How often do you lust after the beautiful tablescapes, especially for the holidays, in magazines?  And then you read the find italicized print that tells you where they bought everything and the suggested price tag on it, and you realize that this beautiful tablescape costs over $100.

If you are like me, your desire to re-create that tablescape is quickly nipped in the bud  and you go into your special occasion or holiday with the same old table setting. I am going to give you a few thrifty tips on creating a tablescape for any holiday or special occasion, show you my Valentine’s Day  tablescape, give you some easy craft ideas.

Thrifty Guide to Creating a Tablescape

• Pick a color scheme of just a couple colors Gather items from that color scheme and assemble them. You might be surprised at what you find to add to you table decorations from items you already own. Items of the same color palette will look coordinating and interesting even if they are not part of a set.
• Use a tablecloth, preferably from your color scheme. Nothing quickly changes how your table look and instantly dresses it up and makes it feel special like a tablecloth.  Thrift stores and estate sales can be great places to find inexpensive table linens.If you don’t have a table cloth, check your fabric stash or linen closet to see if you have something that can be used as a tablecloth.
• Add visual interest by creating a table runner. You don’t need to buy a fabric runner, but think about other items that can be used or made to run the length or width of your table. In my picture I used a paper heart garland I made from my kids art supplies and some Christmas tree beads, which leads me to my next tip…..
• Check out your other holiday decorations for items that fit your color scheme. If you are looking for red items for Valentine’s Day, you might find them in your Christmas Decorations or 4th of July decorations.
• Bring the outdoors in. I didn’t do it in this tablescape but for a winter tablescape you might consider snipping a few branches from an evergreen tree or bush or in warmer months you could float some flowers in clear bowls.

If you are looking to re-create my Valentine’s tablescape, just consider the tips above and maybe try making a few crafts like I did. I already owned the tablecloth, napkins, dishes, silverware, stemware, and candles. I did find the floating candles among my other candles to use. I think we were given them as part of wedding gift and they had been long forgotten until I went searching for items to add to my tablescape. What we did create and you could too is:

• Paper Heart Garland Table Runner
• Decoupage Tealight Candle Holder
• Store Bought Paper Doilies (bought last year for a Valentine Craft project, but they are from the Dollar Store)
• Large Hershey Kisses or Heart Shaped Rice Krispie Treats (make treats according to package and press into a heart mold or a funnel to make the Large Hershey Kiss shape. You can add some red food coloring to the marshmallows if you want them to be pink.
• Pom Pom Flowers (just hot glue a twig to a simple pom pom and tie on a ribbon.)
• Custom napkin rings – these were made by my mom using her Silhouette machine to make the decals and putting them on PVC pipe that were cut to matching rings.
• Make some other fun Valentine Treats like these Red Whoopie Pies or Raspberry Stuffed with White Chocolate Chips.

What are some thrifty ways you dress up your dinner table? Please share your ideas with us!