Toot Sweet 4 Two

Cook Create Inspire

  • Home
  • ABOUT
  • MEET COCO
  • BLOG
  • Recipes
  • FREEBIE
  • Checklists
    • Complete Home Inventory
      • Main Areas
      • Bedrooms & Bathrooms
      • Kitchen
      • Laundry, Cleaning & Storage
      • Bonus Areas & Extras
      • Home Office
      • Holiday
      • Garage & Storage
      • Garden & Outdoors
  • EBOOKS
    • Cleaning & Organizing
  • CONTACT

in Our Blog· Sweet Ideas· Tablescapes

Valentine’s Day Tea Party Tablescape

A Valentine's Day Tea Party Tablescape cover

Of course, there’s a story behind the creation of my Valentine’s Day Tea Party Tablescape!  In 1998, I went to England with my Mom and Dad to attend a friend’s wedding.  Charlie doesn’t like to travel, plus someone needed to stay home to care for our 2 cats and 2 dogs.  I’d been to England one time before (in 1973) on a tour of Europe, but had only visited London for 3 days and then it was off to another country.

Teapot and Tulips - A Valentine's Day Tea Party Tablescape

This time we were there for 2 weeks, spending time in quaint villages in Suffolk and I fell in love with all things English.  When I came back to the United States, I decided to start collecting tea cups and saucers as a reminder of that wonderful time in a beautiful, enchanting country.  Once I made that decision, tea cups and saucers seemed to come out of the woodwork!

Pink Rose Porcelain Dessert Plate - A Valentine's Day Tea Party Tablescape

So, to slow down my new obsession and try to rein in some control over the size of this burgeoning collection, I decided to limit my collection of tea cups and saucers to only those made in England.  And, not only was I collecting tea cups and saucers myself, but family and friends started giving them to me as gifts!  So, another tactic I implemented to slowdown my collecting was to limit new purchases to only those tea cups and saucers for which I could find matching dessert plates!

Pink Rose Tea Cup - A Valentine's Day Tea Party Tablescape

We lived in the country, on the same property we live on today, so in those early days, the internet was not available.  This is probably a good thing because I would have spent all my time on EBay in search of tea cups and saucers with matching dessert plates!  Instead, I grew my collection by visiting local area tea shops (there were only a few) and antique stores.

Red Rose Porcelain Dessert Plate - A Valentine's Day Tea Party Tablescape

At that time, we had a pine dining room set, which was perfect for our country home.  This dining room set included a pine hutch with open shelving, perfect for display.  My tea cups and saucers covered every surface of that display.

Red Rose Tea Cup - A Valentine's Day Tea Party Tablescape

Then one day we went shopping for a new sofa and decided it was also time to get a new dining room set!  The one we chose included a buffet with no hutch above.  So, I packed my tea cups, saucers and dessert plates carefully and stored them in a metal shed on our property where I could get to them easily anytime I wanted to use them.

Square Dessert Plate - A Valentine's Day Tea Party Tablescape

A month after doing this (buying the new dining room set and packing away my tea cups, saucers, dessert plates and teapots – yes, I managed to collect a few of those, too!), the Southern California fire known as the Witch Fire raged through our valley and beyond into San Diego, burning our home to the ground.  I’ve written a 20-part story about the fire and our rebuild and you can read it starting here:  Any Way the Wind Blows.

Square Tea Cup - A Valentine's Day Tea Party Tablescape

But, my tea cups and saucers, dessert plates and teapots and anything else that was glass or ceramic and stored in that storage shed, survived the fire.  Because the storage unit was also on top of an asphalt pad, when the fire hit it, it burned all the paint off the sides of the storage shed until the paint was gone.  Seeking new fuel, the fire moved on.

Red Tulip - Pic 1 - A Valentine's Day Tea Party Tablescape

The inside of the storage shed was filled with smoke and anything plastic melted.  But, if an item could be washed, it could be salvaged.  Suddenly, we went from losing everything we owned to finding salvageable treasures within piles of twisted, melted ruin.  My collection was intact and these items became precious to me.  For a year, they remained in that smoke-filled storage shed awaiting cleaning.

Pink and White Rose Teapot - A Valentine's Day Tea Party Tablescape

You see, we moved to a small condo while we tried to rebuild our lives and had no room for boxes and boxes of tea cups, saucers, teapots and other things glass and ceramic.  Once we were able to move home to our new, rebuilt home anything we could salvage became part of our new decorating plan.  And, my tea cups and saucers took center stage.

Cat Creamer - A Valentine's Day Tea Party Tablescape

I found a new dining room cabinet with shelves and lighting that would do my tea cups and saucers justice.  That cabinet is now the focal point of our dining room and I have the pleasure of seeing my beautiful collection every day!  But, I don’t actually use it often, so whenever I can come up with an excuse to have a tea party, I do.

Red Candles on Silver Plater Centerpiece - A Valentine's Day Tea Party Tablescape

So, this year, I decided that a having Valentine’s Day Tea Party was the perfect way to design a Valentine’s Day Tea Party Tablescape!  Want to create your own Valentine’s Day Tea Party Tablescape?  Similar items are available on Amazon.  Take a look:

Red Chargers on Amazon

Link to Amazon:  Red Chargers, Set of 6.

Red Valentine Tablecloth on Amazon

Link to Amazon:  Romantic Red Hearts Tablecloth.

Lenox Butlers Pantry Dinner Plate on Amazon

Link to Amazon:  Lenox Butler’s Pantry Earthenware Dinner Plate.

Royal Albert New Country Roses on Amazon

Link to Amazon:  Royal Albert New Country Roses Set.

Silver Tray on Amazon

Link to Amazon:  Elegance Silver Plated Footed Princess Tray.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Disclaimer:  I was not compensated to write this post, but this post does contain affiliate links to the products listed above, which will take you directly to these products on Amazon.  Toot Sweet 4 Two is an Amazon affiliate and receives a small commission if a product is purchased through these links.  If you click on the link and purchase a product, I will receive a commission of approximately 5% on the sale.    If you don’t want me to receive any commission, you could just open a new browser window and search for the product on your own.  But, if you do use the links to purchase products, THANK YOU!  This does not change the cost to you; thanks for helping to keep content on this site free!

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Crystal Candlesticks on Amazon

Link to Amazon:  Pair of Crystal Candlesticks.

Red Candles on Amazon

Link to Amazon:  Red Candles, Set of 12.

Teapot on Amazon

Link to Amazon:  Summertime Roses Teapot.

Teapot Warmer on Amazon

Link to Amazon:  Teapot Warmer.

Red Stemware Glasses on Amazon

Link to Amazon:  Red Stemware Glasses, Set of 4.

I think that about covers it!  Now you can recreate my Valentine’s Day Tea Party Tablescape and have all the elements delivered to your door in a flash!  Oh, I forgot the napkins (which I didn’t photograph).  They are similar to these:

White Lace Napkins on Amazon

Link to Amazon:  White Battenburg Lace Napkins, Set of 8.

Mine were a gift from my mother.  She gave them to me when she moved to assisted living a few years ago.  I remember using these napkins for special occasions and holidays when I was growing up.  A nice memory!

Red Sequined Heart Topiary - A Valentine's Day Tea Party Tablescape

These Valentine sequined, heart-shaped topiaries are from Michael’s.  They are new purchases this year.  Part of my Valentine’s  Day Tea Party Tablescape, they flank a silver tray (that I inherited from my aunt) filled with crystal candlesticks with red candles.

Red Tulip - Pic 6 - A Valentine's Day Tea Party Tablescape

These gorgeous red tulips are from my local grocery store’s floral department.  I filled two vases with these magnificent flowers and they, too, flank the silver tray.

Pink, Red and Yellow Rose Dessert Plate - A Valentine's Day Tea Party Tablescape

My collection of tea cups and saucers and dessert plates don’t match.  This was by design in my early days of collecting because there were so many beautiful choices of patterns that I couldn’t decide on just one.  So, why not collect different ones?

Place Setting - A Valentine's Day Tea Party Tablescape

When I took these pictures, I’d forgotten to put out napkins for my Valentine’s Day Tea Party Tablescape.  I used white lace Battenburg napkins to pop against the red tablecloth.

Red Wine Glass - A Valentine's Day Tea Party Tablescape

My red stemware was in the storage shed during that horrific fire, too, so they were saved from the fire.

Red Tulips in a Vase - A Valentine's Day Tea Party Tablescape

The red tulips curl over the tall vases seeming to wave in the wind (even though there was no wind in the dining room!).

Centerpiece 2 - A Valentine's Day Tea Party Tablescape

One of my Dad’s abstract paintings hangs on a wall in our dining room.  You can see a peek of that beautiful painting just beyond the tulips on my Valentine’s Day Tea Party Tablescape.

Old Country Roses Dessert Plate - A Valentine's Day Tea Party Tablescape

This well-known pattern is called Old Country Roses.  It, too, is available on Amazon.  Here’s a link:  Old Country Roses.  I just have a dessert plate and tea cup with saucer but this pattern is available as a complete set of everything.

I could go on-and-on, but instead I’ll just share the rest of the pictures from my Valentine’s Day Tea Party Tablescape.

Red Tulips - Pic 5 - A Valentine's Day Tea Party Tablescape

Red Tulips - Pic 2 - A Valentine's Day Tea Party Tablescape

Eat Your Heart Out heart-shaped bowl - A Valentine's Day Tea Party

Red Sequined Heart - A Valentine's Day Tea Party Tablescape

Centerpiece - A Valentine's Day Tea Party Tablescape

Red Tulips - Pic 4 - A Valentine's Day Tea Party Tablescape

Pink, Red, Yellow Rose Teapot - A Valentine's Day Tea Party Tablescape

Red Tulips - Pic 3 - A Valentine's Day Tea Party Tablescape

Valentine's Day Tea Party Table

Red Tulip - Pic 7 - A Valentine's Day Tea Party Tablescape

Valentine's Day Tea Party Tablescape collage

Here’s a collage to pin to your Pinterest board.  Thanks for sharing!

People ask me all the time where I got this or that.  I’m happy that I’m sometimes able to help out by sharing links to items that can be purchased through Amazon!  I’m looking forward to my Valentine’s Day Tea Party tomorrow!

Tootles,

Carole signature

 

Filed Under: Our Blog, Sweet Ideas, Tablescapes Tagged With: decorating, DIY, entertaining, flowers, holidays, party ideas, Valentine's Day

« 2 Days to Valentine’s Day – a FREE Printable for Your Sweetie Pie
Irish Farmhouse Pot O’Gold Skillet Cornbread »

Comments

  1. Dawn says

    February 18, 2016 at 9:03 am

    I love that you attached links to Amazon to get stuff. Your pictures are absolutely lovely !!! It might be time for a tea party here soon 😉

    Reply
    • Carole says

      March 1, 2016 at 2:58 pm

      I have readers ask me all the time “where did you get that”, etc., so I’ve decided to help them out when I can! Stay tune for more of the same.

      Reply
  2. Christine says

    February 13, 2016 at 3:46 pm

    What a great story. Thank you so much for sharing your collection with us 🙂

    Reply
    • Carole says

      March 1, 2016 at 2:55 pm

      Thanks, Christine. I love seeing my tea cups on display and it always makes me appreciate how lucky we are…not just because we have recovered and moved on, but because there are firefighters who go above and beyond to give families something to remember.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

About

I’m Carole, wife to Charlie (25+ years), mom to a boy named Coco, writer, storyteller, home chef, and recipe developer, budding photographer, occasional crafter who loves family and friends, parties and tablescapes, and all things blog. Join me as I COOK, CREATE, INSPIRE.

Search

Favorites

Categories

  • Sweet Eats
  • Sweet Home
  • Sweet Ideas
  • Sweet Life
  • Sweet Nothings
  • Sweet On
  • Sweet Spot
  • Sweet Talk
  • Sweet Things

Home Inventory Checklists

Complete Home Inventory Checklists

Disclosure + Privacy Policy
Terms and Conditions
PR + Media

Copyright © 2025 · Toot Sweet 4 Two · site design by Your Marketing BFF