RED, WHITE, AND BLUE TABLESCAPE

I spent the afternoon at my Mom and Dad's house earlier this week.  While there, we were talking about our family plans for the Fourth, and my Mom said she had looked on the blog for a tablescape but couldn't find one.  I realized I've never done one for the Fourth of July!

So, even though we'll be celebrating at their house that day, I decided to to pull something together for my family to enjoy here over the weekend.

I've had a red plaid tablecloth for years, and it does triple duty for Christmas, Valentine's Day, and now the Fourth!  It's a good staple piece to mix and match with other colors according to the season.

It was a no-brainer to include some blue and white accessories.  My crepe myrtle needed a trim and the blooms are white, so yay for free greenery!

I've had some red toile dishes for years, and stacked with Blue Willow they feel mighty patriotic.

When I shared some fun red, white, and blue tabletop accessories from Target with you last week, I mixed in some natural wood pieces to add some texture and break up the strict red, white and blue color scheme.  I followed suit in my own tablescape with the woven placemats and wood cutting board to serve fruit.

I picked this vintage Avon cologne bottle up from a yard sale a few months ago.  I couldn't resist it's charm and knew I would enjoy displaying it for patriotic holidays.

White milkglass works with so many seasons, too!  Strawberry Lemonade coordinates with the color scheme, and a fresh strawberry on the rim ups the cuteness factor.

The only thing I purchased for this table were the polka dot paper napkins.  I like the whimsy they add mixed with the plaid and pattern on the dishes.

This was a super simple table to put together.  I even saw some cute blue and white gingham paper plates along with a red design in the Target ad this week if you want to go the paper route (I know we will be on Monday!) that would be darling stacked together in an alternating pattern.

It doesn't take much effort to pull together a festive table.  In fact, this is probably the easiest holiday to decorate for.   I hope you'll try a fun combo this weekend!

SOURCE LIST

Similar Red Plaid Tablecloth- here or here  ||  Woven Placemat (best price I've seen on these!)  ||  Blue Willow Dishes  ||  Similar Red Toile Dishes- Melamine  ||  Grapevine Milkglass Tumblers here, here, or here  ||  Polka Dot Napkins or Walmart  ||  Flatware  ||  Wood Cutting Board  ||  Similar Blue and White Urn  ||  Similar Blue and White Canister  ||  Avon Capitol Bottle  ||  Red Greek Key Pillows- At Home  ||  DIY Botanical Gallery Wall  ||  Botanical Artwork Book  ||  Cowhide Rug  ||  Louis Style Side Chairs- TJ Maxx, DIY finish here, DIY spotted backs here

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COLORFUL TOILE FABRIC PICKS

Hey there!  We survived camp last week, but it's taken me a few days to recover and get back to a schedule for blogging.  We're approaching holiday mode and then vacation will be coming up soon, so thanks for hanging in there with me through a little bit of a sporadic summer posting schedule!

Any time I post a photo with these pillows in it, I get questions about the fabric.  The black background and bright colors really are unmatched in any other toile or chinoiserie I've seen.

I'm not sure that I ever fully told you the back story, so here goes!  Two summers ago my daughter was playing in a basketball tourney at a school right next to my sister's house, so in between games we snuck away to do some thrifting in the area.  At one of our usual thrift store stops, I flipped through the textiles on a whim while I was waiting for my sis to finish shopping and found one drapery panel made out of this fabric.  I'd never seen it before, but it seemed nice and clean (I actually washed it on cold and gentle later anyway) and I loved the colors.  It was just enough for a couple of pillows, so for $3 I scooped it up and posted this photo on Instagram...

I made a couple of pillows and first posted them on my winter tour early last year.  There weren't any markings on the piece I had, so I didn't know anything about it.  A kind reader informed me that the fabric was a vintage 1940's bark cloth made by Markwood, and the pattern is called Chippendale.  I've since had a few other readers find a piece here and there, and it's EXPENSIVE, so I really got a bargain with my drapery panel!  (I might have cut it a little more judiciously had I know that, and tried to squeeze a little more out of it!)

Since my exact fabric would be hard to come by, I've rounded up a few good options if you're looking for something similar.  Believe it or not, it's pretty difficult to find a good chinoiserie with a dark background and bright colors, it seems like an unusual combo.  I think that's why my piece caught my eye.

One of my favorite fabrics, Chiang Mai Dragon, is available in a dark colorway.  I LOVE it and someday I'm sure I'll come up with an excuse to use it somewhere, even though I already have it in the alabaster colorway.  It's an expensive designer fabric, but worth the splurge on just a bit in my opinion.  Here's a ready made pillow if you don't want to sew your own.

Summer Palace by P. Kaufmann is a pretty good alternative at a great price point if you like the brighter pastel colors rather than more primary colored accents.

I also think Robert Allen's Neo Toile in charcoal/black is a good option, although there isn't such a variety of brighter colors. (Pillow here)

This is Neo Toile "Coral", which is a lighter colorway, and although it doesn't have the dark background the bright colors are pretty. (Pillow here)

It's also available in an idigo colorway if you like the darker color, though the accent colors aren't as bright.  (Pillow here)

I did find the Markwood Chippendale print on Etsy available as pillows in a red colorway- cute!

Searching for fabric in this post has reminded me how much I love toile!  There are SO many pretty chinoiserie choices, but I tried to stick with colors similar to my inspiration fabric in this post.  Maybe I'll do another post with other colors soon!


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FAVORITE RED, WHITE, AND BLUE TABLETOP ACCESSORIES FROM TARGET

The Fourth of July is a favorite summer holiday around our family, and I can't believe it's just a few days away! Recently I've shared a scrumptious dessert and yummy side dish that would be perfect to accompany your meal on the Fourth, and today I've rounded up some fun red, white, and blue tabletop accessories for the perfect patriotic meal.

Let me start by saying this graphic is just a guide.  Any of these settings that I played with can be moved around and mix and matched.  Even if you just choose one new item, all of these are pretty easy to mix with white or neutral pieces that you might already have to create a more patriotic color palette.  I mixed in a few natural wood and rattan pieces just to add some interest and texture, and to keep everything from being too matchy-matchy.

Red Gingham Tablecloth

Red Plaid Tablecloth

Navy Placemat

Chambray Fringe Napkins

White Scalloped Plates

Striped Salad Plates

Blue Dots Appetizer Plates

Marimekko Blue Melamine Plates

Red Dots Melamine Dish Set

Rattan Charger

Acacia Bowl with Handles

Acacia Serving Tray

Red Flatware

Red Dot Tumblers

Dark Blue Handled Jug- 

snip a few branches from a tree or bush and you've got the perfect centerpiece!

Need more Independence Day inspiration?  Whip out this cute no-sew banner in just a few minutes to hang near your party!

*Affiliate links used for your shopping convenience.  I may earn a small commission through these links at no extra cost to you.  Thanks for supporting Dimples and Tangles to keep great content coming!

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CHERRY PINEAPPLE SALAD RECIPE {A.K.A. PINK STUFF}

Last week I spent the week cooking and organizing food for our 250 VBS teachers to make sure they had yummy snacks for the break room, and this week we're at youth camp (Falls Creek if you're familiar with OK) where I'm helping cook for 200 middle schoolers (pray for me!).  So, food has been front and center in my mind and I've been sharing a few of our favorite family recipes with you lately.

Like last week's Squash Casserole, this is another family favorite, and is perfect for any summer occasion.  Or birthday.  Or Thanksgiving.  Or Christmas.  Or Groundhog Day.  Whatever- it's a winner any time!  I tried to come up with a fancier name for it ("Cherry Pineapple Salad"), but in our family we just call it Pink Stuff.  There is no shortage of fruity, fluffy recipes similar to this one, many that are pistachio based, but this one is our go-to, must have at any family gathering.

I didn't even take process shots, this is a dump, mix, chill, and you're done recipe.

Here's all you need:

CHERRY PINEAPPLE SALAD

1 8 oz. tub Cool Whip
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 20 oz. can crushed pineapple, drained
chopped pecans (about 3/4 cup or whatever amount you want)
1 can cherry pie filling
3-4 drop red food coloring (optional)

Mix all ingredients and chill until it firms up, overnight is best.

If there happens to be any left over, this keeps well in an air-tight container for several days.  Your mouth will be happy!

A few more of my favorites, especially for entertaining...

Chicken Cheese Ball

Iced Tea Punch

Warm Cream Cheese Layered Dip

Chocolate Sundae Pie

Bon Appetit!

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NEIGHBORHOOD HOME TOUR {HOUSE #4}

You might remember that I attended a local neighborhood home tour last month and I've shared some of those with you already.   Catch up here if you missed one-

 House Tour #1 

House Tour #2

House Tour #3

Today I'm sharing the final home in this series with you.  I don't know for sure, but I would venture a guess that this house is decades old, however it seemed to be completely remodeled.  All of the bathrooms and kitchen were updated with more modern, timeless colors and fixtures.

I love the exterior color scheme.  We painted our first home in these same colors, and it's one of my very favorite exterior color palettes.  

  

I had a feeling I'd love this house the minute I walked in the door...

Dining room- loved the fireplace, moulding, and built in shelves (not to mention the fun table setting!).

Black shelves are always a dramatic statement.

I will always and forever love an ornate gold frame-

I neglected to take more than one photo in the living room, but I loved the houndstooth wing chairs, the towering flowering branches, the lucite/glass coffee table, and the overall bright and airy feel of the room.

Nice bright kitchen with eye-catching pendants-

Breakfast nook off of the kitchen, such a pretty table setting here, too.

Teacups with flowers at each individual place... note to self!

Guest and Kids' Bathrooms-  I really love all of light blue walls in this home.

Beautiful, serene Master and Master Bath-  even though this room had low ceilings, the light colors and plenty of lighting helped give it an open feel.

This was such a pretty, happy little house!  It also just happened to be for sale at the time of the tour...  I hope you enjoyed this series from the neighborhood home tour and picked up an idea or two to try in your own home.  I can't wait until the next one!

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FRIDAY FAVORITES

One of my favorite designers shared her top 3 design tips that she follows.  Good food for thought!

I recently became aware of Flatterbox when a friend invited us to fill out a card for her daughter who was graduating from High School.  It's such a cute idea!  After choosing your type of box, card color, occasion, and number of cards you want included, you can send invites via e-mail for your friends to record their sentiments for the recipient.  Then, they are printed and sent inside the keepsake box.  What fun to read through a box full of good wishes or memories from friends and family!

We absolutely love this remote control outlet for our patio string lights.   We had outlets installed in the eaves, so the lights were simple to plug in, but we didn't want to be climbing up to plug them in and unplug them all the time.  This adapter plugs into the outlet, then we just keep the remote in a kitchen drawer and click all the string lights on and off with the push of a button!  We bought ours at Lowes, but I found the same one on Amazon too.

These Oui Floral Dinner Plates are so perfect for summer!

This tip is primarily for my blogger friends who edit photos using Picmonkey.  I learn how to use more and more tools on it all the time, and Crystal from The Weathered Fox just did a fantastic video on using Picmonkey to brighten photos.  This is a trick to use when some of your photo has good lighting, but other spots are too dark.  There have been so many times when I've needed a trick like this, I'm anxious to try it out.



Summer posted a dreamy home tour on Simple Stylings.  It's packed full of inspiration and eye candy!

*some affiliate links used

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