A Teeny Bit of Trouble & A Big Giveaway! Welcome to the 189th Tablescape Thursday!

Winners of A Teeny Bit of Trouble Giveaway:

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway!  I first ran the InLinkz Random Number Generator, to choose one winner for the $100 Amazon Gift Card.  The generator chose #226, Sally.  Congrats, Sally!  Please e-mail me at betweennapsontheporchatgmaildotcom.

I ran the Generator once again asking that it select 6 winners, the winners who would be receiving of a copy of Michael's latest book, A Teeny Bit of Trouble.  The Generator selected the following winners below.  Please email me at at betweennapsontheporchatgmaildotcom with the address where your book should be mailed.

Congrats to all the winners and a huge Thank-You to Michael Lee West for sponsoring this wonderful giveaway!

A Teeny Bit of Trouble & A Big Giveaway!

Time to celebrate!   A Teeny Bit of Trouble, the long awaited sequel to Gone With a Handsomer Man, was just released, Tuesday!

To celebrate, author Michael Lee West is giving away 6 copies of her new novel that hilariously chronicles the latest escapades of our heroine, Teeny Templeton.  But wait...it gets even better!  One winner will receive a $100 Amazon Gift Card!  Whoo, hoo!  That's $100 to spend on anything that strikes your fancy at Amazon!  (As always, you do not have to be a blogger or have a blog to enter.)

Teeny loves to bake so I couldn't resist whipping up some Red Velvet cupcakes to celebrate the release of A Teeny Bit of Trouble.   The table I put together for this week's Tablescape Thursday takes the cover of the book one step further.  I decided it was time Teeny caught her man, at least for today!

Click HERE to continue reading...

Hand-Crafting Beauty: A Wonderful Giveaway from Saffron Marigold

Update:  Chosen by the InLinkz Random Number Generator, the winner of the giveaway from Saffron Marigold is #112, Krysten.  Congrats, Krysten!  Please email me at betweennapsontheporchatgmaildotcom and I'll forward your email on to Saffron Marigold.  They will be in touch real soon.

I'm so excited today to share a wonderful giveaway today from Saffron Marigold!  Saffron Marigold carries luxury bedding, curtains, table cloths and runners, all hand-made from fabric created through the centuries old process of hand-block printing.

I was amazed to find each beautiful fabric begins when an intricate design is carved into a block of wood.  That block is then used to create the detailed pattern of the beautiful fabrics that ultimately become wonderful linens for the home.

At Saffron Marigold you can follow this fascinating process from the carving of the wood, the washing, dying, hand-printing and sewing of the fabric, to the product arriving at market via camel drawn carts  Scrolling through the photo album truly gives you an appreciation for the pride and workmanship that goes into each piece.  I can't help but see these beautiful treasures as little works of art, but instead of just hanging on the wall gathering dust, you get to actually use and enjoy them each and every day.

Click HERE to continue reading...

French Bleu Vintage: Two Giveaways and Delightful Valentine's Day Sale

02-15-12 Update:  Thanks so much to everyone who entered the giveaway for French Bleu Vintage.  The winner, chosen by InLinkz Random Number Generator is:  Betty at My Cozy Corner.  Congrats Betty!

Hi Everyone...hope your week is going great!  I've had so much fun checking out the fabulous Before and Afters linked for yesterday's Met Monday!

French Bleu Vintage: Facebook Challenge, Valentine's Day Sale and a $50 Shopping Spree!

I'm excited to share a fabulous Giveaway from French Bleu Vintage!  Actually there are two giveaways going on...the one here at BNOTP and a separate one at French Bleu Vintage on Facebook!

The French Bleu Vintage Facebook Challenge :
Adrienne has set a goal of reaching 1000 FANS by Valentine's Day.   If that happens, French Bleu Vintage will give away 3 items from the French Bleu Vintage shop to 3 lucky Facebook Fans.  Let's help her reach her goal!


To enter, just stop by and "Like"  French Bleu Vintage on Facebook, HERE.   Adrienne will randomly select the 3 winners from all French Bleu Vintage Facebook Fans...current fans and those who join by Valentine's Day.   

Pink and White Sale!
French Bleu also has a delightful sale going on this week for Valentine's Day.  If it's Pink or White, it's 20% off!  Love these little heart molds.

So many pretties!  Be sure to enter the code pink20 at checkout for the discount.

Click HERE to continue reading...

What Would You Buy With a $1,000 Gift Card for Old Time Pottery?

Announcement: Thanks so much to all who entered the giveaway from Old Time Pottery. The winner, chosen by the InLinkz Random Number Generator is: No. 43, Sheree. Congrats, Sheree. Please e-mail me at betweennapsontheporchatgmaildotcom with your contact info.

Greetings!  Have you had a chance to visit all the amazing "Before and Afters" linked for yesterday's Met Monday?  I am so inspired by all the creativity and talent linked each week.  So many amazing ideas...I want to try them all.

I've been busy completing more holiday decorating and will be sharing that soon.  Decorating around here always involves a trip over to Old Time Pottery to see what they have gotten in for the holiday season.  Do you have an Old Time Pottery near your home?  If not, it's worth the drive.  Seriously! What you save by shopping there will pay for your gas.

I have come to heavily rely on them for affordable goodies for my table settings, holiday decor and everyday decorating in my home.

Old Time Pottery furniture and decor products:

Here are just a few of the treasures (with links to those posts) I've brought home from Old Time Pottery over the years.
Click HERE to continue reading...

A Thanksgiving Table Setting and a Fabulous Giveaway from The Charmed Life: Welcome to the 168th Tablescape Thursday!

Update:  Chosen by Random Number Generator, the winner of the giveaway from The Charmed Life is Donna Howell.  Congrat, Donna!

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and you know what that means---lots and lots of cooking!  For this Tablescape Thursday, I'm sharing a few pictures of a previous Thanksgiving table setting along with a wonderful giveaway from The Charmed Life that's guaranteed to having you cooking like Paula Deen!

If you watch the Food Network and Paula's show or if you read her magazine, you know Paula Deen loves her Pewter Crosby and Taylor measuring spoons. You may know Crosby and Taylor by their previous name, the Tin Woodsman Pewter Company.

Their measuring spoons are much coveted by cooks because they aren't just functional, they are beautiful little works of art.  Each spoon is hand made here in the United States and is a treasure worthy of being passed down to the next generation of cooks in your family.

The Charmed Life carries beautiful serving pieces, glassware, napkin rings and lots of great products for entertaining and home decor.  They've got all your favorite name brands.

The winner of this giveaway will choose any set from the wonderful collection displayed below.  Each set includes the "post" for displaying these whimsical spoons.  It's going to be a tough choice for the winner because they are all so beautiful!  (Click on any picture below to view that set and for additional information.)

Crosby and Taylor Measuring Spoons:

So how do you enter this awesome giveaway?

Click HERE to continue reading...

A Tablescape Celebrating Autumn! Welcome to the 114th Tablescape Thursday!

Give-a-Way from Timeless Settings:

I'm sooo excited to announce a fabulous Give-a-Way today from Timeless Settings, a Sponsor of BNOTP!

Have you visited Timeless Settings before? I have been seriously coveting the darling tablecloths and glassware Donna has hand selected to include in her shoppe. In addition to beautiful treasures for the table, you'll also find jewelry, scarves and lots of wonderful decor items for your home. The prices are awesome which makes Timeless Settings a great place to do all your holiday shopping.

I fell in love with this darling strawberry tablecloth and matching napkins...




And check out this Gooseberry tablecloth...isn't it the cutest thing!




Timeless Settings has beautiful glass containers...




Napkin rings...




Fleur de Lis Placecard Holders...




Gorgeous scarves...




And wonderful decor items for the home...

Bird Clock...




How to Enter:

Donna is generously giving away a $50 certificate for you to use toward any item you fall in love with at Timeless Settings. Entering this giveaway is super easy...here's how:

1. Visit Timeless Settings and choose the beautiful treasure you would love if you should win.

2. Then, just stop back by this post and leave a comment sharing what you chose. That's it!



Donna, thanks so much for this great giveaway...best of luck to everyone!


Tablescape Thursday:

Little Reminder: Thank-you for linking back to this post so the regular visitors to your blog will find all your fellow Blogger's posts linked here for this Tablescape Thursday. Don't forget to use your permalink. : )


I've been working on a tablescape this week out on the porch...the weather here has been in the 70's all week! Love it! But, the last few days have been raining...not great for taking pics to share. Fortunately, Cornelia recently sent some great pics of a wonderful tablescape she's created in celebration of the autumn season. :)

It's always such a treat when Cornelia welcomes us into her beautiful home in Switzerland. Isn't blogging just amazing...we can travel far away to another country with just the click of a mouse! :)




Today we are dining at a table set with beautiful hunt- themed china. Cornelia told me, "It is very traditional in Switzerland to serve venison dishes in the autumn because the hunting season starts the 1st of September."




For this beautiful table setting, Cornelia used a wonderful linen tablecloth she found on a trip to Williams-Sonoma in Boston. The tablecloth was made in Russia, as were the the napkins..




Here's your place right here...




Cornelia shared, "The china used on this table is by Fuerstenberg (founded 1747). The Pattern is called Schloss Corvey Jagd. (Castle Corvey Hunting). There are various hunting scenes on the dishes and the pot, cups, and coffeepot."


The cutlery is Sterling Silver, Gorham Chantilly






The stemware is stunning...




Cornelia revealed, "The smaller crystal glasses are made by Christinenhütte/Germany. They are also hand-blown."




These glasses are antique and are decorated in silver...






Cornelia continued, "The red and white wine glasses are hand-blown and hand-cut crystal by Cristal d’Arques/ Paris. The pattern is called, “Bernadette”.

The candle holders are by Zwiesel. The grapes from our garden."




The crystal carafe is antique and hand-cut...




Note the beautiful etching of a deer...




Regarding the candle holders, Cornelia said, "The tall candlestick holders are Mexican silver, the small ones are made by Jezler of Switzerland."




Would you like some hot tea or coffee?






Cornelia told me, "The tea set is Swiss silver, made by Frère Boujon. The tray is also silver and made by Jezler/Switzerland."






"The tablecloth is antique."






"The vase is Swedish, Strombergshyttan. The roses from my garden."



Cornelia, this tablescape was absolutely beautiful...always such a wonderful treat seeing china, crystal and silver we would rarely ever come across here in the States. Thanks sooo much for sharing your autumn table setting with all of us for this Tablescape Thursday!

Oh, don't forget to leave a comment to be entered for the a gift certificate for Timeless Settings!


Looking forward to viewing your beautiful tablescapes!

Please Read:
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.

I'd love for you to use the Tablescape Thursday logo button in your post. To do that, just copy and paste it to your computer and upload it to your post as you would any photo. Or, just grab the html code posted on the sidebar under the TT button.

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 participants.

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

Please, don't add your post name/blog name in ALL CAPS...it tends to create big spaces between the rows of links. Thanks!

Let's try something fun today! Please visit the person who linked before you and after you...that way everyone will get some visits. Hope you'll visit more, of course. :-)



Little Reminder: Thank-you for linking back to this post so the regular visitors to your blog will find all your fellow Blogger's posts linked here for this Tablescape Thursday. Please don't forget to use your permalink. : )

Beautiful Tassels! Welcome to the 58th Metamorphosis Monday!

Yipee...time for another Met Monday! I can't wait to see what amazing changes you've been working on this week!

Important: Please include the Met Monday button in your Met Monday post, a sentence that says you are participating in this blog party and a link back to this post . This is important because the other bloggers who are participating today would love to have your readers stop by their blogs, as well. If you are not able to add the button to your post, please be sure to include a sentence that says you are participating in Met Monday and a noticeable link back to this post.

Before I show you a little metamorphosis I've made in my home recently, I wanted to let you know, I've posted some directions for adding the little header topics across the top of your blog, the ones you see just under my header pic. I received a few e-mails asking about it, so I just added the steps I did to the Blogging Tips post that you'll find on my sidebar.

Just look for the picture of Max, click on Max and it will take you to a post I did a while back. You'll find the directions for adding the headers or what Blogger calls "pages" posted at the very end of that Blogging Secrets post. If I've left something out, let me know and I'll add it in...hopefully it's detailed enough to prove helpful. :-)

I have a little metamorphosis to share this week and it ties in beautifully with our Give-a-Way. (I've created a special blog just for Give-a-Ways...the link is posted at the bottom with information about the Give-a-Way.)

By now, you all know I do love me some tassels...I use them in every room of my home. Before Christmas I had a regular ole boring tassel hanging on the armoire in my family room shown below.


Angela, at The Tassel House, came to the rescue and helped me with my Christmas decorating with this precious "Joy" angel tassel.


She was perfect for hanging here on the armoire because the Christmas tree was just to the right, where you see the table in the above pic of this room.


Now that Christmas is over, it was time for a metamorphosis. Can you tell I am sooooo ready for spring?!


Angela, I love my plump little birdie...he makes my heart sing each time I see him. :-)


The Tassel House is all stocked up for spring with both elegant...


and whimsical tassels! Plus...


Angela is generously giving away one of her amazing tassels to a Follower of BNOTP. You'll find the Give-a-Way posted on the BNOTP Give-a-Way and Review blog. Click HERE to reach BNOTP Give-a-Way and Reviews, where you'll see the adorable tassels Angela has created for the Give-a-Way...and where you'll be able to leave your comment to enter. Please be sure to leave your comment on the Give-a-Way post, (not here) to be entered in the Give-a-Way. Of course, you can leave me a comment here ;-) but your Give-a-Way entry comment will need to be left on the Give-a-Way post, HERE.

Looking forward to seeing all your "Before and Afters!"



Metamorphosis Monday is an opportunity to show a "Before and After" project in your home. It can be as elaborate as a whole new room addition or as simple as re-doing your decor with the changing of the seasons. Maybe you have a "trash to treasure" project to share...we'd love to see it! If you don't have a "Before" pic to share, describe as best you can what the room or item looked like prior to the renovation.

If you are participating in Metamorphosis Monday, please be sure to add your permalink below, and not your general blog address. If you aren't sure how to obtain your permalink or have any questions about using Mr. Linky for this post, just click HERE for detailed instructions.

Don't forget to copy and paste the Met Monday logo button to your computer so you can add it to your side bar and your Met Monday post. That way visitors will know that your are participating in Metamorphosis Monday.

Please be sure to link back to the host blog, Between Naps on the Porch, so your fellow bloggers who are participating today, will get lots of visits, as well.

Please do not add your link below until your Met Monday post is actually published to your blog.

Fabulous "Before and Afters" await your visit: