Halloween 2012

This post is dedicated to my son who turns 24 years old on October 31st. He is currently studying English Literature in a Master's Program at university far away from us.
Happy Birthday LMR! 
We love and miss you! Keep up the great work!

Double, double, toil and trouble...

Fire burn and cauldron bubble...

Round about the cauldron go;

In the poison'd entrails throw.

Toad, that under cold stone

Days and nights has thirty-one

Swelter'd venon sleeping got,

Boil thou first i' the charmed pot

Fillet of a fenny snake,

In the cauldron boil and bake;

Eye of newt and toe of frog,

Wool of bat and tongue of dog,

Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting,

Lizard's leg and howlet's wing,

For a charm of powerful trouble,

Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.*

Cool it with a baboon's blood,

Then the charm is firm and good.

O well done! I commend your pains;

And every one shall share i' the gains;

And now about the cauldron sing,

Like elves and fairies in a ring,

Enchanting all that you put in.

By the pricking of my thumbs,

Something wicked this way comes

Open, locks,

Whoever knocks!

(* my apologies to Shakespeare for leaving out a verse of "ingredients"

Inspiration for this Halloween Buffet Tablescape came from the following items:



A plastic bucket filled with candy - candy removed, it became the witches' cauldron



A bag of spider webbing which became the foam on the witches' brew



This candle ring which usually goes around the umbrella pole of a patio set became the base for the witches' cauldron



A black framed decorative mirror (x 2) becomes an angled table runner

Thanks for stopping by!

 

I'll be linking this post to these fabulous blog parties:
Centerpiece Wednesdays at The Style Sisters
Wow Us Wednesday at Savy Southern Style 
Tablescape Thursdays at Between Naps on the Porch
Tabletop Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life
Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home  
Seasonal Sundays at The Tablescaper
Let's Dish at Cuisine Kathleen 
Sunday Showcase at Under the Table and Dreaming

Fall Wheat Centerpiece

  Here is an idea for a terrific yet easy-to-make fall and/or Thanksgiving centerpiece.  First off though, I must give credit to Jillian at Evolve, Living & Giving (local home decor store that I love!) for the inspiration which I shamelessly copied!

If you live on a wheat farm, this will be super inexpensive for you but if not, hopefully, you'll be able to find some bundles of wheat sheaves like the ones I got at Evolve, Living & Giving for $4 each.

You will also need some type of clear vase.  I preferred to use one of my cylinder vases.

 I used grains of wheat as filler for the vase (Thanks, Jillian for giving me some of yours!) but you could also use brown rice, beans, popcorn kernels, etc.

You can separate each wheat sheaf or make larger groupings depending on the look you want. Simply poke them down into the filler you've chosen.

I added a black lantern (Walmart, this summer) to the grouping...

...as well as my rustic wooden-look pumpkin(HomeSense, last month)

Love how it turned out!  But I think I need to make more of them as I'm constantly moving the wheat centerpiece to different areas around my home.  Its wonderfully versatile...

...working just as well on an end table as the top of my sideboard.

 

A similar look could also be created using oats or barley and/or different types of vases.

Thanks for stopping by!

I'll be linking this post to these fabulous blog parties:
Centerpiece Wednesdays at The Style Sisters
Wow Us Wednesday at Savy Southern Style 
Tablescape Thursdays at Between Naps on the Porch
Tabletop Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life
Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home  
Seasonal Sundays at The Tablescaper
Let's Dish at Cuisine Kathleen 
Sunday Showcase at Under the Table and Dreaming

White Pumpkins and Crystal for Thanksgiving

 As promised in my recent post, here is a look at my Thanksgiving tablescape from last weekend.  My inspiration came from my desire to create a rustic-yet-elegant table setting to go with our new dining room furniture. 

I started with this faux white pumpkin (Michael's)...

...along with two of these crystal tealight lamps (Partylite years ago).

My centerpiece was created by grouping a little turkey (HomeSense years ago) on a crystal pedestal amongst three metal pine cone "trees" (Home Outfitters recently - see below)

 with some wheat sheaves, a cross and white pumpkin in between two crystal candle holders.

 Side Note: Below, you can see the metal pine cone trees actually came with a top plate for a candle but I got Mr. Delight to cut it off with bolt cutters as I like it better without.

The place settings started with white placemats, silver chargers, brown edged dinner plates,

a white and a clear salad plate topped with a white floral bowl.

Decorative items of a small white pumpkin, wheat sheaves and a silver-berry napkin ring were placed on top of each brown napkin.

Something VERY different for me was that I didn't use a tablecloth! 

 

 With our brand new table, I wanted to let the dark wood show and thus, it was incorporated into my colour scheme.

The addition of a cross to our table reminds us to give thanks to our Lord for all His blessings 

 including the greatest gift of salvation we have through Him.

The view looking into the living room...

The updates to our dining room included this more modern chandelier.  It took a bit to get used to but I'm really loving it now especially with the extra "bling" of the crystal pendants.

I like that the new furniture has more of a rustic look and the chandelier adds an unexpected elegance which is also the feeling I wanted to create on the table using the white pumpkins and crystal.

The metal wall art on the new sidebar/buffet was on trial and has gone back to the store. Although it looks okay in these pictures,

in real life, the colours weren't right and it wasn't really the look we were going for.  I'm hoping to find a large mirror for the space.

 Thanks for visiting.  Hope all my fellow Canadians had a very Happy Thanksgiving last week and that maybe I've provided some inspiration for my American friends to try for their upcoming holiday in November.

I'll be linking this post to these terrific blog parties:

Wow Us Wednesday at Savy Southern Style 
Tablescape Thursdays at Between Naps on the Porch
Tabletop Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life
Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home  
Seasonal Sundays at The Tablescaper
Let's Dish at Cuisine Kathleen 
Sunday Showcase at Under the Table and Dreaming

Happy Thanksgiving Canada!

This weekend, I am busy preparing a turkey dinner with all the trimmings including pumpkin pie of course! We will be hosting the Thanksgiving meal at our house this year and I am looking forward to spending time with family. 

We have so much to be thankful for!

I hope you will check back in next week to see more of the details of my Thanksgiving tablescape of crystal and white pumpkins. 

Happy Thanksgiving Canada!