Man! It's great, Betty. I love how the whole family got involved. I'm going to have to make a boa wreath. What a great idea. Love the skull place card holders. :-)
Thanks for sharing these.

Betty, this is a great tablescape! There are so many elements I like, including the Mini-Cooper, since you told us the story behind it.

The table is wonderful, and tell Terry he did an outstanding job with the eyeball, and everything from the mask to doing the doorway!

I like your name cards done in the purple, and the cute witch hat tea light holder.

Please pass the baked sweet potatoes and biscuits. yum, yum

Lee

Oh, and that is quite a skeleton hanging there -- I was too busy looking at that to notice the raindrops.

Have a wonderful day.

Ya'll did a great job on the table, the capes on the chairs are really cute. Those plates are adorable. I like the black and white for Halloween, and yes DS is a sweetie. What a scary skeleton pic, the rain fits it. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one not moving on to Christmas just yet. I don't plan to post my Thanksgiving pics till after, I don't have the time to do settings just for pics, but I sure do enjoy looking at everyone's here.
Syble

Betty, isn't it neat how our kids or grandkids are getting involved & sharing our decorating addiction?

Your son had great ideas, love his mask off on the side, the capes on the chairs, the eyeball on the pumpkin, great Halloween table.

Oh and the wreath, that came out beautiful, love it!

Booooo! What a splendid table! I really like the purple/black theme, this is unusual but it makes it for sure!
Dom.

Betty...what fun decorations and even more fun having helpers too! I can see all the thoughts that went into each detail. Great idea with the gaze curtain.
Tell DS that that 'Eye' thingy...was Disgusting and creepy looking!! I'm afraid I don't do 'creepy' very well. So tell him it worked on me...lol My DGson likes to do stuff like that too, and gets a kick out of giving me the creeps.
You found some really cute things. I love your tablecloth and plates. Also, the little hat votive and the scull place cards..
Tell your sweetie DS...I found the 'mini cooper' after several glances..it was like finding 'Waldo'..my eyes are not what they used to be..actually never were...hehehe
That skeleton hanging out there in the rain, was a 'spooky' touch too...

Loved looking at everything and glad you got to share it with us.

jane

Betty,

I have a couple of minutes while grabbing lunch, and wanted to look at this again. It really is great. Your DS is a handy guy to have around. I meant to tell you earlier how much I like the purple and black. I am not an orange person, so this setting holds special appeal for me.

Is that a beaded placemat I see peeking out in the second picture? It sure is pretty.

Oh, and the boa wreath turned out great! Mind telling me where you found the boas? I looked a couple of weeks ago, but the ones I saw weren't very pretty, so I skipped on them.

This is such a great table -- what did DH's Aunt B think about it?

Betty, your table is just BOO-tilful! Nice your son helped with it, I'm sure it was fun for him too. Love the colors, and the boa wreath, I haven't been able to find any at a price I'll pay but I'll keep looking - they're great for so many seasons in different colors. Love the black cat plates (are they painted on?) and the skull and crossbones napkins. I didn't notice the mini-Cooper and had to look for it! Your DS did really well, please tell him! And give yourself a nice pat on the back as well, it's a really great tablescape.

Wow! Betty, like the others, I've had to go back and look at the pictures several times to take it all in! You did GOOD! Those plates are great, and what a fun runner you used. Love how you elevated the Jack o lantern and all those skulls really add to the look. Loved the pic of the skeleton hanging in the rain! And the black roses on the gauze hanging in the doorway! You and your helpers did it up so well. Congrats to all of you--sounds like it was allot of fun too. ;o)

Luvs

What fun! I love the pop of purple in there..
I am sure the kids loved it..it is a wonderful table, Betty..
Thanks for sharing it with us!

What's not to like with a PURPLE tablesetting!! LOL
But seriously Betty, those are some really wonderful decorations you have and what a super job of putting the whole look together. Its great you have family who enjoys helping and gets into these things. Makes it more special.
Like the others, I've looked several times already.
That rainy day skeleton hanging in the tree is just perfect. Love that. The heat here in Oct. would kill him, so I'd hang one too if I found one to use. LOL.

What a Treat...and mini Cooper Trick...this was to see.
hugs, Karen

OA, Thanks. It was such a simple thing to make. When I saw it I said to myself, "Even I could do this!" DS had it whipped out in a minute. I will be making more for other occasions since I found how easy it is.

Lee, Thanks for the compliments. This was one of my favorites. I love it when my "kids" (DS & Gkids) come in and their faces light up and they start noticing stuff and saying, "Hey! Cool! Check this out! Mom (Nanny), where did you get that?"
Life is hard and will be even harder for their generation. I love to make them smile and give them fun memories of their Mom (Nanny). It really makes it special when DS gets interested and creates something and then says, "Make sure you tell them that I did this!" Hopefully, he will carry the tradition on with his kids and Gkids.

I had bought a lot of Halloween related things after Halloween last year and was trying to find places to display it all and stuck that little string of skeletons up in the den in front of the patio door. I LOVE the rain and when I saw the raindrops on the outside of the door, I had to share. 'Singing in the Rain' must have been written for me!

Yes, that is a beaded placemat you see! I usually just buy the stuff for 4 placesettings. If the Gkids are here, DH and I aren't able to sit at their table. I had picked up the orange and black plates, so I decided to try to throw a couple of placesettings at the ends for us so we could all sit together. I think it turned out ok.

Complete setting

Next layer

I had found DD a set of 4 of these purple plates and she had told me to keep them at my house, so I use them when I need them. :o) The B/W plates are Dollar Tree plates

The beaded placemats

Wish I had found more than 2 of these. They look really nice IRL

I found 2 of the boas at the Dollar Tree and one at Big Lots. I need to get one more purple and 2 more black to make it really nice and full all over next year.

Aunt B seems to enjoy my tablescapes. She says several times a day, "I've never seen anyone with as many dishes as you have!" She had quite a few dishes and bought several more sets to pass down to our kids since we've been married. She has no children and DH has been the son she never had and our Kids have been her Gkids. She has given me many of her dishes and lots of her accent pieces.

Sadly, her dementia has gotten much worse in the 5 months she has been with us. When both DH and I got hit with the swine flu at the same time and were both in bed unable to care for her, the DR found her a bed in an assisted living home here in town. She wasn't happy at first, but they do a lot of activities and she has really blossomed being with others her age and loves it now. We can still take her out for family times, so it is the best of both worlds in an impossible situation. It has been a heart rending time for us. I am so thankful that we could at least give her that window of time and spoil her a while.

I did a tea tablesetting last year using the china she gave me. DS has always loved the tea parties, so he will get the set with the tea pot. It is fun to see a big 6'2" man/boy who works on cars and deer hunts loving a tea party with all of the 'frills'. He is the Baby and we married when he was still in diapers, so you know I ruined him.

Thanks Syble, I am always behind everyone else here! I usually start early, but finish late. Then I have to find time for taking the pictures and getting them to Flickr and writing the post. As you can see, I am long winded, so it takes forever to post!!

I tried to do 2 fall settings in 2 days so I could share all of my new buys and I forgot stuff (DS didn't even have time to add the mini-cooper... DRATS!) and my feet are killing me. That is my last time to try that.

BTW.. I loved your kitchen pics so much that I put them in my favorites so I can look at them when I need a 'Pick Me Up'. What a Happy place!

Yacht, It makes me the happiest when DS and Gkids are 'up under my feet' laughing and doing dumb but cute stuff to make me laugh. Life is going faster and faster as I age and I treasure each moment with them. I hope they look back at this time with me and consider it special.

Your's are really getting into it too, aren't they? I really loved all of their Jack-o-Lanterns and the decorating they did that you shared with us. They 'Caught the Bug' from you. Good Job!!

Hi Dominique! So good to hear from you. I miss you when you're not here.
My DD loves purple, so it was fun when I found the purple accent pieces and it came together.

Jane, DS laughed when he read about your 'Waldo' comment! Thanks for the compliments. I had a marathon shopping day after Halloween last year and only added a few items that I found this year. It was hard to wait a whole year before I could share it with the kids. I was so excited!!

I can do creepy anytime. But I don't do spiders. The napkin rings were a set in a box and I almost didn't buy it because of the 1 spider. I HATE SPIDERS!!! I finally trained myself to not kill them outside because they are our friends in the garden, eating the bad bugs. But, I still jump and scream when I meet one while working in the yard!

I'm glad you liked the 'wet skeleton' picture. The 'raindrops' shot is my favorite of all! He is on the inside and the raindrops are outside, but it was sooo great with the cloudy sky in the background.

Thanks Luckygal, He is such a fun son. I tell him all of the time that he can never leave home. He is our entertainment! He has such a funny personality and is ALWAYS making us laugh.
The black cats on the plates are plastic cutouts that came in a pack with some ghost cutouts. The plates just have the spiderwabs with the cartoonish spiders. I just laid the cat cutouts in the plates to 'spook it up' a bit until we sat down to eat.

Thanks Luvs, I am trying to follow Judith's instructions about the layers and details. It really helps. If I don't have any height, it doesn't feel right, so I doctor it!
I REALLY miss her. Such talent she has. I'm happy that she has started dropping back in.

Thanks Kathleen, Even though all of the kids' settings were plastic, it is one of my favorite because they enjoyed it so much.

Karen, I knew you would like this! My DD loves purple, too.
I don't usually 'do the house', but I had found such great buys and DS really got into it, so I stood back and enjoyed watching him do the work!

Sorry this is so long, but y'all know that once I get started I can't shut up!

Betty

I love it when people ramble on - oops, I mean I love it when people write in the James Joyce Stream-of-Consciousness Mode. :-)

Betty, you made me feel like I sort of know you a lot better now. So interesting to hear about how you acquired some of your dishes and how you are coping with the care of someone you obviously love so much.

I love these two dishes, separately and combined. Can you tell us more about them? (You may have at some earlier time, but I missed it if you did.)

Betty,
I loved looking at all your pictures and wish I had more time to comment. Work is calling so I want you to know it's all great and TFS. I will get back and try to find time to comment on everything else I've missed with my computer being down. If I don't post on everything know that I looked and loved it all. I've missed not being able to come here when I have time and laugh at all of your comments.

Punk

I'm back (again). Betty, I can't believe I missed seeing so much on your table! I love the orange and black plates. They are really good looking. But, oh my, those purple glass plates are wonderful. They are so very pretty.

You are making such happy memories for your kids and grandkids. They will always remember the fun times, and that is a priceless gift.

I'm sorry to hear about Aunt B's dementia getting worse. I know that is hard on you all. *hug* I'm glad she is happy there now, and enjoys the companionship of the older crowd. I'm sure having her live with you enriched her life more than you can imagine.

I don't like spiders, either. Especially after one bit me this summer on my face. I have a scar and a depression there, but nothing like it could have been. Maybe it will draw people's attention away from all my wrinkles! They will be so busy trying to determine what it is, they won't see all the canyons on my face. lol

My real ewwww thing though is mice. There are not enough words to express how much I dislike them. Before we moved from the farm into this house in town I about drove everyone crazy. I *would not* let one thing come in here until I had checked under the sinks, around any pipes coming in, etc. Foam in a can was my weapon of choice. There was one place DH cut a board for, and one place my son patched for me. We back up to a field, and being from the country, I know what that means. So far, so good. Guess I should have been more concerned about the spiders. (-;

Have a good day, everyone.

Lee

OA, So that's what it's called!! I just thought I had a big mouth! While driving down the road, if I saw a pretty flower garden I would stop and go knock on their door and tell them how pretty I thought their garden was. DH would laugh and tell me one day he was going to get a phone call to come get me out of jail!! I said Nahh, people love for you to compliment their hard work and the beauty they created. One time nobody was home so I wrote a little note and signed my name. She looked us up in the phone book and called. Told me to come back and bring my truck. We left her house with shrubs bigger than we were! That truck was LOADED with flowers! I got expensive irises just by stopping to tell the gentleman how much I admired his beautiful irises. I got large bright orange (sounds ugly but it was AWESOME) poppies the same way.

I didn't stop to get flowers, but to let them know I admired the beauty. I was being a blessing and got blessed. How cool is that!

OK, I looked at the box the purple plates came in. They came from Ross and were reduced to $4.99 for 4. The label on the front says CRISTAL D'ARQUES Paris. They are lead crystal. I turned it over and it has an email address www.cristaldarquesparis.com

I bought them for my DD because she loves purple. She told me to just keep them here because she doesn't have anywhere safe to keep them. (I need to find her a china cabinet.)
This way I get to use them!

The B/W plates came from the Dollar Tree. The last time I was in a Dollar Tree (maybe 2 weeks ago) they still had some.

Punk, I'm glad we brighten your day. If I was going to be away from home for any length of time, I believe I would have to buy a lap top so I could keep in touch with my friends. I love this place.

Lee, You silly Girl! They aren't wrinkles. They are "Life Maps". (Don't ask me what that means, 'cause I just made it up. It sounds interesting and we are interesting, so there.)

OUCH!! A spider bite! You make me shiver. Was it a brown recluse? I HATE SPIDERS! You Poor Baby! Here's a hug to make you feel better. (((HUG)))

I don't care for mice either. When DH got hurt last June and we were in the hospital for 44 days the mice had a grand old time. I think they heard it through the grapevine and moved right in as soon as I left going to the ER. They got in a box of tissues in the living room and made a nice little home for themselves in my sofa. We had to set traps 'till we got them all.

Betty

Betty, I'm looking at your black/white plates closely. They look a bit like the expensive brown/white ones Jaybird posted this morning that had leaves and ACORNS on them! Are there acorns on your plates? If so, I'll be heading to the Dollar store today! LOL

Luvs

Luvs, I got my trusty magnifying glass and checked the plate closely. It appears to have a pear, a couple of either cherries or grapes, and a few smaller berries.

No acorns. Sorry Sweetie.

Betty

They still look really nice anyway, Betty, thanks for checking closer for me. ;o) Luvs