A Thanksgiving Tablescape

November 10, 2025 by Beth Wilson in Tablescapes

I was going to move on to a Christmas tablescape this week but I found these turkey salad plates on our recent trip and I decided to use them this year instead of waiting until next year. This Thanksgiving tablescape is similar to a few of my other Thanksgiving tablescapes but I made a few changes to this one starting with the salad plates. You can see my 14 other Thanksgiving tablescapes and over 200 other tablescapes that I have created here: https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/tablescapes I have had this green tablecloth for many years, I bought it on Amazon. I was looking for a green color and there were so many different tones and shades of green but I really liked this tweedy looking green one.

I found these turkey salad plates at a HomeGoods on the second day of our 4 1/2 week trip. The back says Potter’s Studio. Hubby was not crazy about hauling them with us to the East Coast and back but I told him that when you see something you like at HomeGoods, you need to buy it because it won’t be there the next time you go! I have learned that the hard way! I really like the bright design on this plate and the scalloped design on the edge of the plate.

This is a Fiesta dinner plate and the color is called Linen. It’s a good plate for a tablescaping collection because it is a basic color that can be used in many different ways on a plate stack. I bought them on sale at Macy’s earlier this year.

I was looking for a charger in a warm brown color and I found this plastic Bokon charger on Amazon last month. It is exactly the warm brown color that I wanted.

This marblelized light brown and cream flatware set is marked EM3 Inox 18/10, Made in Italy. I can’t remember where I bought the set online, I have had it for several years. I use this set often in the fall. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying flatware here.

I wanted to use a napkin with a design on it on this tablescape to add more interest to the table. These napkins were designed by April Cornell. I can’t remember where I bought them, they have been in my tablescaping collection for many years. The turkey napkin ring is one of my favorite napkin rings. It was one of the first napkin ring sets that I bought when I started tablescaping several years ago. The bottom says, “j. willfred, a division of the Charles Sadek Import Company, Inc.”. To read about the What, Where and How of napkin rings please click here.

I found these Department 56 ceramic turkey place card holders on Mercari a few years ago. I have a few other sets of turkey place card holders but these were colorful and it’s difficult to find colorful turkey napkin rings so I bought them. To read about the what, where and how of place card holders, please click here.

I usually use two different goblets on my tablescapes but I wanted to use this goblet and I couldn’t find another goblet in my tablescaping collection that looked good with it on this table setting so I decided to just use a pair of the same goblets. This amber glass goblet came from Pier 1 on sale right before our store closed. I love how tall they are. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying goblets for your tablescaping collection including the goblet colors that I use the most often here.

I already had a few turkey tureens but when I saw this Spode Woodland Turkey Tureen at Macy’s last year, he had some different coloring than the other ones that I have, so I decided to buy him too. I love his eyes and I love that the end of the ladle that shows is painted to match the colors on the turkey.

In this photo it looks like the ladle is chipped but it is only the reflection from the window nearby.

If you read my blog you know that I love small salt and pepper sets and I often add them to my tablescapes. This vintage salt and pepper set is labeled Relco, Japan. I found the set at an antique mall several years ago.

I have a difficult time walking past cute salt and pepper sets at HomeGoods and this set of turkeys came home with me last year. They sat on a cute small decorative tray but I didn’t use it on this table setting.

To see over 270 different tablescapes that I have created please click here. If you are on Facebook, join my new Table Settings and Tablescape Ideas Facebook group for lots of tablescaping inspiration! Just click on the Facebook Search box at the top of the page and type in Table Settings and Tablescape Ideas or click here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2553689988183392

For lots of other Tablescaping DIY tips and tricks click here: https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/tablescapehowto

If you live in Southern California join our Facebook tablescaping group Southern California Tablescapers BTS Group, click here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/440356398581157 We had a gathering for tablescapers in January in the Los Angeles area and hope to schedule another one sometime.

I put a new tablescape on my blog every week, please check back!

A Thanksgiving Tablescape with Blues

November 03, 2025 by Beth Wilson in Tablescapes

The idea for this Thanksgiving tablescape started with the blue turkey salad plates. I found them and then I remembered that I did a brown and white Thanksgiving tablescape before so I knew that I had several white turkeys that I could use. You can see that brown and white Thanksgiving tablescape with 13 other Thanksgiving tablescapes (and 260+ other tablescapes) that I have done here: https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/tablescapes . I will add a photo of the brown and white Thanksgiving tablescape to the end of this blog post too. I found the Blue Rondo alla Turkey tablecloth on sale at Spoonflower online. I love the small turkeys design. Even on sale Spoonflower tablecloths are expensive but they are great quality and they will last for many decades if they are taken care of properly.

I found these blue turkey salad plates at HomeGoods. They are marked Thanksgiving, Queens’s, est. 1795, Made in Columbia, Myott Factory, archive illustrations, Adapted from original copper engravings. I usually don’t like putting items on my tablescapes that aren’t the correct color but in this case I decided to because I liked the look of these salad plates and I wanted to do a different Thanksgiving tablescape than what I have done before.

I bought these blue plates online several years ago at Ballard Designs, they were called Southern Living. They are about 11 1/2” in diameter, a good size to be either a dinner plate or a charger. I love plates that will work for either! You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying dinner plates here.

This is a Mikasa Color Spectrum Charger in the color Alpine White. I have this charger in several different colors and I bought them all on Ebay as I saw them over a few years. The Internet says that this pattern was only made between 1992 and 1993. I am not sure that is true but in any case they are no longer being manufactured. I have been trying to get six of this white color and pattern for years with no success until last year when suddenly I found six at different places online after occasional google searches. You need to have patience when you are looking for things for tablescaping, that’s for sure! To read about what you should be considering when you are buying chargers click here.

This photo really shows the tablecloth design well. I bought this frosted white flatware on sale online at Wayfair several years ago, it was made by Cambridge. It is 18/0 instead of 18/10 so the fork tines are a bit sharper than I would like but I really liked the frosted color. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying flatware here.

I can’t remember where I bought the royal blue cotton napkins, I have had them for several years. Over the years I have shopped for napkins at HomeGoods, Pier 1, and World Market so they probably came from one of those stores. I was looking for a white turkey napkin ring a few years ago and found these on Ebay.

To read about the What, Where and How of napkin rings please click here.

I can’t remember where I found these white turkey place card holders but it might have been Pottery Barn. To read about the what, where and how of place card holders, please click here.

Hubby found the blue glass goblet on the left at an estate sale last year. The white glass goblet on the right came from HomeGoods earlier this year and it had a label that said Barsk Original. It’s difficult to find white goblets so I was happy to find this one. They are both tall goblets and I like that. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying goblets for your tablescaping collection here.

This white turkey tureen came from Pottery Barn several years ago. I had been looking for a large white turkey soup tureen for a while but nothing was quite right. When I saw this one I decided he needed a good home with us. I like the fact that he comes with a matching ladle.

I bought these blue glass taper candle holders at Sur La Table online last year. The candlesticks are a delicate thin blue glass. I always keep taper candles on hand in various colors in case I need them.

This white turkey salt and pepper set came from Pottery Barn online several years ago.

I found this Lenox French Perle Carved Turkey salt and pepper set on Amazon recently.

This is the brown and white Thanksgiving Turkey tablescape that I created six years ago, a good example showing how I use the same tablescaping items from year to year in different ways.

To see over 270 different tablescapes that I have created please click here. If you are on Facebook, join my new Tablescape and Table Settings Ideas Facebook group for lots of tablescaping inspiration! Just click on the Facebook Search box at the top of the page and type in Tablescape and Table Settings Ideas or click here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2553689988183392

For lots of other Tablescaping DIY tips and tricks click here: https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/tablescapehowto

I put a new tablescape on my blog every week, please check back!

An Acorn Tablescape for Thanksgiving

October 28, 2025 by Beth Wilson in Tablescapes

This is one of my favorite Fall or Thanksgiving tablescapes. (You can see 44 other Fall and Thanksgiving tablescapes on my blog here: https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/tablescapes.) I have had these acorn bowls for several years but I have never used them on a tablescape and I decided that it was time to try to figure out how to use them. I started looking for acorn related items for the table to go with them and I was surprised at how many different acorn items were out there.

I bought these acorn bowls at Pier 1 several years ago. I had seen them used on table settings before but I really didn’t like any of the table designs. The acorn bowls just didn’t seem to match the plate stacks well enough and they seemed to be added to the tables as an afterthought on those plate settings just so they could be used. If I am putting together a themed tablescape, I really want there to be a unified design with all elements on the table relating well to each other.

I bought these Bordallo Pinheiro turkey salad plates and the dinner plates too on Ebay a few years ago and I used them on a Thanksgiving tablescape then, you can see it here. When I got them out I was delighted to see that they matched the acorn bowls especially since they have acorns on them as well as turkeys. I have several different Bordallo Pinheiro plate sets with different designs and I really like the raised designs on all of them.

The dinner plates match the salad plates.

I bought the brown glass spiral chargers online on Amazon several years ago. They were called Chargeit and were made by Jay Brown. I have had them for several years and I often use them on my Fall tablescapes.

This gold plated flatware was a gift from Hubby one Christmas. I had bought a cheap set of gold flatware several years ago. It was poor quality and the gold started flaking off. You get what you pay for! We found this set on major sale at Macys. It is made by Wallace and it is called Mikasa Duchess Gold. It is heavy and I love the elegant design on the handles. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying flatware here.

I found the acorn napkins on Etsy a few years ago. I was amazed at how well the gold color matched the acorn bowls and the plates. I bought the napkin rings on Poshmark online a few years ago. I don’t know who made them. To read about the what, where and how of napkin rings please click here.

I found the acorn place card holders on Ebay a few years ago. The design is really similar to the acorn bowls. To read about the What, Where and When of place card holders, please click here.

I can’t remember where the plastic amber goblet on the left came from, I have had them for a while. The brown glass goblet on the right was made by Lenox between 1966 and 1985. It was called Antique Brown. I bought them on Ebay several years ago. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying goblets for your tablescaping collection including the colors that I use most often here.

I was looking online for any kind of large acorn to use as a centerpiece with no luck. Then I found this acorn wicker basket storage container at Pottery Barn Kids. The bottom was white but I knew Hubby could paint it for me to match the plates. I may set it on the fireplace hearth during Fall in the future. I had some acorns that I had bought before on Etsy and I scattered them around for additional interest. The beige tablecloth came from Amazon a few years ago. I bought the log round charger that the acorn is sitting on several years ago. I think they came from Pier 1. The Gather sign in the background came from Grandin Road online several years ago. It was rustic gold but Hubby spray painted it brown for me. I am not a fan of rustic gold.

When I have a solid color tablecloth I am always looking for something besides the centerpiece to break up the expanse of solid color across the table. I found these squirrels on Amazon a few years ago and I knew they would be perfect for this tablescape.

These squirrels remind me of our neighborhood squirrel. We live in a suburban area with little open land but we have had a squirrel pass through our yard off and on for several years and I love to see him/her even though someone somewhere is feeding him/her peanuts and he/she persists in digging into my potted plants and burying them there! Sometimes when I look out my kitchen window one is just sitting on the wall looking at me.

This tablescape is perfect for Thanksgiving, a Fall or Winter soup, stew, or chili dinner.

For lots of other Tablescaping DIY tips and tricks click here: https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/tablescapehowto

I put a new tablescape on my blog every week, please check back!

This blog post was featured at My Wee Abode, https://myweeabode.com/ and My Cottage Market, https://thecottagemarket.com/ Please visit these blogs, you will enjoy them!

A Witchy Book of Spells Tablescape for Halloween

October 21, 2025 by Beth Wilson in Tablescapes

I posted this tablescape six years ago but I am posting it again for new readers. This Halloween tablescape was created after I stumbled upon the centerpiece at HomeGoods several years ago. (To see my 30 other different Halloween tablescapes, please click here and scroll down to Halloween.) Hubby and I were at HomeGoods so I could look for something else and I suddenly found this wonderful witch drinking coffee and reading while sitting on a mushroom library. I just adore the Enchanted Forest Library sign and the Book Return slot! Hubby took one look at my face and he knew the die was cast, she was coming home with us. After all, a retired librarian seldom finds such a treasure! Besides, I have had these book shaped plates for years. It was an omen!

The tablecloth for this table setting went through three different variations before I settled on this one. I first used the black and white buffalo check tablecloth I used on another tablescape. It just didn’t seem right to me so I changed it out for a white tablecloth with a black design on the sides. I didn’t like the way that one looked either. Then I went on Amazon a few years ago and searched Halloween tablecloths and I found this one. I couldn’t believe how it fit the theme perfectly! How I love Amazon’s overnight delivery! The tablecloth was made by Amscan and it is called Spooks and Spells.

I moved the place card holders to the center of the top plates because the white space needed to be broken up in some way.

I bought this book shaped plate in three different sizes several years ago online from Webstaurantstore.com. They still have them for sale but unfortunately you have to buy a case of the plates because the web site is a restaurant supply store. I bought them anyway because I felt that a librarian who does tablescaping should have these plates!

The second plate in the stack is a square dinner plate made by Fiesta and the color is Tangerine. I bought them online from Replacements.com several years ago. Most of my plates are round and I bought these square ones to go with the book plates.

I needed a basic square black charger and found these on Amazon a few years ago. They are melamine and they were made by American Atelier. It’s really good to have basic plates in neutral colors that you can use over and over if you are a tablescaper.

The black flatware is Ginkgo International LePrix. I have had this set for years but it is still for sale. Not sure where I bought it.

I bought these black goblets on Ebay and they were one of the first sets that I bought several years ago. They are by Lenox and they are called Midnight Mood black glass water goblets and they were made between 1974 and 1982. They are 7 1/4 inches tall. When I started buying goblets I didn’t pay attention to the height but now I like to buy goblets that are at least about 8 inches tall because my table is large and I think that they show better. I bought the amber goblets at Pier 1 before our store closed. I love how tall they are, they will replace some that I bought several years ago that are much shorter.

I love these small black houses that are place card holders. I bought them on Ebay several years ago. At that time they had them at Target, and Hearth and Hand with Magnolia.

I was looking for a black witch napkin ring a couple of years ago and I saw a witch design that I liked on Etsy (JandyArt14) and asked if they could make metal napkin rings with the same design. I really love the way they turned out and I have bought other designs from them as well. Because they are metal, they will last forever. I found the napkins on Etsy as well. I am really not a fan of gray usually but it works here because the napkin has orange, black, and beige as well that match the plates and tablecloth.

Hubby mumbles from time to time about all my tablescaping stuff but he really gets into looking for things that I need when I ask. He found some glass bottles and labels and put these bottles together for me.

I actually found this old bottle with a couple others at an estate sale. Hubby added the label.

I wanted a couple more accent pieces for this table so I found this piece on Amazon. The witch hat and books are a great match for the theme of the table.

I found this Juvale Black Obsidian Crystal Ball on Amazon. It is amazing that the tablecloth has crystal balls as well, (one partly covered here by the crystal ball stand).

This witch is labeled Heather Goldmine, Blue Sky, https://blueskyclayworks.com/ , copyright 2018 Blue Sky. The witch piece is sitting on a small black pottery upside down cauldron that I bought at Crate and Barrel a few years ago. I felt like she needed more height. I love Blue Sky designs and HomeGoods often has some for sale.

I get such a kick out of seeing the book return slot, it takes me back to my librarian days!

I just love her expression too!

Parts of this tablescape hold special meaning for me because my life’s work has been all about libraries, books, and research.

To see over 270 different tablescapes that I have created (including 30 Halloween Tablescapes) please click here. If you are on Facebook, join my Tablescape and Table Settings Ideas Facebook group for lots of tablescaping inspiration! Just click on the Facebook Search box at the top of the page and type in Tablescape and Table Settings Ideas or click here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2553689988183392

For lots of other Tablescaping DIY tips and tricks click here: https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/tablescapehowto

If you live in Southern California join our Facebook tablescaping group Southern California Tablescapers BTS Group, click here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/440356398581157 We had a gathering for tablescapers in January 2025 in the Los Angeles area and hope to have another one.

I put a new tablescape on my blog every week, please check back!

This blog post was featured at My Cottage Market, https://thecottagemarket.com/ Please visit this blog, you will enjoy it!