Materials and the sequence of the job sit together on this page.
Submitted by Designing By Numbers
Yes, I held out as long as I could in decorating for autumn, and yes, that means I left it until just about the last minute to set up my table for Thanksgiving this year as well. But, with a few direct touches, I was able to whip up a stylish backdrop for dinner just in time for guests to arrive!
Luckily I had the major stuff down:
- table cloth – check
- chargers – check
- utensils – check
- plates and bowls – check
But I needed a little more oomph. A few of the usual fall staples make great ingredients when you’re in a pinch to adorn the table with that little something extra: pine cones, mini pumpkins, and best of all – leaves!
First thing’s first, you’ve just got to get a centerpiece together. For my natural focal point, I grabbed a large bowl and arranged some apples, pine cones, and moss inside and jazzed it up a bit with some faux branches around the base. Having just made a trip to the pumpkin patch (that morning!) I added a few mini pumpkins to the display. Some bright yellow flowers embellished with a bright green satin bow added a real pop to the table.
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| Apple and pine cone centerpiece |
OK, centerpiece done and done.Next comes the seating cards. While these can be completely unnecessary (especially if you have a small family like I do), it can be a nice touch to create your own place markers – especially using leaves like in my inspiration shot above from Better Homes and Gardens.These are so straightforward to make; just select a few nicely shaped/coloured leaves – either preserved, like I have used, or found for FREE from autumn’s bounty outside – then grab a pen and start writing!I used a gold pen with a bit of shimmer to it. Just remember to use a darker ink on lighter coloured leaves so that your guest’s names appear prominently on the leaves.
I finished off the place cards by affixing them to napkins using a plain canvas ribbon. clearly fast, clearly straightforward. NEXT!
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| I just love how these place cards turned out |
Leaves make another appearance on my table to style up some plain glass coasters (actually, these are candle holders from Ikea doing double duty!) Just drop a leaf on the table and set that glass “coaster” right on top of it. I am on a roll!
As a final touch I broke out some mini autumnal cookie cutters my mum had given me and crafted mini leaf and acorn shaped butter (another {BHG} inspiration). You can use either miniature sized cookie cutters, as I did here, or the larger sized ones, as featured on BHG.
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| Leaf and acorn mini butter |
I think this turned out just adorable – and my family was swooning over them! It’s the little things, after all
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| They are almost too cute to use! |
Despite being rushed to get things set up for Thanksgiving I think I did a pretty decent job overall with the things I had on hand, and best of all my family did appreciate the effort. It’s the least I could do since I’m certainly not the chef of my household!
Now, on to thinking AHEAD for Christmas dinner! (Yeah, right!)Be honest…
