Robin Flies South...: burlap ribbon

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Liberty and Lobster for All!

"Where Liberty is, there is my country"-Benjamin Franklin

I should have named this post "Don't rain on my parade"! We are feeling the effects of Debby right now and it has been raining non-stop for over 24 hours. I wanted to do this table outside but there has been no window of opportunity at all. The weather isn't looking much better for tomorrow either. Having no other choice, I set up my table in my great room eating area.

I am a big fan of Fourth of July and always have been. I have so many wonderful memories of this holiday from when I was a child to when my children were small. No presents to buy, no cards to send out, a day off work and FIREWORKS! My kind of holiday! I have always loved fireworks. Everything from waving sparklers around to viewing the spectacle at Disney World!

My perfect meal for this holiday would have to be lobster. If for some reason I had to pick a final meal (not planning on committing a crime!) it would definitely be lobster. So let's try not to let the rain ruin our plans here and enjoy the Fourth (and hope it's way out of here before next week)

This is quite the thrifty table too. Lots of items from Dollar Tree, thrift stores and clearance sales.

My place setting started with straw placemats (again!) After Christmas I bought some bright green chargers on clearance at Walmart and so far all I've done to them was spray paint them with white primer. Another project in progress!

For this table I criss crossed some burlap ribbon to give them a new look. Have you ever worked with burlap ribbon? It's fun and there's so much you can do with it.

Next I placed dinner plates I found yesterday at Kmart. They are from the Country Living collection and were on clearance for $7 (for 4!). The salad plates are sparkly red and were found on clearance at Ross. Next up is a bowl from my Federalist Ironstone dishes and a glass dish with cute mints from Dollar Tree.

I used my Cambridge flatware.

I found these napkin rings at Old Time Pottery. The red, white and blue napkins are really cotton dishtowels from Dollar Tree. I layered them with red napkins.

Glasses are from Dollar Tree also, as well as the mini flags.

I grounded my centerpiece on a white wooden tray. Instead of cut flowers, I used a live plant I picked up at Kmart yesterday. Take a closer look here...

This good sized ceramic planter is from Dollar Tree. I was surprised how nice it was. Even the cashier couldn't believe I found it in her store! In case you don't have Dollar Tree, they are a true dollar store (everything is $1)

I added a navy napkin to hide the plant container. I like the way a flag looks next to yellow flowers.

The America sign is from a thrift store and the Lobster plate is from the Christmas Tree Shop.

My mouth is watering just thinking about eating lobster! Dipped in melted butter!

The trick to setting a Patriotic table isn't just using red, white and blue. Try to vary your textures as I've done here. There's no reason to spend a lot of money either as I have proved here also.