Owl Eyes on this Halloween Tablescape

October 11, 2026 by Beth Wilson in Tablescapes

This Halloween tablecloth was designed by Johanna Parker and the design is called Vintage Halloween Patchwork. I bought it at Spoonflower online a few years ago because I loved all the Halloween symbols and the bright black, orange, and creme colors on it. Black owls are one of the designs on the tablecloth so I decided to use it for this Halloween tablescape. You can see the other thirty Halloween tablescapes that I have created as well as 330+ other themed tablescapes of mine on my blog here: https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/tablescapes .

One of the first things that I do when I have decided on a theme for a tablescape is to start looking for a salad plate that will help illustrate the theme of the table. I first check to see if I already have a plate that would work. If I don’t I look online. I couldn’t find a salad plate with black owls on it that I liked. When that happens I start looking for something to set on the salad plate to help illustrate the theme. I found these embroidered owl ornaments on Etsy but they were white. Hubby spray-painted them black for me. In the past I have set up a Halloween tree and I knew that I could use them on that tree too so I bought them. I used a small size Fiesta plate in the color called Linen instead of a larger salad plate on this tablescape. I bought these plates online at Everything Kitchens.

The dinner plate on this tablescape is another Fiesta plate in the color called Poppy. I bought these plates at Fiesta Factory Direct online a few years ago. I really like the strong bright orange color.

This black glass charger plate is really reflective so it is difficult to take a good photo of it. The charger is a Starburst pattern and it is called Charge It. It was made by Jay and I bought them several years ago on Amazon. They are heavy glass and work well with many different color schemes. A black charger with a simple design is a good starter charger plate if you are thinking about starting a tablescaping hobby.

I wanted another set of black flatware that was all black and different from my Ginkgo International LePrix set to use on a Halloween tablescape a few years ago and I found this set on sale at Macy’s online. It was made by Lenox and the pattern was called Portola. I love the simple design and shiny black color. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying flatware here.

I think these orange cotton napkins probably came from Pier 1 or HomeGoods several years ago. I love the bright orange color, it’s a perfect color for a Halloween tablescape. I found the owl napkin rings on Ebay but they were silver. Hubby spray-painted them black for me.

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

I found these wood owl place card holders on Amazon and Hubby painted them black for me. I set the owls on a dark bronze metal place card holder that I already had. To read about the What, Where and When of place card holders, please click here.

I like to use these black and clear goblets together because they complement each other. The goblet on the left with the black bowl and clear stem was made by Classic Touch and it is called V-Shaped Water Glass, Black With Clear Stem. I bought them at Houzz online sveral years ago. The clear fluted goblet with the black stem on the right is called Octime and the manufacturer was Luminarc Arcoroc. They were made in the 1980’s. I bought them on Ebay. 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.

Sometimes when I am browsing online looking for things to use on my tablescapes I find something that strikes a chord with me. That was the case with this black flocked owl that I found at Cotton & Crete online. It makes a real statement and I love the eyes. I knew that it would be the perfect centerpiece for this table and I think it will be out at Halloween time for many years to come.

I found these polyresin black owl taper candleholders at Cotton & Crete online as well. They are a great match for the black owl centerpiece. The orange candles came from Amazon.

Whooo’s ready for Halloween!

To see over 330 different tablescapes that I have created please click here. If you are on Facebook, join my Table Settings and Tablescape Ideas Facebook group (4,400+ members) 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

If you live in Southern California join our Facebook tablescaping group Southern California Tablescapers BTS Group (300 members) https://www.facebook.com/groups/440356398581157 . We had a gathering in January 2025 and we are having another one in November.

Don’t miss the Tablescape How-To tab at the top of my blog for DIY tips and tricks or click here: https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/tablescapehowto

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

A Skeleton Scholar Halloween Tablescape

October 04, 2026 by Beth Wilson in Tablescapes

I try to use my book shaped plates when I can and when I saw this skeleton figure who looked like he could be reading I immediately started thinking about a skeleton reading themed Halloween tablescape. Then I found this tablecloth design with a skeleton reading a book at Spoonflower online and I couldn’t believe my luck! It was black and orange too, Halloween colors! I keep telling myself no more tablecloths but… Halloween is one of my favorite times of year to create tablescapes. You can see the other thirty Halloween tablescapes that I have created over the years as well as 330+ other themed tablescapes of mine on my blog here: https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/tablescapes

I knew that I would never find a salad plate with a skeleton reading design on it so I started looking for something to set on one of my book shaped appetizer plates that could carry out that theme. I always begin with Amazon because we are Prime members and we can get free shipping. I can’t believe that I found a square leather bookmark with a skeleton reading a book design on it that was the right size, it was just meant to be! It is the perfect fit for this white book shaped appetizer plate. I bought this book shaped white plate in four different sizes several years ago online from Webstaurantstore.com. Unfortunately you had to buy a case of the plates because the web site is a restaurant supply store. I bought them anyway because I felt a librarian who does tablescaping should have these plates! (I was still working at the time.) They are labeled CAC China. If you google book shaped plate you might find some on another site. This white appetizer plate is on top of the plate stack.

The next plate on the plate stack is the same book shape as the appetizer plate only a bit larger. I like the way that the appetizer plate fits perfectly in the salad plate.

The next plate is the dinner plate, same book shape as the other plates only a bit larger. I like the bright white color of these plates.

I needed a basic square black charger and I found these on Amazon a few years ago. They are melamine and they are made by American Atelier. I think you can find them in other stores too. If you are a tablescaper, it’s a good idea to have basic plates in neutral colors that you can use over and over again. To read about what you should consider when you are buying charger plates please click here.

I wanted another set of black flatware that was all black and different from my Ginkgo International LePrix set to use on a Halloween tablescape and I found this set a few years ago on sale at Macy’s online. It was made by Lenox and the pattern was called Portola. I love the simple design and shiny black color. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying flatware here.

I think these orange cotton napkins probably came from Pier 1 or HomeGoods several years ago. I love that they are a true primary orange color. I found these other bookmarks with a skeleton reading design on them on Amazon too. They are a smaller size and they are actually magnets. They came in a set of eight with different designs on each one. I just taped them temporarily to a black napkin ring that I had.

To read about the what, where and how of napkin rings please click here.

I found these black resin skull place card holders on Amazon. They were made by Marspark and they came in a set of twelve for a good price. I set the skulls on a dark bronze metal place card holder that I already had. To read about the What, Where and When of place card holders, please click here.

I bought these orange glass goblets at Ross or T.J. Maxx many years ago. They were some of the first goblets I bought when I started tablescaping. I love using them this time of year, I often use black and orange goblets on my Halloween tablescapes. I had black goblets that were shorter than this goblet and black goblets that were much taller than this goblet but I wanted goblets this height that were all black. I was delighted to find these black plastic ones on Amazon. The advertisement said that they were disposable but I plan to keep them for a while until I can find some black glass ones that are the same height. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying goblets (including the colors that I use most often) for your tablescaping collection here.

I had to laugh when I first saw this skeleton figure at Pottery Barn online. They called it Thinking Skeleton but I immediately thought of putting it on a book as if the skeleton was reading so I bought it. Sometimes everything just seems to come together when I am working on gathering things for a themed tablescape and this was one of those times. I knew I wanted to set the skeleton on something with some substance and I remembered this black wooden stand that I bought at our Pier 1 store several years ago before it closed. The stand was a natural wood color but Hubby painted it white for me to use on one tablescape and then black for a few other tablescapes. I thought it would be funny if the skeleton was reading a book about skeleton behavior so thanks to Hubby and the power of AI this skeleton is reading two pages about skeleton behavior that we set on another open book.

These black skeleton taper candle holders also came from Pottery Barn. If you read my blog you saw them on a different Skeleton tablescape a few weeks ago. The candlesticks are handcrafted of aluminum with an Antique Bronze finish. I bought the orange candles on Amazon.

Time to find a book to read!

Don’t miss the Tablescape How-To tab at the top of my blog for DIY tips and tricks or click here: https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/tablescapehowto

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

A Halloween Coven-tion Tablescape

September 27, 2026 by Beth Wilson in Tablescapes

It wouldn’t be Halloween without a Witch themed tablescape and this is the sixth one that I have done in the past thirteen years. Halloween is one of my favorite times of year to create tablescapes. You can see the other thirty Halloween tablescapes that I have created as well as 330+ other themed tablescapes of mine on my blog here: https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/tablescapes I found this witches tablecloth on sale at Spoonflower online. I like the shadowy witch figures.

I found these Corona Halloween Flying Witches black dinner plates on Ebay. When you have a dinner plate with a design that covers the entire plate and you want the complete design to show you forgo the salad plate on the plate stack because it would block the dinner plate design.

This gray stoneware charger or dinner plate came from Pottery Barn a few years ago. I love this plate pattern and size, I also have it in a few other colors as well. The pattern is called Cambria. I think that this color was called Gray/Fog. It is the perfect size to be either a dinner plate or a charger plate and I love plates that have that kind of versatility.

This flatware is labeled SR Showroom Italy. It was made by Zaffiro and I think I bought it on sale online at Horchow several years ago. The color is called Violet and this pattern has been discontinued. I really liked the simple design so I bought it in six other colors as well over a few years. It is 18/10 stainless and a nice heavy set. The pieces are longer in length than normal flatware. I have mentioned this before. If you are buying flatware and it isn’t 18/10 stainless always check the fork tines to make sure they have been filed enough and aren’t too sharp. Cheaper flatware often has this problem. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying flatware here.

I found these purple polyester napkins on Amazon a few years ago and the wonlex black witches hat napkin ring came from Amazon. The band on the hat was blue but I used a purple marker to change the color of it.

To read about the what, where and how of napkin rings please click here.

When I saw these bark witch ornaments at Cracker Barrel online I knew that they would be perfect to use as place card holders on this Witch tablescape. I set them on a small square bronze place card holder that I have to make them a bit taller. To read about the What, Where and When of place card holders, please click here.

I wander through HomeGoods every couple of weeks and I often find something that I want for tablescaping. I love their cheap prices! I found these purple glass goblets there a few years ago. I love the traditional purple color. I had black goblets that were shorter than this black goblet and black goblets that were much taller than this goblet but I wanted goblets this height that were all black. I was delighted to find these black plastic ones on Amazon a few years ago. The advertisement said that they were disposable but I have kept them for a while until I can find some black glass goblets that I like that are the same height. 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 the most often) here.

Sometimes I see something online and I just know that I have to have it. When I saw these tall Witch Taper Candle Holders at Pottery Barn online I knew I had the centerpiece for this year’s Witches tablescape. They have a sculpted bronze or powder-coated black finish and they are handcrafted from aluminum. They came in two designs, one with one candle holder and one with two candle holders. This tablescape has three witches with one candle holder and two witches with two candle holders. I knew that I wanted to add an accent color to this tablescape so I bought purple taper candles on Amazon to match the napkins and purple goblet. This is definitely a coven of witches!

This photo shows the witch with two candle holders.

I wanted black witch salt and pepper sets for this tablescape and I found these on Amazon. They came in a set of black and white so I bought a few sets to get two black salts and two black peppers.

This tablescape is definitely a coven of witches!

More Halloween tablescapes are coming!

Don’t miss the Tablescape How-To tab at the top of my blog for DIY tips and tricks or 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 Coastal Bohemian, https://coastalbohemian.blogspot.com/ Please visit this blog, you will enjoy it!

A Bare-Bones Halloween Tablescape

September 20, 2026 by Beth Wilson in Tablescapes

One of the first Halloween tablescapes that I created ten years ago had a skull theme. Looking at photos of that tablescape and comparing them with this one really shows how my tablescaping style has evolved over the years. From time to time I browse some of my favorite shops online and when I saw these skeleton candle holders I knew that I had found one of the themes for one of this year’s Halloween tablescapes. I found this Antique Skeletons in Black and White tablecloth on sale on Spoonflower online. You can see 30 other Halloween themed tablescapes of mine as well as 300+ other themed tablescapes that I have done on my blog here: https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/tablescapes

I found these Rory Dobner Skeleton Appetizer Plates at Williams Sonoma online a few months ago. They came in a set of four with four different designs and I used two of them on this tablecape.

Because the tablecloth has a white background, I wanted this plate stack to be black, white, black, then white ending with these plates so I added another plate to the plate stack.

I bought these black melamine salad plates online at Home Depot three years ago to use on Halloween tablescapes. They were part of their Home Decorator Collection and they were made by Trenblay. An unusual plate design that is appearing more often now. I have noticed that plate designers are changing the shape of the edges of plates more and more often now.

This is one of my basic white dinner plates and I use it when I need a simple white plate. These dinner plates were made by Ralph Lauren and I found them at HomeGoods several years ago when I first started tablescaping. The back is labeled Ralph Lauren Club Porcelain. You definitely need a simple white dinner plate for your tablescaping collection if you plan to start this hobby. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying dinner plates here.

These black glass Starburst chargers are called Charge It and they were made by Jay. I bought them several years ago on Amazon. They are heavy glass and they work well with many different color schemes.

This flatware was made by D & D Inox in Italy and the pattern was called Roma. I bought them at Neiman Marcus or Bloomingdales during a major sale several years ago. I really like the marbleized design on the handles. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying flatware here.

I found these burgundy polyester napkins on Amazon a few years ago. I knew that I wanted to add an accent color to this black and white tablescape and I decided to use burgundy as an accent color. These black skull ceramic napkin rings came from DII and I bought them on Amazon five years ago. They were silver but I finally decided to have Hubby paint them black for me because I knew that I would use them more often if they were black.

To read about the what, where and how of napkin rings please click here.

While I was creating this tablescape this week I suddenly realized that I wanted to use black skulls as place card holders and I didn’t have any. I immediately checked Amazon and lucky for me I found these black resin skull place card holders. They were made by Marspark and they came in a set of 12 for a good price. How I love the fact that Amazon can ship some items in one day, and because we are Prime members, shipping is free! I often need the speed! I set the skulls on a dark bronze metal place card holder that I already had.

To read about the What, Where and When of place card holders, please click here.

I bought these tall black glass goblets on sale at Z Gallerie many years ago when I first started tablescaping. They are the tallest goblets I have in my goblet collection. I sometimes use them on Halloween tablescapes and on New Years Day tablescapes. Because the candlesticks with candles on this table are so tall I knew that I could use these tall goblets. 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 bought two of these wonderful black skull candles at Z Gallerie many years ago. It features a solid matte black finish with intricate patterns in its deep recessed areas. The cranium, eye sockets, and jawline are covered in highly detailed, embossed mandala and filigree patterns. These include stylized hearts, floral geometric motifs, and lace-like engravings inspired by classic Day of the Dead (Calavera) artwork. I really love this unique design.

These two tall black skeleton candlesticks are so tall that with the candles added it is difficult to take a good photo of it all. I found them at Pottery Barn online and I probably bought the candles on Amazon. The candlesticks are handcrafted of aluminum with an Antique Bronze finish.

I really like the bright crisp black and white on this table with the deed red accents.

More Halloween tablescapes are coming!

To see over 300 different tablescapes that I have created please click here. If you are on Facebook, join my Table Settings and Tablescape Ideas Facebook group (4,400+ members) 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

Don’t miss the Tablescape How-To tab at the top of my blog for DIY tips and tricks or 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 Life and Linda, https://www.lifeandlinda.com/ ,My Thrift Store Addiction, https://mythriftstoreaddiction.blogspot.com/ Miz Helen’s Country Cottage, https://www.mizhelenscountrycottage.com/ Coastal Bohemian, https://coastalbohemian.blogspot.com/ and Modern on Monticello, https://modernonmonticello.com/ Please visit these blogs, you will enjoy them!