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Saturday, March 12, 2011

Our First Giveaway Comes With a Little Story

(Winner announced here!)


Do you know what prompted this blog to come into being? A very sick little girl.


Spring, 2010

Emma, my daughter and fellow blogger, has been home sick with a bone infection since October of last year. Emma and I, (Andrea), have certainly spent a lot of time in hospitals, at doctors' offices, and at home together and with my mom, Diane. There are only so many entertaining things to do day after day, and that is one reason Emma became more interested in the passion we have for table goodies.  When my mom and I spend any time at all together, the conversation inevitably turns to household treasures. It was a good distraction between consultations and treatments. Emma couldn't escape, bless her heart! She has a passion for HGTV, interior design, architecture, and writing, and being able to create and write a little has been good for her. You have certainly given her a big boost in your appreciation for her creations, so we are thinking it's time to give back to you a little. 

Based on the feedback on a recent optimistic post, "Outdated Kitchens Can Be Pretty, Too," we decided to expand on that theme. I wanted to show you another lovely look in the same kitchen (my kitchen) with the outdated décor. I am so in love with my outdated kitchen now that I know how to work with it. And guess what! Four of these dinner plates will go to our lucky giveaway winner!  I hope to share with you how something that might appear to be very limiting is full of possibilities!

Let's start with the fantastic plates! Noritake made so many different pieces in this pattern, Lineage, including flatware! The dinner plates normally sell for around $20/each on the major websites that sell vintage china, so four of them have a value of around $80. (The giveaway rules are at the very bottom of the page.) These plates have so many beautiful colors, but the green is dominant. Later in the post, I will show you how I could have picked any color to emphasize in these plates, making it easy for me. They go with anything! Blue, red, yellow...even purple! (Pics at the bottom of the post.) But I thought the green would be a challenge in my kitchen. Plus, St. Patrick's Day is this week! So I went with it!

The design reminds me a little of Indian Tree motifs, and the birds are such a great plus! I love that they are oven, microwave and dishwasher safe. Many of my vintage patterns can only be hand-washed, so I don't use them everyday. But this is durable enough for enjoying with my little ones!



These plates were part of a huge vintage set I bought at a local Goodwill. I love them! Can you imagine them in the kitchen from the earlier post? 


In the advice from the earlier post, I recommended changing out accessories to give a new look. The first thing I did was change out everything in the cupboard to emphasize the green in the plates. I tried putting in more green than this, but adding other colors helped. I used the oranges to tie it to the peach in the wallpaper. The brown pieces and the pottery were other good accents with the wood in the room.



The little turtle in the front is from one of my children. I have their art all over the house as decoration. They are my favorite pieces. 


A few other examples:



But I digress...

The oranges emphasize the oranges and yellows in the plates. And the large ceramic platter was a great TJ Maxx find that I found a while back. 



I like the narrow dish which allowed me to add depth. But I have a secret...it's Holiday by Lenox. I placed it on a high shelf and the oranges hide the pattern.



One of the other things I recommended was using flowers as a color focal point. These are certainly a good match!


Are you ready to see the whole table?







I think the changes worked! By the way, the reverseable placemats here are the same ones from the prior post with the pink glass plates. $1.50 each at Big Lots and two great looks!


Do you think these plates would work in your kitchen? In your dining room? Here are some examples of the plates on different placemats of mine.





Yes, that one is actually a mulberry/pink placemat.


Really was surprised the green and purple one worked so well.

I hope you like them as much as I do!

And now for the Giveaway Rules:

The giveaway is for these four dinner plates. Click any of the Amazon links below and and find a great product to go with these plates on your dinner table. It can be flatware, goblets, linens, a centerpiece, etc.



In the comment section below, leave a description and a link to what you found. You can leave one comment a day from Saturday, March 12 at 6pm EST to Sunday, March 20, 12pm EST.  Each comment will equal one entry. We will use a random number generator to select the winning entry. (My doctoral program was in statistics, so I think it's a pretty good system!) The winner will be announced no later than March 21 along with a posted email for you to send us your shipping address.

Have fun and Good Luck! Happy St. Patrick's Day! (My mother, Diane, created a very pretty Irish tablescape for St. Patrick's Day here.)

-Andrea


Sharing at:
http://www.savedbylovecreations.com/




19 comments:

  1. Love this tablescape and I also like how you change the colors in the hutch. I would love to win these plates. I would start with green placemats found on Amazon
    http://www.amazon.com/TAG-Round-Woven-Green-Placemat/dp/B000EYFIU4/ref=pd_bxgy_k_img_c

    These would pick up the green in the pattern. thanks, Linda

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  2. What a pretty china pattern. It looks good with everything! Thanks for linking up! Hope your sick little girl gets better soon.!
    Sherry

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  3. I am following you through the blog hop. Please follow back at http://thecryptocapersseries.blogspot.com
    www.reneeahand.com
    Thanks!
    Renee

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  4. I love your pretty plates with all the different place mats...gosh, do they look good with all of them! I love your tbscape with the pretty china, such nice colours on it. Hope your little one gets better soon, may God bless her. Your welcome to visit.
    XO
    FABBY

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  5. Andrea, I'm new to your blog but love the fact that so many of the gals in your family participate in the table-scaping. I wish Emma the very, very best for a full recovery. I really like the dinner plates you are giving away - thank you so much for the opportunity to win! My visit to Amazon today was focused on looking for some pretty napkins that might go with them, and I found these blue ones that seem like they would also be versatile enough to go with some other items I have. Here's the link - there are so many options!
    http://www.amazon.com/DII-Coastal-Ocean-Variegated-Napkin/dp/B002WRI72C/ref=sr_1_20?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1300073028&sr=1-20

    Thanks again,
    Janet

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  6. Andrea , what a beautiful post !
    I love the dishes too ☺
    I do hope Your Emma's recovery is going well.
    Our 5th child who is now 15yo had a bone infection in his foot/ankle when he was 3yo it was very slow recovery but he does have the use of his foot ! what is difficult is now his resistance to most antibiotics which poses a difficult time when and if he gets other infections .I remember how tiring the hospital was for him and the family it was a blessing to have him home even though he still had to be on meds for 4 more months .recovery at home may be long but also gave us many a wonderful memory too of wonderful calm cuddle times .
    I see your Emma must be delighted to help in finding new colours and new discoveries for your home ☺
    Blessing ,
    Roxie

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  7. What darling plates and I do love the way the purple and green place mat looks with the plate.

    I hope your Emma is able to recover from her bone infection.

    Happy PS
    Deanna :D

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  8. You are my shero, as you know! You can do anything! The changes are very pretty. The three of you have made me look with a more critical eye, wondering what I can put together. You are simply "mind blogging"!

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  9. Andrea, I am adding Emma to my prayer list. I do pray that she will have a full recovery very soon. I think she could do a lot worse than listening to you and your mother discuss dishes, etc. From her tablescapes that I've seen, she's a natural at this. Your hutch looks so pretty and so does your table. What a lovely giveaway. I would probably use the Lenox Butterfly Meadow coasters from Amazon with thee plates. Thank you for linking to Favorite Things. laurie

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  10. Such wonderfully vibrant colors.

    Thanks for being a part of Seasonal Sundays.

    - The Tablescaper

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  11. Beautiful. Thank you for giving us such a fabulous post.

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  12. Beautiful tablescapes. The design does put me in mind of the tree of life.

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  13. Beautiful tablescape....beautiful story and beautiful daughter! :) Thank you for sharing this with us for Inspiration Friday At The Picket Fence! Blessings to you!

    Heather @At The Picket Fence

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  14. I do hope I read the rules correctly - we can add more than one comment, correct? :) I'd love to know what each of the three of you claims as your favorite dinnerware! One of my favorites is Old Country Roses by Royal Albert. In searching the Amazon link you provided, I found this lovely OCR treat tray - like Emma in her "Sweet Thirteen" post, I would happily load it up with Girl Scout Cookies!! http://www.amazon.com/Royal-Albert-Country-Roses-2-Tier/dp/B001RIYSI4/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1300292587&sr=8-12

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  15. What pretty plates. I think these bee glasses would work just wonderfully with your plates!
    http://www.amazon.com/Rochere-D%C3%A9cor-Ounce-Footed-Goblet/dp/B002DYJD7C/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1300329117&sr=8-4
    Meredith

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  16. I think creating tablescapes is a wonderful diversion for your daughter. It's a great way to hone her homemaking and decorating skills, as well. ;)

    Thanks for linking to the party. Take a peek at your feature tonight.

    Blessings,
    Liz @ the Brambleberry Cottage
    http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com/

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  17. Just found your blog. I will be praying for your daughter. LOVE the plates, I would use Villeray&Boch Cellini Covered Vegetable Bowl. It is beautiful and would look great with these plates. It is on Amazon.com

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  18. http://tablescapex3.blogspot.com/2011/03/we-have-winner.html

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