Today I invite you to come with me, into the Apothecary's Mystical Halloween Laboratory. Let's see what the scientist has in store for us, shall we?
Ooh, it looks as though his laboratory is set up with a tablescape for lunch for us, yes? You go first, and I'll follow behind you, okay?😉
Welcome to Panoply! Today I'm hosting a group of talented stylists who are bringing you some of the best in ideas for a Halloween tablescape, from cutesy to spooky and everything in between. Take some time to enjoy the entire list of bloggers near the end of this post, each with a link that will take you directly to their creations.
My tablescape is centered on the chilling sights of archaic medicine, where potions and even spells were utilized to cure human ails. The "apothecary" was the pharmacist of yesteryear, and the term became synonymously interchanged and known more commonly to most of us as the physical location or storefront where the apothecary worked; i.e., his laboratory.
My inspiration started with Fiestaware's Mystical Halloween series plates.
A spellbook proper rests on the table for the apothecary's reference. The old brass candelabra holds candles and glass globes with a spider and bat captured within. Globes were previously used on this table.
A murder of black crows found their way into the laboratory and landed both on the table and around the room.
Don't let the split screen collage of the fireplace below frighten you into thinking your eyesight is playing tricks on you. I just wanted to show the ledge detail. The moody oil canvas on the left caught my attention at another estate sale. The crow on the right is perched upon a skeleton hand holding a crystal ball, enhanced with mini lights.
Another crow landed among a small patch of pumpkins.
Now, before you become the apothecary's next specimen, make your way on to the list of bloggers below for more Halloween table treats.
Pandora's Box - Snack Hour Portable Tablescape
Bleu Belle Interiors - A Sweet Halloween Table
Me and My Captain - And the Band Played On
Everyday Living - Halloween Critters and Treats
My Hubbard Home - Halloween Inspired Fall Tablescape - The Best of Autumn
Panoply (you are here) - Apothecary's Mystical Halloween Laboratory
Debbee's Buzz - Spooky Spellbound Halloween Centerpiece and Table
Home Is Where the Boat Is - Black Cat Trading Company
Thrifting Wonderland - Practical Magic Halloween
Red Cottage Chronicles - How to Set a Halloween Tablescape Fit for a Princess
Life and Linda - If the Shoe Fits
The Little Yellow Corner Store - The Debonair Vampire, Leonard
The Bookish Dilettante - Halloween Tablescape: Midnight at the Ball
My Thrift Store Addiction - Jadeite Whimsy: Seasonal Tray and Table Setting
The Painted Apron - Slightly Spooky Halloween Tablescape
Bluesky at Home - How to Set Up a Sweet Halloween Buffet
Corner of Plaid and Paisley - Table of Vexing Vermin
Zucchini Sisters - Halloween Table Top Decor with Skeletons
Celebrate and Decorate - Halloween Tablescape in Gold and Black
Dinner at Eight - Welcome to Ghostly Hollow!
Karins Kottage - A Bewitching Black and White Tablescape
Apothecary's Mystical Halloween Laboratory Source List
Black Dinner Plates, Wine Glasses - Dollar Tree
Mystical Halloween Salad Plates - Everything Fiesta Outlet
Web Placemats, Skull, Salt & Pepper, Crystal Ball in Hand - HomeGoods
Checked Napkins - Crown Linen
Napkin Rings, Mystical Image Magnets - Amazon
Skull Spells Book - Walgreens
Black Crows - Grandinroad
Tabletop Magnifier, Candelabra, Flatware, Leather Book, Ironstone Cake Pedestal, Apothecary Funnel (as Dome), Large Red Napkins, Oil Painting on Fireplace - Estate Finds
Hocus Pocus Spellbook Brownies - Rock CIty Cake Company
Rita C. at Panoply
A special thanks to Cindy of County Road 407's Farmhouse Friday 275 and Suzanne of Pieced Pastimes' Saturday Sparks 536 for featuring this post!
Parties I Share With: Pieced Pastimes, Love Your Creativity, BNOTP, All About Home Common Ground, All About Home Follow the Yellow Brick Home, A Stroll Thru Life, My Wee Abode, My Family Thyme, French Ethereal SYS, Follow the Yellow Brick Home FTF, Grace at Home, My Thrift Store Addiction, Our Hopeful Home, Karin's Kottage, County Road 407
Rita, You’re definitely NOT a birdbrain…love the plates and your apothecary-themed table! The addition of your tabletop magnifier is too clever as well as your flask as a cloche. I would love a to-die-four spellbook brownie treat before your murder of crows devour them. How fun that you can foster your antique mall purchases and borrow them for a table before sending them on to their final resting place. Such a fun touch to add the magnets to your napkin rings too! I so appreciate your organizing efforts in hosting these hops. As always it’s a treat to join you. Happy Tuesday! 🧡🎃
ReplyDeleteI loved this so very creative post. The fact that you recycle things between your home and the store is terrific. We all have been collectors and this aspect of your ‘collecting’ makes such good sense. I love the skeleton at the end beckoning. So fun. Thanks Rita for sharing your table!
ReplyDeleteThank you! If I knew who you were, I'd email you personally.
DeleteGood morning, Rita. I love the Fiesta plates and your apothecary theme that you carried out so brilliantly! The drug store we have used all of our married life uses the word apothecary in their name. How wonderful to borrow from your antique business and then return if it is something you don’t wish to keep. Using the flask as a cloche is genius. The crows set the scene perfectly. I actually hear crows as I am typing. I would so enjoy one of those brownies with my coffee.
ReplyDeleteIt is always a treat to take a seat at one of your tables. Thank you for organizing our hops!
Good Morning Rita, I am never disappointed when I visit your blog. I love your placesettings with all of your "Mystical" touches. You never cease to amaze me with your creativity! Thanks so much for sharing!
ReplyDeleteOh Rita, looks like you've come over to the "dark" side and have come to enjoy aspects of Halloween! That skeleton hand beckoning at the end gave me a fright lol! Your tablescape is spooktacular, and I love how you mixed vintage with those wonderful new plates. So many great, spooky details that carry the fun theme. Three stand out in particular as oh-so-perfect and unique; the crow perched over the magnifier, using the giant flask as cloche, and the candelabra with the little glass orbs. Wish I could hop on a broom and visit --- and eat one of those brownies! Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful table, Rita! You've given me some fresh inspiration by adding the magnets as part of the table pieces. And the antique brass candelabra and magnifier give the table some old-world charm.
ReplyDeleteThanks for including me in this blog hop. Putting my table together and looking forward to it gave me some much-needed creative relief. It was just what I needed!
Hugs,
Rachelle
Rita, what a unique theme for a tablescape. It's perfect for Halloween. Love the details of the apothecary flask and the magnifying glass. Those plates are so cute, too. The rows add the right touch of spookiness. Thank you again for hosting.
ReplyDeleteLove your theme...so very frightful !!! Definitely sends chills to your bones! Happy Halloween and Happy Fall!.....
ReplyDeletexoxo's Shirley/Housepitality Designs
Your theme is spooktacular. Love your crows those are amazing. Your table looks fabulous for Halloween. xoxo Kris
ReplyDeleteSuch a fun theme! I still want one of those treats.
ReplyDeleteRita, I knew when I saw the title of your post that we would be in for a treat and you did not disappoint my friend! The crows are so sinister and I love the plates! Thanks for hosting us again! Blessings, Cecilia @My Thrift Store Addiction
ReplyDeleteWhat a cute table Rita! We have a chemistry teacher friend that would love this. This is such a fun blog hop! Clara❤️
ReplyDeleteVery clever - such fun details, and you didn't miss a trick! Love the crows and especially the skull and dishes! This is always a fun hop, thanks for hosting. Happy Halloween!
ReplyDeleteThis is so fun, Rita. Love the theme! Gotta love those crows; we have a murder here every day. They think they own the place, but they do keep the hawks away. The brownies are so cute!
ReplyDeleteRita, your apothecary theme is so fun. Great fun in those Fiestaware plates. Your magnifier is perfect with the crow. The magnets are so creative on the silver metallic napkin rings. The flask is such a great cloche. Wonderful and creative ideas here. Spooky and eerie is a wonderful way to greet us. Love the creepy skull at the end. Thank you for organizing all of us for this fun Halloween blog hop.
ReplyDeleteRita! Wow your details in the tablescape are amazing! The apothecary jars, beakers and the magnifying glass with the black crow are just the best!! Plus your fabulous napkin rings and plates. What a fun and creative table. I love seeing everyones Halloween ideas thank you so much for putting these tablescape hops together!
ReplyDeleteI love all of the elements on your table. My favorites are the crows and the magnifying glass. When you said laboratory, I spoke it with an emphasis on the "bor" syllable - the way the English say it. It sounds creepier that way! lol
ReplyDeleteWow Rita, this is super creepy fun!! And here I thought you didn't like Halloween! LOVE your apothecary theme, and thank you for clearing up my confusion about the difference between apothecaries and pharmacies! You have so many wonderful details to match your theme, I feel like your table is telling a scary story or I'm watching a movie! The crows really provide a spooky feel, and using that laboratory funnel as a cloche is brilliant!
ReplyDeleteThe plates, napkin rings, skulls, it's all spine tingling!! Thanks for the scary fun and thank you so much for hosting our hops!
👻 Jenna
FIRST and foremost, Thank you for hosting this blog hop. I have said it before and I will say it again...your organizational skills make me envious. Your follow-up and follow-thru are what makes these hops hold together while making them fun. The varied bloggers, and their interpretations will give inspiration to just about anyone's level of desired participation!
ReplyDeleteAs for your table...what can I say that hasn't already been said?
It is a Perfect setting Rita for the Macabre intonation. Just enough to take you there to the laboratory but still allowing you to be an observer and not a participant. LOL I had not seen the Fiestaware salad plates....I really need to get out more.
I, too have those black crows and used them several years ago in my "Quoth The Raven...Evermore" tablescape and I love them and what they bring to the table...so to speak. LOL
Great job my friend and thanks again for being my friend.
Kari
Rita, thank you for all of your hard work organizing this Halloween Blog Hop. What wonderful use of your antique mall pieces. I just love the lab funnel for a cake stand lid for your cool Hocus Pocus 2 brownies. They really do look delicious. Your plates are awesome especially paired up with your black crows Your napkin magnets are a fun idea to use on your silver metal rings. What a great and unique find. So is the brass candle holder with old drippy candles.
ReplyDeleteRita, your apothecary table is so fun and perfect for Halloween! The Fiesta Halloween plates are just precious and add the perfect touch along with those scary looking black crows. You have so many wonderful antique elements that you have incorporated that add another spooky touch. Those brownies with all the frosting look delicious! Thanks so much for all you do in hosting these fun blog hops. It is always such a joy to join you and the other talented girls. Happy Halloween!
ReplyDeleteRita, what could be more appropriate for Halloween than the Poe influence and a "Murder" of ravens. What fun! Really enjoyed the plates and mixing them with some antiques was the perfect touch. Apothecaries contributed so much to modern day pharmacists its nice to recognize them. The apothecary and spell making potions are lots of fun. Thanks for putting this hop together. Happy Halloween! Lynne
ReplyDeleteThere are so many fabulous touches here I can't begin to praise them all -- but I have to say, that raven on the glowing ball is just the best! I love your plates and how you incorporated elements from the shop. The cookies under that big beaker/funnel is a great idea! This is such a clever theme and how wonderful you maxed it out!
ReplyDeleteLoved this Rita! What a fantastic theme and you've done it to perfection! Love your Fiestaware and your crystal ball is amazing. The little touches that only you would think of like the magnets on the napkin rings... so cute! The crows are perfect and everything you brought in from the shop was spot on. Us, the mere mortals, are constantly in awe of your talent! Thanks so much for putting this all together!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great table Rita! Love your theme and how you carried it out to perfection. The salad plates are fab and how lucky to live so close to a Fiesta outlet! Love how the centerpiece picks up on the elements of the salad plates and you scored some wonderful items to further your theme from the tabletop magnifier to the apothecary bottle to flask turned cloche. I smile every time I hear the phrase "murder of crows". It all lends a deliciously spooky vibe! Wishing you a happy Halloween!
ReplyDeleteOoh Rita, I’m sitting here smiling over your table! How wonderful to live an hour away from a Fiestaware store. Those plates are perfect. I love all the elements on your table and mantle. I’m particularly smitten with your brass candelabra. Thanks for the fun!
ReplyDeleteI love your apothecary theme, and the Fiestaware plates are fantastic! I've never seen any Halloween themed ones before! I also like the bird on the magnifying glass, and the brownies are so cute. We have't seen Hocus Pocus 2 yet. BTW the candelabra is fantastic! It makes the perfect centerpiece. I like that your table is spooky, not scary. Thanks for hosting these blog hops! They've given me something positive to focus on this year! :D
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness! Rita! You are so right, there is nothing scarier than the way they used to practice medicine!!! What a great theme. I love the plates. The home of Fiesta Ware is not that far from me, and I have visited there several times to take advantage of their seconds sales. But they never have their specialty plates on sale - and boy, they were expensive!! So I hope you found these treasures at a good deal! The Hocus Pocus cookies are adorable!! Such a wonderful Halloween table!!! 🧡🎃and as always- thanks so much for organizing these wonderful hops!! They are so much fun!!
ReplyDeleteThis is so fun Rita! I absolutely adore the crow on the magnifying glass! The way you perched him as though he’s looking through it is so fun! Love the dishes and how you displayed them under the decanter!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for hosting us all once again! I am enthralled with your crows and how they are wafting over your tablescape. You have added so many lovely elements for a thrilling Halloween table! How lucky you are to have the dish outlet nearby! The plates you picked up are great! The spellbook brownies under glass is just a great final touch! Yay, and Happy Halloween!
ReplyDeleteRita, you nailed it! I love how you wove your story around each element in the table. I have never seen the movie Hocus Pocus, but those brownies look divine! The plates are perfect and I love the napkin rings too! I always found it amusing that they call it a "murder of crows"! But, they are spooky looking creatures, and seeing a whole bunch together definitely evokes visions of a very scary haunted house! Thank you for hosting!
ReplyDeleteSorry Rita, I forgot to change it from Anonymous! The above comment is from me!
ReplyDeleteOoooh -- a fiendishly mesmerizing visit to the apothecary shop! What fascinating spells will be invoked and secrets revealed! There'll be shivers all around as we enjoy dinner at the wonderful table set with spooky dishware and laboratory elements.The crows especially contribute to the eerie experience and I loved the magnifying glass! What a wonderful find.
ReplyDeleteThank you for so smoothly organizing such a fun tablescape hop!
Rita, your table is spooky fabulous! I love the apothecary theme, and you nailed it with the "specimens" from your antique booth! I wouldn't be able to pass on those plates, either. They are so unique! Thanks for organizing a frightfully fun hop!
ReplyDeleteRebecca (Zucchini Sisters)
Rita... your table looks darling! I love every detail! I wish I had an Everything Fiesta near me!! And those brownies looks like it is scary delicious!! Have a wonderful week, dear Rita.
ReplyDeleteSpectacularly spooky, Rita!
ReplyDeleteYour mystical tablescape looks wonderful! My favorite decor are the crows!! I'd love for you to link up with us each week at the Home Matters Party (Thursday 9pm thru Monday) Hope to see you there!
ReplyDeleteFeaturing this tomorrow on Farmhouse Friday! Thanks for linking up! pinned
ReplyDeleteWow, Rita! So much detail!!! I LOVE those plates, and I love how those magnets embellish the napkin rings. Very smart! My husband (doctor) walked past and was immediately drawn to the skull. He just had to interrupt my scrolling to look it over. Dude! Get a life!!!🤣🤣🤣
ReplyDelete