Ornamental Kale! For Thanksgiving?

Hi Everyone,

It's almost Thanksgiving. It's a time when I love setting beautiful, traditional holiday tables with delicate etched stemware, silver candelabra, fine china, and vintage lace or damask table linens!

But ... that's not what THIS table is about. I decided to try something a little more contemporary. While I did use vintage Haviland china and Gorham flatware, I've incorporated potted bedding plants, Dollar Tree placemats, chunky Crate & Barrel plates (used as chargers), simple oversized wine glasses, and faux "planter boxes."

I also wanted to share a simple craft project. Since the ornamental kale plants used down the center of the table will be planted outdoors, they remain in their plastic pots, hidden in boxes made from foamcore board and packing tape.

The size of the boxes was determined by measuring the height and diameter of the pots. I used a professional mat cutter to cut the foamcore, but you could also do it with a straight edge and a utility or Exacto knife.

I covered the boxes with thrifted wallpaper, using tape (rather than paste), so the paper can easily be removed and replaced for future projects. I also enjoy using wallpaper for wrapping gifts. It comes in an endless array of colors and patterns, and the weight offers durability and a very nice tactile quality. I've found full rolls of wallpaper for as little as a quarter or fifty cents in local thrift stores.

Since this paper has an obvious "repeat," I cut the paper so the patterns would line up in the same place on both boxes and on both sides of each box. I didn't worry about how it looked on the bottom or inside the boxes, since I knew those areas wouldn't be visible after the boxes were filled with plants.

Here's the view down the center of the table.

I found the plants on sale at Kroger for only 75 cents each.

I alternated the green and purple kale and placed an ornamental cabbage in the center.

I temporarily planted the cabbage in a pumpkin and used raffia/rope garland to cover tops of the pots and the soil. The garland was one I used on a Christmas tree several years ago (I try my best not to throw anything away -- you never know when it might come in handy!). I lined the foamcore boxes with tall kitchen trash bags to keep them clean.

The china is Haviland Ladore, and the silver is Gorham's La Scala. The sherbet glasses are vintage Fostoria -- Silver Flutes, introduced in 1949.

It was a mostly cloudy day. I left the camera on a tripod, just in case the sun peeked out long enough to take a few photographs. It did from time to time (usually when I was upstairs, and just long enough for me to almost make it to the camera!).

But I did manage to take a few shots that revealed the delicate beauty of the durable outdoor plants (hardy down to 5 degrees Farhenheit, if properly acclimated!).

I painted the pumpkin with a thin layer of Titanium white Liquitex acrylic paint. While it was still wet, I added feathery strokes of gold liquid acrylic paint to tone down the whiteness and add a little bit of shimmer (which is there, but really didn't show up in the pictures).

I bought several orange pumpkins at Wal-Mart for fifty cents each (reduced the day after Halloween). I saved the seeds from the one I painted. Perhaps I'll grow my own next year.

I actually swept the deck before I took pictures, but additional leaves rained down throughout the afternoon. Oh well -- looks like autumn, right?

A few more backlit shots:

And then the light faded ...

As the leaves fall, neighbors houses come into view (it's OK -- they're nice neighbors). Time to light the candles ...

I hope you enjoyed your visit, and I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Please join Susan of Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday.