First of all, did you know that Hobby Lobby isn’t selling Halloween decorations this year? Not a witch or a tombstone to be had. Totally respect their position (and they’re brave to do that with all us Halloween lovers out there) but it put me in a pickle. I was low on time and needed good transitional items for my Halloween display.
Well, my faithful HL came through with a net bag of velvety pumpkins in soft gray and off white. They even threw in a few pinecones. Frosting! You’ll see all of them in the harvest-to-Halloween table display ideas to follow.
Tray Chic
Scrolling through Instagram one day my eye was caught by a stunning display on a very common household piece: the two-tiered tray. These tall trays offer a small “tray” or plate about 12 inches up from the base and then a larger tray down at the base. They are perfect for creating still life vignettes within the she shed on a smaller table but they are also ideal for the standard dining room table. They also look great on fireplace mantels.
I picked up mine at Michaels for under $25 but I bet you can find one for even less if bargain hunting’s your thing (or your necessity). I just needed to get started! Here another one from Bed Bath & Beyond that’s super pretty.
Our mantra at She Shed Living is “reuse, salvage and upcycle” so I want to point out the many items featured here that were just part of my slightly cluttered lifestyle. In the harvest display I have a scrap of lace from my sewing box; dried-out berry stems from a bouquet I splurged on many weeks ago; and rose hips from my own garden. The roses are long gone but did you know that the hips start turning a gorgeous shade of orange?
The little tea lights on the top tray are for decoration only. To get some height I found an old closet rod and cut two pieces of varying heights.
Finally, I borrowed some of Sabrina’s pretty fall pumpkins and gourds (and even a jeweled butterfly) from our office. Don’t worry, Sabrina, I’ll put everything back!
Switch to pretty creepy
The whole idea here is to create an easy transition from harvest to Halloween, and even back again to harvest or Thanksgiving. My best look for Halloween comprises the old, the mysterious and a big dollop of cemetery chic. I love cemeteries; they are beautiful places of repose and spiritual comfort. I don’t find them scary at all. Yet the hint of mournfulness, colors of gray, flowers left past their prime by a loved one, all fit within my love of the season.
Some of my favorite things are in this vignette; a cameo of Jane Austen; a tiny jack-o’-lantern ring holder; a pocket watch; and an old iron bell that I spotted on my antique secretary and don’t really remember how it got there! It’s amazing how many cool little objects you can come up with in your house if you just stop and look.
Then, see that black netting? I didn’t have any black lace on hand so I took a green net avocado bag, cut it flat and spray painted it black. Same dead berrie stems. The candle towers are swathed in pieces of black trim. I couldn’t resist putting a real candle behind everything, watching it carefully the whole time.
And aren’t those gray pumpkins just perfect? I shot these displays in my shed shed, on a small table. I plan to carry my little two-tier tray display wherever it is needed for the next few months.
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