Sunday, October 30, 2016

Dia de los Muertos Tablescape

Dia de los Muertos 2016 

One of my favorite tables to design is the Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) table.  I'm in love with beautifully decorated sugar skulls.   I started with painted plates a few years ago and I continue to add items each year.   This year I added hand painted sugar skull coasters and skull napkin rings.   I also picked up a couple set of salt & pepper shakers and made sugar skull print fabric charger plate covers.   


Dia de los Muertos tablescape. 
Place setting

Sugar skull shooter glasses found at TJ Maxx. 
I love the sugar skull napkins rings I made for this season.  I spray painted skulls I found at Walmart and hand painted with Sharpies. 

More photos of the hand painted sugar skull napkins rings. 


I hand painted ceramic tiles to use as coasters.  They are painted with Sharpies and then baked at 250 degrees for two hours. This method seems to work best for me and the color stays true at a lower temp. 

Hand painted coasters and fabric covered charger plates. I found the fabric at Walmart. 

Here are the plates that I painted a few seasons ago.  

This is a Dollar Tree plastic skull that I spray painted white and painted with Sharpies.  

Overhead view of the table. 

Scary up close view of the napkin ring skulls. 

Centrepiece items and a skull wall hanger I painted last year. 

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

World Series Party 2016

The 2016 World Series starts tonight with two teams that have not played for the championship title in years.  The National League-champion Chicago Cubs, who haven't won a World Series since 1908 and haven't appeared in the Fall Classic since 1945, take on the American League-champion Cleveland Indians.  I'm a lifelong NY Yankees fan, but will be pulling for the Cubs to take home the pennant this year.   I am looking forward to sitting back and watched the games over the next few nights and enjoying some yummy baseball party food.   GO CUBS!  

Baseball party decor displayed on the living room credenza.

My Yanks didn't make it to the championship this year, but I'm still a huge fan and show my forever Yankee spirit.

Baseball themed decor.

I always enjoy snacking on Cracker Jack's, peanuts and a Baby Ruth while watching the game.




I painted the square plate with oil based Sharpie's to use as a serving plate.  
Party food!  Texas Pete chicken wings, mini chicken corn dogs, mini pizza's, potato salad. 






Baseball cupcake. 






 Enjoy the game!  

Sunday, October 23, 2016

Spooktacular Halloween Tablescape

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays.  I have so many fond memories of trick-or-treating when I was a young child and dressing up.    I love decorating the house for Halloween and especially the table.  I added a new tablecloth this year and made fabric charger plates covers to add a little texture to the place setting.   My favorite thing is the painted plastic skull chargers. I have used them for a few years now and they will always have a place on this holiday table.      

Halloween place setting 
Halloween tablescape 2016 
The stack.  Faux painted Dollar Tree skull charger plates, fabric covered charger with metallic skull and crossbones, jack-o-lantern plate.  The painted charger tutorial can be found on my Halloween & Dia de los Muertos Decor post from last week.

The table cloth was purchased at Marshalls a few months ago.  It's made by Well Dressed Home. 

The spider napkins were found at Home Goods years ago.  I love the little Dollar Tree skeletons.   I found the little unfinished wood coffin at AC Moore a few years ago.   I faux painted it similar to the charger plates and added the skeleton.  
The orange and black glasses were found at Party City.  I made the wine charms a couple years ago.  The skull salt & pepper set was found at Home Goods.   The pumpkin place cards are acorns I found at a friends home in North Carolina.   They are the "fluffy" type larger than your standard acorn.  I knew they would be painted pumpkins the minute I started gathering them off the ground.  Wish I would have picked up more. 
I love the Lemax dog figurines.  They work great with my Halloween haunted houses.   The witch was found at Tuesday morning.   The wine bottle cover is by Raz and I purchased it at Salem Creek in Winston-Salem two years ago.  The Dearly Beloved I Thee Red wine is from Trader Joes.  I love the sugar skull design on the bottle. 
I love the Lemax haunted house as the centerpiece.  It has sound and it's fun to turn the lights down while having dinner and the sound up on the house.  
The server decorated with pumpkins, skulls and haunted houses. 
Haunted houses.  The little house on top was a Fisher Price house that I repurposed.   It's hard to believe it was once hot pink and blue. 
Haunted houses. 
Lemax haunted house centerpiece 

The haunted houses in the evening with the lights down are so fun.  This one has so many moving parts and the sound is great. 
More night time views of the haunted houses. 

The Halloween tree.   I found this 6 foot tall tree a few weeks ago at Goodwill.  It's perfect for the Halloween ornaments I've collected over the years.  I normally put up my slim Christmas tree and decorate, but when I spotted this for $12.00 I knew it would be perfect.   It's also approved for outdoor, but with the wind here by the sea it's safer indoors. 

Have a safe Halloween!   

Catherine 
This post is linked to the following parties: 
Dishing It & Digging It Link Party #119 - Life and Linda 
Amaze Me Monday #186 - Dwellings- The Heart of Your Home  
Inspire Me Monday Week 251 - Create with Joy  
Creative Monday Blog Hop - Clair Justine
Make It Pretty Monday Week 197 - The Dedicated House
The Scoop #236 - Stone Gable 
348th Inspire Me Tuesday - A Stroll Thru Life
Wow us Wednesday #297 - Savvy Southern Style
Talk of the Town #43 -Sadie Seasongoods
423rd Tablescape Thursday - Between Naps on the Porch
Home and Garden Thursday - A Delightsome Life 
Grace at Home #225 - Imparting Grace
Thursday's Favorite Things - Peonies and Orange Blossoms
Home Matters Linky Party #110 - Life with Lorelai
Celebrate Your Story #49 - Celebrate & Decorate with Chloe Crabtree
Flaunt it Friday #329 - Chic on a Shoestring Decorating
Home Sweet Home #295 - The Charm of Home
Snickerdoodle - Create Bake Make Link Party #155 - Blue Willow House
Anything Goes Pink Saturday - How Sweet the Sound
Saturday Sparks Link Party #191 - Pieced Pastimes

This post was featured on Creative Monday's with Claire Justine
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Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Halloween & Dia de los Muertos Decor

I'm still working on my Halloween tablescape, tree and other decor for this season.  I thought I would share several pictures from previous tables, wreaths and other decor I have used around the house.   

Halloween tablescape a few years ago. 

Halloween place setting.  

I hung a deco mesh wreath over the dining room table.  

I used twine and to make a web in the wreath frame, painted it black and added a spider.  It looked really cool while sitting at the table having dinner. 


A few years ago Dollar Tree had the coolest skull chargers/platter.  Another blogger friend posted a tutorial on how to paint and make the platters look like stone.   I tried it and loved it.  

I painted the two that were used on the patio to look more like metal/pewter.  

Patio Halloween table. 

A few items I used on the tables.   The candle was made out of PVC pipe and I inserted a battery operated Christmas candle.  

The Dia de los Muertos table.  I painted the plates and plastic skull in the center with Sharpies. 

Dia de los Muertos place setting. 

This was my Halloween/Die de los Muertos combined tablescape last year.  I had just moved and had no time to really decorate like I normally do for Halloween. 

Dollar Tree carries large felt skulls.  I glued it on black heavy foam board and painted.  It makes a great door hanger.  

I used a piece of reclaimed wood and a Dollar Tree door knocker to make the Keep Calm sign a few years ago.  


One of my favorite projects.  I spray painted a Dollar Tree plastic skull with white gloss paint then used Sharpies to paint on the design.  

Dia de los Muertos wreath.   I used two of the Dollar Tree door knocker skulls and a Dollar Tree cross I had purchased at Easter for this wreath.   The skulls were painted with Sharpies.

Day of the Dead plates I painted with Sharpies.

I found these large/fat acorns in a friends yard in North Carolina a few years ago.  The minute I saw them I knew exactly how I would paint them for Halloween. 

This was my Halloween house display a few years ago.  I have added several more to the collection.  I painted a Fisher Price doll house that I found at Goodwill for $1.00 to look like a haunted house. 

The doll house I repurposed for Halloween. 

I hung this fun deco mesh wreath from the ceiling in my living room.  

This poor little witch tried to get in my door, but she didn't make it.   The pool noodle legs are covered with children's tights.  I used an old pair of my black pumps and painted the bottoms red.   She's a fancy witch!  

I made this little deco mesh ruffed witch wreath for my front door. I made the legs and handmade the paper shoes. 





This Dollar Tree pumpkin was covered with leopard print Dollar Tree duct tape.