Two years ago the woman who is in charge of marketing for Goodwill Industries, invited me to participate in an Italian Tablescape contest. It was held at the Festival Italiano in the Belmar development of Lakewood, Colorado. Now, here's the fun part. We were given $40 gift cards to Goodwill, and could only spend an additional $10 of our own for flowers, candles, etc. At the time, I had no idea what a tablescape even was, but I had Italian grandparents, and I thought I could wing it. Boy, did I have a lot to learn!
Here are the six tablescapes:
I really thought a tablescape had to have place settings. I was very confused by this one!
"Palazzo Bella" (beautiful home)
I never would have thought to add artwork or real liquids, but what a great idea!
"Cucina Coast"
This one is mine. There are so many things I would change, but I am proud that I made all the linens.
"Mattina Bella" (beautiful morning)
I love how the centerpiece of this one is built up. And crumpled tissue paper in the glasses!
"Breakfast in Tuscany"
This is the winning tablescape, and I totally get it now. The layering, the striped runner pulling out the colors of the small plates, the pop of yellow repeated in the lemons, and the use of four place settings instead of two. We were all astonished at how much she got for her $40. She went to a different Goodwill store than the rest of us!
"Casual in Capri"
The woman from Goodwill did this last one, and I think she did a great job!
"Festa del l'uva" (grape harvest festival)
Here are a few shots of the festival. (I would love to have some of these dishes!)
Thanks for letting me share my contest. I know my grandparents would have appreciated my effort and voted for me! Come back for next week's Tablescape Thursday, so I can redeem myself and show all that I've learned!
Please visit my sister's tablescape at Robin Flies South...
And if you want a little relationship humor, visit my other blog Elaine's Wonderful World!
15 comments:
I felt like I had that challenge this morning at Goodwill! Great job by all and of course I think yours is the best. The winner is probably some overachiever! No, really hers was a more traditional tablescape.
I like the one the lady from Goodwill did too!
Nice to meet you, your sis sent me over! :)
You did a good job on your table too!
Kathleen
$40 can buy lots of dishes at the Goodwills I shop! The tablescapes are all fabulous...thanks for sharing.
All the tables are fabulous (yours is the best!) and how cool that you shopped at Goodwill! I didn't know until tonight that you and Robin were sisters, very cool! I enjoy your blog and your sense of humor :) Thanks for visiting with me!!
What a fun idea! I am thinking the table that won spent more than $40! I can count the number of items and see that, but she did a great job. Yours is so pretty too, and your liens are great. I just can't get over what a fun idea this is. It would be fun to do for a party (on a smaller scale)
Elaine, love the tablescapes, Italian Style! I am a huge fan of Tuscan design and came across your blog. Great photos! Goodwill...who knew??! Feel free to join my blog!
What a fun challenge. Last night at dinner with friends we were at a beautiful table set with Italian dishes she'd just found at Goodwill. Wish I'd seen them first!
It was fun to see the tables. Thanks for sharing looks like a good time by all.
Wow that sounds like it was fun! The first one is more of a vignette than a tablescape- all the rest are lovely. Yours was terrific! I like the grapes on the plates, the grape design on the coffee mugs and the grape leaf on the basket! You did really well! Looks like everybody found some great table items! Thanks for sharing!
I know that if I hit Goodwill on one of their 50% off Saturdays I can get dishes and glasses for 25 cents each so a nice looking table can be done on the cheap. I will be bookmarking this for future ideas. I will also have to make a point to get to the Italian festival at BelMar next year. Maybe we can do a meet up?!
Thanks for stopping by for a visit and leaving a nice comment :)
Kathe
What a great idea...the tables are beautiful. Very imaginative having to rely on what was at Goodwill at the time you all were planning your tablescapes. Very impressive!
I hate to keep harping on this, but I can NEVER EVER find anything good at Goodwill! I don't know why not! I must be cursed!!! So you guys could only spend a total of $50 - the $40 gift certificate from them and $10 of your own - to create the table? That WOULD be a challenge, but it looks like you really stepped up to meet it! The winner's table and the owner's table are really pretty, too! They must know something I don't about how to find good stuff! :-) This was a cool post. I wonder if they do anything like this here in my area? Not that I'd be able to find anything good to create a table! ;-) Have a good weekend! Oh...and I already visited Robin's site!
Sounds like a very fun project -- loved all the tables. Isn't it fun how different they all are. I'm sure many of us would have loved to vote for your table.
We don't have a GW here, sure wish we did, what treasures all of you found. I will try to check out the Salvation Army up town, I might find some goodies there.. love all the tablescapes, what talent all you showed.. your linens are wonderful in yours.. hugs ~lynne~
What a neat contest and your table was beautiful! I loved it and think you did a GREAT job! The grape theme is so classic and lovely. Finding all the stuff at Goodwill was a good challenge! Can't wait to see what you come up with for next week! XO, Pinky
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