Retail Therapy Thursday: Set Your Thanksgiving Table with Hobby Lobby

I never have enough stuff to decorate for the holidays. Photos in my favorite magazines astound me because all the stuff used to “simply” and “inexpensively” decorate a table, for example, would actually cost hundreds if I tried to replicate it. If you’re like me and find that your table and mantle always look sparse because you can’t justify spending $9.99 for one plastic gourd, then you must run (not walk) to your nearest Hobby Lobby. They’ve got fall decor marked 80% off right now, just in time for Thanksgiving!

So here’s my table (oh, to have some color on the blank wall behind it, at least!) looking a little less sparse than usual. I only paid $16 for $76 worth of stuff today at Hobby Lobby, including the gourds and pumpkin seen here, a cloth stuffed pumpkin for our foyer, a pumpkin spice jar candle and Thanksgiving paper plates and napkins. Score! Anyway, I just separated a 3 tiered cookie plate so the gourds could be different heights, and followed the odd-number rule. (Things always look better in groups of 3 or 5 rather than 2 or 4…don’t ask me why.) I also layered a couple of square vases I had with dried kidney beans, split peas, and corn to use as votive holders.

As for the DIY table runner, I just joined 4 placemats we never use with Stitch-Witchery and covered the seams with fabric scraps.

I’m thinking about machine stitching over the top of each fabric strip, but haven’t gotten to that yet. It’s not perfect, but it was free and made use of what we had.