FALLING LEAVES...AND BEES

 Yes, it's that time, Fall.    I love the fall because the weather cools and the colors change to beautiful hues of reds, oranges, and yellows.   Nature's colors inspire my home decor. 

One of my favorite collections is Boston International's, Honeycomb Bee. Not only for its warm caramel-yellow color but also for its rich texture.

I discovered this pattern on Pinterest from a blogger's posting of a beautiful bee-themed table setting six years ago.  I was able to buy six dessert/salad plates from Bed Bath and Beyond, but much to my dismay, the dinner plates were nowhere to be found.  The set was initially sold by Horchow, but by the time I discovered it, none were available.  There were various pieces on Ebay, but they were overpriced.  Bed Bath and Beyond and Amazon carried some pieces including a beautiful little teapot, and in 2019, my friend Rosemary gave it to me for my birthday.  In 2020, Vinnie gave me the Wallace Napoleonic flatware with gold accents (Horchow).  This year I made the leap and purchased the creamer/sugar, two mugs, and two tea cups with saucers.     The only possibility of another purchase would be the dinner plates should they show up somewhere, but it's ok if they don't.  My obsession with honeybees doesn't stop at dishware.  I recovered a footstool with a beautiful bee fabric, made bee napkin rings and a bee tea box, a bee table runner, and last Christmas my girlfriend, Diane, sent me a beautiful beaded bee throw pillow.

I had to have the neutral straw ruffled placemats for this set and searched for them for 5 years.  I finally found them on ebay.    The tablecloth in the picture is April Cornell and has nothing to do with the bee theme.  I happened to have it and loved it with this set.

This brings me to my latest project.  I painted 4 juice glasses in a bee motif.  Full disclosure, I used a bee stencil.  I did this for consistency in shape and size. I had the stencil which I used previously to make the tea box.  I had to mix the paint to get just the right color which is a soft caramel yellow.  For the napkin rings, I bought bee pins on ebay, cut off the pin and catch, and glued them to a wood ring (from Amazon).

When I need a dinner set with this collection, I use my Mikasa Fine Ivory Royalty.  It's a beautiful compliment to the bee collection. The setting below was a spring table.

Spring, summer, or fall, the bee collection 

is right up there as one of my favorites!

Winking Girl

 Every October I bring out my winking girl tea set.  I received one cup from my MIL years ago.  It was on a shelf in my dish storage area, and would always catch my attention...as though she was looking at me.  I know, spooky, but in a good way.   So I decided to give her three companions and a teapot.  There are winking girl and boy teapots to match, but I prefer the polka dot because it matches her eyes.  I had the reticulated plates which coordinate with the set.   And the tumbling baby Pierrot clowns?  They have similar faces and add whimsey.  It's just me being quirky.