Valentine's Day on a Tray

Hello Everyone, today I'm excited to be part of a fun Valentine's Day Tray Tour hosted by our sweet friend, Katherine from Katherine's Corner. Katherine has had the wonderful idea to share ideas for decorating "trays" for the holidays. And part of the fun is seeing what kind of trays can be used. If you're following the Tour and came by from Laura's blog at Everyday Edits , welcome, I'm so glad you're here. Let's find some great Valentine's Day inspiration and have some fun!

Are you ready to celebrate Valentine's Day? ...a quiet dinner at home? ...a family gathering with kiddos and cookie making? There are so many fun ways to put a little love and romance in the Day that everyone can enjoy. Most people don't go crazy for Valentine's Day decor, but like to have a little nod to the holiday with some sweet red and pink Valentine items. 

I love vintage items so whatever I do to decorate usually contains some kind of nostalgic vintage pieces. I love using trays to decorate for holidays, especially if you have smaller items that tend to "get lost" on a counter or shelf. Using a tray is a great way to corral things into one cohesive vignette. Plus it makes a fun statement for whatever holiday you may be celebrating. 

I'm here in the Dining Room where I love to add vignettes to whatever I'm using as a centerpiece or flower arrangement on the table. This time I'm using an old wooden tray with a glass top surface. It's probably from the 30's and had an Art Nouveau-ish design to it, but it just really wasn't pretty. So I painted it white and put together an antique book page layer under the glass. You can find that post HERE

I'm using some of my vintage Valentines, red transferware,

a pretty feminine pink teapot, and mercury glass votive candle.

I love using Paperwhites this time of year, and here I have them (a faux bunch) in a French-y pottery vase wrapped in a grapevine "wattle" to keep them together and a red wired check ribbon. A cardboard "ex-voto" heart also decorates the arrangement. 

An antique handpainted Limoges brooch depicting a precious courting couple.

A tea-for-two Staffordshire rosey teapot for a warm "escape" from winter.

Adorable Valentine's Day cards from the '30's.

I love to include a candle or votive on the tray, 

with dishes, ephemera, and often a floral grouping if possible.

Even a small candle can bring in a romantic ambiance for the evening.

One of the best things, is that you can lift it all up 

and move it around when the need arises. 

So, if you don't want to make a big commitment of time and space to a season or holiday, a tray displaying seasonally colored and themed items will brighten up any spot, coffee table or kitchen countertop. From coffee pods, hot chocolate goodies, vintage knick-knacks, or candies and candles, using a tray is a fun and practical way to decorate.

Thanks so much to Katherine for putting this fun Tray Tour together, and to you all for coming by. I hope you'll continue the Tray Tour and find some fun and ideas by heading over to visit Rachelle, from My Hubbard Home. Hope you have the very sweetest of Valentine's Days. 

You can find my Christmas on a Tray Here. 

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