I Need Christmas Table Scaping Advice

I am a big fan of the blog "The Tablescaper" seen here

and

the blog "Between Naps on the Porch" seen here

 I thought how hard could it be to do a tablescape?

Well for me, at least, it seems to be a challenge. 

Here is my kitchen table...

all decked out with Christmas...um...cheer?

It all started a few years ago when I found 
this wonderful
reindeer cookie jar from Pottery Barn.

This is a picture form their website.

The reindeer cookie jar is beautiful....

only, I can't seem to capture that

warm "milk and cookies" homey feel.

I'm also a fan of the blog "Mod Vintage Life"

here 

and was inspired by

Nita's fascination with mercury glass.

So I added these Target

mercury glass candle holders I found 

last year and these Kohl's

faux birch bark pillar candles

I found this year.

Thought they would add a country woodland feel to the deer.

While I was at Kohl's I spied these deer placemats

and imagined they would be a perfect pairing with the

reindeer cookie jar.

Next to the placemat wall I found this holiday dinnerware

I thought to myself, the reindeer's finish

matched perfectly with their ivory tones

and the pottery can be seen through the glaze on both.

I purchased just two bowls with the idea

 they would be nice candy or fruit bowls.

My wife said the scape lacked red.

I went to Michael's and found two pine and red berry sprigs

that would go with the placemats.

 She also loves Bobs Sweet Stripes

(no apostrophe, because there are two Bobs, or least there were)

Read more about Bobs here

I figure "why not get a small apothecary jar

and display the Sweet Stripes in it"

So... here is the result thus far...

It's coming together...but... I feel like it still needs something.

Any suggestions?

Update: 2012 I've added to the Scape even more!!!
Today I'm linking with:
Susan's Tablescape Thursday

Christmas time in the kitchen

One of my favorite things to do
at the start of the Christmas season

is to change out the hutch/buffet.

I just love pulling out all the Christmas cookie jars.

I have a Radko Shiny Bright Holly Jolly Santa cookie jar.

He is very reminiscent of the old spaghetti Santas.

  Here's an example from Ebay 

of a vintage 60's spaghetti Santa bank.

Can you see where Radko got his idea? 

Next is a baker gingerbread man cookie jar.

Doesn't he look tasty?

 And a very friendly snowman cookie jar.

I just adore these Radko Shiny Brite

"Little Toy Soldier" candle holders, I found on Ebay.

They're at attention for the big man himself.

 Behind this soldier is a Bordallo Pinheiro

green holly pitcher and plate,

they kind of go with the "Holly" Jolly Santa.

I'm happy to find a mischievous little Annalee Elf

circa 2002 (but I just got him this year at HomeGoods.)

He's the keeper of the Cadbury Snow Balls

They are so addictive 

I can never eat just one!

Above Santa I put a mini Christmas tree light.

I 've seen small lights displayed in hutches

in little tchotchke boutiques. 

 I found this one at Pier 1 last year and 

thought it would add a little charm.

I think that Santa head mug

was my very first Dept 56 possession.

I didn't even know it was Dept 56

till a few years later, when I looked at the bottom.

I just liked its quality at the time.

The other mug and matching plate

are for Santa's milk and cookies on Christmas eve.

They were from Hallmark two years ago.

This is a Hallmark Snowman Mug

from even further back.

Isn't the little snowman face simply delightful?

I just love his little pink cheeks and the candy stripes.

This little fellow is from

the Becky Denny line called "Retro Santa"

I wrote about it earlier this month here.

He is a little dip bowl with a candy cane spreader.

To the left of Santa we see the

Radko "Peppermint Puff Snowman" 

salt and pepper shakers.

My parents have always had two plastic

snowmen that are an exact match to these.

Theirs are hollow and the sacks have 

an open hole designed to hold 

Christmas candy.

Here's a picture I found of one on Ebay

  I would play with them every year

I think I might have broken their pipes off. 

When I saw these Radko copies

a flood of memories came back to me.

They just had to be mine.

The Radko "Nutcracker Suite" salt and pepper set

was a lucky find at Marshall's last year.

I love all the detail in something so small.

What's this?

Another little sprightly Annalee elf!

He looks like he might have helped himself

to a few Cadbury candies.

What's you favorite Christmas candy?

The Ozark Holiday LGB Express

One of the things I look forward to during the holidays

is finding seasonal work as a "gandy dancer"
(a worker who laid and maintained railroad tracks)
on the Ozark Holiday Express line.

The annual Christmas train, an extension of the

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway,

steams over the river and through the woods

to bring a little Christmas cheer and supplies

to the rural townsfolk all across the living room.

Through frigid wind and icy show nothing will

slow the mighty fire breathing mini LGB Mikado

from arriving on schedule.

As the "ash cat" or fireman, as he's called, 

shovels more coal into the firebox,

the steam pressure builds in the boiler

and the iron horse picks up speed. 

Our engineer is a real highball artist

as he handles the speed with ease.

The wildlife is startled as the thundering redball whistles by.

The conductor is pleased that

the Ozark Holiday Express

is running on time and will be pulling into the

station any minute.

The tiny country Spode train station

is all decked out for Christmas as it

awaits the train's arrival.

I found this country Christmas picture

last year at HomeGoods, it was 

just after Christmas and marked down 50%. 

I think it makes a great backdrop 

 for my new train station cookie jar. 

which arrived just ahead of the Ozark Holiday Express

 As this galloper pulls into the station

with a big cloud of steam and bell ringing,

you can almost hear the song

"There's no place like home for the holidays"

on the station's speakers.

Eggnog is drained from the tank car and the townsfolk

rejoice in the merriment of the holidays.

Christmas Valance Time

With the Christmas season

comes the changing of the valance...

Another beautiful creation by my wife's friend Eden.

She always captures just what my wife and I are after.

The green fabric has red and pink roses,

as well as white and red poinsettias,

mixed with holly leaves and berries,

mistletoe, and pine cones. 

There's even a purple berry in the potpourri,

it might be a mulberry.

The red layer is a tone on tone pine branches

and pine cones design with gold glitter all over.

After we got the valance up

we started to build a matching

Christmas wreath to go over the hutch.

We tried to incorporate all the elements from the fabric.

Plus I added some jingle bells, a reindeer, and a bird.

I think we found most of the floral at Michael's.

We were lucky to find so many things that matched the fabric.

The Christmas season is shaping up nicely

but moving so quickly.

A Quest for Santa

It must have been 4 years ago now.

I was googling images as I usually do.

This time for "Santa Cookie Jar"

I needed one at the time.

Amongst all the ho hum Santa cookie jars

one image jumped out at me.

I was like OMG I love it!

The picture was just that, a picture.
On "Flickr" photographed by Tiffybunny.
She gave it the title  
"The cutest cookie jar ever made"

with no more information than that.

I thought I just had to have one
and began searching the web like crazy.

I used terms like "cartoon Santa"

"Santa ceramic" and "retro Santa"

and BINGO I hit on it.

This was indeed a line called just simply

"Retro Santa" 

Designed by an Alabama artist named Becky Denny

source
This picture of her was from her page on 

PictureBook  a directory of children's illustration.

and this was her original Retro Santa design.

from which the line was based.

I just love the whimsy.

My search continued to find other great Retro Santa pieces

...the Retro Santa platter

...the Retro Santa plate

...the Retro Santa dip spreader

...the Retro Santa hot pad

... the Retro Santa candle holder

...the Retro Santa candy dish (this one's mine)

...the Retro Santa mug

 ...even Retro Santa dish towels.

I know there was a cake stand too 

but I can't find pictures of it.

But I digress, all this searching still didn't lead

me to a place to buy the charming little cookie jar.

It just wasn't available.
I'd guessed the design had been out for a while
and pieces were running out.

My next thought,
(and this is leading into obsessed stocker territory)

was to email Becky Denny herself 

and ask where I could buy her terrific

Retro Santa Cookie Jar.

To my suprise she answered back!!!
From her company Ceranima Home.

Here is my letter to her:
01/28/2009

Dear Ms. Denny,
I think your retro Santa collection is a delight, very whimsical and uber charming!!!
You are a talented designer, and It is an honor to have your designs in my collection!
I bought the retro Santa dip bowl with the candy cane spreader this Christmas,

and my wife fell in love with its tiny feet!  

Then I got the retro Santa candy dish, I love the stars inside the dish.
I am now in search of the elusive retro Santa cookie jar.  Someone posted a picture of it on "flicker" as the world's cutest cookie jar, and I whole heartedly agree!

The only place I could find it on line was a website store that is no longer in business,

they just have a picture of it.
Do you by any chance know where I could get your retro Santa cookie jar?
Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Your fan, Adam

Here is her response:

Dear Adam,
How much fun to receive your email! I meant to email you earlier today, but got so distracted by far less pleasant tasks, that I just sat down again. It has made a great end to another day to read your email again tonight.

YES, I believe we do have some Retro Santa Cookie Jars around here. I sent Zade, my studio assistant a text this morning to be diligent in looking so that we can immediately respond to Adam, our new best friend who has cheered us up on an otherwise dreary Alabama day.

Zade will email you tomorrow (is there a number where she can reach you?). How great to know that someone out there loves what I do—means an awful lot to me, it really does.
Your fan too,
Becky

Becky Denny

President and Creative Director

becky@ceranima.com

Wasn't that delightful? 

I soon recieved an email from Zade 
 she was ready to have the cookie jar sent
to her from the warehouse.

All I had to do was pay for shipping

for her to send it to me. 

I asked, if it would be possible,

if just maybe,
Becky Denny might sign it for me?

Zade responded that she would be delighted too!

She said that she would put it on her mom's desk

for her to sign and send.

Well days turned into weeks and Zade emailed

that her mom couldn't find her ceramic pen

but it wouldn't be much longer.

Then a few months passed.

I noticed that the Ceranima website was

starting to shut down,
my emails and calls to Zade went unanswered.

I had lost my chance,

Ceranima had gone out of business.

But Becky Denny being a creative soul was not out.

She had started a site where she designed

mixed media portraits with vintage paper images.

source
This is her work.

That's a young picture of Zade in the green dress.

More of Becky Denny's paintings can be found

on her page here
at "The Ephemera Network" 

I recently saw that Becky Denny

had joined the "LinkedIn" network

she is running "Denny Design Works"

I wish her well
I asked her to link to me in the network.

And, here's hoping....

I also mentioned

the Retro Santa cookie jar.

UPDATE 2013:
Read more about Becky Denny

Photo by Jerry Siegel

HERE

Becky Denny and Zade Denny