Burlap....it is my newest obsession but also quickly becoming my worst nightmare! A few of the blogs I follow have used burlap around the holidays to decorate and I have always LOVED the neutral, rustic look but I had NO idea it was so messy!! Ian, Alexa and I are hosting Thanksgiving this year (for 10) and I want to have a great looking table! Over the weekend I did some shopping for a tablecloth with plans to use burlap over top as a table runner. This I saw on the Today show Friday when Emily Schuman, author of one of my FAVORITE blogs Cupcakes and Cashmere, did a guest spot for DIY Thanksgiving. She had a gorgeous table setting which included burlap as the overlay with some festive flowers, and pumpkins. This was my inspiration for the perfect Thanksgiving table!
First, I bought some small apothecary type jars at Michael's for $1 each! I then headed to the 80% off stems and picked out a few arrangements. I wanted colors that were both bright and rich but also rustic as I knew I wanted to use the burlap. I found a few different arrangements that included some pumpkins, leaves and bright yellow sunflowers. Next I made my way over to Kohls to find a tablecloth. We will need 2 tables, which I measured before heading out, and had planned to pick up a deep red or a "dirty" ivory. I wasn't quite sure what I wanted but figured once I saw it I would know.
Well, Kohls was disappointing. I didn't like any of their tablecloths, so I called Ian and asked what he thought of just have the entire tablecloths of burlap. He said it sounded cool and would probably work well, so I called JoAnns to confirm they had burlap and then off I was (after purchasing some festive napkins). Once I got to JoAnns, I found the burlap and waited in line with my measurements. The woman asked if I was preparing for a "Harvest Festival" whatever that is and I told her I was planning to use them as tablecloths for Thanksgiving. She said she had never heard of that type of thing but it sounded cool....this made me nervous. What if it didn't work, what were we going to use to cover our 2 VERY mismatched tables?? I decided not to stress, paid the $14 for my tablecloths (SO CHEAP RIGHT) and headed home. I was so excited to show Ian all of my stuff and tell him the grand total for 2 tablecloths, centerpieces and napkins....$30ish!
I immediately put together my centerpieces and tried out the burlap on the first smaller table. It looked AWESOME, rustic, and festive...just the look I was going for! But the burlap was shedding EVERYWHERE! I had noticed this at JoAnns and asked the girl while checking out if she knew of what I could do to de-shed my burlap. She wasn't sure and I decided I would just look it up online. Once home I washed the burlap on delicate with a small amount of detergent and then hung them out to dry....it was a gorgeous day. They seem to be shedding less, and the smell is a little better. I may have to wash them one more time....I don't want my guests to be covered in small, tiny shreds of fabric.
I cant wait to share pictures of the finished project on Thanksgiving Day. And once I am done using the tablecloths, I am going to recycle my burlap and make this Christmas Tree skirt. This was as a DIY on another blog I read last year and I think this year I will have the time to tackle such a project. Stay tuned as I will be posting all about this project too! I am off to wake up my sleeping sick girl who has been napping for the last 3.5 hours! Its late (almost 6) so I hope she still sleeps well tonight.
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