Readin' and 'Ritin and 'Rithmetic Tablescape

"School days, School days

Dear old Golden Rule days.

Readin' and 'ritin' and 'rithmetic

For no reason whatsoever, I decided to have a virtual lunch with my favorite Kansas English teacher pals. 

If they lived close by, I would have had

Rita, Steph, Sarah and Darlene over

for a real lunch.

A "Back-to-School" lunch per say. 

And I would not have even been (too)

mad that Rita and Darlene are retired

and don't have to go back!

Despite the fact my good-friends and co-workers are hundreds are miles from me, I decorated my table with things teachers would enjoy. (Retired or not!!) And the best part is that I did not have to buy a single item!!

I lined the table with globes I had. I got all three globes FOR FREE when they were being disposed of at a school (because the countries are no longer accurate). I used part of my stash of gas-station numbers as the charger/placemats.  The table is decorated with letters, numbers, books, science glassware, globes and pencils. I tried to cover all the core subjects!

I used vintage plain-as-can-be glasses. Then I remembered I had a roll of tape with old-school penmanship letters. I got the tape at the Dollar Tree a year or so ago. I simply cut strips to go around each glass and taped it right on to the glass. (As you can see I did not measure, but eye-balled it!)  Still, I thought they turned out very cute.

I have a good collection of vintage science glassware as well. I put it all over the table and thought about putting flowers in each piece. Then I remembered my big box of golden #2 pencils and decided to use them for decorations as well. They were perfect. 

The table runner and napkins were made from a comforter cover (from Ikea a year ago). The fabric has a great modern graphic alphabet all over it. I thought it was the perfect juxtaposition to all my vintage pieces.  Plus, the black and white was classic as well. I will show in a tutorial later, how I whipped up the pieces in a jiffy. 

I figured at my virtual English teachers luncheon we would have soup and salad. (Alphabet soup, of course!!). So I set the table using dishes I would use for a soup, salad and dessert luncheon. I chose the colors from the books and globes. Again, I love how it blended together but still popped. 

You can get a glimpse of my napkin-that-was-a-comforter-cover-in-its-former-life.  I got the chalk board napkin "rings" at Nell Hills (probably five years ago).  They are double sided chalkboards and so fun to use in different ways. 

I bought the #5 from my good-friend-the-picker Renee' (who is a semi-retired teacher in Oklahoma). Then when I was making my Dr. Seuss table in March, I needed more, so she sold me three more. (And I never even posted my Dr. Seuss table!!) Renee' finds the best stuff. She "gets" my (odd???) taste. 

After I used the tape on my glasses, I thought it was so cute that I just loopedy looped it around the middle of the table. I think it looks cuter "in real life". 

The vintage ironstone dishes are the ones my family used when we were growing up.  There have been many a meal served on those things!

THEN I decided that this would be a cute tablescape in which to get a birds-eye-view. So I heave-hoed my gianormous boot/cast on my leg and stood on the bench for a picture. I teetered. I tottered. I almost lost my balance, but I managed to get a few pics first. Believe me, it was ugly when I tried to get down!

Can you imagine that someone (or several someones!) wanted to throw those old globes away! 

When my school got a new-state-of-the-art-science-lab, many of the "old things" were destined for the trash. I quickly told one of the science teachers to check with me before he trashed anything. This was AFTER I found out that so many things had been thrown away!! (Including a couple of Periodic Table charts!!) Gasp. 

I hope my friends are enjoying their virtual luncheon with me! 

Of course, any English teacher worth her salt would have flashcards at the table as well. 

I have a huge collection of old books. I used math, literature and history for my table. The muted old colors were perfect with the old globes. 

Rita and Darlene and Sarah and Steph...I wish you could have been here for our (alphabet) soup and salad lunch. No matter what, I enjoyed setting the table and having a virtual luncheon.  Here's to a great school year for all of us (that are not retired!!) 

Linking to :

Metamorphosis Monday

Thrifty Treasures

Wow Us Wednesday
Tutorials, Tips and Tidbits
Tablescape Thursday