If you are a collector of pretty dishes or even inherited your Nana’s china ~ we all seem to have our fancy dishes, our everyday dishes and a few mis-matched other dinnerware scattered thru-out our cabinets, side-boards and hutches.

Here are a few tips on how to make pretty place settings by shopping your own cabinets and coordinating items to make it uniquely you.

• Add a pretty tablecloth or runner, then add placemats (blankets and left over material work too)
• Stack ’em up. Start with a placemat, charger or large plate, even a platter for each place setting, then stack ‘large’ to ‘smaller’ ~ coordinate size and color ~ not necessarily from the same dish set
• Coordinate colors, using clear or solid plate colors in-between each layer
• Add napkins or ribbons in-between plates and bowls, or even fold a napkin and insert into the glass
• Add a mug, teacup or even a stack of bowls or a basket to the top of the plates
• Add mis-matched silverware in any placement (yes no formal rules to apply) ~ or wrap them in a napkin with a napkin tie or ribbon.
• Add a favor or sweets to a basket or mug
• Be sure to have left over containers ready to go
• Add a small chalkboard or a banner name tag to each place setting
• Make small changes to each setting on the table, but keeping the colors the same….coordinated vs matching

Coordinating is more about color and placement than having a complete set of dishes or matching each place setting to each other.

I didn’t have matching baskets for the ‘top layer’ but I had coordinating baskets with the same color….it worked. The size was approximately the same along with the color ~ and then placing the same grass inside each made it coordinate not match…..perfect.

Most times using what you already have, shop around your home.

The dishes shown here ~ were either from my bridal shower, a gift from a friend, inherited from family or a vintage find. I adore the clear depression glass ribbon plate….so many purposes, they were a gift from a friend, Tami, about 30 years ago, she has passed away since then and I think of her every time I use them.

The glass ribbon cake pedestal was found while vintage shopping in Ohio and I love to use the pedestal as a centerpiece when using the ribbon plates at each place setting.

Both ribbons shown are left-over from my ‘Bath & Body Works’ years, from gift sets. We had un-assembled gift sets to add the next seasons ribbons and of course I grabbed them ~ keeping them all these years to make pretty place settings using the ribbon plates and cake pedestal.

The Easter ‘favors’ were simply made with handmade and store purchased candy placed into a vintage mug, filled with grass and a coordinating cupcake paper liner.

Simple and Pretty.

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Add the candy for the children and add a simple single-serve Charcuterie for each adult place setting.

Then create a larger charcuterie as your table centerpiece using dyed eggs, whole carrots, and such.

For each single-serve, add ‘greens’ such as kale as a base then layer to a vintage mug, then add rolled cheeses & meats, add vegetables, sliced eggs and crackers too.

Beautiful and Delicious too!

Which ever way you serve it up ~ enjoy the creative process while setting your Easter table. Keep it inexpensive by using what you have, and adding edibles as your favor or treat.

as always, Enjoy. Happy Easter.

Click onto the Blog Tab at the top of the Page and enjoy scrolling thru all the Creative Ideas….even more place settings! Click (here) for one of my favorites!

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Coming Soon ~ Garden Frogs, Published, Planting Zinnias, Peanut Butter Sandwiches, Hiccups, Planning, The Halloween Keepsake Journal, and so much more!