Decorations Fall 2019
You’re having a party, time to decorate.
Christmas Tree Shops and & That Stores
While just about every retail store has wreaths, scarecrows and things pumpkin/Fall, Christmas Tree Shops and & That stores have about the largest selection we’ve found, and at prices that are generally considerably lower than most others. And the quality is comparable or superior. What you’ll see here is a snapshot of what they sell in the stores. They no longer sell online. Rather, they are using the website to provide product previews, trends, and ideas. They have stores in 20 states, and are still growing, so hopefully there’s one near you, or will be soon. We like them so much we’re keeping them in our Where To Find It sections as long as we can obtain enough information to be useful here.
The top row displays 3 of the 50 wreaths and garlands shown on the website. They are representative of the styles, but you may want to take a further look for the variety of color and size selections. We’re showing 22” wreaths with prices between $16.99 and $24.99. The scarecrows in the second row photograph like they’re the usual 25” to 30” kind, but the standing girl scarecrow on the left is 5 feet, and priced at $49.99 (also available as standing boy scarecrow). The sitting scarecrow is a boy, is 33 inches and is priced at $6.99. Their basic scarecrows range in size from 10” to 33” and $0.69 (13” on a stick) to $12.99, excluding the 5 foot versions, of which there are several, all priced at $49.99.
The top row features two styles of their decorative pumpkins. On the left is an 11” foam pumpkin, also available in 5.5” ($8.99 and $2.49 respectively). They have additional styles ad colors with prices topping out at about $13. The pumpkin on the right is painted and etched, priced at $14.99. They have an extensive collection of painted or etched pumpkins, none priced over $14.99. Additionally they have ceramic pumpkins and pumpkin lanterns, glass pumpkins and pumpkin décor items. The throw pillows in the bottom row are $7.99 each, while embellished (beaded) are $19.99. They have a pretty good selection in this category, and the prices are amazing.
These stores have a pretty good selection of cloth place mats most priced at $11.96 for sets of 4. They also have table cloths and a few 72” x 13” polyester table runners ($9.99). Most of the table cloths are plaid, but color combinations and fabrics vary. They come in most of the usual sizes and prices range from $7.99 to $12.99.
To get an idea of what’s in the stores, see CTS DÉCOR. Also check out the current flyer (changes about every 2 weeks) on the website. Or better yet, visit the stores in person.
Pier 1
Pier 1 has a pretty good selection of fall throw pillows. The top row features pumpkins, the middle row trucks with pumpkins and the bottom row animals: dogs, dogs and cats, and on the right, an adorable kitten. Find these and more fall throw pillows in Pier1 stores and online at P1 PILLOWS.
Napkins and napkin rings are highlighted in the first row. The napkins on the left are sold in sets of 4, and those on the right in sets of 6. The pumpkin napkin rings in the middle are made of brass. All three table runners in the second row are beaded (glass and acrylic beads), 35” x 13” and made of polyester. The pumpkin table runners in the bottom two rows are all 72” long and widths are 13” except for the bottom left runner that is 16” wide. Fabrics vary. See these tableware items in Pier 1 stores and online at P1 TABLE.
Pottery Barn
The tablecloth on the left above is 70” x 108” The table runner on the right is 108” x 18”. Both are linen/cotton and are part of Pottery Barn’s Harvest Pumpkin Collection. This this table linen in Pottery Barn stores or online at PB DÉCOR.
Oriental Trading Company
Oriental Trading Company has an amazing array of party supplies. They started out using catalogs to sell to teachers, expanded to corporate sales and now sell to everyone online. They specialize in disposable party supplies, but in recent years have added items that are intended to be kept. Their pricing is typically somewhere between competitive and quite low, although sometimes the prices are so low because they are selling items by the dozen (we’ll note the number of units for the price for each item if there is more than one pictured).
Nothing says fall more than pumpkins. This year Oriental Trading Company introduced their Gilded Harvest Collection, which is featured in the pictures above. The white glazed ceramic pumpkin in the top row on the left is 8” x 10”. The Mercury pumpkins on the right 10” x 8” and 8” x 20” and are sold as a set. Lovely arrangements of autumn flora are featured on the left and right of the bottom row. The garland on the left is 6’ long. The centerpiece on the right if 6.5” x 12” and includes a lantern and a flameless pillar candle (3 AAA batteries are required, but not included). The embellished pumpkin table runner in the center is 74” x 19”. These lovely items would make even a beautiful home more beguiling. Find this collection online at OTC GILDED.
We just love the “tumbling” scarecrows in the top row above. They’re made of resin and hand painted. The little scarecrows are about 4” to 5” tall, and sold in sets of 3. They work alone as pictured, or scattered around with other seasonal decor, and are sure to make family and guests smile. Find these adorable little guys online at OTC DÉCOR.
Decorating with Lights
In this section we feature traditional and new ways that lighting can reinforce the party theme, enhance the party’s ambience, or set the whole tone of your party, making it more romantic or fun . Candles are perennial favorites because colors can change with the seasons, or lovely neutral colors work year round, and they can be displayed in a variety of interesting ways. Candle holders can be decorations in their own right. Party lights have also been popular. Now technology has brought us micro string lights, “flameless” candles, floating tea candles and submersible lighting at prices that are affordable. And with minimal effort, you can incorporate lighting into your party decorations.
Most companies selling the new lighting forms are focusing their photography on the lights themselves, rather than showing how they can be used. See our DECORATING WITH LIGHTS board on Pinterest® for some examples of how string lights and the various new kinds of “candles” can be used alone and in combination with traditional decorative lighting.
Create your own amazing new party lighting.
Crafted Candles
Located in the St. Louis metropolitan area, Crafted Candles has a huge assortment of candles, from regular tapers to sophisticated pillars and floating candles, with a full selection of sizes and colors. They have an amazing variety of seasonal and holiday candles in various formats too.
The candles in the row above are not inexpensive, but they are good quality. The pillar candles on the top left are designed to glow from the inside as they burn. They are sold individually. The pumpkin candles in the center are 3” x 4” and also sold individually. The Harvest Corn candles on the left are 9” and sold by the pair; each burns about 10 hours.
These are floating candles. The candle on the left is shaped and colored like a maple leaf (also available in gold). It’s about 3.25” wide and burns for about 7 hours. In the middle is a set of various fall leaves, which burn for about 5 hours. On the right is an oak shaped and colored leaf candle. It’s about 4” x 3” and burns for about 7 hours.
The candles in this row are also floating candles, and the least expensive.. Candles in the set of three fall leaves are about 3” and each burns for about 4 hours. The pumpkin candles on the right are sold individually and come in three sizes (2”, to 3.5” and burn from 4 to 12 hours, based on their sizes.
Candles, including floating candles, are a great way to establish a mood for your party. Or they can just be used to reinforce the fall theme. For multiple floating candles, you need a bowl large enough to allow them to move around a bit. However, martini glasses make a great showcase for individual floating candles. Crafted Candles provides good tips on how to use candles safely and maximizing the use of their candles. For these or more seasonal candles, see Crafted Candles’ website at CR CANDLES.
Pier 1
Pier 1 has leaf and pumpkin string lights this fall. The golden mercury lights on the top left have 18 LEDs and the maple leaves on the right have 20 LEDs. The mercury pumpkin lights on the bottom left have 15 LEDs and the other pumpkin lights on the right have 10 LEDs. All these string light strings are 10’ long except the bottom tight pumpkin lights that are 5’ long. All sets have timers, continuous lighting and are for indoor or covered outdoor use. They are all battery powered (batteries not included) and all require 3 AA batteries except the string on the bottom right that only requires 2 AA batteries. These strings are wonderful for brightening up corners and highlighting tables and cabinets, Find them in Pier 1 stores or online at P1 LIGHTS.
ArteeVita
This is the Etsy .com store for Karen Sabatello’s Arte & Vita (Art & Life) business. Karen is a self taught artist who has been enthralled by decorative painting since childhood. She says that giving something old new life gives them even more character. She’s been painting for over 25 years, focusing on topics that reflect her interests and passions. Her hand painted wine glasses are among the most beautiful we have seen. She is also happy to personalize her art.
Karen uses semi-transparent paint to obtain the gorgeous stained glass look of the Fall Leaves candle holders and bottle above. The hurricane candle holder on the left is 8” tall and can also be used as a centerpiece. The bubble ball candle holder in the middle is also 8” tall. The bottle on the right comes with string lights inside. It’s a 1.5 liter bottle, but is also available in 750 ml size. Any of these would take even a lovely room to gorgeous. Karen also paints this pattern on wine glasses (see DRINKWARE section). Find this beautiful artwork online at AV DÉCOR.
Oriental Trading Company
The pumpkin votive candle holder on the left is 2.5” high and is sold by the dozen, priced at $9.95 ($0.83 each). The glitter gold pumpkin tea light holders in the middle have diameters of 2.5”, 3.75” and 1.75” and are sold in sets of 3. The ceramic pumpkin votive or tea light holders on the right are 3.5” x 2.5” x 3.5” high and sold by the dozen. They can be used “as is” or painted.
100 Candles
100 Candles sells only online. This enables them to have a huge inventory covering most every type of candle imaginable. They are located in Bell Gardens, CA (Los Angeles area). If you want to know just how much they love the candle business, take a look at their Facebook page or the Gallery on their own site.
The top picture shows yellow and orange 2” floating candles with seasonal flowers for added interest. Unlike many 2” floating candles that burn about 2-3 hours, these burn for up to 6 hours. Also unlike most other 2“ floating candles, they are available in any number up to 12, and then in multiples at good discounts; most other sources sell 12 minimum. The second row features pansy floating candles, their mini size (2.25” diameter) that burn for 3 hours on the left and “regular” size (3.25” diameter) that burn for 5 hours. Both are sold in sets of 3. The bottom row shows fall colored floating LED candles. These are 1.38” diameter and “burn” for up to 50 hours. Batteries are replaceable, and at only $1.29 for flickering lights and $1.19 for non-flickering lights, these are a great bargain. You can find the wax floating candles online at 100C FWAX and the battery operated floating candles at 100C FBAT.
100 Candles Gallery includes beautiful pictures of some of the many ways their candles can be used. We’re including a few below because not only is some of the lighting methods are pretty new, the combinations will truly spur your imagination.
The top view on the left is a centerpiece using LED battery operated tea candles to cast an orange glow over the table. On the right floating ivory candles are surrounded by fake pearls, which also float. The bottom row features hand dipped wax luminaries that take the color of the LED battery tea ,votive or submersible candles placed inside. On the left there is a single color in each luminary, and on the right colors are layered by using risers to support and separate the colored tea lights. And all in fall colors. Here’s how that works.
The top row shows an actual luminary base on the left. You add an amber battery operated votive candle (in the middle) to get the look that’s pictured in the online catalog (picture on the right). The brighter the color you want, the brighter the lights need to be. The bottom row pictures the brightest lights available, submersible LED battery operated lights. Still sticking to fall colors, the red light has 1 LED, the orange and purple lights have 3 LEDs and the yellow light has 5 LEDs (all batteries come in all those sizes). These are good for tall luminaries with only 1 light source, or very vivid colors in layered luminaries.
This is what happens when you use a single color (white) on the left and what “candy corn” lights look like on the right (using orange and white lights). Both are quite stunning. The luminary bases come in round or square shapes and a multitude of sizes. They are not inexpensive, but unlike colored candles, you can change the colors a you wish with the very inexpensive LED candles. That makes this approach to lighting beautiful and smart.
The luminaries are in the Battery Operated Candles section in the catalog (and identified in their product listings as Battery Operated Candles), along with battery operated tea lights , votives and submersible lights (5 light only, the rest are in their own category). You can choose between flickering and not flickering tea and votive lights, but the submersible lights do not flicker. Note again that the luminaries are made of wax, so DO NOT use a candle with real flames if you want to get more than 1 use out of the luminary. You can see all these elements at 100C BOC. Information on what size light will fit is shown on the individual luminary product pages. Information on the risers and base can be found at 100C RISERS. More detailed “how to” information and examples of types of lights you might use can be found with the gallery pictures that feature multi-colored luminaries (and good ideas for other seasons too) at 100C GALLERY. If you still have questions after reading the material provided, the email, phone numbers and business hours are in the Contact Us section.
For those who just want easy fall lighting beauty, the vinyl luminaries above are just the thing. They come in several sizes from 2.5” x 5” to 3” x 8” (shown above). There are three fall designs, from left to right: Fall Pin Oak, Aspen Leaves, Autumn Maple Leaves. These too use battery operated lights, with the maximum size listed on each product page (or you could use white string lights). The photos above are taken in daylight. The luminaries are even more stunning lit with a dark background. You can find these and other seasonal luminaries online at 100C FLUMINARIES.
We hope you have great fun and are inspired by these beautiful, versatile lighting elements.
Amazon.com
LED battery operated string lights with pumpkins or fall leaves can brighten a corner, enhance a table , garland or bring floral arrangements to life. They can even create their own kind of ambience. Amazon.com has a really good selection. although it isn’t easy to find pumpkins that aren’t geared for Halloween. we found some. Because these are battery powered, they have limits to how long they can safely be turned on, so some strings are equipped with timers. Some of the strings above flicker or flash, others have uninterrupted light. All are ok for indoor use and generally covered outdoor use, but none are waterproof. Most use AA batteries which are not included. “Burn time varies with the quality of the batteries used, if use is limited to 6 hours at a time (the recommended maximum), most batteries will last for several uses for these tiny lights. Most strings here are 10’ with at least 10 lights, but some are 5’ with 10 lights and some are 13’ with various numbers of LED lights.
For reference, a 10’ string will easily fill a 10” cylinder vase and a fairly small basket, but stretched out on a table still look like enough to highlight the front of a 6’-8’ table. Amazon’s a good place to learn about the various features and compare prices. It’s nice to have a plan for how you want to use string lights and buy accordingly, but it’s just as much fun to buy strings you like and then decide how to use them. Find these and more pumpkin string lights on Amazon at AM FPUMP and the fall leaf string lights on Amazon at AM FLEAF.