thanksgiving table for practically free and recipes

Well It's Thanksgiving time again. Are you tired of the same old look for you dinner table?

Not to worry, with some small adjustments you can look like you hired a designer to come and

do your event. The first issue to address if the size and shape of your table. Let's assume that

your table is too small for the amount of people that you have invited, so you have to do the

dreaded "children's" table. The remedy for this is simple. Whether your table is round, square.

or rectangular, you can purchase an over size sheet of plywood to sit on top of your table to

accomidate the extra people you've invited. I've also used a large unpaneled door, to serve the

same purpose. You will now need a cloth or fabric to cover your new much larger table. As

stated in my other blogs, many options are available to you. A beautiful sheet works wonders.

I've used thin quilts and velvet bedspreads to create other luxorious looks. Don't be too concerned about the size, so long as it overlaps the table top on all sides. I like to gather the

corners and tie a knot or a bow with anything that you choose as a tie. Ribbon, rope, or raffia,

are some suggestions that will work, as well as anthing else you can conceptualize. I like the look

of layering, so I would probably use a placemat on the top of the cloth. When it comes to the

dishes, again you may not have enough that match. To me this is not a problem. If you have

two different kinds, alternate them, at every other place setting. My favorite thing to do is to

go to the thrift store (Salvation Army and the like) and buy as many different, but similar

plates and glasses as available and create your own bohemian look. You can usually buy china

and crystal for about a dollar a piece. The flatware and silver is similarlly priced. They might

also have linen napkins, at equally reasonable prices.

Now you will need some kind of a centerpiece. Pumpkins after Halloween are very inexpenive.

Get three that are reasonably sized for a table. Cut off their tops and save. Then hollow them

out. You can use cookie cutters in shapes like diamonds, swirls, or leaves , or whatever else

you may find. Outline the shapes on the bottom third of the pumpkin and then cut out. Find

something to elevate the pumpkins to three different heights. If you can't find things that are

attractive, like a footed cake plate, cover these alternate items with a cloth napkin or some

similar fabric. Place a votive candle in each of your carved out pumpkins and arrange on your

risers. You may place leaves or branches under the pumpkins for a more embellished look

When your guests arrive, light your votive candles and replace the tops on your pumpkins. If

you want to be really elegant, these pumpkins can be spray painted gold or sliver, after you

have carved them out, you can spray the leaves and branches too.

Lots of things can be used as a napkin rings if you don't have any. Hair scrunchies are great, you

can glue leaves or nuts on to them, to make them more festive.

The placemarker will be your finishing touch. I like to use something that is not a traditional

placecard. One of the prettiest ideas is a glass votive candle holder, with a votive inside that

will be lit when the guests arrive. A permanent marker will write on the outside of these and

your own handwriting makes it very special.

A great easy recipe for mashed potatoes, that makes them really memorable is to add the
following to your recipe

1 cup of parmesean cheese ( any white grated cheese will work)

2 tablespoons of chives or green onions

1 cup of any brand of ranch dressing

mix in extras while the mashed potatoes are still hot, yum!


This one is a great easy dessert

you will need one graham cracker pie crust

one jar of chocolate ice cream topping

1/4 cup of chopped nuts

2 pkgs of instant vanilla pudding

1 cup of canned pumpkin

1 container of cool whipped-like topping

1 cup cold milk

Drizzle the chocolate topping into the pie shell

mix the pudding mix, the milk, the pumpkin, and half of the whipped topping in a bowl
When it sufficiently mixed, spoon into the pie shell.

Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Remove from frig and top with the remaining whipped topping, drizzle more chocolate
sauce on top and then sprinkle on the nuts

Put back in the frig until dessert time...The best!

mosaic anything for practically free

The art of the mosaic is very simple. It's merely sticking tiles or other pieces of ceramic on to something and then putting something in between the spaces to fill in

and make it permanent. The first thing you have to decide is what you want to

mosaic. You can embellish table tops, flower pots, picture frames, counter tops or

anything else you can imagine. Now you will need the ceramic tiles or what ever else

you choose to use. To get the tiles, I have resorted to many different sources. You can actually go to a tile place and ask them if you can have anything that is broken and that they are going to dispose of. You will be surprised how happy they will be

to satisfy your request. Choose varied colors and patterns if you like or choose just

one kind if you want it to be less busy. Another idea, which may take a little longer

to complete, is to save every dish you've ever broken(tell friends and relatives what

you're doing and ask them to save as well). The next step is so fun, especially if

you have some aggression to resolve. Take the tiles or broken pottery and a large

hammer, cover the pottery with a towel and bang the heck out of it with the hammer.

Now you have created lots of little managable pieces to play with. You will now need

to glue the pieces on to the object you want to enhance. The glue really doesn't

matter, however rubber cement and anything not permanent will not work effectively. The best glues are white glue(school glue- like Elmer's) or a silicone

adhesive, that you can get at a home store. I, for one am not all that fond of creating

a picture with the pieces, though you can if you choose. I prefer the randomness of

just creating as you go. The easiest way to work is to do all the boarder first. Place the material any way you want, making sure not to go beyond the edges of the surface

you are working on. Try to keep an even amount of space between the pieces and

work it like a puzzle, paying attention to where the pieces might fit. When you have

covered the whole surface to your satisfaction, let it dry for about 12 hours. Now

you will need some grout (the stuff that fills in the spaces). You can purchase it at

a hardware store or a home store. You can either buy the premixed or the dry. I

think that the dry one is less expensive, because you'll have to ad the water and mix

it yourself, following the directions on the package. Either way, now you're ready

to grout your piece. You can purchase a grout spreader at the same places that you

bought the grout or you can use a plastic kitchen spatula and have it work just as well. Take a generous amount of the mixture and start at one end dragging the

spreader and the grout across the tiles. You will see it filling in the spaces as you

go along. For this part of the process, more is better, you can remove the excess

when your done. If you don't use enough, it won't turn out right. Once you've

coated the entire piece and it's pretty level, take a large dampened sponge and start

to gently remove the grout that is covering just the tiles. Be careful not to remove

what is in the spaces. You will have to occasionally rinse the sponge as it will be

full of grout. Once your satisfied with the look, and the tiles or ceramic look clean. Let
it dry. That's pretty much the process. You can vary the types of material that
you use and there are an infinate amount of surfaces to be beautified. Get your
hammer and get busy smashing things.

easy chair covers for practically free

At any event you attend, there is always the problem of not enough matching chairs or the
senario of the ugly chair. These problems are easily remedied. What you want to create is
a simple chair cover that is simple to create and inexpensive to make. The first step is to measure the width of the chair, at its widest point. You do not want a cover that is too small. So,
let's assume for argument sake that the chair is 24inches at it's widest point. You will want to
have a cover that's probably about 28inches wide, just to make sure that the whole chair is
covered. Next measure from the floor up, across the seat, up the front and down the back. Let's
say that the lenghth of that measurement is 120inches. So you want to have a cover that is
28inches wide, by 120inches long.
There are many solutions that will work as fabric for these covers. Inexpensive sheets are a
great solution. You can probably get a least four covers out of each king size sheet. Probably the
greatest source is a Walmart, if you have one, because they have a section of $1.00 a yard fabric.
You can't beat that price for new fabric. Another idea that I have used fairly often, is the
thrift store. Not one of the pricey ones that sell antiques. I'm talking about Goodwill, The Salvation Army and similar venues. Most of their sheets are a couple of dollars each, they
are usually cleaned and pressed. So, now you have your fabric, cut the covers to the aproximate
sizes we discussed earlier. If you have access to a sewing machine, you can fold over about 1/4
of an inch and sew. A glue gun also works great for this, however, is the fabric is such that it
doesn't unravel, you really don't have to do anything, except, cut to size. Once you have completed the cutting, drape the fabric over the chair, making sure to center the width and the
length, over the chair. Next, you need to fashion a tie that you will wrap around the chair like a belt to secure
the cover from moving around. Double the width of the chair, like if it's 24inches, cut a tie
that is 48inches long. I personally think that if the tie is a little fatter, (wider) it looks better
and is more secure. So make your ties at least two inches wide. Now it's nothing more than
wrapping the tie around the chair and tying a knot or a bow in the back. If you don't want
to use the same fabric as the cover, ribbon will work, as well as something like spray painted rope from the
hardware store. I've made enough of these covers for entire wedding and reception in a couple
of hours. Try it, your folding chairs will never look better

table setting and tablescaping for practically free

Have you ever gone to someone's home for a holiday, party or just for dinner and and noticed

how boring their table or buffet looked? Don't let this happen to you, it's so easy and cheap

to make your table or buffet look amazing. First of all choose a color scheme, if you really don't

want to spend any money, pick colors (dishes, napkins, table cloths, ) that you already own.

Let's start with the table. Decide what table covering you would like to use. Keep in mind

things like, a sheet. a quilt, a lace drapery panel, and the like can make great table covers, if any of these appear too long, pull up and bunch in the center, knowing that you can cover it with a centerpiece.

Another solution is to gather and tie the four corners, or if you have a pedestal table, gather fabric and tie underneath, like belt. To make a table or buffet look great, it's all

about the layering. So now that you have the underment handled, look for something that you

can place in the center of the table, to put your centerpiece on. Things that will work are a mirror, tray, a ceramic tile or a trivet or anything else you can find that is flat. Next you'll

need a centerpiece of sorts. You can refer to my blog on centerpieces for some ideas or you can

even make it more simple by using one of the following ideas. Fruit in a pretty bowl or glass

vase is fun, add two candlesticks with taper or pillar candles and instantly you have a centerpiece. You can use themed, framed photographs and add the candles as well. Another easy

solution is to gather three or five stemmed wine glasses. Now turn them upside down, buy

pillar candles in staggered sizes and have fun arranging the heights and thicknesses. Look around your house, the idea is to repurpose what you already have. Next you'll need some

placemats. If you don't have any, dish towels or hand towels, in good condition, will work.

Wrapping paper covering shirt cardboards , and so on, I think you're getting the message.

I personally have a problem with a paper napkin at a reasonably sized dinner party. If you

don't want to buy clothnapkins, get a yard of fabric and cut it up. I have also used bandanas from the dollar store. Some people already own napkin rings as well, if you don't you can tie

your napkins with a ribbon . If you have the time, you can cut empty toilet paper or paper towel rolls

to size. These can be covered with fabric, wrapping paper, or painted and embelished with

ribbons, buttons, or anything else you want to attach to them. This is a nice project for kids

to help you with. Now for the dishes, If you have enough of one pattern, great. If you don't,

mix and match. Take two patterns and alternate them at everyother placesetting. You can do
a similar thing for both the flatware and the glassware. When everything is not uniform, it is
much more interesting. I once hosted a party where no two plates were the same, however
the colors were very similar, I had so many compliments on that table it was amazing. The
final touch for the table will be the placecards. First rule, mine anyway, always hand write
the names. If you use the computer, you loose all the warmth of the event and it looks very
impersonal. I have used many objects to act as a placecard. I have spray painted, little
pumpkins, plastic fruit, and christmas ornaments, just to name a few. It's very easy to write
on any of these with a permanent marker. Small childrens' toys, seashells, and pinecones are
some other things I have used. When you're out shopping, pay attention to little inexpensive
items that would lend themselves to becoming a placemarker .
Okay, so now you have your table done, what about the buffet table. To me, nothing looks
worse, then an unadorned serving table, with everything just put there, in unimaginative
serving containers and all on the same level. The first step is to continue what you have
going on, on your dining table. Use a similar covering, and either use the bunching technique
or some kind of tying the corners. You will now need a secondary centerpiece, don't worry about it being the same as your dining table display. Try to come up with something with a
similar feel, or color scheme. Feel free to review some of the previously mentioned themes, or
get creative on your own. The next step may seem daunting, but I promise, once you've done
it, it will make sense. Think about what you are going to serve and in what serving piece. I
do not believe in tupperware on a buffet table. However feel free to place rolls or breads in
an attractive basket lined with a cloth napkin, or substitute. Place all your other serving
containers on the table. Start with the largest platter and place it in the center, by the way
this is done ahead of the event, empty. So with the largest item in the center of the table,
find a empty box or a large pot (inverted) that you are not
using to cook with, cover the box or pot with some fabric, this now becomes a riser that will
elevate some of your dishes and add dimension and interest to your table. You can use this
method all over your table alternating the height of the dishes. Make sure that whatever you
use to raise the serving pieces is large and sturdy enough to avoid wobbling of the plate or
bowl. Once you have finalized the arrangement, you may label the places, so you won't forget
where everything goes. Now you need to go back outside again and get the clippers. Cut
some kind of greenery, whatever you have out there will work. It's a good ideas to shake it
off before you bring it in to make sure there are no living things on it that will want to share your
buffet. Place the branches in the spaces that occur between the flat and elevated items on
your table. You may have to play around with the spacing until you're happy with the look.
Now you may add some votive candles in and around the branches. You'll have to admit that
this is not difficult to do and it's so much more appealing than the usual one level concept.

table centerpieces practically free

So, at some time or another, everyone need to have centerpieces. If you attempt to call someone professional and have them design and create them, they will cost a fortune and

unless you are prepared to spend a fortune, you won't get a lot of bang for your buck. We

can fix this. There are so many fabulous ideas that are easy and cheap to create. For instance, everyone has access to those vases that come with floral arrangements, you can either leave them clear or spray paint them gold or silver. Go outside your house or to a park or wooded

area and collect branches that you can strip the leaves off of or some may already be without

their leaves. Make sure the branches are at least twice the height of the vase. You may also

put more than one branch in each vases, if you feel they are skimpy. It's also nice to spray

paint the branches as well, I like gold, silver, white or black, it adds lots of drama. After you

have arranged the branches in the vase, you may fill the vase with gardening gravel, available

at most home stores, water, sand or anything else you choose. It is only necessary to fill the

vase about half way full to stabilize the weight. If your branches are too heavy, it may be

necesary to fill it further up. If it's a holiday themed event, you can hang things on the branches

making sure that they are not too heavy, other wise your vase may tip over...Tinsel works great.

I will always add votives around the centerpiece, as many as you want, always an odd number.

Another addition that adds a nicer look is to find inexpensive fabric, plan on a half a yard per

table. Cut the fabric into squares of about a half yard each. Exact measurements are not that

critical. Tie a knot in each corner. Place this fabric in the center of the table, you can kind of

bunch it up and make it look like it was just thrown there and then place your centerpiece and

votives on top of it. It just adds another layer of decor. Inexpensive mirrors from the discount

stores, or trays and placemats will give you some other choices to place under your centerpiece.

Some other ideas that have worked for me are, tall glass ginger jar vases, available at Walmart

for about $5.00 each. I have filled them with a tall pillar candle , water and floated some flowers

with them stems pulled off, when the candles are lit, it is incredible. I have also gone outside my

house and cut some branches off of living trees. Olive branches, evergreen bushes, and the like

work well. Buy some lemons or limes and place them in the ginger jar vase and fill with water,

the fruit works as an arranger for the branches as well as looking interesting. There are so

many variations on these themes. Get busy, you can do it.

fabulous invitations -practically free

Everyone at sometime or another, needs to create an invitation. Why spend hundreds of dollars professionally, when you can create something great on your own quickly and inexpensively. First , you'll have to decide on your theme. Let's say it's a birthday party for an
adult. It might be fun to find a childhoood photo of the birthday person. Then go to a place, like
Walmart, for example and purchase packages of in expensive, plain notecards with envelopes
included. Now go to a copy place and xerox the photo, adjust the size to fit on the front of
the notecard, leaving a border around all sides. Make as many as you need for the number of
invitations you are sending. You can usually paste four together on one page and duplicate,
this way you'll need less copies total. However, at a couple of cents each, it's not a big deal either way. Don't be too concerned about the quality of the photo, although you may have to adjust
the lightness or darkness on the copy machine. If you run into trouble, ask for help, it's free. Now cut your photos to fit and attach to front of note card with a glue stick. These are available
everywhere and keep everything neat. Now for the inside, If you have access to a computer,
typeset the pertenent information, making sure the finished size will fit in the notecard, usually
16 or 18 pt type sizes will work. If you don't have access to a computer you can write the specifics of the party, time, date, place, and so on , on some plain paper and then, just like before
photocopy the amount you need and then cut to size. Place the invitation inside the note card
and center it the best you can, so that there is a border on all sides, except for the top. Align
the top of the note card and the invitation. Now, using a hole puncher, punch two holes fairly
close together and centered. Make sure you punch thru both thicknesses Now for the fun. Choose ribbon, yarn, string , rafia or whatever you want and starting from the back thread the
tie thru the holes to the front and fashion either a knot or a bow depending on whatever suits your design the best. Now look at what you've made! It looks both custom and expensive.
There are many variations on this theme. You can also use a color copier, though it will make
your copies a little more expensive. You can use a picture from a magazine or wrapping paper
designs, wallpaper, the possibilities are endless. Also I have found that is you select a darker
color note card, the contrast of the photocopy, makes for a more dramatic effect. Get busy and
start designing for your next event