Fall Decorating - DIY Tablescape

Last weekend I worked on a Fall Tablescape.  It was a lot of fun to put together!  I started with the DIY centerpiece box I build last year (Find the easy tutorial HERE) and then filled it up with a whole bunch of fall goodness.

The white pumpkins are real, but the gold ones are inexpensive plastic ones I bought at Hobby Lobby and spray painted gold.  

The gold leaves are from last year too.  I found some oak leaves in the yard, pressed them flat for a few days in between books, and then spray painted them gold.  Quick and easy!

The green hydrangeas might just be my favorite part.  My mom cut these from her yard earlier this summer and dried them.  She brought me over a whole bunch - they are so pretty!

The purple-blue flowers are some type of thistle, I think and came in a grocery store bouquet.  They were in water, but I think they will dry really nicely here in the centerpiece.  The other bits of greenery are Lamb's Ear, a perennial we have growing in the yard.  They were  a perfect filler for the centerpiece box.

The place mats are brand new - I just bought them from Crate & Barrel.  Find them here.

I'm sharing this post with Inspire Me Tuesday at A Stroll Through Life. 

Fall Tablescape & Centerpiece Box Tutorial

Fall officially begins this week.  I can't remember a summer flying by as quickly as this one did.  I wouldn't mind a bit more summer, but there's no stopping it!  I started Fall decorating last week with the project I worked on with the Home Depot (see it here).  Today I am back with a tutorial on the centerpiece box.  It is so easy and only took an hour to put together. 

  

Supplies for Centerpiece Box:

- (2) poplar 1 x 6 boards; 30" long (for the sides)

- (2) poplar 1 x 6 boards; 8-3/4" long (for the ends)

- (1) poplar 1 x 8 board; 30" long (for the bottom)

- Finishing nails; 1-1/2" size

- Wood glue

- Stain-able wood filler

- Sandpaper

- Stain of your choice (I used Minwax Classic Gray)

1.  Apply a small amount of wood glue to the end of the bottom piece and attach one side.  Use finishing nails to secure.

2.  Attach other side in the same way.

3.  Attach one end.

4.  Attach other end piece.

5.  Now, use a counter-sink tool and recess each finishing nail (please ignore the glue on my hand in this photo!)

6.  Using a putty knife, fill each recessed nail hole with filler.  After filler has dried, sand entire box.

7.  Now, your box is ready to finish any way you'd like.  I used Mixwax Penetrating Stain in Classic Gray, and then finished of with a touch of DecorArt's Metallic Lustre in color Champagne Ice.

That's it!  I had all my wood cut at Home Depot, so this project was super easy to put together.  Next up, filling the box.  I used floral foam blocks in the bottom of my box (not wet, just dry) to bring up the height a bit.

Then I added candles.

And then a variety of pumpkins, gourds, and squash.

And finally, greenery.  I used lamb's ears and kale, picked from my yard, and ornamental purple kale from a plant I bought at the farmer's market.

Tuck the green in all the bare spots around the box. Just keep adding greens until the box is all filled out.  Of course, if you want this to last all season, just use artificial greenery.

Here are more photos of the finished box and my Fall tablescape.

Have a great week and enjoy the official start of fall!

I've shared this post with:
- The Fall into Fall Party at DIY by Design