Vintage White Thanksgiving

Today I'm offering a very feminine variation on the tablescape from my last post.
 With a simple change of a few elements, we can create a whole new look,
and the previous 'contemporary vintage' look goes completely 'Shabby Chic'
[with a nod to Her Madge of Shabbiness, Queen Rachel Ashwell]

Here's how I pulled together this tablescape:

 The Centerpiece:
I kept the tallest Sweet Sweater Pumpkin sculpture in pale neutral tones and the pale leaves.
I added in cut crystal bowls and ivory & white pumpkins,
along with some vintage fabric carnations.... you could use real ones, of course.
I love white carnations for their spicy scent and low price!

The Linens:
Over the tan linen tablecloth, I laid a light-weight white crocheted lace tablecloth.
The contrast of the tan really makes the lace details pop.
Napkins are vintage white cotton, with lace trim.

The Rest:
White ceramic dinnerware in a classic pattern that truly works with any decor style,
while gold flatware and cut crystal glassware brings sparkle to the neutral setting.
The white floral pattern on the clear candle holders coordinates with the theme, too.

  It's a simple combination that looks old, luxe, and feminine.
[Grandma will LOVE this one! ]

The napkin 'rings' are the same as in the last tablescape, serving as place cards as well.
They are a strip of glossy paper with a sticker, and bleached leaves tucked into the top.
This time the napkins are gathered softly, instead of a crisp fold...

I've placed a mini Sweet Sweater Pumpkin at each placesetting as a gift,
which is an idea easily replicated with a real pumpkin, a chocolate pumpkin, or a candle.
Just a little token of thanks...

Again, this didn't take a lot of time to put together!
A beautiful Holiday table is easy when you use what you have in a fresh, new way...

Black, White & Tan Thanksgiving Table

 I love mixing up the elements I have on hand to create a whole new look.

When it comes to tablescapes, it's kind of fun to do the unexpected...

like mixing the crisp contemporary color scheme of black, white and tan

with some softer, earthy vintage and natural elements.

Here's how I pulled together this look:

 The centerpiece:I used several of my original Sweet Sweater Pumpkins...

two are mounted on pedestals (a terra cotta urn and a black column), 

one is perched inside a black flocked velvet shadowbox frame on the wall,

and two more nestle with real leaves on a ceramic platter - that has leaves in its subtle pattern.

Now, even if you didn't get any of my pumpkins,

you can certainly do this with other elements - 

REAL pumpkins, pine cones, wood rounds, or any material from nature.

The Linens:
The white platter sits on a thick felt leaf cutout,
which tops a linen tablecloth in a light tan color to further the theme and color scheme.
The napkins are a crisp black satin for a sleek touch.

The Rest:
Black and white ceramic dinnerware - the black very contemporary and the white rather classic -
combine perfectly for high-contrast style.
Sleek clear glassware - vintage and new - along with gold flatware are simple ways to add sparkle.

The highball glasses are family heirlooms, the goblets are from a discount store - 

it's not about pedigree or price here, but style. They mix perfectly.

The napkin is bound by a strip of glossy paper with a nametag sticker and a dried leaf tucked in - 

serving as both napkin 'ring' and placecard.

The napkin can be placed in the soup/salad bowl

or beside the plate.

If you prefer a more streamlined, modern look,

replace the frame, pumpkins and leaves with simple white gourds & pumpkins

on more white platters.

This all came together in just an hour.... without pre-planning.
I looked around and saw what I had here in the house, and came up with the color scheme.

Pulling together a delightful table for your guests 
doesn't have to break the bank OR cost you a lot of time.
I hope this will inspire you to dig through your cabinets and see what you have in there!

 My next post will show you a variation on this look, 

with a much more feminine vintage style...

Shabby Chic fans, you're going to love it!

Back to the Basics...

I sit down to write this post, and my head hangs in shame.
Because as I look at the list of recently-published blog posts here,
I see Christmas content..... and it's not even Thanksgiving yet.

Thanksgiving....
the ONE holiday a year that isn't about buying gifts
and creating 'wish lists' of what we WANT,
but about spending time with family and friends
and being grateful for what we DO have.

And I basically skipped over it completely here at HOMEWARDfound.

I'm sorry. Really, I am.
Honestly, I planned to hold the Christmas posts for a while longer..

but then I got caught up in the subtle, subversive competition going on
all over blogdom and facebook and Hometalk and Blogtalk
of who can get the Christmas posts up first/faster/most/best.,
and who can pin more photos on Pinterest,
and who can be thought of as a creative leader and get published and recognized.

That's not why I blog, or design, or share.
I do it to GIVE. To INSPIRE.  To give you something meaningful. and fun. and do-able.

I need to get back on track here... and I hope you'll stick around
if I'm not racing with 'the celebloggers' for more clicks and more likes.
Because it rips away my passion and my soul when I do that... when I compete.
When I worry about what other people are doing/creating.
When I start focusing on what I could do 'if only' -
instead of focusing on what I CAN do, here and now, with what I have been given.

That's my goal.
For ME, and for you...
and I am going back to that goal that I began this blog with over a year ago.

Now, I want to share just one more thing about Christmas for a week or so:

Writer Ann Voskamp wrote the most beautiful, meaningful, touching post on her blog
about how she's flipping CHRISTmas upside down.

It's brilliant,
and it reflects my heart right now.

I think if you read it, you, too, might see  how distracted and misled we become this time of year
by looking in the wrong direction.

Now, don't misunderstand me...
Decorating our homes isn't wrong.
It's one way we tell the people we love that they are special to us
- worth the effort to make home and Holiday special, too.

It's a way to use our creative gifts to honor the first gifts given on the first Christmas.

It's just all about keeping the right perspective on what we do and WHY we do it...

Read Ann's blog post here   and now, back to Thanksgiving ;)  

  

for more decorating ideas for every season,

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Let It Sweet Sweater Snow, Man!

All this week, I've been creating a snowstorm of sweaters and fluff and glitter

making lots and lots and lots of my Brand New 'Sweet Sweater Snowmen' originals!

Here are a few of the very special little guys (and girls) that sprang from my imagination:

 sweet little 'snowcake' ornaments!

some very cheerful and LARGE Sweet Sweater Snowmen sculptures!

.... and then, there are the ones that I predict will be the biggest hit of all:

 these adorable Snowbabies! [pacifier included!]

I also have four kinds of Snowmen & Women,

cute little 'Cup O' Snow' people - made in white milk glass punch cups

and little JUNK Snowmen, made in tiny tin canisters... 

another copyright protected original creation from Debi Ward Kennedy | homewardFOUND decor

Upcycled glass lamp globe Snowmen!

OhMyGoodness could you just DIE????!!!
I LOVE these little guys! 

I was working this week on my NEW Sweet Sweater Snowmen,

and in the process, I unearthed two vintage glass lamp globes in a closet.

Now, y'all KNOW that I have a 'thing' for using these in my decor...
for my Original glass lamp globe Pumpkins
and my winter glass lamp globe Snowballs

Right now, I have cute containers for the snowmen sitting everywhere, 

and so my mind made the connection in an instant:
glass lamp globe snowmen!

I sat the globes on two of the containers

and they could not fit more perfectly!

After a bit of embellishment with vintage buttons

and some leftover bits of sweaters, they turned out like this:
 

 I used the lid from the container as a hat - to me, it looks rather like a beret.

That and the jaunty scarf just make me want to give this lil' guy a French name...

How about 'Noel' ?

And his friend? Maybe she looks a leetle like a French clown, or Pierrot,
and clowns make us laugh, and that's happy and joyful - 

so let's call her 'Joy'. As in, 'Joyeux'.

Joyeux et Noel. Yep, that works!

Love, Love, LOVE them - and I already have ideas for more!

If you'd like to make your own versions of my new original design,

remember that regular smooth glass globes are available at hardware stores.

UPDATE:
Take a peek at how I FOOFED one of these up for VALENTINE'S Day!

I present 'Valentina' the glass globe snowman,
Cup O' LOVE snowmen, and SWEETheart Snowmen!

shared online:

OPC / TBH | The Humble Brag #45

Our Daily Bread | Bloggers Share

Use Tomato Cages as Trees!

I know, I know, it's not even Thanksgiving yet...

but everyone is looking for Holiday Decorating ideas,
so I need to start popping them in here from time to time!

Years ago, in the course of my retail visual merchandising career,
 I created a Christmas Ornament Display Tree using a wire tomato cage.
It was a last-minute solution on a budget - and it worked.

Many years after that, I was asked by a well-known winery to create something
simple . easy. contemporary . and CHEAP
for their Holiday retail displays in their wine shop.
And I created the wire trees all over again:

In these photos, you can see that there are several ways to make these trees. 
Variety is good - especially when all of the trees can be seen at once, as in this winery.

The first thing you'll notice
is that the tomato cages are used 'upside down' from how they normally appear
when they are holding your tomato plants upright in the garden!
The pointed tops of these trees are the long legs / upright rods of the contraption,
held together with a zip-tie.

The GOLD TREES are very simple to make:
gold metallic tinsel garland is wrapped around all of the wire surfaces (rods & rings) of each cage.
I used very tiny clear zip-ties to secure the tinsel in several places as I wrapped.

The WHITE TREES are made in two ways:
One is simply wrapped, just like the gold trees.

The other was made by wrapping the white iridescent tinsel  
all the way around the outside of the cage, encasing all of the rods.

Before I started wrapping, I cut the top two rings off - leaving only the lowest ring at the base.
Then I zip-tied the top of the upright rods together,
to create the cone shape.

These are very angular and modern in shape, because of the three upright rods/legs.
Combining two modified cages after removing the rings,
and stacking them so that the rods are placed between each other
will result in a more rounded cone shape to wrap it with tinsel.

The RED & WHITE STRIPED TREES
are made exactly like the white cone tree above.

The FAUX PINE TREE
is made using a garland of greenery, instead of the tinsel like the others:

Start with a thick faux pine garland.
Wrap the lowest ring with the garland, attaching it with wire or zip-ties as you go.
Cut the garland once it has wrapped the base ring.
Move on to the next highest ring on the frame, and repeat.
Move to the top ring on the frame, and repeat.

Use a zip-tie to pull the ends of the upright wire rods together at the very tip of the wire cage.
Take a small section of the garland and wrap it around the zip-tie,
and twist the ends of the greenery together to secure it to the top of the tree.

OPTION:
You can use three faux pine wreaths - one large and two medium sized -
in place of the garland. Then just use an 8" piece of garland for the top of the tree.
Saves a LOT of time!

When done, you can hang lightweight ornaments from the greenery.

If you plan to have lights on your trees, put the light strands on FIRST - before the garlands.
They will hide the wires! 
These work perfectly to display outdoors, as well as indoors.

There are generally two sizes of wire tomato cages available at garden centers,
so you can get some variety in your displays.

shared online:

OPC/TBH . The Humble Brag