Decorating Your Parties for Fall-Part 2

Okay, you’ve got the idea to change up the seasons and go with a fall look. You took a nice rust colored tablecloth out of the bottom drawer and ironed out its wrinkles. You found that straw turkey Aunt Sue gave you 3 years ago and blew the dust off of it and set it on your table. You went to the store and bought a medium size pumpkin and put a jaunty top hat on it. Now you’re getting the idea.

How about a nice gourd vase? Take a tall gourd, cut off the top and hollow out a space inside. Fill with a little water and insert some mums. You’re set. (Don’t forget to place that gourd on a plate or tray of some kind in case it leaks.) Or insert a bud vase into the hollow space and put the flowers in that. Or forget the flowers and just make an assortment of different kinds of gourds and squash.

Or buy an assortment of kale at the store and display it in all its glory in a shallow bowl.

Don’t underestimate the power of raffia, that straw like stuff that you can use instead of ribbon. Get some Indian corn and tie them together with some raffia. Just tying some raffia around an ordinary glass vase and filling it with some bright yellow and rust mums screams fall. In fact tying raffia around almost anything makes it look festive and fall like.

Fill some glass containers of various sizes with dried beans, nuts, birdseed, cranberries, kumquats, limes, tiny pumpkins. Tie some raffia around the lid and you’ve got a beautiful display.

Bring in some branches instead of flowers. They can have leaves or they can be bare. Put them in a vase or even a galvanized bucket and they will look fresh off the farm.

When all else fails, fill up any kind of container with wonderful, crisp apples. Try getting different kinds and different colors. And then when its time for dessert, just bring out a sharp knife, a selection of cheese and you are all set. Centerpiece and dessert all rolled into one. What could be better?!