How I Decorated Our Holiday Table

When decorating for the holidays, I like to keep things simple and stress free.

Using things found in nature, I transformed our dining room table for the holiday season.

It all started with a metal cornucopia filled with eucalyptus branches.  I love the texture of the seeds.  I arranged the stems loosely, to create a natural cascade.

To make it a bit more special, I scooped fruit from the kitchen bowl and had fun mixing it into the centerpiece!  Added bonus--you can eat the leftovers!!

My husband spotted the ornamental corn while grocery shopping and thought I might like to decorate with it.

It's the perfect addition.  I love the range of colors on the kernels.

The soft glow of candlelight makes the whole scene warm and inviting.

Hope this inspires you to take a more natural approach to decorating this holiday season.

Natural Thanksgiving Table Setting

I am extremely excited for this year's Thanksgiving.

       

The weather is cool enough for a warm gathering around the dinner table, I have begun preparing the menu and a few friends are joining in the feast for the first time.

Since our holiday dinners are usually shared with my small family, decorations were always kept simple for the table.

A set table with fancy silverware and a few lit candles was my go-to for the previous years.

However, since I am opening my house for more guests, I wanted to do something different yet affordable.

Because my dining room has neutral tones already, I went with a theme that wouldn't clash or be an eyesore.  So, as a foundation, I went for a patterned paper table runner and worked my way up.

Since the colors in the table runner are very simple, I used different shades of green in my accents.  I found two beautiful sage green pumpkins at my local farmer's market which went perfectly with my fresh hydrangea centerpiece and greenery.

Adding a few white pumpkins and candles to the center of the table completed the dinner table and made for an elegant display.

Branching out with style this Thanksgiving was a great idea and I'm sure my guests will enjoy the look.

Working on the table setting beforehand minimizes the infamous Thanksgiving morning rush and I can focus on other things like preparing the meal.

I hope all of you can be inspired and I wish you a very happy holiday!

Table Decor Source List:
Candle Holders- Thrift Store
Candles- Target
Flower Vase- Home Goods
Patterned Paper Table Runner- Hester and Cook
Flowers and Greenery- Kroger Grocery Store
Pumpkins- Farmer's Market and Etsy

Thanksgiving Decorating Ideas with Wallternatives

Hard to believe it's November already and the holidays are just around the corner.  Seems like Thanksgiving isn't a holiday most people decorate for.  We go from Halloween to Ho Ho Ho!  We host Thanksgiving dinner at our house, so I like to decorate for the holiday.

I started with big blank wall in my living room.  I thought it would be fun to give it a fresh, new look without being permanent.  

These removable and reusable wall decals are perfect for Thanksgiving.

The Black and White Fall Phrases were extremely easy to apply and can be repositioned.  Use the squeegee to gently smooth out the creases.

 

 

Adding the decals turned my plain wall into a gallery.

Beautiful reminders,

appropriate not only for Thanksgiving, but all year long.

I created the wreath with hydrangeas cut from my front yard.  They started white, then turned lovely shades of pink and green.
 

Such a simple way to dress up the wall.

We all have many things to be thankful for.  Sometimes we don't realize those blessings until we no longer have them.

For more inspiration, visit Wallternatives and check out their other fabulous products.

*Wallternatives provided me with The Black and White Fall Phrases to review.  All opinions expressed in this post are my own!

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Sundays at Home with Thoughts from Alice

Homemade Paper Holly Ball Ornament

I'm not sure whether I was in grade school or Girl Scouts, but I definitely remember making handmade ornaments as a child.  I was so proud of myself and couldn't wait to give them to my mom so she could hang them on our tree.  Now that I'm a mother I cherish handmade ornaments from my kids.  I'm excited to share with you a simple paper ornament I made with my children!

The ornament we made was inspired from this post by Camille Styles.  We started by gathering all of our supplies which we had on hand.

-ruler

-hole punch

-round object for tracing

-scrapbook paper

-pencil

-scissors

-hot glue gun

-ribbon

Begin by deciding how large you would like your ornament to be, then trace and cut out 2 circles and set aside.

Next you will need to cut out your paper strips.  I decided to make our ornament fuller than my inspiration picture, so we ended up using about 40 strips of paper.

Before cutting, punch a hole in the center of each strip marked by the lines of your ruler.

After each paper strip has been cut begin placing them around one of circles you cut in the beginning step, with the hole-punched edge facing out.  Make sure each strip is placed even in length and each strip slightly overlaps the strip before it. 

I began hot gluing the paper strips around the circle, making sure to get them straight across from each other as best as possible.  This tip will allow your ornament to tie close with ease.

  

Place the second circle cut out, on top of the center of the ornament.

String ribbon through the holes of each strip...

gently pull closed then tie a knot.

To keep the holiday theme going I added felt holly and berries.

Instead of hanging our ornament on the tree, we decided to make a special place for it on our shelf.

I hope you enjoyed it!  

Party Details

 Graduating from the 8th grade is a time for celebration!  My daughter is moving on to high school and a lot of her friends will be going to different schools.  We had a small party to acknowledge the occasion.  These are some of my favorite details of the party!

  Thank-you for visiting!