Guest Blogger: Kimberly from Extra! Extra! Blog All About It!

I am excited to have Kimberly from Extra! Extra! Blog All About It! as a Guest Blogger today! Kimberly is a newer blogger but she has some fantastic ideas around the house. For starters, I just LOVE this trivit turned wall art!

And I love this TP holder that has been sprayed with Heirloom White and repurposed as a Ribbon Holder!  Fantastic!

So you guys settle in and enjoy this great fall project from Kimberly!  I know you are going to love her!  

Fall Is In the Air...

Fall is in the air. The hot, muggy, miserable 90s that embodied GA this summer have finally gone away and took a bit of the humidity with them, thankfully. :) I love the carefree, long days summer brings, but I'm ready for fall. I love the crispness in the air, the beautiful colors of the season, and the smells (cinnamon, pumpkin, nutmeg). I got a little inspired when I started spying Autumn, halloween, and Thanksgiving decor at the local craft stores. I have a jumbo bolt of jute twine leftover from our wedding decor and had 6 coasters leftover from baby shower decor (I had 20 and used 14 for that tutorial in another post). I also had (6) 10 inch cardboard rounds that I saved for some type of inspiration. I originally thought of placemats and realized they would not be large enough, but I could make one and use it as a trivet for a centerpiece tablescape. All the photos and instructions are below. I also reveal where I scored some amazing deals. If you have time, grab a cup of java or tea; better yet, heat up some warm apple cider with a cinnamon stick and we'll enjoy a fall centerpiece tablescape reveal...

This is simple, nothing over the top. I'm sure closer to the holidays, I'll have some over-the-top, but for now, enjoy...

 

I bought the entire bolt of jute at Walmart for $8! I can use it for years to come, don't you think? I was inspired last year by all the bottles and vases Pottery Barn had in their catalog that were wrapped in jute. They sold them for something like $89. I used bottles and vases I had on hand so mine were made for pennies.

Before

After

I took a dab of glue from my hot glue gun and put a dot in the middle off the coaster and began wrapping the jute in a spiral circle, gluing in various locations along the way. The final photo was taken before I cleaned up all the hot glue gun strings off the coaster, but you get the idea. This took maybe 5 minutes a coaster. While I used them in my reveal under some decor pieces, I do plan on using all 6 as coasters this fall.

Before

After

I did the exact same thing to make the trivet. This one took a bit longer ~ 15 - 20 minutes, maybe. I glued down the center and in various areas around the circle to hold down the jute. I also glued a piece around the edge as I did not want the cardboard edge exposed.

Here is my reveal. The centerpiece rests on the trivet, three ceramic pumpkins were placed on three of the jute coasters. I wrapped jute around a hurricane vase I had leftover from the 1990s. I like the curves. I purchased the wheat bundle last fall from Hobby Lobby, I believe. The ceramic pumpkins were purchased this month at Dollar Tree. The ceramic birds were on clearance at Michaels. They are from their Tuscan collection and I bought them for $1.50 each. I just love them and will re-use them in our spring decor. The red potted plants were purchased for 50 cents on clearance at Michaels at the same time. I know it is really a summer plant, but the colors lend themselves to fall. The fall leaf doilies were from Dollar Tree in 2009. I also have pumpkins, but did not use them in this centerpiece. The large pumpkin was a score at Goodwill this past winter. I plan on painting it white. I am loving white pumpkins right now. The stand it is sitting on was another good find at Goodwill. The large rattan ball came from Hobby Lobby in 2009, and the planter it is resting on was scored at another thrift store this past winter. The wineglass candleholders were most likely purchased at a consignment or thrift shop. They were new and had Pottery Barn stickers on the bottom before I removed them. I put some rocks in the bottom and a votive candle in each one. The rocks were purchased at Dollar Tree last year for some wedding decor. I only lit the votives for a few seconds for the photo. Otherwise, they are too close to the wheat to light. I'd move them if I light them for dinner so as to not have to call the local fire department out for a visit. :)

There are some amazing tablescapes in blogland from past and present, simple to elegant. Pick your style, choose the elements you like, think outside of the box, arrange everything and enjoy it. I think the main thing is to do what you enjoy and don't feel like you need to emulate others. That's what makes each blog so wonderful, it's the uniqueness each person brings to the table. Speaking of table, I think I'll go cut up a nice crisp apple and enjoy a little snack...

Don't you just love that idea?  I have to run out now and find that bolt of jute twine!  Do you have any centerpiece plans up your sleeves this fall?