Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Organic Thanksgiving...

What would have been the exact same Thanksgiving table as last year totally took a different turn thanks to a photo on Pinterest! If you did not see the whole inspiration process, you can see it HERE.


It all started with this box my husband made for me...


...and it turned into this: 


I combined rustic wood with sterling silver and lots of outdoor elements to create a table that celebrates nature's best at Thanksgiving...


I used a Mikasa "Italian Countryside" dinnerplate with a Myott Churchill "Thanksgiving Turkey" salad plate. I really do love this turkey pattern best -- probably because of the soft, muted colors. 


The crystal is Durand Cris D'Arques "Longchamp" and I have filled the sherbet glass with different natural elements including arborvitae, azalea leaves, berries, acorns, pinecones and moss.


I paired a vintage crochet edge napkin with a taffeta napkin and bamboo napkin rings wrapped with raffia and accented with greenery.


I love the way the sterling silver flatware looks next to the bamboo charger and the rustic wood of the table. This is an antique pattern by R.S. Wallace and Sons from 1893 called, "Louvre."


I really wanted dark chargers, so I took the light ones I had from Walmart and stained them with Minwax "dark walnut" stain. I love, love how they turned out! The stain did, however take several days to dry. I cannot seem to find water-based stain in dark walnut here, but that would have been my first choice. Here is how they looked before: 


Love the darker color especially with the medium tone of the table and the creamy matelasse runner. 


Here is the box this table was created around...





I added some azalea branches to the box because I loved the colors the leaves have all turned now. 






I know it's the middle of the afternoon, but we will have the candles lit during our Thanksgiving meal, which is usually early afternoon. 


So there you have it -- my 'new' Thanksgiving table using everything old. 
I hope I have inspired you to gather what you have inside and outside the house and reuse in a different way. Everything on this table was something I had here or repurposed in some way. 


I really do appreciate your stopping by! And a heartfelt welcome goes out to my new followers:-) I'm getting around to everyone slowly but surely.



Anita


I'll be joining:

Tablescape Thursday
Feathered Nest Friday
Inspiration Friday
Seasonal Sundays

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Thanksgiving preview...

Well as promised, I sent my husband to the wood shop yesterday to copy the look in the inspiration photo I found on pinterest. Thanks to my wonderful husband, we finished this little project today.




We made ours shorter as I want to have a place setting at each end and the inspiration piece does not allow for that. Luis also gave me some advice on styling! He thought it did not have enough green, so I added the cypress, and I had to admit he was right:-)

I showed how we built it yesterday, so here is some of the finishing process. I distressed with a hammer and a hand planer then sanded. I used an oak stain first, then a dark walnut. This works for me when I want dark but still want some of the lighter grain to show through. 

Kind of the mid point here and not how I wanted it to be. I put more dark walnut on then sanded after it dried overnight. 


These ends were from a pallet my dad brought home. Definitely looks old now! I followed this up with a coat of wax today to finish it.


I love, love, love it! 







I cannot wait to use this for my Thanksgiving setting!! There is plenty of room for place settings and it is low enough to leave on the table. 

The best part about this project is that it was totally free!! I had everything I needed already here. With a little recycling of old lumber and a little work, I was able to recreate something I really loved. 

**I have several of these boxes listed in my etsy shop in different sizes, or we can make custom sizes. Check out Knight's Store on etsy, or leave me a comment here for more info. 

Thanks for stopping by and especially for your comments!! I have been slow this week getting back because we have had a lot of ministry opportunities happening. I cooked BBQ pork and Apple Crisp for a local soup kitchen yesterday, then we will be ministering to homeless veterans tomorrow night and again Friday, plus getting ready for upcoming performances, so busy we are. Have a great weekend! 





I'll be joining:

DIY Project Parade
Masterpiece Monday
Metamorphosis Monday
Tabletop Tuesday
Wow Us Wednesday

Friday, November 4, 2011

Thanksgiving inspiration and the wood shop...

I was so inspired yesterday after a visit to Debra at Common Ground, that I went right out to the wood shop with my husband to look for scrap lumber.

I fell in love with the table and the old box, which I am assuminge is a tool box. I have to wonder what kind of tools would have been kept in there because it is obviously long! 

These photos came from Pinterest, but I searched and could not find the actual origin, so it reinforces the need to watermark photos.

I digress...so off to the wood shop we went to look for old wood. 

Look at the choices we had for wood. This is wormy chestnut beadboard from the original house here. 


And more options...


I'm thinking I will empty out this box and use it somewhere!


But we settled on this. Did I mention my dad is really into recycling and repurposing? He had a load of scrap lumber from a building site dumped delivered here last year, and we have used several pieces on projects.


First, Luis ripped this piece in half, which made it the exact height I wanted, then he put it together with this older piece, which actually has a signature on it from May 22, 1954. I could not get it to show up in a photo though because it was just too faint.


Then he cut the ends so they would be even with the sides. I did not want the ends to be high like the inspiration piece, so we kept them even. I also wanted it to be shorter as I need to seat people at each end of the table and the inspiration piece did not allow for that.


Nailed, glued and clamped to dry overnight.


All I need to do is a little distressing, staining and finishing then I can fill the inside and put it on my table. I cannot wait to get it finished! This project was totally free because we had everything we needed already here.

Hopefully, I can work on it today a little. I'll be cooking for a local emergency homeless shelter then serving tonight, and with the rain we are having, I expect they will be filled to capacity. I have been looking forward to this ministry for a while, and we have had teams from our church cooking and serving there all week. I encourage all of you to become involved in some way in your community. All of you have incredible skills that could be used to brighten the day of someone in need. I am sure setting the tables tonight will be the most rewarding and satisfying tablescaping experience  ever.






Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Noritake and Mikasa with Aunt Jody's Hydrangeas

Hi everyone!  I did a post last summer featuring my Aunt Jody's beautiful hydrangeas HERE. They were equally beautiful this year, and when she brought me a large bunch, it inspired this table which would be great for Thanksgiving!



Honestly, I would never think of using my mother's vintage Noritake "Condoro" for fall because it seems so "spring" to me, but when I saw the color of the hydrangeas with it, I knew I had to put it together. I also used a Mikasa "Italian Countryside" dinnerplate.



I looked for yellow and orange maple leaves since the china has these colors in addition to the green. These will last at least overnight before they start to dry and curl up, so just plan on cutting them right before you need them.




I have used Oneida "Golden Julliard" flatware, vintage silver trays for chargers, Walmart mother of pearl napkin rings mixed with vintage silver napkin rings, and the same Pier 1 amber glassware from last week.





I put the hydrangeas in a Poole "Lancaster Rose" vintage silver wine bucket along with some "weeds" that I love to use, and placed that on a silver tray filled with antlers, gourds and pumpkins.





I love when the sunlight streams through the french doors...



Taking inspiration from nature, I combined some traditional and some not-so-traditional elements for a fall tablescape. I hope that inspires you to step outside the box and use something you might not have thought of in combination.

Thanks so much for stopping by!! I hope you are enjoying this beautiful season wherever you are:-)

I'll be joining Tablescape Thursday and Vintage Inspiration Friday.



Anita