mother, and believe things have a way of turning out okay. Maybe not in the way you envisioned but perhaps how it must.

~ I’m a retired middle school teacher, wife, mother, sister, daughter, aunt, niece, and friend. I am a twin with 7 siblings and have two children. I met my husband in the 6th grade.

~ My alma maters include Orange High School, Western Carolina, and UNC-CH. I have a masters in education and earned National Board Certification.

~ My last teaching assignment included a video/news program class called MNN, a web graphics course, and yearbook. I taught 6th, 7th and 8th graders and sometimes had a student for all three years, which always delighted me.

– Whenever I can afford the time, I take the scenic back roads. Thankfully, I usually have the time.

~ I especially love candlelight, potted plants, flowers, pretty china, and wooden boxes. My hobbies have included sewing, playing tennis, making mosaics, and rearranging furniture.

~ As the owner of my business, I have learned how to drill holes in china, get rid of stains in china and linens, and – gasp – properly set a table. And, I love setting tables!

~ When I go thrift store shopping, I’m not necessarily thinking about what the item is, but what it can become or how it can be repurposed. Sometimes I can see it right away, and other times I buy it knowing the vision will come eventually.

~ I’ve started reading a few pages of a book before I go to sleep. I’ve almost finished “Bossypants” by Tina Fey, which I highly recommend. Witty and profound.

~ I’ve written a country song I want Miranda Lambert or Kelly Clarkson to sing and have a movie I want Reese Witherspoon to produce. I’ve messaged the cosmos to help me with these two projects. Hey, it can’t hurt and it just might help, right? That optimism my mother gifted to me is kicking in here.

~ I love meeting new people and listening to their life stories. I especially enjoy hearing the names of their children, parents, grandparents, and even further back. Makes me feel like I’m time traveling with them.

~ I am so grateful for my friends and family. Their wisdom and stories have infused my life with joy and love.

~ I’d love to talk with you and promise our Southern Vintage Table collection will create a memorable, lovely affair for your special guests!

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Let me know what you think about my new “About” page. If you have any ideas, suggestions, or additions, I’d love to hear from you. Really, I mean it…

New website is well on its way – should be unveiling it soon! Here are some photos I took this past week for it.

Vintage Gold Rimmed Glass Compote With Fruit

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