As the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays approach, I get excited for decorating my home and table. I love picking up new dinnerware or linens....making favors for my guest to take home...coming up with different side dishes to serve with the traditional meat and potatoes. So when Kelly of Live, Laugh, Rowe invited me to participate in a tablescape blog hop, I jumped at the chance!
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Whether you are one of my dedicated readers or you are visiting from one of the other participating blogs, welcome! I'm honored to be included with bloggers that I've been following for years. There are some amazing tablescapes appearing in this blog hop. Links to everyone that is participating appear at the end of this post.
Gathering with family around the table at Thanksgiving can be such a special experience. It is a time when memories can be shared and traditions celebrated. My goal is always to make each part of the dinner memorable. And aside from the food, one of the easiest ways to do this is with a table that it beautifully set, makes your guests feel important, and allows for easy conversation. (Last year I shared tips for setting the perfect table, if you'd like to take a look.)
I have some amber gold colored dishes that I knew would be perfect for fall, so I created my tablescape using a theme of golds, yellows, and browns. It isn't necessarily a traditional Thanksgiving color pallet, but I love how soothing the color combination is on the table. The gold dinnerware was actually manufactured many years ago at the glass plant in my town, so it is pretty special.
For a centerpiece, I mixed a large light yellow pumpkin with smaller gold gourds and white pumpkins. Then I tucked in dried leaves I had collected in my neighborhood earlier in the season. I added cream colored taper candles in clear candlesticks down the center of the table. None of the candlesticks were the same size or shape, but because they are all clear glass, they go together. Finally, I wove some woven burlap ribbon through the entire display to give it a little rustic texture and to draw your eyes through the entire centerpiece.
For dishes, I layered a brown Ironstone transferware plate (picked up from Goodwill), an amber gold glass plate, and a small yellow stoneware plate (from Pier One).
I used a clear wine glass mixed with an amber gold drinking glass. The silverware is vintage silver that has been passed down in my family.
The cloth napkins say Thankful, so I wanted to show them off as part of the Thanksgiving table. Rather than lay them beside the plate where you traditionally see a napkin, or layer it under some of the plates, I opted to tuck it in the top corner of the plates for each guest to see.
And to finish everything off, I added a leaf favor made out of oven-baked clay to the stack of plates. This leaf could also serve as a place card by engraving the guest's name into the leaf or tying a name tag to it. Making the leaves is a simple process and they can be used as favors or ornaments during fall. The instructions are at the end of this post.
This table serves as a perfect example of how I like to decorate and entertain. I love a mix of new and old and of things that are handmade and things that are not. I love to have at least one thing on the table that can spark conversation and bring up memories for guests to discuss. And most of all, I love to have a table set that lets my dinner guests know that I took the time to create a special evening for them. I want my guests to leave my home knowing that they are important to me and that I was glad to have them visit. My hope is that this Thanksgiving table will do just that.
And in case you haven't seen enough of my tablescape, here are a few more shots! I'll be sharing more on Facebook and Instagram. I took a lot of pictures and had a hard time deciding which ones to include!
And for a little DIY, here is my tutorial for making the beautiful leaf favors.....
Begin with some oven bake clay. I prefer Sculpey Bake Shop clay because it is non-toxic. Each leaf will take approximately 1 ounce of clay. Knead the clay until it is soft and then roll it out to one fourth inch thickness. Use a cookie cutter to cut out a leaf shape.
Press a real leaf down into the clay to add a little texture to the clay. Then use a toothpick or sculpting tool to further etch in the veins that would be seen in a real leaf. Use an offset spatula from the kitchen to gently peel the leaf off of your work surface. Fold and bend the clay leaf to give it the look of a real leaf laying on the ground. Bake your clay leaves according to the directions on the package of clay and then allow it to cool.
Painting this leaf could not be easier. I literally rubbed burnt sienna craft paint (by Americana) over the entire leaf, followed by burnt umber in random places. Focus the burnt umber over the areas where you etched in the vein so that it stands out. Rub the paint in a lot to get the paint down into the clay. You don't want the leaf to look painted. It will end up with more of a watercolor kind of look.
Allow the paint to dry and then brush on some Mod Podge and sprinkle with iridescent glitter for a little sparkle. (I love Martha Stewart's glitter.) You can't see it in the picture, but these really sparkle when the light from overhead hits them.
These leaves make perfect favors for your guests to take home after a fall or Thanksgiving meal. Their names or the date can be engraved into the leaf. They can also be turned into ornaments for your own home. Any fall colors can be used to paint the leaf to fit into with your home or table decor.
So what are your feelings about my Thanksgiving table? Is there anything I did that you'd like to add to your own table in a few weeks?
And in case this was not enough inspiration for you, please take a moment to check out all the fantastic tablescapes from the other participants in today's #BeOurGuest blog hop. Enjoy!
Live Laugh Rowe | My Fabuless Life | Blooming Homestead
| Clean & Scentsible | Homey Oh My | Eighteen25 | City Farmhouse
| At The Picket Fence | A Night Owl Blog | The 36th Avenue | The Golden Sycamore
| Thistlewood Farms | Persia Lou | Ella Claire Inspired | Brepurposed
| Love Grows Wild | Primitive & Proper | Lolly Jane | The Crafted Sparrow | Design Dining & Diapers | Unskinny Boppy | Julie Blanner
| Anderson & Grant | Shabby Creek Cottage | Delineate Your Dwelling