Isn’t the little leprechaun in the photo above just adorable? I’ve named him Seamus. And, what about those little red mushrooms? Too cute! I bought both at Michael’s and was inspired to set our dining room table for St. Patrick’s Day!
I bought 3 of them and named them Finn, Seamus and Eamon! So cute! I would have bought more, but they only had 3 different little leprechauns.
Are you decorating the table for a St. Patrick’s Day Celebration? Well, I am. We are having a small luncheon for a few of our bloggy friends in honor of one who is visiting from Europe. Amy from Beloved Atmosphere has been here almost a month, but sadly needs to return home! So, to send her on her way in style, we are having a little get-together.
Even though this event isn’t until this weekend, I set the table ahead of time. I like to do this so that I don’t have a last-minute rush. Any of my friends who read this post will laugh at this comment because when I have larger parties, to which they have come, I am never on time and inevitably enlist the help of any one who walks through the door! And, beware of showing up early; for sure you are put to work! It’s not uncommon that I have 10 or more friends in my kitchen trying to help me get the shindig started!
But, I always have hope that I’ll be prepared ahead of time. Sadly, it’s rare that I am. Many times I’ve not even put make-up on or fixed my hair! Time just has a way of sneaking up on me and before I know it, friends and family are arriving and while most of the food is ready, I’m not.
That’s exactly what happened on Christmas this year. The table was set, the food cooking and almost ready, but I’m in jeans, a t-shirt, no make-up and hair twisted up in a knot on the top of my head looking like a frazzled witch. At least I had a red t-shirt on!
I think that’s what I’ll do for this little get-together. I’ll put on a green t-shirt first thing in the morning just in case I don’t make the switch in time before guests arrive.
This tablescape is in honor of my sister and Tiffany’s mother, Gail. Her birthday is in March and she’s been quite ill, unable to celebrate properly. Also, in a recent conversation with her, she thought this blog was all wrong, that my talents lie in decorating and, specifically, table decorations, and that I should do more table decorations and decorating on this blog OR I should start a new blog all about those subjects (I know; this is a terrible run-on sentence; but I wanted to convey the “urgency” on our conversation! {grin}).
Well, Gail, I love you, but blogging is a huge commitment and having two or more blogs at this point in my life isn’t doable! So, we’ll stick with this one, but I thank you for being so sweet and sharing your feelings about the direction of this blog!
Here are pictures of my St. Patrick’s Day table:
On top of a white tablecloth, I put a rattan table runner down the center. On top of that, I added a moss “runner” I bought at Michael’s to give the table a little woodland feel. And, I wanted the table to be as “green” as possible, so I added green place mats. I have a set of four of 3 different St. Patrick’s Day inspired place mats, so used them all, alternating them up and down the table.
I also have 3 different sets of cream-colored dinnerware, so I alternated that down the table. Two are Lenox patterns and one is a Princess House pattern. We are having children, too, at the party; so to make things a little easier for all, I decided to use plastic silverware and paper napkins and include plastic cups and straws for the “littles”. The little black pots will be filled with Lucky Charms cereal as a snack. The little topiary trees are place card holders. I haven’t made the place cards yet, but I will; I promise!
Over the years, I’ve collected St. Patrick’s Day stuff – little pails, picks, baubles, curiosities, etc. So, I got them all out and transferred some of my houseplants into the little green Irish-inspired pails. I added moss and used some of my picks. This is Aengus, the leprechaun of love and youth! I gave him a moss-covered ground with sprouting mushrooms, too. He’s jumping for joy.
In this pail, I added a little “welcome” sign from a fairy garden set.
I also bought 2 shamrock plants at the grocery store and put them in a couple of the pails I’ve collected. And, down the runner, I added foam shamrocks and faux gold shamrock coins that I’ve collected over the years. This coy leprechaun is Clancy, my red warrior leprechaun!
I found gold covered buttermints in the wedding section at Michael’s, so I placed them in a gold-rimmed bowl that belonged to my grandmother. So pretty!
Then I found Irish buttermints at Party City! So, I bought them, too, and put them in a shamrock-shaped bowl that I bought at my local grocery store.
This is Finn, my fair-haired leprechaun. I put him under a fairy-garden arch. One of these days I’m going to have a fairy garden outside. I just can’t decide where! That’s what happens when you have acres and acres of land. You become indecision about where to put your next garden, so it never gets done! {grin} In the meantime, I continue to collect little fairy garden things now and then.
I attached a small green glitter butterfly that I got at Michael’s to the top of Finn’s arch.
And, I gave everyone a rainbow lollipop as a party favor! I got these, too, in the wedding section at Michael’s (or maybe it was Party City – I’ve forgotten now! Old age brain freeze!).
This is Eamon, the protector of prosperity leprechaun. I thought that was a fitting name for him, since he’s holding a pot of gold! In this photo and the one of Finn above, you can see the mossy grass runner up close. It came on a roll, like a roll of ribbon. When you unroll it, stuff flies everywhere, so don’t unroll it over a white tablecloth! Fortunately, I thought about it before unrolling it, so no mishap this time! But, I’ve been known NOT to be the sharpest tool in the shed before!
Also in this photo, you can see my “pot of gold” tree. I’ve had this cute tree for a couple of years now, so I no longer remember where I got it. It’s in a glittery black pot with glittery gold pieces on top and a willow-type tree spouting forth dripping with gold coins. So cute! Thought it was appropriate to put Eamon by this pot of gold tree.
Here’s a close-up of the adorable Eamon!
I bought a set of these beautiful green goblets from Z Gallerie about ten years ago. They were spared from the fire because they were in a storage unit at the time of the wildfire in October 2007. So, I still have these as a remembrance of our old house. I love this shade of green!
This is another leprechaun pick stuck in another pot of shamrocks. How about Patrick for his name? I haven’t named any of them Patrick, yet, in honor of St. Patrick’s Day! So, this is Patrick, jumping for joy over a field of shamrocks!
And, this is my Irish Princess crown. I’m definitely wearing this; especially if I’m behind schedule and don’t have on any makeup and haven’t done my hair. No one will notice, right? Because they’ll be looking at my crown…and the beautiful table!
Tootles,
Related Posts:
(other posts about St. Patrick’s Day and Ireland)
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