fall tablescape ~ blue & white

I’ve confessed many times to being “seasonally challenged” with the transition from summer to fall. With the autumn equinox around the corner, I’m slowly adding some fall decor inside. It helps to reduce the “uh-oh” moment when I look up and realize it’s November and I’m still wearing flip-flops.

Whatever I freshen up for the season has to carry through Thanksgiving with just a few tweaks along the way. My fall tablescape last year got me through October, but I wanted something different this year. Traditional fall colors are beautiful, but don’t really work in my decor ~ so I’m using my traditional favorite blue and white!

“Live, Laugh, Love” has always been a favorite too, so that became a white-painted trio with grey metallic pumpkins ~ and some magnolia and a few pinecones. It will work through the season in different groupings with different table-settings.

A few days later, another bit of inspiration came together as this “enjoy” garland. I know this will be nice in November for Thanksgiving, but it will really work for any season or holiday ~ definitely part of “life enjoyed” {pun intended}. 🙂

There’s a quick how-to below for the painted pumpkins. Next week, I’ll be back to share more on the easy garland too.

Craft pumpkins were on sale at Michael’s, so I came home with these, not sure how I’d use them. After I decided to do “life, laugh, love” in blue and white, it was time to get out some paint! Rather than trying to freehand the lettering, I printed the font and size I needed, and transferred to the pumpkin surface to get started.

1 ~ lettering printed and paint ready to go
2 ~ lettering cut and positioned for tracing
3 ~ lettering traced with a cardboard burnishing stick {not too pointed or too hard, but enough to leave an impression}
4 ~ lettering penciled in and pumpkins dry-brushed with with white and cream paint
5 ~ blue paint palette ready to go ~ time to paint the lettering!

The nice thing about paint is you can always start over if you’re not happy with the results. Surprisingly, the small pumpkin was harder to paint than the larger ones ~ and it required a do-over. My crafty friend Lisa at Concord Cottage can freehand just about anything. I’m still practicing!

The door and table are done now ~ next up a quick coffee table change-out ~ and I may be ready for the season in time for the equinox!