Happy Thanksgiving Tablescape 2011

Happy Thanksgiving Bloggie Friends,

So what do you do when the inspiration for a vignette or a tablescape just doesn't come?  Turn to our friend Google, of course, which then leads you to Blogland and Pinterest...duh!  So, I was trying to find some inspiration for a Thanksgiving tablescape by looking at the things I had since spending tons o money was not an option.  Nothing was really coming together.  I had these light tan tablecloths which I wanted to use, so I figured maybe a relatively neutral palette would be good.  Still, nothing was really standing out as a theme.  Then I came across Debbie's amazing table at Confessions of a Plate Addict.  When I saw that she and I had the same Wal Mart faux pumpkins that we had both painted ivory, I knew I needed to explore further.  I'd like to say she INSPIRED me, but I think it would be more accurate to say that I copy catted her for the most part.  I had been wanting to make one of the ubiquitous burlap table runners, but hadn't gotten to it, so I bought some inexpensive loose weave burlap and just cut it and fringed the ends after washing it twice to make it softer.  I actually like the way it turned out very much, and you can't beat the price (about $6 and I got enough for 2 runners since the width was too wide for the runner but not long enough to go the length of the table, so I cut it in half widthwise).

The second part of my tablescape came from a source that I'm sorry to say I can't remember, but it involved putting a photo gallery of family pictures in the center of the table.  I liked the idea, but not necessarily the execution since I didn't want it to be the only focal point of my centerpiece.  So, I took some of my favorite family, pet, friend, house, and beach photos (things we are THANKFUL for, get it?), printed them in black and white, and then put them on a decorative paper and complimentary cardstock.  I interspersed them with the large pumpkins and some small ones I had left from my Halloween decor for visual interest. 

I made some little leaf name tags and just tied them around beautiful antique linen napkins that I had and put them over my parents' china.  I also used my parents' sterling silverware, one of my favorite things that I own.

Lastly, somewhere on the internet (also unknown), I had seen rolls of jute twine used as simple candlesticks.  I thought it was brilliant, so I had to recreate it, especially since I had the jute already.  I might add that for safety's sake, I will either come up with a bobeche to catch the wax or I will not light the candles.

The rest of the photos are of various other areas in my home.  I just love decorating for Thanksgiving.  Although I love Christmas, I just can't skip over Thanksgiving and go straight to my Christmas decorating.  I need to enjoy all of the seasons and holidays as they come, so I hope you are not too tired of fall because I'm sharing it one more time. 

My great aunt Ione painted this pretty pitcher.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your loved ones.

Sharing with:

White Wednesday
Farmhouse Friday 
Tabletop Tuesday
Vintage Inspiration Friday
Tablescape Thursday 
Feathered Nest Friday
2805 Potpourri Party
The Charm of Home

Until next time,

The Best Laid Plans...

I spent most of last week in beautiful Durango, Colorado over in the Four Corners area of the state helping one of our affiliate hospitals through their Go Live transition to a new hospital information system.  Traveling for business is something I rarely get to do, so it was a nice break for me to do something different.  I had great plans for all of that "free" time I was going to have since I just knew we'd be doing our hospital thing and then coming back to the hotel where I would then religiously go to the workout room and sweat a little and then shower and go back to my room for an evening of crafting.  I had purchased an online workshop from Heather at Pretty Petals probably a year or even two ago and had never gotten "a round tuit" so what better time than in Durango says I?  GREAT idea in theory, although the 5 pounds or so of craft supplies that had to go with me on the airplane was a bit much.  Still, when I come home with a completed altered journal, won't I feel clever?

So I arrive super early on Saturday, don't need to be at work until 6 a.m. on Sunday.  It is snowing, so I just go down to the hotel restaurant located riverside on the Animas River for a bite of lunch.  Even in the snow, it is a beautiful spot. There is a pathway that goes quite a way along the river.  Great for walking, running, biking, or just getting some fresh air.  Pardon the photo quality, I just had my cell phone with me.

Then, after lunch, I go back to my room and I see this...calling me...wooing me...willing me to crawl under the high thread count covers and take a little nap.  I had been up since 3 am and hadn't slept worth beans the night before, so I was an easy sell, I have to admit.

So, off for a little shut eye.  I did manage to drag myself awake later in the afternoon and begin a little crafting before dinner.  I was in heaven.  Ella Fitzgerald playing on my MP3, pretty papers and ribbons, and all manor of nifty objects I have acquired over the years as a hunter/gatherer.  Glass of wine, no interruptions, ALL GOOD.   Then, time for a dinner break.  I dined with these fun 4 ladies (I'm the 2nd from the left).  I knew Amy, on the far left, from the hospital where I work, but the other gals I met that night.  They all work in Denver hospitals and had also come to help out with the computer conversion.  We had a lovely time.  One thing about Durango is, it is a town of about 15,000 people, but it has some of the best restaurants anywhere, so if you go home hungry, it is your own darn fault!  They do tend to be a little spendy though, so I was sure glad the company was paying since my budget doesn't allow much fine dining.

In case you need to know, this little bowl of seafood "stew" was amazing.  Lobster, scallops, shrimp, salmon, and I don't know what all else went together for a delicious meal on a cold night.

Then on Sunday morning at 6 a.m., I went to work at the local hospital, expecting to do 8 hours.  Almost 12 hours later, I left the hospital and a bunch of us went to dinner at another fine dining establishment.  They couldn't serve me a glass of wine fast enough!  And then I went home (back to the hotel), and crashed.  And that was pretty much the way the rest of the week went...so much for a relaxed crafty kind of off time (what off time?).  By the time I returned home, I was spent.

On a more pleasant note though, Saturday, I attended a dinner recognizing me and others for years of service to our organization.  I celebrated 20 years (SHRIEK!).  It was held at Bronco Stadium in one of their super snazzy club lounges and it was very nice.  We got to take a tour of the stadium which was cool, because we got to see lots of cool places like the visiting team locker room (NOBODY gets to tour the home locker room, not no one not no how), one of the huge storage rooms where the beer and beer kegs are kept), the stall for the live Bronco mascot, the media area, the field...

...and this cool private box on the 50 yard line.  For a cool $150,000 PER SEASON, you can have this box and you and several of your closest friends can watch the Broncos play in air conditioned and heated comfort.  Hmmmmm, might have to pass on that one.

 

All in all, it was a nice wind up to a very hectic week.  Now I am home and back to my "normal" hectic life!  I am ashamed to admit it, but I have to remove my Halloween decor and quickly get some Thanksgiving stuff up before it is time to decorate for Christmas.  Yikes...time flies when you're having fun!  I did give myself "permisison" this week on my days off to work on the art journal that I was supposed to get to work on in Durango and I finished it.  Yay!   I'll post pictures of it one of these days..

Until next time,

Just Like Me, They Long to Be...CLOCHE to You!

 

I know, that is SO bad, but I just couldn't help myself.  I have a thing for cloches...gee, ya THINK?  They are a great way to group things in your home and I use them for centerpieces on my dining room on a regular basis, but as I looked around the house, I noticed I had at least one in every room.  Yes.  SO, I said to myself, "Self, seems like you should hook up with Marty's Fall Cloche Party at A Stroll Through Life."  So, since today is Halloween, I am showing you some things you've seen before, but I just can't think beyond this evening and the fun we will have with our boys in our neighborhood. I love this holiday.  I guess some of us never grow up.  As evidenced by me in Walgreen's (my son who was with me is 12 and he just shook his head)...you can't take me ANYWHERE!

Have a FUN and safe Halloween, whether you're a trick or treater, a candy hander outer, a zombie, or a party pooper who just wants it all to be over.  (I apologize to all party poopers who may be offended, but sometimes I've just got to call em like I see em and let the cards fall where they may ).

Until next time,

The Nerd & The Gray Lady

Mr. FL and I went to a costume party last night.  He was a nerd and he may kill me if he finds out I posted this pic (shshshshsh, our little secret, OK?).  I was the Gray Lady, a costume from the Martha Stewart website that I saw last year and just couldn't wait to do.  If you put it in your idea file, get more tulle than the instructions call for because I got 10 yds instead of the 8 1/2  it said, and the dress was just barely adequate to go around.  I'd also recommend wearing a gray slip or dress underneath instead of the white that the instructions have because since the tulle is so sheer, you end up seeing a lot of the underneath layer. I didn't find a gray dress, slip, or nightgown at my local thrifts, so I just went with the white, but I think the gray would have been much better.  All in all though, it was a fun costume, easy to make (no sew-Woo! Hoo!), and got lots of compliments at the party.  Hope you all have a fun and safe Halloween with your loved ones.  We have one of the greatest neighborhoods for trick or treating, so it is really like a big street party with friends and neighbors and one of the "not to be missed" events of the year.

Until next time,

Black & White Spooky Tablescape

Welcome to my first ever tablescape post.  I fear it could be addictive.  What do you think?

It all started when I purchased this set of creamy white owl napkin rings in one of my favorite little junk shops.  I started looking at the thrifts for black or black and white dishes to add some pop to my almost 30 year old Mikasa dishes and found 6 of these little cuties for a couple of bucks.

I started getting the idea of using the white owls as a more subtle table dressing.  THEN I saw the little mercury glass owl in West End's catalog with 50% of the purchase price going to St Jude's Hospital for cancer research.  Being a mom of a kid with leukemia (in remission), that sealed the deal and West Elm got my $14 which included shipping, by the way.  I put him in a little birdcage cloche that I previously got from WUSLU deal a day (don't get me started on that-too much fun, too cheap, and way too easy to buy).  He nestled in with some reindeer moss from last Christmas and some little white pumpkins.  As you can see, several items are stacked to make the centerpiece with the bottom being a bride's basket that I've had for years.

My friend Michelle made the adorable tombstone tag that hangs from the top of the cloche.  She took actual photographs from when she was visiting an old cemetery and made a set of these great hangtags.  LOVE THEM!  They almost look 3 dimensional...

Candles from last year topping old faux mercury glass curtain tiebacks I've had and used forever.

I was unsuccessful at finding something resembling cute black napkins or black and white napkins and I wasn't in the humor to spend a lot of money, so at the aforementioned thrift store, I found some black linen looking fabric for $2 and proceeded to make my own, using my late mother's sewing machine with the nifty little embroidery feature.  I then made my own stencil of an owl.  I was so proud...until I put the napkins in the rings and realized it was too much owl. Sigh...back to the drawing board.  On the opposite corner, I stamped the word "Spooky" and called it good. And now I can use the owl corner or the "spooky" corner.  Seriously, that's like 4 hours of my life I'll never get back again, but it's DONE!  YAY!  And thrifty touches like that allow me to splurge on more fun things, right?

Napkin Option "Deux": 

Oh no, I DIT-UHNT?!  Oh yeah, I did...a PAPER stencil.  Desperate times call for desperate measures...and the price was right, just one piece of printer paper.

The adorable place cards seen best at the top of the post were fashioned from an owl graphic from (where else?) Graphics Fairy. Glossy computer paper, stuck on black cardstock folded in half to make a tent card (I think that's what they're called).




What to do for a tablecloth...trip to another favorite junk shop where a favorite textile vendor had a black and white striped twin flat sheet for $6, everything in the booth...40% off.  Yeah baby, now we're cooking with gas...top it with one of my antique tablecloths, marginally ironed, and you've got TABLESCAPE, baby! Woo! Hoo!  Of course, mismatched silver plate is always a favorite in my house. 

Next project, black and white coasters.  Only one is done so far, but I think they will be used for more than Halloween, so we can talk about them more another time.

A fun hors d'oeuvre or sushi set from West Elm.  One of those splurges you can have when you aren't out buying tablecloths and napkins (that's what I'm telling myself anyway).

If you have gotten this far and your eyes haven't yet glazed over, THANK YOU!  Now go on over to Between Naps on the Porch and look at some pros at Tablescape Thursday.  I'm linking up with their party this week.  It should be fun.


Until next time,

Also linking up with the following parties this week:
Feathered Nest Fridays
Vintage Inspiration Friday
Farmhouse Friday
Wow Us Wednesdays

Show and Tell Friday
Tuesdays Treasures 
Funky Junk's Saturday Night Special
Pink Saturday 
Open House Party at No Minimalist Here 
Home Sweet Home Friday 
Tutorials and Tips 
Air Your Laundry Friday
Graphics Fairy Brag Monday

White and Black Halloween, Part 1

Hello Friends,

I'm still into my black and white Halloween decor, so I thought I'd share a few things from my black and white living room decor for part 1 of this post.  I'll post part 2 on Thursday when I will feature my tablescape in the dining room.

I added the wonderful vintage clock face that I picked up from Etsy this year behind little baseball head (as my husband calls him).

I always use old books to elevate our oil lamps but since I was really getting into the black and white theme, I decided I needed some neutrality to their usual pretty soft colors.  BUT I didn't really want to have to purchase black books (like I could find them anyway- I always look for pretty vintage black books-but I digress), so I dug through my paper stash and found some pretty black and white 12x12 scrapbook papers and just wrapped the books I had up in them.  No glue, no tape, just a simple cover that will come off easily once the season has passed.  I like the way they look for now.  I also am loving my Wendy Addison garland which I have had for a couple of years.  I've used it here and there, but I'm liking it on the mantel.

I have a very beautiful antique Victorian beaded firescreen that normally looks great, but since I was fluffing the mantel, it didn't look right.  Again, I went to my paper stash and made a little disguise which I just taped to the glass.  Once Halloween is over, it will get rolled up and stored away (or maybe reused on another project, who knows).  Kind of loving the crows right now. 

I wanted white pumpkins for the urns, but had a hard time finding them for a price I would pay ($6.99 a piece?  I think not.)   So, I used 6 little white and green pumpkins for 1/4 of the price and thought they were just fine.  Pardon the blurry picture-it is not so fine, but unlike my normal gazillion pictures of each thing, I apparently only took one of the urns.  :-(

On the other side of the room is one of my favorite places to foof up.  I found some cute free uploads of antique poison labels here and added them to some old bottles I picked up at an amazing sale a couple of weeks ago.  Colored water finished off the look.  I made it look like a drink station, adding some pretty glasses to the silver tray.  Love the way it turned out.  I couldn't resist more with the crow theme or Raven, if you will, and who better to preside over that than Edgar Allen Poe.

I picked up this cute little skeleton in the graveyard thing at the dollar store and added the banner from Graphics Fairy and the words, "Pick your poison".

Don't you love the hand painted feathers?  I got them from an estate sale a couple of years ago.

This white pumpkin is a faux which started out orange from Wal-Mart, but it took well to my foam brush and craft paint, so I was a happy girl.  If only I'd purchased 2 more for my urns...but that would have required forethought.  Not always my strong suit. :-(

My funny little stairs just needed the little mice, cut out from templates found here. I think they are cute, don't you?

Come back Thursday for my dining room tablescape.

I'm linking up with Kathleen and one of my favorite parties, White Wednesday.  I can't wait to spend a little time looking at all the dreamy whites.  What are you waiting for?  You will love it too!

Until next time,