How To Decorate Your Thanksgiving Table

Hi Foxy Friends! I was talking to my mom today and she said hey, remember when we did that video on how to decorate your Thanksgiving table? I can't find it on our Youtube Channel (yep I have a YouTube channel with my mom, separate from my Youtube Channel). I thought, well I remember editing it, and low and behold, I had a completely edited and ready to upload video all set to go. I figure, well good thing she noticed now, we can upload this now, and it's still relevant.  So here is how you use what you have in your house to decorate your thanksgiving table!

We used things that she had around from previous Thanksgivings/ Fall decorations. Decorating your table does not mean you have to go out and spend a ton of money. I find that I like to add one piece here and there, and then over the years you get a different looking table, and only spending a minimal amount of money. Here is the video that we put together on the steps to create your own Thanksgiving table. Make it interesting, and put little things around the table for people to look at, like those turkey salt and pepper shakers or the scarecrow. Doesn't have to be uniform, the more unique the better!

 

Here is a close up of the table setting

And the table put together

Added a pumpkin for decorations, not that we're going to eat it :)

Gobble Gobble!

 

How To Decorate A Fancy Christmas Tree

Hi Foxy Friends! For my fellow American friends I hope you had a great long weekend. Today is day 4 of the 12 days of Blogmas.  Today is all about Christmas Decorations, I thought I would share a post I did last year for The Blended Blog, where my mom, the decorator, shares how to get your Christmas tree to look like one from a magazine. You know the fancy hotel or magazine trees and you think, I want that in my house, well my mom is giving you the tips and tricks to do just that.

So, let's just pretend for this exercise that you have found your perfect pre-lit tree and that you also have a tree skirt.  You need to find your garland and do that first. Starting from the bottom. My mom got this red feathery garland at Home Goods last year and loves it. As she adds each length she's watching for even spacing around the tree.

Step back and make sure that it looks good from far away.

This might seem crazy, but then add another row of garland.  Be sure that the second garland is of a completely different consistency from the first.  The first garland was long and feathery, the second is airy, small berries.  It's all about creating interest with different shapes and textures.

She could have stopped here but had this button ribbon from last year and just wanted to enjoy it again.  As she added the ribbon she used the berry garland to keep the ribbon in place.  Just twist as needed.

 

Now for the top.  She is using picks of berries and poinsettias and holly.  Up the ladder, back down the ladder, again and again.  Checking the look and the balance~ how far up, how far out and how close to each other do I want it?  Totally subjective.

She added picks throughout the tree and used greenery with small pine cones and red flower branches.  Always checking for a balanced arrangement.

Now come the ornaments.  Birds are the theme here. white and red ones.  Some she just pushes in, some are on metal 'feet' and some she just push onto the tip of a branch, in through the hole at the top of the ornament.  

TIP: A spool of wire is great to have to put your ornaments on your tree.  You'll get much better placement with it rather than trying to use those little pesky ornament hangers. Cut the wire to the length you'll need, feed wire through the loop on the top of your ornament half way.  Now you can attach the ornament to the tree at any length drop you want, twist wire as needed around the branch.

And here is the finished product.

Have fun with your Christmas tree decorating this year! I know easier said then done, but really, just do it. Buy some stuff with these guidelines and start decorating. See what does and does not look good, return what doesn't look good and keep what does. You got this!

Don't forget to go enter our giveaway for $1500 worth of goodies! 

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How To Decorate Your Thanksgiving Table

I thought since Thanksgiving is right around the corner and I have a lot of new readers I would do a little throwback Thursday and repost when my mom guest posted on the blog on how to decorate a Thanksgiving table. She's seriously an amazing interior decorator, and I'm desperately trying to learn from her, now that I have my own house and family. I want to make my home warm, cozy and inviting just she did when I was growing up. I want my kids to look back with fond memories for decorating for the holidays like I do. Okay, enough of the sentimental stuff. Here's what you're really after...

Hi there, Sarah's Mom here, showing you how I decorate my Thanksgiving table. I love setting the table for holiday events, I start with the end in mind, which is that I want each person's place setting to feel cozy and luxurious.  I set the table 2 days ahead of every holiday, that way if you find things you need, you have plenty of time to go find it.  I consider theme, colors, centerpiece, tableware, candles and flowers. The breakdown for this table looks like this:

First up is the base, the tablecloth. I think that a thick cloth under the place setting makes everything feel warm and inviting. So along with the two tablecloths, I also use a table pad. It can be anything really, if I don't have something that fits my table, sometimes I'll just throw a thick blanket under there, anything to give it that little extra cushion.

These are both 54 inch squares set with opposite points.  I've kept the tablecloths short because of my grandchildren~ just less to get tangled up in! 

Next is the center piece. This table happens to be round, so for this particular center piece I decided to use my silver tray, the diameter of the tray I used is 18 inches and 3.5 inches deep.

I know I wanted some height so I started out with putting a riser in the middle of the tray. Next I added two rows of fall leaf garland, making sure to evenly distribute. When I saw the scarecrow I knew I wanted it to be my main focus, so I added him next, moving the garland around to make room for him to sit flat. Then I started adding various gourds around, making sure the scarecrow is front and center.

The place setting doesn't have to be a matching set. Sometimes I like to mix and match what I have to make it more interesting. Mix glass sets and mix dish sets!

I added the flower vase, I couldn't find my crystal ones, so these pinks ones did the trick. I also added the accent plate, it is really there to look pretty and to be used for those random things that you might not think of, like the gravy boat. Mostly I thought they were cute and wanted them on the table. If I had found enough I might have used them for bread plates, etc.

As always feel free to substitute, like you can follow this same tutorial for a square table, but if you were to have a rectangle table I like to have three main pieces, one larger in the center and then two smaller things towards the end of the table, and then fill in the gaps, sort of like the mantel, but make sure to leave room for all of the platters the yummy food is going to be on.

The finished table.

If you want to take a peek at the rest of my Fall decorations, here ya go! First up is my mantle.  I used the same basic principals as my Halloween mantel.

If there is a spot I will fill it with something, I change out what's on this table seasonally. The picture/books always stay and then what's in front changes with my mood/season.

The little space on my counter always has something decorative. I think it's very inviting when someone walks in and sees something for the season.

Even the phone area gets decorated.

I am constantly tweaking, finding other decorations while I am out and adding and subtracting things as I go. Find things that you love and have fun finding places around your house to display them. 

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Doesn't this just get you totally pumped for the all of the holidays coming up and decorating for everything? I know I'm super motivated and ready to decorate! How about you? What's your favorite thing to decorate in your house?

 

 

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How To Decorate A Mantel For The Holidays

Before I start, it's the 1 year blogiversary of The Blended Blog, we decided to celebrate by doing a fun scavenger hunt giveaway! Today is my day to find out a little bit more about me! So go check it out, and discover some new and awesome posts and maybe win $150 in the process.

Last year on The Blended Blog my mom took over and did a whole post on how to decorate your mantel. We happened to be upon the Halloween time frame so all of the decorations were for Halloween, but you could apply the theory to any an all seasons! Take it away Mom!

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Hi!  I'm Carol, aka: Sarah's Mom.  Now that my children are all grown up, my husband and I have moved to an apartment.  I didn't do much holiday decorating the first year here but I really felt the loss of the creativity and beauty and the celebration of it all.  Now I'm back to it and so much happier! 'Present' is the root word of Present-ation.  I create presents for all the holidays, for myself and anyone else who happens over to our apartment to enjoy!

This is my apartment mantel~ Starting with a blank canvas:

When decorating a mantel you'll want to measure length and depth, so you know how large/small decor pieces can be used ( i.e. narrow mantel means you have to use narrow items).

Take note of what is hanging above your mantel (i.e. mirrors or pictures), You will have to decide if you want to cover it, remove it or work around it.  In this case we are going to work around it.

Next step is to decide if you want the height on the sides or the middle of your mantel. Because of the picture, and not wanting to move or obstruct it, I've decided that I want all of the height on my mantel to be on the sides, going with short décor items in the center.

Take your creative base: In this case it is a table runner, but you could use anything for your base (even a bunch of napkins on the diagonal if you are trying to find stuff around the house). For example this was another table runner I found on clearance last year at Michael's. I didn't end up using it because it was too short for the look I was going for.



Now that I have decided I am doing the height on the sides, I need to figure out what I want to be the center of the mantel. This is going to be your anchor and where you start, I just love witches, so mine is a little flying witch.

Find the middle of the table runner and then anchor it to the mantel. Make sure that the bottom is even and straight across. In this case I'm looking at the spider webs on the end to make sure those are straight.

Once you have that, you're ready to move on to the outside with the height. I found these cute signs and decided to stack them. Sometimes it take a few tries, but just keep trying.

Now that we have one side we're going to work on the other side.

See in the first picture, when I place them side by side, there is no depth or variety. To change that I found a little candle holder and I put it under the man pumpkin, doesn't it look so much better when the man is slightly taller than the woman?

So this is what we have now. My table runner, my anchor and my two outside height pieces. By the way, my husband was a football player and I was a cheerleader, both in high school and college so these "dolls" were a 'must buy' for me!!!!

Since there are two height things on the right (man and woman pumpkins) I decided to add something with the same height to the signs.

So now the mantel looks like this:

The next layer I decided to go with a pumpkin pillow on the left and a little sign on the right. Again, the sign on the right was a little too low, so I put a jar under it to give it some height.

Coming right along.

 Next I wanted to add something that was somewhat the same- a "set." While these look different, they are both sparkly pumpkin candles.

The outsides are the same height.

Now it sort of looks a little plain right?

Let's add another layer, in this case some leaves I found at Micheal's on clearance last year. 

Left side, this really takes placing the leaves down and then moving my decorations to sit on top of it.

The right side: I made sure that I covered the jar that is holding up my sign.

The last and final step is unexpected, but totally necessary. Some call it adding confetti, I call it adding sparkle. I just want to fill in the tiny blank spaces. I found some pumpkin ornaments and then just confetti'd them around to fill in the spaces.

 The finished project. See how the dots of "confetti" adds another layer that isn't expected?

 Advance note: You can always add lighting as well, but that would have been done right after the mantel cover was placed.  Don't forget to test lights before building/placing décor items. Battery operation? or electrical? Think of plug availability....

Sarah and I went into Pier One and found these things you could use for your confetti or sparkle. I personally have given up on glitter....forever, but they are cute! {edited to add: They are no longer available but I wanted to keep it in the post to give you an idea of what "sparkle" you can add.}

Have fun creating 'presents' in your home!!! Sarah and I would love to see your creations!

Post your links in the comments below.

Click here to check out my mantel that we did last year.

Don't forget to go enter into the giveaway! It only runs until Friday!

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