Tablescaping Déjà Vu & the Blue Hour: Welcome to the 157th Tablescape Thursday!

You may feel like Bill Murray in the movie, Groundhog Day as you view the following tablescape.  In last week's Tablescape Thursday post, I mentioned I had created a tablescape on the porch and it somehow mysteriously moved itself right out on to the deck, turning into this romantic table setting.

Since the original table on the porch was still set, I decided to share it for this week...a little tablescaping  déjà vu .

Click HERE to continue reading...

Candlelier Silhouetted Against a Blue Hour Sky

From time to time I've shared this deck that's located to the left of the screened-in porch. This deck area is underneath a pergola and has a large candlelier hanging above. I really love this outdoor fixture. I bought it right after I added the porch and decks HERE a few years ago. It came from a store (Smith & Hawken) that has unfortunately gone out of business. You can still buy some of their products in Target.




I had a mischievous raccoon break one of the glass globes. :( You can read about that HERE.)

This picture was taken during that magical and somewhat elusive time, the "blue hour."





Recently, I received some wonderful photos from Debbie, a reader of BNOTP. I LOVE it when you share your wonderful photos! Debbie was inspired by the pics of my candlelier. In her e-mail she wrote: "You were a real inspiration in this acquisition! We didn’t have any fixture hanging over our porch table for the years before, but I started reading your blog and saw how homey your porch looked. I really wanted the Smith & Hawken candlelier like yours, but sadly they had gone out of business and someone else beat me to the sale-of-one-floor-sample."





Debbie said, "Shortly after that, we found this one hanging in a store on a trip to Ohio’s Amish Country. ( I don’t remember the name of the store)It was the only one they had and it had an aluminum-like finish. I painted it a similar color to that of our porch walls and voila!"





Debbie took her photos during the blue hour and WOW, her lantern looks stunning against the blue hour sky.





Absolutely beautiful! Debbie, thanks so much for sharing your gorgeous lantern and wonderful blue hour photos. If you here from Layla's "How To" party and you would like to know more about the blue hour and when it "happens" in your area of the world, you'll find exact directions in this post, HERE.




I'm joining in Layla's "How To" Party today with this post. Just click on the link above to read all about the art of taking photos during the "Blue Hour."

Tablescape for the 4th of July! Welcome to the 96th Tablescape Thursday!

Independence Day is just around the corner...time for a little Red, White and Blue fun!








I could just see these "martini" glasses filled with luscious fruit...maybe raspberries and blueberries with lots of fluffy whipped cream. Wouldn't that be perfectly patriotic for this tablescape?!
















I have one "set of 4" of these red, white, blue and aqua, star place card holders available, In the Bulter's Pantry on eBay, HERE. I wish I had more...they are so perfect for Memorial Day and 4th of July tablescapes. (The reason they are In the Butler's Pantry on eBay and not In The Butler's Pantry on Etsy is because Etsy will only allow handmade items or those over 20 years old...these are brand new.)













Time for a little candlelight as evening arrives on the porch.



































Some of the porch...just for fun. You can tell this pics were taken during that magical "blue hour" time. See the bluish cast on the porch?




Playing around...this pic was taken from the deck through the screen. It was tricky fooling the camera to ignore the screening. It's kind of fun looking into the porch from this perspective.









A candlelight butterfly!






Capturing the "blue hour."




Chargers: Neiman Marcus, 2-3 years ago
China: Gibson, Clarendon, Big Lots, a year or two ago
Stemware: Dollar Tree, a year ago
Flatware: Gourmet Settings, Pattern is Silver Tear, only $29 at Marshalls...yipee! :-)
Place Card Holders: Tuesday Morning, 2 months ago
Lanterns: Old Time Pottery, 1 month ago
Confetti: Pier 1, a couple of weeks ago
Butterfly and Tealight Candle Holder provided by Colonial Candle.


Looking forward to viewing your beautiful tablescapes!



If you are participating in Tablescape Thursday, please be sure to add your permalink below, and not your general blog address. To get your permalink, click on your post name. Then just copy and paste the address that shows up in the address bar at the top, into the "url" box for the picture linky. You'll also need to put your e-mail address in, but don't worry, it will not be visible to anyone.

You may see a red X once you enter your link. No one else can see the red X, it's just there in case you make a little mistake and need to delete your link and re-enter it.

Please link back to the host blog, Between Naps on the Porch. This is important because it helps those who are visiting your blog, find the other wonderful tablescapes posted for this Tablescape Thursday, thus increasing visits for all participating.

Please do not add your link below, until your tablescape post is actually published to your blog.

The Secret of the Blue Hour! Welcome to the 68th Metamorphosis Monday!

A Sneaky Metamorphosis...The Blue Hour

Tonight, I thought I'd share something very cool I only recently learned about.  It's something I find totally fascinating! Remember THIS tablescape? I created it one summer out on the porch for Tablescape Thursday. Here's a daytime shot...




This table setting was created about the the time I first started attempting to take candlelight pics of my tablescapes. The night I downloaded the pics from my camera to prepare this tablescape post, I fell in love with this pic below. It was unlike any pic I'd ever taken. The sky was the most amazing blue! I never noticed how blue the sky was at the time I was taking the photos, but when I downloaded them--WOW! (You can view this tablescape in full, HERE.



Now I know why I didn't notice it at the time I was taking the pic--it's because I couldn't SEE it at the time I was taking the pic. Why? Because it was during the "Blue Hour." Yup, the Blue Hour! Have you heard of it? I had not until recently.

Wikipedia defines the Blue Hour this way:
The blue hour comes from a French expression, l'heure bleue, which refers to the period of twilight each morning and evening where there is neither full daylight nor complete darkness. The time is considered special because of the quality of the light at this time of day.

Ever since I took that photo with the amazing blue sky, I've been attempting to take another one like it, but with zero success. The reason why I haven't been successful is I kept looking for an evening sky that was really blue, and the blue hour isn't visible to the naked eye. You can't really see it, but the camera can. Keep reading and I'll share the secret of when you can catch the blue hour in your pics.

Remember this tablescape from last week. I decided that evening to see if I could catch the blue hour again in my pics. I had done a bit of reading about the blue hour and I was determined. Here's a photo taken during full daylight, white, sunny sky.




Oh, it's starting to get a bit darker.  I think I see a little blue in this pic. The metamorphosis is just starting!




Bluer still...




There it is! The blue hour!




I was jumping up and down, and doing twirls on the porch! Yes, I was twirling.  I was sooooo excited to have finally captured the blue hour once again!  (This table setting can be viewed in full, HERE.



So how do you catch the blue hour since you can't see it with the naked eye? It's easier than you might think. Just go to this site, appropriately called, bluehoursite.com, and it will tell you the short period of time each morning and each evening in your area, when you should take photographs to get great blue hour pics. Where I live, for this time of year, the evening blue hour starts at 20:38 and ends at 21:14 (8:38-9:14 PM.)

As it gets further into that window of opportunity, the sky gets deeper and deeper blue. When you look through the camera, you don't see the blue at all. Once you take the pic, there it is in your viewfinder...the blue hour! Is that cool or what?  Have fun taking your Blue Hour pics!




Check out these blue hour pics taken by Bonnie...thanks Bonnie for sharing these! This was her Halloween table setting. Spooky! Love it against the blue hour sky.







Wow...this is sooo beautiful!




Delores shared this pic of the side of her home in the "blue light." Her home is actually a tan color. It's so mysterious looking, isn't it?




If you'd like to see even more beautiful Blue Hour pics, click HERE.




Met Monday:
If you are participating in Metamorphosis Monday, please be sure to add your permalink below, and not your general blog address. To get your permalink, click on your post name, then just copy and paste the address that shows up in the address bar at the top, into the "url" box for the picture linky. You'll also need to put your e-mail address in, but don't worry, it will not be visible to anyone.

Please copy and paste the Met Monday logo button to your computer. Then you can upload it to your side bar and use it in your MM post so your visitors will know you are participating.

Please link back to the host blog, Between Naps on the Porch. This is important because it helps those who are visiting your blog, find the other wonderful "Before and Afters" posted for this Metamorphosis Monday.

Please do not add your link below, until your MM post is actually published to your blog.