Fall Decor

Fall is here, Thanksgiving is slowly approaching… What is better than an inexpensive, easy and creative autumn leaf table runner to bring the outside beauty of fall, inside your home? Your friends and family will feel as if they are sitting right in your backyard.

Try it out yourself and remember, just have fun with it!

Materials Needed:

• Clear cellophane cut to the size of your table.
• Fall leaves from outside, or preserved leaves from a craft store.
• Scissor for any trimming needed.
• Tack 2000 spray adhesive.
• Newspaper to cover your work surface.

Create a DIY Autumn Leaf Table Runner in 7 Easy Steps:

• Start with a piece of clear cellophane cut to size.
• Gather leaves from outside or buy preserved leaves at a craft store.
• Cut the leaves off of the branches and trim the stem from the bottom of the leaf. If the leaves are a little wrinkled you can iron them – it looks better if the leaves lay flat.
• Cover your work surface with newspaper and place your piece of cellophane on top.
• Have your leaves ready and spray half of the cellophane with Tack 2000 spray adhesive.
• Simply place the leaves onto the cellophane one at a time, starting at the edge and overlapping the previously placed leaves.
• Spray the other half of the cellophane with the adhesive and finish adding leaves.

Creating a decorative detail on each dinner plate is an easy and inexpensive way to add a personal touch to your Thanksgiving table. You don’t necessarily need to add a place card, especially if your family is a “first at the table gets their choice of seat” type of family! It is a nice touch though. Here are a few ideas to help you create festive floral place settings for your next holiday gathering.

Savory Succulent
This cut succulent looks good enough to eat. Luckily with all of the food you’ll be serving at dinner no one will be tempted to eat it.

Krazy for Kale
This kale is grown to be enjoyed as a cut flower and really makes a statement when placed on a dinner plate. Use one of the leaves as a place card.

The Colors of the Season
Wrap a few sprigs of colorful fall flora and fauna to bring the vibrant colors of the season onto your table. A few leaf shaped cards from craft store (or you can cut them out yourself) are the finishing touch.

Zen Style
Create a sense of peace this Thanksgiving with a Zen inspired holiday table. Keep the look clean and simple with minimal elements. Now let’s mediate on all we have to be thankful for!

Thanksgiving at the Shore
Whether you’re having Thanksgiving at your home on the beach or you just wish you were there, create the mood with sand dollar place cards with a single orchid tucked in for a look that’s simple and elegant.

Picture Perfect Place Settings
Give each guest at your table their own floral arrangement with petite colored bottles holding a single flower. For a truly personal touch attach a special note to each bottle telling that person what you are thankful for about them. Add a copy of a photo of them on the front of the note instead of just writing their name. I particularly like the look of photos from the past. It adds a sweet nostalgic feeling that is perfect for Thanksgiving!

While many of us associate Thanksgiving with crisp cold air, berried branches, turning foliage, and chrysanthemums, not everyone has to go over the river and through the woods to get to grandmother’s house. Some just take a barefoot stroll along the beach, perhaps collecting a few shells along the way. If I were spending the holiday at my house in Florida here is how I would like my table to look.

Beach Inspired Table Settings

Not only is it coastal inspired, but it is a cleaner, less cluttered and simpler look. This also matches our lifestyle down in Florida which is completely opposite from our hectic, fast-paced life in New York.

Use found objects as well as treasured keepsakes to create the look you want. Keeping the colors soft and using monochromatic single variety flowers will provide a sense of calm.

Write each guest’s name on a sand dollar and tuck a single cymbidium orchid behind it for a chic place setting.

Have a beach inspired Thanksgiving!