Friendsgiving in the Forest: Preparing a Friendsgiving table & DIY Tassel Pillows
It’s the last day of the 3 day mini-series, Friendsgiving in the Forest! This is what’s been posted on Jar of Lemons and here this week:
Monday:
Wednesday:
TODAY you can find this on Jar of Lemons:
Honey Rosemary Roasted Carrots
Chicken w/ Cranberry Orange Sauce
Really scrumptious!
Today here on Well-Made Heart we’re gonna talk about HOW to set your table for Friendsgiving (or Thanksgiving, or just a fancy dinner) 🙂
It might seem like duh, you put the forks and knives and plates and done! Well, yes, but if you want a fancy Friendsgiving table, you gotta spruce it up just a bit.
Color Scheme:
SO- Before you can actually even set your table, you have to decide on your color scheme. I’m huge about color schemes because they bring a space together with minimal effort. If you have the right color scheme even mix-matched items will look like they were meant to be together. Our colors for this Friendsgiving feast were:
Main colors: Purple, with Gray as the Neutral
Accent colors: Copper/bronze & Blue
Pinterest is the best place to find color schemes! Or if you know that you want one specific color, you can use the Color Wheel by Adobe to figure out coordinating colors. It’s pretty awesome!
Okay so once you’ve selected your colors and you have all that you need for your table, it’s time to assemble. It really is like assembling a cake, you’ve got the base layer, the next layer, then the icing. I’m sure I could’ve used another analogy but that one just seemed tastier. lol.
Base Layer:
Now let’s start to assemble. Begin with a clean table. In this layer you add the necessities. Start with the runner/tablecloth, then add the plates. Now would be a great time to use any chargers under plates or placemats, they make things look even nicer and less everyday.
Once you’ve added your plates, add your cups/glasses. I used a combination of different glasses just for the boho look, but traditional keeps them all even. Also traditionally, the glasses should be to the right of the plate. However, nowadays I don’t think many people pay attention.
Now add your napkins. Again, this is up to your preference. The fold style, the napkin rings, or lack thereof, it’s all up to you. Many people like to place them ON the plate too- again all up to you!
Next your silverware. Again traditionally speaking, the fork and the napkin go to the left, the spoon and the knife go to the right. Fancy! lol I As you can see, I did not follow that traditional rule haha. Okay, so now all of your basics are set. The next layer of the cake is ready to be stacked!
Second Layer:
Now you add your centerpieces and food plates. I’ve seen people do Thanksgiving two different ways: one way is to have a main decorative centerpiece with candles or flowers etc., the other is to place the Turkey as the centerpiece. At my house it’s the decorative centerpiece but for this Friendsgiving we went for the Turkey er, CHICKEN as the main centerpiece.
SO with that said, it’s up to you but now is when you place your main centerpiece. If it is the Turkey then just leave a space for where you will be placing it. You can place a decorative plate or placemat etc.
Add the rest of the dishes- in ours it was the carrot dish, the stuffing dish etc. This takes up the center of the table. If you aren’t doing any food on the center of the table (if you have a buffet table etc.) then you can skip on over to the icing stage! Once your dish plates are added you can move on to the icing stage. My fave.
The icing:
This is my fave stage because it makes the table yours truly! Now you can get out the small details that will make the table pop with extra color and detail. For our table, I cut up pomegranates and laid them face-up for color.
Then I added olive branch leaves and rosemary sprigs (basically I wanted the leaves to add that extra organic look) vegetables and seasonal fruits are the perfect decor item!
Next, I placed feathers in the napkins and under plates and finally I added the candles.
All small details that have big impact, it’s the icing on the cake folks! Just remember, it’s really all your preference. When you have everyone around the table, eating and enjoying you won’t be worried about what side you placed the napkins.
OH and don’t forget to take photos of your perfect friendsgiving table. Jar of Lemons and I SURE did 🙂
Taken at the same time lol.
ALRIGHT, Now onto a quick:
DIY Tassel Pillow
I wanted to make throw pillows for us to sit on BUT well, I just didn’t get to. SO instead I figured that the long body pillows would work just as nicely.
I purchased two body pillows. I wanted the covers to be a light purple but I couldn’t find any SO I decided I’d just die the white ones I bought.
The little packets of fabric dye are really cheap and a great option to customize fabric. I followed the instructions and used SUPER hot water, added the dye and let the fabric soak. Since I only wanted a tint, I didn’t bother adding more than one dye packet.
Next, the tassels. I found this uber rich and thick bulky yarn that I fell in love with and decided I wanted to make a ginormous tassel. 🙂 I dunno, I thought it would add character lol. SO here’s how:
Cut out a piece of cardboard, mine was about 5 inches long.
Wrap the yarn around the cardboard as many times as you’d like.
Then cut a piece of extra yarn and string it through the top of the tassel, tying it to keep it in place.
Next, slide your scissors through and cut the bottoms of the tassel, and pull the free from the cardboard.
Next, take another extra piece of yarn and tie in the middle of the tassel, where you want the “head” to stop. Wrap the yarn round and round it, tucking the ends in when you reach the end.
And tadaa!
A great big tassel. Braid the ends of the tassel and you’re done.
To stick it to the pillow cover, I actually snipped a tiny bit off the corners of the case, and slid the braided end in. Then I sewed it together and done!
Best part is that it has a permanent place on my bed now 🙂
Phew! That was a lot of information!
Alright everyone! It has been a great week here on Well-Made Heart! Thanks to everyone for checking it out. I hope you enjoyed it and I hope it encourages you to make your own Friendsgiving dinner!
Make sure you follow like Well-Made Heart on Facebook because I’ll be posting ALL the Friendsgiving in the Forest photos as an album! Happy Friday!
