Karen.. thank you for your sweet comments ! I have tons of Mardi Gras beads..lol.. so if you ever need some for a tablescape or whatever, just let me know ! My best friend and I went to every parade.. every day.. for 5 years straight and never left without a bag full of "beads". I only got to go to about 5 parades this year.. had to work.I did get to go to the Super Bowl parade in New Orleans this year and got to see that hunky Drew Brees up close and personal..be still my heart ..lol ! Susan

hi, well you said the the word cheap a pc. of glass can run what a t.s table and chairs does. sooo i like the rustoleum idea it will last for yrs. then the top is kinda funny cause it isa open book, a clear table, you don,t have to look far on www to find these mosaiced , have seen a few on here that were masterpieces, out of scrap glass and tile. things that are family ties like pics, or pics from mags. that say this is your side and this is hubbys even his fav. food hobbies and yours is one idea for decopage . i have and need to do more, have decopoged with tissue paper the colors are awesome and free but you can buy all kinds in amazing patterns , I want to used pressed flowers ,or leaves on a surface then overlay with the tissue with bits of flowers in it as the overlay then seal with a very hard poly. spray , you just have some choices to make do you want the job of the mosaic or the decopage or ? I mean i know you are searching for ides and sugestions but also have to think about do you want to get tied up in it or do you want to get it over with and eat . do a search on here and the web for mosaic tables. I forget wich one but I was on a site where there was an entire space for decopage awsome stuff . whatever you do most of the top quality poly finishes (don,t use cheap) are available in small cans and spray i have used a small can then over sprayed eliminating any brush strokes . the base for deco. p can be white glue watered down or wall paper glue both dirt cheap . hmmmm please respond and tell what you might be willing to do a lot of folks on here to help rick

I used the plywood overlay when newly married and having the whole fam for dinner. I covered the plywood in heavy-duty felt that I pulled to the underside and stapled down. It made the edges look softer when the tablecloth was draped over them. And it kept it from sounding like a gym floor when glasses or bowls were set down on the table. IIRC, to protect the table top, we covered the table with a blanket and duct taped the excess to the underside of the table. Then laid the felt covered plywood on top. Linens and Things has some fairly inexpensive, large tablecloths

Mtn., if you're having a large gathering for Thanksgiving, a fun thing to do to seat everyone is to place a Scrabble tile on each plate⦠or something, face down, each different from the other. Put it's partner tile in your new turkey and pass it around. Everyone picks a tile out of the turkey, and then they have to find the matching tile on the plate, and that is their seat. It's a cute little game people are amused by, it prevents any awkwardness as to "where should I sit?", But leave the seat at the head of the table for the hostess, I guess yourself. Also fun to use are the pieces from those memory games. I have the ones of animal prints by a specific artist from the Boston MFA, which is what I used last year (I have also used the Scrabble tiles), so the person who picked the penguin had to find the plate with the matching penguin chip, etc. There is also a memory game of famous portraitists, i.e.: Picasso, Renoir, etc. My point is, the turkey could be a vessel to carry the pieces people pick to start finding their seat.