Use what you have: The charming farm

At the end of yesterday's post I started to think about what little vignette I could create using my new pink lazy Susan and shabby off-white tray. I discovered that the glass top from a cheese dome I'd nabbed recently fit perfectly in the well of the tray.
Our dining room table doesn't lend itself well to centerpieces - we do eat meals at home, but the table has to be cleared every evening to make room for the table setting because it's loaded up with two laptops, papers, homework, etc. So rather than make a centerpiece, I decided to just create a little scene under glass for the kitchen table - which is used as an island. (Confession: I've been trying to think of a way to sneak some "vintage" into the kitchen as well. My hubby really likes the woodsy 70's thing we've got going in there.)

So - first, here's the table as it was when I started, including my furry assistant Tiger:

I really love that table - it was a gift from my neighbor over at our old house and was made by her grandfather. To this day I don't know why she didn't want it, but I welcomed its well-crafted goodness. It's one of three pieces of wood furniture that survived the flood, and that's because it's so well-made. (It has an empty spot on the other side where the drawer used to be, but that part did not survive the flood. So I turned that side to the wall and installed a towel bar for front-facing detail and utility.)

I started by putting down one of those pretty, colorful vintage tablecloths which is more of the era I want the kitchen to reflect, eventually, after I work on hubby a bit. :) I added the pink lazy Susan and white metal tray, and decided to do a farm theme for the cloche. Here is what I came up with:

What I love about this is that because it's on the spinning base, you can rotate it easily to see all the treasures inside! The picture below shows my mother-in-law's rose lapel pin, the floral hanky used as a base, and a bit of the pretty label which proclaims "charming farm."

Here are a couple more close-up views, showing off the happy hen (rooster? can you tell I'm not a native farm girl?? LOL), pattern glass toothpick holder (not farm related but it adds sparkle and height, and goes nicely with the hanky), tiny porcelain kittens, and romantic butterfly brooch.

I think the little hand-painted farm scene, found while thrifting many years ago, gives it just the right backdrop.

It needed a third element, so I used a pattern glass spooner and added our most casual flatware for easy grabbing. I think it all looks rather sweet - now I just need a way to hide that unused switchplate on the wall!

More soon!