Fall Table Setting on a Budget

They say you eat with your eyes as much as with your stomach.  (Don't know who "they" really are, but they say that.)  And to me that not only means the look of the food, but also about the table or surroundings that you are eating in.

I like to have my table set and ready to go for any occasion, BUT I don't want to spend a lot of money doing it.

These pictures are of my current Fall table setting.  Everything was purchased from a dollar store, discount store, or grocery store, with the exception of my dishes and glassware.  It's just an example of what you can do on a budget, or by using things you already have on hand that really make an impression.

I've seen many different Fall table settings, but most of them are so elaborate and BIG, that there's no room left for the diners or the food.

What I used:

• existing white china plates
• existing cheese plates that have some fall colours in them
• plain white napkins that I already had
• square mirrored placemats 
• silk Fall leaves from the dollar store
• 3 ceramic pumpkins that I got from Winners
• a few gourds & mini pumpkins from the grocery store
• candles in glass mason jars (just to have a more "homey" look
• mini grapevine wreaths from the dollar store
• glass writing markers available at the Wine Shop
• fake green apples (I already had, but you can get from Winners or the dollar store)
• brown placemats from the dollar store
• placecards made with cardstock, and a template I found on line

What I did for the table centre:

1) I took the 4 glass placemats and put them together in the centre of my table to be a base
2) Placed the ceramic pumpkins around, then the jars.
3) I then scattered the leaves around, then placed the apples, gourds, and mini pumpkins.

What I did for the place settings:

1) Put placemats at each place
2) Placed dinner plate on top,
4) Placed small cheese plates on top.
5) Glued a few leaves to the mini grapevine wreaths to create napkin rings
6) Folded and fanned the napkins in the rings.
7) Printed, cut, and folded the placecards
8) Took glass writing markers and wrote a thanksgiving message on each wine glass.
9) Placed mini pumpkin at each place.
10) Took leaves that were stuck 2 together and place on the stem of the wine glass.