Fall Table Reveal...ohhhh la la!

I am in love with how this table came out- to watch these foam and ceramic pumpkins go from ugly ducking rejects in the thrift and dollar stores- to these beautiful swans? It was super easy, cheap and makes a HUGE difference. I threw in some of the eight gazillion battery operated candles I had on hand, some nearly-vintage Pottery Barn pepperberry garland and (get ready for the icing on the cake)- a bag of 50 cheap-o plastic pumpkin, spider and skull rings from the Dollar Tree and it was on! Notably the rings don't really fit the theme but you know when people are sitting and talking they like to fidget so this was the perfect little add-on....and who doesn't like a spider ring?

Napkins rolled with silverware inside and tied up with some raffia? Fan-say! Black and white napkins also courtesy of The Dollar Tree. I'm telling you- Captain Jack Sparrow's pirate treasure got nothin' on this joint.

Painted and distressed candle holders- I mentioned in my last post the Rustolem 2X Coverage spray paint but I had the name of the color wrong- it's Heirloom White. I use it for absolutely ALL of my "white" (cream, ivory...) painting needs. Hit it with a scrape of sandpaper when it's dry and you're good as old!

OK...here's something that was a last minute add-on...see the thing this pumpkin is sitting on? It's Heirloom White  (naturally!) with a burlap ribbon tied around it?

That is an old light fixture globe!! I had been to auction a month before and wanted a cool metal milk crate but the crate had a bunch of random items in it- there were two of these beauties. At first I thought, "What in the HELL am I going to do with those?" So I tried to sell them. Then I got a brilliant idea- if I painted them they would be perfect for adding height to my table. I tied a bit of burlap around the middle and added a "book page rose" and "Tah-dah!" it was a vision of perfection!

The lighting in this picture isn't as soft and pretty but it gives a better picture of how the whole table flowed together. I was super happy with how all of my projects came out and the fact that the whole thing cost me next to nothing other than time to complete. Again, could I have looked on etsy and found a bunch of this stuff? Absolutely and while there's nothing wrong with supporting other artists it's also fun to take the time and learn how to do things on your own.  A sense of pride if you will. I have never decoupaged before so this was a fun adventure and not it's much less scary. Last week I found a foam mannequin in the basement at work and begged my boss to take it home...guess who is going to be modeling necklaces and hats in a brand new outfit in Bad Dollar Tree Novels? Oh yes, that mannequin and she's darling! Check her out on my Instagram- @acheapchicchick- I'm bringing her into work tomorrow and cannot wait to place her out for all the customers to see!

A Cheap & Chic Chick, who, coincidentally, just took ALL of her Halloween and fall stuff down today to enjoy a fresh, clean look until the holidays come roaring in in a few short weeks...