Pumpkin Punchbowl Centerpiece

 The first day of fall has arrived in New England, and so we say goodbye to our short lovely summer.

 The nights have been cooler and the days have been pleasant, but these nice fall days are

fleeting as well, and winter weather will be next.  But until then, lets dive into decorating for

fall.  I am not a big fan of too much fall decor around the house, but one thing I do

love are the pretty fabric pumpkins that are everywhere!  Over the last several years

I have either purchased them or made my own using all kinds of materials.

 For a nice and easy centerpiece I assembled them all in my silver punch bowl that I found at the Brimfield Antique Fair.  This punchbowl has been so much fun to use for centerpieces for the various

holidays.  Everything looks good in it!  This year I picked up some pink velvet pumpkins and a tiny blue floral pumpkin, both from contacts I have online on Facebook and Instagram.  My blogging and Instagram friend, Larissa Jenkins, has a cute Etsy shop and she sold her pink velvet pumpkins there.  Her blog, Welch House 1900, is on my sidebar if you want to visit her incredible old house 
and see the masterful decorating in the style of  Glamorous French Vintage style.  

The blue pumpkin I noticed on a Facebook post was being sold by the beautiful shop called Vignettes in San Diego.  I reached out and left a note that I wanted it...the shop owner quickly contacted me with her phone number and the next thing you know, 
here it is in my punch bowl like the cherry on top of a sundae! 

This was last year's thanksgiving centerpiece using many of the pumpkins I made myself,

and some velvet pumpkins I found at Homegoods. 

 We are having a party for my mother in law to celebrate her 90th birthday,

so I made a grand buffet tablecloth for our dining room out of a pale grey and cream toile.

The centerpiece looked really nice on the cloth, and I plan to use some of my vintage silver

trays for the party to give it that fancy vintage look I love.

Making my own pumpkins is a lot of fun, as I get to use leftover home decor fabrics or

I upcycle velvets from old clothing like jogging suits and fashion them into cute pumpkins.

Enjoy the links below for either making your own or visiting independent shops and blogs

that I find very inspiring! 

Tutorial for my designer velvet pumpkins here

Larissa Jenkins Etsy shop for pink pumpkins here

Larissa Jenkins blog, Welch House 1900 here

Vignettes Decor, San Diego, FB page for blue floral pumpkin here

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A PunchBowl Centerpiece for Thanksgiving

 This Thanksgiving will bring one new family member to sit at the big table. 

 Its Reeve, my year and half  old granddaughter. 

This is her place setting ~ a smaller sized  dinner plate with roses and a mountain scene,

 along with some baby silverware.  I am so excited to have her join us

 and can imagine the years ahead with her, with her as my little helper one day.

 Setting the table for big dinner parties is always a lot of fun, and this year I grouped all

the fabric pumpkins in my big silver punch bowl from Brimfield for an easy centerpiece.  

A couple of years ago I made a bunch of purple velvet pumpkins, one from needlepoint and checkered fabric and even a toile pumpkin too.  Along the way I found some inexpensive velvet pumpkins from various stores and together they make a pretty centerpiece.  

When the turkey comes out, it is easily whisked away to another spot. 

 Little bouquets of fall flowers dot the table in the silver baby cups I collect. 

It couldn't be easier!

 And of course my table is littered with purple transfer ware, 

including a "new" old gravy bowl with a double spout that I found last year.

 I was lucky to find a bunch of silver-plate napkin rings at a thrift shop when I 

went to Connecticut for the Nora Murphy book party.  They hold the big French napkins

nicely.  Even Reeve will have her own gigantic napkin.

The big turkey platter is the star of the show on this day, of course!

These are quite rare, even more so in purple.  I got mine from the biggest 

trnasferware dealer in possibly the world, Nancy Roberts.

Her website is Nancy's Daily Dish, just in case you are looking...

it could make a nice Christmas gift to yourself, haha!

 If you have a punchbowl, think of the possibilities 

it has for any holiday or party centerpiece.  

Holding a plant such as an ivy topiary or a big poinsettia, 

it may be just the thing you need for your next holiday party.

Wishing you and yours a Happy Thanksgiving! 

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Rich Velvet Pumpkins and Taylor's Special Anniversary

 Not long ago I made up a batch of purple velvet pumpkins to use for Thanksgiving decor.

I set the table using my home made velvet pumpkins (read how to make velvet pumpkins here).

Along with my little purple pumpkins were a few other velvet pumpkins I found at HomeGoods 

last year, in rich fall colors of olive, gold and russet.

 Each place setting would hold a small velvet pumpkin, and 

of course I chose purple to go with my transferware dishes and wine glasses.

In the center of the table was a women's paisley scarf in peacock blue and purple.

I scrunched it up here and there and plopped the parade of pumpkins down the center.

But in the end I found a lovely urn that made me rethink my bold 

colorful centerpiece....

This soft tablescape was much more appealing, and so in the end,

that is what I will go for on Thanksgiving day.

Last year I did not host, as my son Justin and his wife Madison did the honors in their Boston apartment.  It was a lot of fun having my mom (and dad) here for Thanksgiving because they usually 

head to Florida in October.  Mom was working on the gravy and it felt like the good old days.

I am happy and thankful to have both my parents for this year again, 

along with my sister and her hubs and most of my kids.   

However, this year we will have a smaller gang.... and for a very good reason.

Because its been one whole year since our Taylor got her new heart.

Taylor will be going with her family

 (and that means Justin and my daughter-in-law, and their folks)

for a very special vacation to celebrate her big anniversary!

So we will miss them around our table as we give thanks.

And how much more thankful can we all be? 

 Not much, I have to say. 

Not much.

(Read more about Taylor's journey here)

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