I got all leaf-happy to add a bit of that fall/Thanksgiving vibe to the dining area. It was free and it took about ten minutes total. Here’s the dining table with some pretty branches from the cherry tree out front:
And I popped a few smaller branches from the same tree into my floating cb2 hanging vases.
Sure, they’re looking a little limp, but after adding some water to the vases, they perked right up. And since they’re free I’m ok with them lasting just a week or so if that’s what mother nature so ordains.
Oh and I thought a $2 bag of mixed nuts looked kinda Thanksgiving-ish (saw something similar in an old Pottery Barn catalog of yore) so I grabbed the bag and dumped them into two clear glass vases for more of that seasonal vibe. And I added an apple we already had in our fruit bowl- just for more of that pretty fall color.
The great thing is that those apples & mixed nuts can look Christmas-y too, plus they’re edible. Talk about multitasking only-takes-a-minute decor.
Oh and our etched “Thanks” jar is turning out to be a pretty fun project. We haven’t skipped a day of recording something that we’re thankful for yet (one of us usually reminds the other) and we can’t wait til the end of the month when we can read them all (I have no idea what John’s writing but he snickers from time to time, so I’m thinking it’ll be funny to finally read his in a few weeks).
Any fall or Thanksgiving decorating going on at your house? Remember those fun trace-your-hand-and-make-it-a-turkey projects back in kindergarten? I basically lived for that when I was a kid.
candace @ thecandace.com says
I love your almost free and festive decorations!! I haven’t decorated for Thanksgiving but I’ve still got a week to brainstorm… ;)
MegMD says
LOL Here I was thinking how wonderful your decor looks and bumming that I hadn’t done anything…but, then it occurred to me that I HAD! It took less than 5 minutes, so I had totally forgotten about it. I took two substantial but varying-sized vases, filled them with leaves and inserted a couple of branches with wispy smaller branches to add some height and interest. Fun! Aaaaand now it’s time to start Christmas decorating. :-D
I’m curious how you guys are going to handle the holidays AND moving AND having a little one under the age of one. Can’t imagine!
YoungHouseLove says
We’re definitely planning to do some holiday decorating here before we move and at the new place afterwards. We just love the holidays too much to get lost in moving and forget about them!
xo,
s
Sheryl J says
I live in the DMV and the colors of the trees near my house are a stunning red. I am in love with fall. Great table setting, btw.
Crystal says
Hi, wasn’t sure where to comment this, but have you checked out Pier1’s zoology collection? I thought you’d like it because 1) I know you love white ceramic animals and 2) all pieces are currently on clearance and I know you love a sale.
I just bought the white ceramic elephant tea pot and rhinoceros butter dish. They are too cute!
YoungHouseLove says
Cute! Thanks for sharing the link!
xo,
s
lisa says
Your “nuts in a vase” reminded me of the jar of similar nuts that was my late grandmother’s. Mom sets the jar out for the holidays. Not only is it a pretty decorative piece, it is also a great reminder of Grandma, who labeled the jar “Christmas 1980. Do not eat.” So if stored properly, you can get a good thirty years out of those nuts.
Meagan @ The Happiest Mom says
I blogged about our fall seasonal table last month: http://thehappiestmom.com/?p=1756
For Halloween I took away the color and added black candles and more white pumpkins.
Now that the fall is dragging into winter I’ve made it look more spare by removing the orange and red runner and adding some cool dark seed pods I found outside (no idea what they are) in the gourd bowl.
Jillys says
Not only did I steal your idea for the “Thanks” jar (which everyone LOVESSSS) but I now see that we picked out the exact same paper from Michael’s! (well that’s where I got mine :) My family was excited to put notes in, and my sis-in-law even said “Hey, I saw that on Young House Love!” LOL
Shauna says
Hm, I skimmed through the comments and didn’t see this asked but where did you get the white vase on the table? It’s gorgeous and I was looking to include a vase to my Thanksgiving spread of ceramic, wood, and real pumpkins and this would be gorgeous! Sorry if it’s already been answered, I always feel kinda bad when I see you guys answering the same question over and over again in the comments!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Shauna,
It’s from Target a while ago (snagged for $12 or so- amazing).
xo,
s
Sasha says
This is only a little related, but I’m glad to hear you lived for all those trace your hand a make a turkey projects when you were little. I’m a preschool teacher and we have seriously been making variations on those all week!
Kiran says
I love this fun, easy and FOC projects! I collected pine cones in my neighborhood park and used it in a bowl for deco on my coffee table – diy, foc and it looks cool :)
Blair says
It looks to me like the packing is underway already! Those shelves are looking a little lighter, as is the mantle. Did these items get sold/donated or are they being moved with you?
YoungHouseLove says
Yes! Some things went in the sale, and others are tucked away in “to be packed” cabinets. Ahhh packing!
xo,
s
Bethly says
Hey YHL,
The blog “Simple Mom” linked to your “Etched Thanks” project on her weekend links post. Thought I’d share in case you didn’t know! Congrats on the new casa!
YoungHouseLove says
Wahooo! Thanks for the heads up Bethly!
xo,
s
Shannon Horn says
I teach Kindergarten and my kids trace their hands for Turkey Placemats! :)
Mary Ann says
I’ve done a little fall decorating, but I’ll be honest, we’ve been into Christmas movies for a couple weeks already. I’m ready to get a tree… :o)
http://frostedgingerbread.blogspot.com/2010/11/from-halloween-to-thanksgiving.html
Tiffany says
Love those leaves
XOXO,
http://outfitidentifier.com/
Sarah @ Newlylwed and Decorating says
I used to love making those hand tracing turkeys! Great memories. Love your fall leaf decorations!
Julie says
Seriously can’t get enough of you too (you four!)! I’m moving to Australia for grad school in February and am going to be all over the dorm section of your projects page!!! Love love love
Donna says
A couple of weeks ago, I had some large hydrangeas that were drying, but still had a beautiful maroon color. I took those and some branches from my forsythia, whose leaves turn beautiful maroon, orange, and yellow colors in the fall, and made a large and lavish arrangement in a large white ceramic vase I got on clearance a few years ago for a couple of dollars. That arrangement warmed and cheered me every time I looked at it. Finally the leaves started dropping and it had to go.
Sarah says
A friend of mine came by with a bag full of veggies to share, and about half were winter squash – varieties I couldn’t even recognize. What impressed me the most were the colors – so diverse. So I left them in the middle of the table to dress it up a bit. :-)
Allison B. says
This is a little silly, but I’m pleased to see that some of the leaves you used have holes in them. The imperfection of nature is lovely, but I like perfect leaves and flowers, and that can really hold a person back. I see now that unless you’re super up close, even the leaves with holes look nearly perfect from afar. And even up close, they still look really good. Thanks for the inspiration!
kirsty says
Love the fall leaf decoration so simple and natural, Love it!
Ashley says
So adorable! I might even be able to do that (and that’s saying something about the ease of the project. ha!) I love it!!
Ana Brightful says
LOL I just made a hand-traced turkey feathers turkey with my kindergarteners. Never gets old!
erica says
My husband and I loved your “thanks” jar idea so much that we’ve started doing it ourselves. It’s become part of the bedtime ritual. To change things up a bit in December, we’re going to write notes to each other each night and read them all on New Year’s Eve. We’re already thinking about what we can do in January.
Holly says
Shared this table setting in my post today! So sweet and simple. Thanks for sharing…love your site! Congrats on your upcoming move! So fun!
Blessings,
Holly
http://hallelujahsbyholly.blogspot.com
Jessica says
I love your use of fall leaves! Out here on the West Coast we don’t get as many of the pretty fall colors but I still love to decorate for the season. This year we went with some new colors for fall and mostly natural elements. I wrote about it here:
http://reisfeltadventure.blogspot.com/2010/11/blue-pumpkin-love.html
Thanks for the great ideas!
Kendra says
Cute tablescape and leaf vases! I have a large glass cylinder container that I put mini pumpkins and gourds in along with cute orange polka dot cardstock that I crinkled up to add some festive color! I also put mini pumkins on my decorative candleholders in our living room and dining room. It’s a great punch of color!
On an entirely different note…what white paint do you recommend for trim? I’ve started working on repainting some rooms with just basic white from Lowes in high gloss but it seems a little bright and now my doors look icky cream. While we’re at it, what do you do for paint color on interior doors? Why was everything painted icky creamy/white (i.e. dirty white) back in the day?!
Thanks for the help!
YoungHouseLove says
We do all of our home’s trim and doors in semi gloss of the shelf white paint by Freshaire (Home Depot’s no-VOC paint). We also love Benjamin Moore’s Decorators White so you can try that as well.
xo,
s
Elizabeth says
I need to add some Thanksgiving color like this to my apartment asap! Thanks for the inspiration
Elizabeth says
love the Thanksgiving look!
Jen @ Living a Brighter Life says
I just got 4 of the cb2 tear drop hanging vases for Christmas after seeing them here! I was wondering if you have pictures of the vases during every season. Do you always use fresh flowers, plants and leaves or use you use fake ones too? The vases seem so fragile I wasn’t sure how they would wash if we used fresh things.
Thanks again for providing so much inspiration! :-)
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Jen,
We usually display dried grass. That way it’s real, but it last forever and doesn’t need water. It has a nice organic feel to it. We actually “borrowed” it from a Target parking lot when we noticed they had some nice big grasses near the curb. But of course we sometimes put little fresh branches or flower stems in there too with some water.
xo,
s
jual baju korea says
I am really like it. What a cute idea, writing what you are thankful for! I believe kids would love this and its a great way to reflect each day.
Pulau Pari says
I got all leaf-happy to add a bit of that fall/Thanksgiving vibe to the dining area.