One of my favorite things to do is to pull out old seasonal decorations, add a bit of new and hopefully come up with a fresh look we like. I knew I was on the right track Saturday morning when Bill walked by, took a good long look at the beginning stages of my tablescape and declared he liked it. He doesn't always say much either way so I was pleased that he even noticed.
This year these pillar candle holders were my jumping off point.
I had seen something similar on Pinterest and thought they were cute and since I'm big on wanting some height on my tables I thought this might be a fun way to acheive that.
My problem this year was that I must have been just a little too early because I couldn't find pumpkins anywhere.* I could find plenty of Christmas decorations but no fresh pumpkins. I finally found these at Vons in the floral department and they turned out to be just perfect. I paid a bit too much for them because they're organic, but I guess I can make soup out of them after Halloween.
I started by painting the stems with black acrylic paint and sprinkIing the wet paint with glitter. Once the stems were dry I cut several wool leaves from some scraps I had, then hot glued them to the pumpkins, scrunching them slightly before they cooled. I made the tindrals from raffia wrapped wire that I purchased at Michael's.
But the holders seemed too small for the pumpkins so I added a crepe paper ruffle to each holder by applying four or five inches of hot glue at a time to the top of each holder, then while the glue was still hot, bunched the crepe paper up, creating ruffles.
I did two rows around each top. You might want to use the tip of a pencil for this as it is easy to burn your fingers doing this step.
Most of my decorations are old. I love that. You just go to your cupboards and start pulling out stuff that might work and edit until you find a combination that you are happy with - adding just enough new to freshen things up. These adorable paper sunflowers arrived at Strawberry Patches Friday afternoon just as I was leaving for the weekend. I ordered them way back in January and honestly forgot about them, but they are perfect in my little black recycled yogurt pots. I love that they don't need sun or water and will look just as good in three years as they do today. (I think there are six left if anyone is interested).
The napkins were a delightful surprise from Pier One. You all probably know by now how much I love anything with script on it. I LOVE these napkins and will use them through Thanksgiving and then probably pull them out again for Valentines Day! LOVE THEM!!!
Since I only have dishes and accesories for six place settings and my table seats eight I pulled the captains chairs out slightly at each end of the table and put Halloween pillows there. I like how that looks and keeps all my Halloween decorations in one spot. Except for the front entry my only Halloween/fall decoration is right here at the kitchen table. I've never been a fan of holiday decorations all over the house. I know some people decorate every room in their house, but I like to keep it simple and it sure simplifies things once the holiday is over and it's time to pack it all up.
Here are the souces for my tablescape:
Twig Chargers Pottery Barn Several years old and no longer available but you could use grapevines wreaths instead for a similar look.
Glitter spiders last year at Pottery Barn They were sold out but a nice sales clerk let me buy the display ones and even gave me a discount. She climbed a ladder and gathered them from a high up display. So nice!
Black Flower Pots Paul Paris They're recycled yogurt pots from our trip to Paris last spring.
Sunflowers and wool pillows Strawberry Patches
Dishes Vietri I've had these for years. Food looks gross on them but they sure are fun for a Halloween table.
Script Napkins and wine glasses Pier One
Pillar Candle Holders Pier One or World Market I bought mine at World Market but saw similar ones at Pier One.
* Sunday afternoon, after the tablescape was completed, Bill went to Walmart and found huge boxes full of pumpkins in every size and description. He called me to see if I needed more. He brought back some wonderful ones for our front entry area and said everyone was asking him why he was buying so many pumpkins so early. He just rolled his eyes. = ) What a guy!
Encourage one another,
