Thrift store inspiration for the Thanksgiving table

This year was the first year that I have hosted the big family Thanksgiving get-together. With a burst of motivation, I decided to dress up the table a bit. My inspiration for this table came from 2 candlesticks that I found on my trip to the Unique thrift store. When walking through this store, these candlesticks immediately caught my eye. They were priced at $15 each, which was a bit high for my budget, so I initially passed them up and moved on. But I kept circling back around to them. In the end, I decided to go with my gut and get them. They are very heavy duty candlesticks, as in: "Colonel Mustard in the conservatory with the candlestick" heavy duty:)

I knew I wanted to paint them a cream color to match the neutrals I was planning for my table. I had never painted a metal like this with chalk paint, so it was a new experience, but quite easy. I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Country Grey. 2 coats, both watered down slightly. I didn't distress this piece like I usually do because the paint seemed to come off easily when bumped and I didn't want too much silver showing through. I then used a coat of clear wax and then a coat of dark wax to bring out the intricate designs.

My table was a compilation of ideas from Pinterest. A burlap table runner from Michaels that was tied on the ends with twine - very easy to make because they sell burlap in a roll with the exact width that I needed. I took mason jars, filled them with some extra dried corn given to me by a friend and added tea lights. The table was strewn with some extra faux Fall flowers. Our table was pretty crowded, so there wouldn't have been room for placemats. Instead I purchased chargers from Michaels. I couldn't find enough all in the same color, so I ended up with 4 different variations of brown/gold and am very happy with how they turned out. We were way too short on utensils for everyone, so I opted to just buy the more upscale plastic ones at Party City. One day I'll get around to getting my fancy China and silverware, but for now I decided to keep it within budget. I had enough dinner plates for everyone, but was short on dessert plates, so decided to stick with heavy duty plastic ones. When it was time to clean-up, I was so glad I made that decision:)

At the last Easter dinner I hosted, I chose to not do seating assignments and everyone complained! Apparently they liked being told exactly where to sit. So I, of course, had to make place cards for this dinner. I found a lot of very creative ideas, but they just seemed too time consuming on an already busy day. I opted instead to use a faux Fall flower on each setting with their names written with a chalk marker. Took almost no time at all and looked very festive!

All in all, I was very happy with how the table turned out. Not entirely sure what I will do with the candlesticks right now. For now I have them sitting on the new piano we just bought off of a yard sale site.

And what Thanksgiving wouldn't be complete without some turkey nails? :) I hope everyone had a very Happy Thanksgiving!