Sometimes I find decorating inspiration in some pretty strange places. Like our Thanksgiving table this year – it was inspired by my daughter’s 3-D model of a human cell. She had a bunch of leftover salt dough (after creating a few mitochondria and ribosomes) and since I had Thanksgiving on my mind, inspiration struck to use the salt dough to make place card tags. And so our Thanksgiving table decorations began…
Once the place card tags were made and tied onto our little pumpkins the rest of the table came together pretty quickly:
The salt dough tags were super easy to make. Simply mix 1/2 cup salt, 1 cup flour, and 1/2 cup warm water and stir. We rolled the dough out and used circle cookie cutters to make our tags, along with a straw to make a hole for the string and some letter stamps for everyone’s names. Once done, we baked the tags at 325 degrees for 45 minutes to harden them. We left them natural in color but once they’re baked you can paint them if you want a different look. The only letter stamps we had were pretty big so other than MOM and DAD, we used everyone else’s initials:
Next to each plate is a set of silverware that is together with a ribbon:
For a simple centerpiece, I put the mini pumpkins and gourds I bought earlier this fall into a wood bowl lined with two different fabrics, including a cute plaid one that I recently found at Joanne’s:
On either end of the wood bowl, I placed branches with brightly colored fall leaves in vases of water. Who needs to buy flowers when you’ve got such beautiful colors right outside your door?
I finished off the table by scattering a few acorns along the runner – they are faux acorns (no bugs!) with real caps:
While the acorns will last forever, unfortunately the branches don’t last very long, even in water, but if you like to keep your table decorated for a few weeks like I do, it’s simple to go outside and cut some more branches every few days. Once all of the leaves are off the trees, I’ll cut from our evergreens instead, but for now I really enjoy bringing the beautiful fall leaf colors inside:
As part of our week of Thanksgiving Tastes & Tablescapes, I’m also sharing one of my favorite recipes with you. I have to admit that I kinda cheated. Mine isn’t exactly a Thanksgiving recipe but it is one that’s perfect for making around Thanksgiving or the holidays when you may have a house full of guests staying over. It’s a sausage and egg breakfast casserole that is super quick and easy to make and the best part is that you can mix it up the night before so that when you get up in the morning, all you have to do is pop it in the oven and you have breakfast for eight. Because who wants to be messing up the kitchen making eggs and bacon the morning after you spent hours in the kitchen making Thanksgiving dinner? Not this girl.
SAUSAGE AND EGG CASSEROLE
1 pound bulk pork sausage (I use Jimmy Dean regular)
6 slices white sandwich bread (with crust cut off) cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
6 eggs
2 cups milk
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp dry mustard
In a skillet, brown and crumble sausage; drain and set aside. In a large bowl, beat eggs; add milk, salt and mustard. Stir in bread cubes, cheese and sausage (you can also add your own mix-ins like mushrooms, peppers, etc. if you’d like!). Pour into a greased 9 x 13 baking dish. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees Farenheit for 40 to 50 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Makes 8 servings. Tastes great with salsa!
If you haven’t already been, be sure to stop by Becky’s blog, This is Happiness, {here} to see the tablescape and recipe that she posted yesterday as part of our Thanskgiving Tastes & Tablescapes series. Her pecan cheesecake bars look amazing and I absolutely love the color scheme and simple style of her Thanksgiving table!
And come on back tomorrow for my One Room Challenge bathroom reveal! I can’t wait to show you my bathroom’s new look and to check out everyone else’s “before” and “after”s!
Kris your table looks so festive with all those natural elements! I have never seen faux acorns with real caps before, where on earth did you find them? The no bugs thing is clutch 🙂 I love the salt dough tags and the fact that you can save them and incorporate them into other tablescapes down the road – plus that must have been fun to do with your girls!!
Thanks Lisa – I got the acorns on sale at the end of the season last year from Crate & Barrel and I saw that they have them again this year (I bet they’re on sale again!). They look 100% real!
first of all i LUV your table…you’re so talented!! where did you get the beautiful plates and the acorns?
also, my hope is to take time off after Christmas and catch up with all your old blog posts…my last 2 mths have been busy and i haven’t had time to read yours and alot of other posts that i always love…..why does life get spiral like that sometimes? anyways, i look forward to catching back up b/c you always have such great inspiration….
wishing you and yours a beautiful Thanksgiving…
p.s. i love the name tag idea!
Thanks so much Jeanette! The plates are the Country Estates line from Juliska (we have a Juliska outlet here and so I got an amazing deal on them!) and the faux acorns are from Crate & Barrel. I hope that you have a great Thanksgiving also – it will be here before you know it!
Kris, this is gorgeous! I love all the colorful branches and leaves! The plates are really pretty too. I’m a huge fan of breakfast dishes and this looks delish!
Thanks Becky – it is really yummy (and easy!)
Gorgeous, my friend! Your branches are so striking – I’m such a fan of heading outside to use whatever I can find in my yard. Your place cards are so fun, and the fact your daughters got in on the action is the best!
I’m so lucky to have two crafty little ladies – they’re always game for doing something artsy together!
your table is stunning- i am a fan of bringing leaves in, too! and i LOVE your dishes!!!!
and that casserole is right up my hubby’s alley!
Thanks Cassie – yep, my husband was loving the fact that I made this for breakfast last weekend – we ate it for days!
So pretty. I love the touches of nature, this makes your table so inviting and showcases such pretty colors.
Thanks so much Marty!
Beautiful Kris. Love the salt dough tags!
Thanks Lauren!
That is exactly the breakfast casserole recipe that I make, and it’s a crowd pleaser every time! Wish I had a piece right now, as a matter of fact. Your table is lovely, Kris, and those salt dough tags are adorable. I think we need to do something like that too. Wish our leaves were as pretty as yours! Still pretty green, here.
It’s the perfect casserole if you don’t want to get stuck in the kitchen cooking for forever in the morning, right? Thanks for the love of the salt dough tags – I’ll pass that on to my daughter 🙂
The casserole looks delish! I love the idea of the salt-dough tags! Fun to make and cute. And I have to know where you got faux acorns?! The bugs in the real ones are ewww! 🙂
Thanks Carrie! I got the faux acorns from Crate & Barrel last year but saw that they have them this year again too (maybe even on sale by now??). You would never guess that they are fake!
What could be prettier than an armful of beautiful leaves, those gorgeous Juliska dishes and your wonderful sense of style!!
Thanks so much Cindy! I think I need to move farther away from the Juliska store – there are just all too many temptations for me there 🙂
Your table looks beautiful…I love the tags….great idea!
Thanks Taylor!
Absolutely stunning, Kris! Everything, I love the little name tags, so cute. And those leaves are gorgeous. Breakfast casserole looks delish too and sounds like something my family would LOVE. You did an amazing job, Lady! Hugs
Thanks so much Aniko – it was fun doing this series with you!!
thx Kris for the reply….will ck out Crate and Barrel today cuz might use those this holiday!
Beautiful. I love the whole table setting and the place cards are the perfect touch.