Goodmorning, OK, first take a deep relaxing breath, you are stressing too much here. LOL I just searched your name to see what pictures of what you have that you could use. Your album came up and I am assuming these are pieces you own. You have lots of cool things. You can do a tea party for One if you don't have alot of stuff, I know a few people who are doing just that. You have that wonderful new purchase of the bunny (centerpiece/focal point), that you can use with your green dishes.

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mo{{gwi:1412768}}re great centerpieces

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You have tons of Rooster stuff and dishes, you can use a solid color mug to match with one of the colors out of your rooster, Dollar store has lots of colored mugs. Find a brightly colored napkin to go with the dish set up. Even a solid white napkin would go with the green dishes and glass totum.

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{{gwi:1413735}}So cute to go with a bunny theme

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This out door garden glass totum would be perfect I think to hold a few cookies and such on the ledges of the plates, just clean her up (if she was out side) and add some "eats" on the outside edges of the totum). I just love this totum for the possibilities. You can use the glass totum with an all glass look dishes and tea cup (dishes sells at Walmart for cheap and sometimes dollar stores.) (I just love that glass totum):)

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Your grandmothers tea set is lovely, you could use the pink bunny plate with it, after all it has pinks, and the pink flowers certainly flow with the pink bunny plate and nature.
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You even have this lovely china set.
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So you see you have a wealth of goodies, you just need to pull them out and start playing, this is exactly what I do, I take different things from different areas just to see if it would work. Sometimes I...

Karen, we are too much alike! This doesn't come "naturally" to me either, but I do love seeing everyone else's and want to do it too!

Judith did a great job of pulling pics to show the treasures you already have. I knew you had lots of great things you could use. Actually, you have so many it will probably be hard to decide on which to use! ;o)

Take a deep breath--you can do it!

Luvs

WOW Judith, you make my stuff look really appealing. LOL.
Oh, on the last pix of the Mikasa china, I don't have the set pictured. Wish I did. I only had bought the creamer and sugar for my whippet dish collection of small items like this. I will someday hopefully add a few more pieces like in the picture tho. Just to have a setting for one.
Right now no place even to even display it tho, that little china cabinet is FULL.

I think my mind has been keyed in on using my grandmother's set as it just looks like a TEA PARTY to me. My rabbit pitchers are big and the Bordallo stuff so 'heavy'. I'll will play tablesetting with them of course, but I can't seem to get off my grandmother's at the moment.
Oh...that crystal totem...its been in the yard about two years now. And its pretty big, tall. That would make a stunning centerpiece on a big table tho wouldn't it? Love your thoughts and imagination. Never would have occurred to me to use something like that indoors. I should make one a bit smaller for a centerpiece and see what I can come up with. Another project for my list. LOL.

Luvs mentioned my grandmother's set might be a demitasse.
That would make sense why its so small. I know its not a child's set.

I'm not really stressing, too busy laughing at myself over this. Just having frustration with too much stuff that suddenly seems to not want to do what I want it to.

Thank you for so much time and information and help, again.
Oh, and next time you post some basic rules, is there any thing regarding mixing silver and crystal and china I should know? Told you, I am clueless with this stuff.

love, Karen

Karen , don't get discouraged.
I felt overwhelmed too. A dinner table doesn't scare me so much but this tea party thing had me pretty stressed out...lol.
First I thought I had nothing to use, but then I remembered my bunny teapot and a doll teaset. After that I started digging through cabinets and plastic totes and pulled everything out that was a teapot...lol. I couldn't believe how many I had, but I felt intimidated because I did not have all theo other matching items.
Here is what my kitchen table looked like this morning...
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Just like you I didn't feel like I could pull anything together, I didn't have matching plates and my napkins looked 'huge'.
I have been 'playing' all day and it does get better.
In one setup I used paper cocktail napkins and it looked fine, in another I used lacy doilies. I pulled different floral arrangments and figurines out of different rooms and tried them all. I think I am finally on to something.
Don't give up... just think outside the box.
I decided on a couple of different color themes and collected all items in those colors throughout my home. It gave me plenty to 'play' with and things are starting to come together.
Good luck...and more important then anything... HAVE FUN!!!...:)

Hey Tam, great photo.....your tea pots are having their own party looks like!!! Gotta love it, LOL.
That white set is wonderful, already I can see so many things to do do with color using it. I need a white tea set for sure now. And I've got to get my hands on the Bordallo green bunny teapot, without paying eBay shipping on one. I want that, and the matching cake pedestal plate.
$$$$$$, sigh.

your post was great, and I AM having fun over all this.
hugs, Karen

I have so many stressors right now that I'm glad I didn't sign up to do the teaparty. I can relate Karen, I only own one teapot now, sold them all in garage sales, as we never used them.

You'll pull it off, I have confidence in you & can't wait to see all the tea party settings!!

As I was reading this I was laughing because it sounds like my students when I am teaching something like a rose. They really want to paint it, they know what the rose looks like but they start stressing that it won't be as nice as the person sitting next to them and then they just know they can't do it.

First, yes you can do it, forget about what everyone else is doing and be thankful yours is not like the other persons - your will be unique because you did it yourself. Don't worry about "matching" everything - color outside those lines, it will be more interesting. Gosh, having tea can be as simple as a teacup on a pretty piece of fabric with a small plate of cookies and little candle. Remember Judith's Tea For One. It was simple yet beautiful!!

And I would love to see some funny set ups too.

PM, you have some wonderful pieces, I love the colors of your bunny dishes.

Tam, I love the cream pedestal teacup, it is so feminine.

Judith, I know your tea party will be great with all the dishes you have - can't wait to see it.

Luvs, I have seen some of the things you do so I know you are going to put together something really nice.

I can hardly wait til this weekend. I don't get to have tea with anyone very often, my friends are all painters and live out of town and I am teaching my grandchildren to have tea with me - they love hot tea. They all have their own teacups (I use the pretty demitasse cups), flowers for the girls and less feminine for the boys.
B

Hi everyone,

You see you all do have goodies, it is just putting one step forward and giving it a try. Don't feel bad sometimes my things take me a couple of hours to put together too, I think WE ALL worry too much, but please just try playing around with what you have, and then if it is not too expensive purchase the little fill-ins, like a single rose, some inexpensive napkins, a candle, a candlestick or voltive candle, many of these things can be bought at dollar stores, Walmart Kmart without too much expense, and the good thing is that you can use them again in another setting. If you have a table size potted plant around that makes a very nice natural centerpiece or background piece to your table. Napkin rings can be made simply from so ribbon you may already own. If you have any blooseming flowers yet you can tuck on in between the ribbon and napkin. Fancy broaches or pins can be used to "hold" the napkin, in fact you dont even need a napkin ring if you don't want to use one, just fold it flat and place under the plate or to the left of the plate, or fluff it up and put it in the water glass if you are using one. I like being lighted hearted and easy when it comes to napkins. If you don't have cloth, use a pretty paper one. If you are doing a table for one, find a tray to lay your goodies on, a wood tray, silver tray, old picture frame can even work as an interesting tray. I bought 4 large simple black framed picture frames from Walmart to use as trays, you can even buy handles and screw or glue in the handles on the edges of the frames to make then more "tray like" LOL I used black because it was for a particular look I wanted, but there are lots of styles of picture frames out there for what would work for you. then you can just insert under the glass material of your choosing, or even a photograph if it goes with your theme. I like putting in pieces of toile, pasisleys, polka dots, stripes, solid color etc, what ever works for the occassion.

Tam looks like you have a wealth of goodies there too.

Yachter, I am sorry to hear you are going thru stressors right now, so you just settle in and enjoy all the tea party goodies on the 5th, and you can even have a cup of tea while you look, even if it is via the net LOL

Karen I mix silver and gold edged china all the time. It is also done in the many many "books" I have. I do own a favorite set of flatware that has the silver as the base with a touch of gold running thu it, you all have seen it in some of my tablesettings, my DD bought much of it for me as B-day presents, and Christmas presents and Moms day gifts, for years I got the same silverware as a gift, but I love it because it means something to me that she saved for each placesetting and I got it on a meaningful day.

Oh yes, another idea, you can have your "teaparty for one" placed on a tray on your bed, sort of tea party in bed/breakfast. Just have some tea in your cup, maybe some OJ in a short glass...

Rats, I included a link on my last message and I forgot to explain it. The link is from a Flickr member who did a cute childrens tablesetup, I just thought you might like to see it.
Judith (with brain fog as you can tell)

Judith - You paint??? Give us more details

Paintingfool, Oh, about 10 years ago I wanted to take up doing the kind of painting that I have seen Luvs doing especially the flowers and roses and such. I took a class (and did OK), but I know the pressure of wanting to be as good as everyone else, but I have learned in my older age, that is NOT what counts (see older age can be a good thing), what counts is that I tried, I did OK, and with more practice I would have been better, but life got in the way, we moved to new assignment, and I never found another lady as talented to teach the flowers and stuff. Then came divorce and NO MONEY period...a few years went by, and these days, my time is pretty limited to doing the other "honey dos (since I am the "honey") LOL and the fun things I can still accomplish in my house, so in the end I am doing what I love doing, BUT someday, I would so love to take up decorative painting again. Wow, bet that was more than you needed to know LOL

PF, you want a funny setting to see, I can probably come up with that pretty easy. LOL.
Especially if I tried Judith's suggestion of tea in bed.
"a tray on your bed, sort of tea party in bed/breakfast. Just have some tea in your cup, maybe some OJ in a short glass cup, a muffin,or bagel, or fruit, a napkin, a single flower in a vase, and then of course you have the lovely backdrop of your bed linens" then add in the 4 cats who surely would be up there to check it out. Whooops, there went the oj, the tea, and probably the muffin as two of them like sweets. Oh yeah, this would be a great photo if someone wants to come help me clean up afterwards. I think I'll let Jim do this one with Panda and Miss Kitty.

Yacht, I sure hope stress takes a holiday. Sending you good thoughts for that to happen.
hugs, Karen

I couldn't help but laugh when I read your post, Karen, I could just visualize it happeing.

Judith, when you have a chance sneak over to the Decorative Painting Forum and take a look at some of the things we have done as painters. I just got back from a weekend seminar with Margot Clark (www.margotclark.com). I had the best time. I paint more than I do anything else and just totally love it even after almost 25 years. I know this is not the painting forum but I am going to attach my practice piece from the seminar this weekend and a little box I will be teaching in May so you all can get an idea on what we do over there. Luvs is a regular visitor and she is a terrific painter.

Karen, sorry forgot about the cats, could you round them up for a few minutes out of the bedroom close the door and take your photos in peace? Otherwise I am at a loss.

Paintingfool, those are beautiful, that is exactly what I was talking about, I must have had 50 self help books on that kind of painting, had to get rid of some in the many military moves I had to do, but yes, your paintings and Luvs is exactly what I really enjoy. I shall have to take a visit to the Decorative Painting forum for a peek, thanks for posting the lovely photos.