Naughty Ants & They’re Stealing All The Strawberries! It’s An Invasion!

Welcome to the 771st Tablescape Thursday! When my son was little, one of his favorite books was a Caldecott Medal-winner by Chris Van Allsburg (author of Jumanji and The Polar Express) called, Two Bad Ants. As I was setting this table, I couldn’t help but think of that book.

Ant and Sunflower Themed Summer Table Setting

 

The cousins of those two bad ants in Van Allsburg’s book have found their way to my table this week.

Summer Table with Sunflower Plates and Ant-themed Plates

 

Either that or the strawberries have sprouted feet because they seem to be marching right across the table!

Summer Table with Ants and Sunflowers

 

Ant appetizer plates are marked “BW Boston Warehouse Trading Corp.” on back.

Red Gingham Ant-Themed Appetizer Plates

 

Forgot to take a photo of the sunflower salad plates (by Maxcera) but here’s a picture from a previous table.

Maxcera Hand Painted Sunflower Salad Plates

 

I was still in a patriotic/4th of July mood, so I mixed my recently purchased flag flatware with a favorite blue flatware. Flag flatware is available here: Flag Flatware.) Sunflower napkins are available here: Sunflower Napkins. The bicycle napkin rings are from Pier 1 many years ago.

Bicycle Napkin Rings

 

These little ants are super industrious!

Ant Food Picks, Great for Appetizers

 

They’ve gotten into the strawberry bowl and are making off with all the strawberries!

Naughty Ants Stealing the Strawberries, Fun Summer Tablescape

 

I don’t mind sharing. Hopefully, they’ll leave a few for the humans. Ha!

Naughty Ants Stealing Strawberries, Summer Table Setting

 

These cute Ant Picks can be found here: Food Ant Picks. They would be really cute atop cupcakes, carrying a gumdrop or some other type of treat. I need to make some ant-decorated cupcakes to take to my grandsons this summer.

Ant Picks for a Fun Summer Table Setting

 

One very clever ant has made it all the way to the top of the sunflowers!

Sunflower Centerpiece for Summer

 

Did you spot him here in the earlier pictures of this post?

Sunflower Centerpiece with Naughty Ant Taking a Strawberry

 

Ant Stealing a Strawberry

 

Happy Summer! Summer is going by way too fast!

Summer Table in Red and Yellow, Sunflower Centerpiece

 

Looking forward to the beautiful tables linked for this week’s Tablescape Thursday! (If you enjoyed this post, subscribe for email updates when a new post is up here: Subscribe for post updates.)

Tablescape Thursday

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Comments

  1. Ha! I LOVE this table setting! Those ants plates are too cute and look great with the sunflower plates. I also love the ant picks, how fun are they?!! I was to busy looking at the ants marching across the table to see the ant in the sunflower centerpiece. LOL Your grandsons would get a kick out of these ants. Summer is definitely going by way to fast. We just finally got warm enough to get into the pool around. Well for me to get into the pool. LOL I’m sure kids have been swimming regardless of pool temps. Happy Summer Susan! Hugs, Brenda

    • Thanks! I wish I lived closer to them, they def would have like this table I think. Wow, that’s amazing that it just now got warm enough to enjoy the pool…what a strange summer! You sound like me Brenda, I don’t like chilly water! lol

  2. This is really cute, and I love the idea of the ant story. I’m actually heading downstairs today to find my sunflowers for the kitchen…But this is really adorable! Hugs, Sandi

  3. By far my favorite tablescape this year! So very imaginative and just “oozes” summer. Thanks for sharing!

  4. Susan,
    Thanks again for hosting this charming party every week! I know how much time goes into doing so and I want you to know that it I truly appreciate it!! I hope you have a great week!
    Hugs,
    Deb

  5. What a fun AND funny table-scape, Susan! Those pesty ants are taking all the strawberries! (I think if I ever actually saw ants that size I’d faint) And no, I did not notice the one on top of the sunflowers at first. And he’s so cute! Though he’s strayed pretty far from the rest of his troupe. Maybe he wants to enjoy that strawberry all to himself without sharing.

    The ant plates with the red solo ‘stemware’ are perfect, lol. So funny. And the tie-in with the sunflowers centerpiece, the sunflower plates and the sunflower napkins is great. The red and yellow go together so well – so happy and summery.

    Well, I don’t know that I would have ever thought about a tablescape like this. In fact, I’m sure I wouldn’t have. You’ve done it again. Your ideas are endless.
    And I agree! Summer seems to be zipping by! I hope you’re enjoying it.

    • lol They are kinda big-I bet there are some areas of the world that probably have ants that big. Thanks, Pam! I found the Ant Picks back in the summer of 2021–not sure why it’s taken me so long to use those in a table. They may have to make a reappearance each summer.

  6. Absolutely adorable!

    • Thanks, Debbee! Have a fabulous weekend! I hear fireworks going off as I write this so some folks in my neighborhood are still celebrating. lol
      XXX

  7. What an adorable tablescape!

  8. So cute and witty. What a fun summer table. fun for a picnic too, or a potluck.

  9. Oh those are too cute!! And the perfect size for strawberries. I’m sure your grandsons will love them, and I bet your son gets a kick out of them too! I love the rest of your table as well – you’re so creative! Thanks for the great summer ideas, and, as always, for hosting. Hope you’re having a lovely week!

  10. So cute! Reminds me of all-day summer picnics at parks to relax and beat the heat under the trees when I was a kid. No A/C in houses in Ohio then!!

    • Thanks, Sandra! Isn’t it funny how we didn’t think twice about the heat back then? We didn’t have A/C when I was growing up and I never even remember being hot. Our school didn’t have it either, we just had these gigantic, tall windows that the teacher would open…and I still don’t ever recall getting sweaty or hot at school. I guess our bodies just adapted and were used to it.

  11. Sabrina Holmes says

    I can’t believe I missed a Chris Van Allsburg book! I’m ordering it for my great neices now.

  12. Linda Short says

    Absolutely love this whimsical tablescape. What fun!! Your ideas and use of different colors and textures are fantastic!

  13. Tina Reynolds says

    All of the cute summer things in one table! I also love the book “Two Bad Ants” plus all of Chris Van Allsburg’s stories and artwork. Long ago I worked in an elementary school where I became acquainted with an older teacher who always lamented as we were celebrating each Independence Day, “Summer is half-over! ” And, it really was! Today my grandson announced that he is moving back to his college campus on August 15. Summer is truly the shortest of all the seasons. The weather may remain hot, but the spirit of it is gone when kids go back to school.

    • Oh my gosh, that’s exactly how I feel about summer. I always dread that first day of summer because that’s the start of the days getting shorter and shorter–each day has less daylight. I love spring because it feels wonderful knowing each day will have more daylight than the day before. I know that’s probably weird to think of stuff like that! Yeah, you’re right…that first day of school def feels like the end of summer.

  14. What a pretty table Susan – its so bright and cheerful and perfect for summer! I love all the ant antics – so fun. Thank you as always for sharing and hosting this wonderful Thursday hop. I always look forward to it!

  15. Love the ants ! I haven’t seen the ant picks before.
    I like the bicycle napkin rings too. What a fun table. At one time Target had ant accessories in the dollar spot. I picked up some for a friend making gift baskets but didn’t buy any for me. Too late now.

    I sent you an comment on an earlier post about puzzles. The local company that makes puzzles is Micro Puzzles. The one she gave me was in a tube with 150 tiny pieces !

    • Thanks so much, Myrna! I should look online, I bet there are all kinds of “ant” goodies out there.
      Interesting about the puzzles! I love the puzzles that White Mountain makes because the pieces are big and their 1,000 pc puzzles completely fill out my puzzle board. Those must be some really tiny pieces. 🙂

  16. This table is so adorable!! I love the red and white checked plates, with the sunflowers. The colors are perfect together!! but the ants steal the show!!!!! I love the way you have them carrying the strawberries! so cute!!!

  17. So cute! You’ve got the ants on the table, and I’ve got the bees on mine!

  18. Cheryl Frizzell says

    So whimsical and fun; great summer table! Really made me smile.

  19. Susan, what a really cute table. It’s so much fun it just makes me smile. Love the color combinations.

  20. Nancy Thompson says

    Beautiful table !

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