Wednesday, September 7, 2011

~ Hydrangea Filled Compote ~

As Summer fades into Autumn a bouquet of dried hydrangeas take center stage as a centerpiece. Not to be left out a few thistles thrown in for fun. I wish I could say these were some of my hydrangeas, but they aren't. My bushes have produced 3 blooms in the 10 years they've been planted. :-( 
 A Big Thank you Karen for sharing your hydrangeas with me.I pulled the blue compote from the office bookshelves to hold the hydrangeas.
I chose my chargers from Penney's as the base and built from there.

Cobalt blue glasses are from Walmart many years ago.
I'm sure you must think these are the only monogrammed napkins I have. lol It seems lately the tablescapes I've done have called for white napkins, loving anything monogrammed these are just lucky enough to be used.
I don't recall where I got the blue wooden napkin ring, for some reason I'm wanting to say Kohl's many years ago. The deep blue plays off the cobalt dishes quite well.

Brushed and shiny nickle flatware for a bit of bling.

Target birds peek shyly from under the hydrangeas.




Blue and white placemats are from Walmart many years ago.

Blue cobalt dishes bought many years ago are a staple at our table settings. The J&G Meakin, Romantic England, were purchased through EBay last winter. A few of those dishes are scattered through out the house and used as decor in other ways.
Wanting to carry the green theme from the hydrangeas I chose the green pear to fill the dessert bowl instead of a traditional dessert.



From above....
Time to light the candles, this is where the problem occurred, more on that in just a bit.
The small ginger jar from the shop holds sugar for your coffee.


Are you ready for a hot cup of coffee?
Here you'll see the trailing hydrangea, I had scattered a few of the petals around the table, wanting to take more pictures without the petals I blew the candles out and preceded to pick up the petals.
The candle to the right is the culprit in the crime, I went to light it and whoosshhhh! The whole hydrangea centerpiece went up in flames. The flames were shooting up into the hanging light fixture. I grabbed the blue compote full of flames and took off running flames and all towards the kitchen to put the flames out. I hosed it down with the sprayer in the kitchen sink. By this time every smoke alarm in the house was going off. I had a sink full of ashes and a huge mess. I promptly ran to open all the windows and doors fanning the smoke alarms to get them to stop. Mr. P. casually walks and says, it's a bit smoky in here isn't it? Folks I was scared out of my mind. Can't tell you how scared I was. Next tablescape I'll be ALOT more careful when it comes to placing my candles and lighting them.
Table centerpiece with the thistle
Centerpiece without the thistle. Which do you prefer?
LINKING TO:
As always a huge Thank You Susan for you graciously hosting each week. Along with a lot of others I always welcome an "excuse" to play with my dishes.

23 comments:

Pinky at Designs by Pinky said...

OMG, Lynne! I am so glad you AND your home are OK!!!! And thanks for the warning cause I am using hydrangeas for my table this weekend for our daughters anniversary dinner! I will be carefil;!!!!! Your table is gorgeous, you know I LOVE blue and white and hydrangeas!!!! Hope all is OK now. Have a glass of wine:):) XO, Pinky

Marty@A Stroll Thru Life said...

Oh my word Lynne, I would have been scared to death also. I had no idea the hydrangeas would burn like that. I am so happy you are ok. Your tablescape is stunning and your pictures are to die for. Now just sit, relax and enjoy. Hugs, Marty

Linda @ A La Carte said...

That is so scary Lynne! I always try to be careful with candles but things can catch fire in a second! So glad you and your home are OK...Mr P's comment is priceless! Now...your tablescape is lovely. I always enjoy blue and white! So many pretty touches you have used on this table. Bless you!

Linda

Bonnie said...

Lynne, Your table is beautiful and I am sorry you had the mishap! The napkins caught my eye first so crisp and pretty with the lovely monogram. I love the patterns and colors of your china and glad you had an "excuse" to play in your dishes.

Marlis said...

I am so glad you and your home are okay and have survived the flaming centerpiece. How awful that must have been. Luckily you can out unscathed. Your table is lovely. I love the colors of the pears withe the cobalt blue. So very refreshing.. Your napkins are gorgeous. i'd use them all the time.. I can't even grow hydrangeas let alone wish for a bloom.. They were quite beautiful on the table.. xo marlis

PAT said...

Gorgeous in blue and white, Lynne. I love the green hydrangeas with this. Fabulous!

Yellow Rose Arbor said...

Beautiful tablescape! I love the blue and green together!

So thankful your fire wasn't any worse and you didn't get burned! Yikes!

I just posted my tablescape, please come back to see!

Katherine

Nancy's Daily Dish said...

HI Lynne,

The blue and white layers in your table are beautiful! I LOVE the hydrangeas!

Nancy

Barb said...

Hi Lynne, so glad everything is okay.

Your table is lovely. The colors are simply stunning....so cool and inviting. I love all the layers. Just gorgeous!

Barb ♥

Marigene said...

As much as I love green, blue and white make for the best tables. Beautiful, Lynne! The thistles really compliment the gorgeous hydrangeas. Thanks for sharing your wonderful tablescaping talents with us.

Alycia Nichols said...

Holy smokes, Lynne!!! I'm glad the house didn't burn down! Yikes!!! I had a fire start last year when a sudden gust of wind blew the table linen up over a candle. It ruined the linen, the table, 2 of the centerpiece items...it was awful! Both of our incidents could have turned disastrous. We got off easy. I'm glad you shared your experience, though, to remind us all to be more careful when using candles. Candlelight looks fantastic, but fire is NOT our friend when it's running wild! That aside, the tablescape is beautiful and the flowers are absolutely stunning! I love the look of lots of hydrangea (or any big, full, moppy floral head!) gathered in a vase. I wonder why your hydrangea haven't produced more? I have been considering getting several hydrangea bushes planted on 2 sides of the house, but I'm scared now. If they don't produce, Ramon will be very unhappy...and that would be a bad thing! ;-) Gorgeous table, girl. Be careful!!!

BECKY said...

How beautiful! Green, blue and yellow all look so wonderful together!

BECKY said...

Oh, P.S....What a scary thing to happen. Yes, do be careful with your candles!

Unknown said...

Yes, I am ready for a cup of coffee! Just love the blue & white! I love your chargers, colbalt blue dishes and those cute birds! Hydrangeas are a favorite of mine. A great table!
Blessings My Friend,

Lana Kim White Austin said...

Soooooooooooooooooooooooo gorgeous!!!!!!!! The blue and white are so crisp and classic!!!!
Love the hydrangeas, too!!!!

Hugs,
Lana

lvroftiques said...

Oh my goodness Lynne! Such a tragic ending to such a beautiful tablescape! I don't blame you a bit for being scared out of your mind! I would've been too! YIKES! Glad you were able to squelch it quickly! Well girlfriend it was just beautiful before all the hullabaloo!
Ya know as I was taking pix of my living room last night I was thinkin' that I sure had a lot of candles going...and with my big fat bum taking pictures I could easily have tipped one, so I'm glad we both escaped near death experiences that we don't need to "GROW" as individuals! *winks* Vanna

a quiet life said...

Such beautiful colors combined, gorgeous~

Dolores said...

We seldom see Hydrangeas in our part of the country...... yours are beautiful.

We must have a trashy Wal Mart, because I never see pretty dishes or anything else that looks good at ours.

I love your beautiful blue and white.
Hope you all are doing well!

Entertaining Women said...

I can't believe that you picked up the jardiniere and ran for the sink....wow! You're a brave lady. The tablescape is gorgeous, and I love the blue transferware and the monogram napkin. If it works, sometimes it works every time. The pear is just the right touch yellow/green. Thank you for sharing your lovely design. Cherry Kay

Wsprsweetly Of Cottages said...

I think Cobalt blue is one of the most beautiful colors for a table...ever! You outdid yourself on this tablescape! You really did.

Rettabug said...

What a spiritedly POP of color those pears to such a pretty blue & white tablescape, Lynne! LOVE all your pretty blue treasures as well as the white ones tucked beneath.

Your sunflower shots are really great, too. I pass a patch of them on my way to the library & have been sooooo tempted to stop the car & get out with my camera.

Hope all is well at your house.
Hugs,
Rett

Tammy at Tammy Loves Dishes said...

I love the blue and white! The cobalt dishes look so good mixed with the others. I always love cobalt!

I'm sure you were scared out of your mind when that hydrangea caught on fire! Yikes!! I'm a big fan of the battery operated candles myself.

Karin Åžen Cankan said...

I hope you and your home is well, scray story.

The table looks great

Karin Åžen Cankan
karinsfairytale.blogspot.com