• Place gourds throughout your Thanksgiving table to bring colors of the season to your table.James And James/Brand X Pictures/Getty Images
  
  Autumn provides natural supplies for an attractive and inexpensive Thanksgiving table. Focus on using the colorful harvest, foliage and nuts of the season. To keep your table decorations manageable, you will need to leave room for serving platters. You should also avoid using scented candles on the holiday table as the scents will interfere with your meal.
  
  

Pumpkin Centerpiece

• Build a turkey out of a pumpkin for your centerpiece. Use the top of a butternut squash for the turkey head, and attach it to the top of the pumpkin with a skewer. Place a piece of sun-dried tomato over the beak for the turkey's wattle. Dig out two small holes for eyes with a vegetable peeler, and push black-eyed peas into the holes.
  
  Cut two slices from the bottom half of the butternut squash for the feet. Cut a V-shape into each piece, and set the feet in front of the pumpkin.
  
  Dig out holes toward the back of the pumpkin for candles. Use the tip of a vegetable peeler or a utility knife to make the holes. The candles should sit out at a slight angle to represent turkey feathers. If the holes are cut too large, wrap a piece of tin foil around the base of the candle to create a snug fit.
  
  

Tablecloth and Runner

• Design a Thanksgiving tablecloth from unbleached muslin. Use a corn cob, potatoes and fabric paint to decorate. Stick corn cob holders into the ends of an uncooked piece of corn. Pour fabric paint into paper plates. Roll the corn into the paint and across the tablecloth. Overlap corncob paths and colors.
  
  Make a runner for the table with thinner length of muslin. Decorate this piece of cloth with leaf and acorn prints made from a cut potato stamp. Make a leaf shape from one half of a potato by cutting three V-shapes from each side and a thin stem at the bottom. Leaf veins can be cut from the center of the leaf toward the edges. You can use actual leaves instead of the potato print if desired.
  
  Cut an acorn stamp from a 1-inch square from a potato. Round the edges, and cut a stem on the top. Make an indentation where the cap would meet the base of the acorn. The bottom half will be slightly smaller than the top.
  
  Press the potato stencils into fabric paint and then on the fabric. The leaf stamp can be dipped in several different colors before pressing on the fabric, Overlap and fill the runner with the colors of fall.
  
  Let these tablecloth pieces dry overnight, and set the paint according to the manufacturer's instructions.
  
  

Napkin Holder

• Make napkin holders from 2-inch sections of cardboard tubes. Decorate to look like pieces of Indian corn by stamping paint onto the cardboard with pencil erasers. Stamp colorful rows with the eraser until the entire tube is covered.
  
  

Cornucopia Favors

• Create individual cornucopias for each table setting with paper plates and rope. Roll a 9-inch paper plate into a cone shape, and secure with masking tape. Curve the end to make it look like a horn of plenty. Wrap with masking tape to hold it in place. Wrap the mouth of the cone with manila rope, and hold it in place with tacky glue. Use clothespins to help hold the rope in place on the cone until dry. Wrap the rest of the cone with the rope, filling in spaces with cut pieces of rope if necessary. Place an unbleached coffee filter inside the cone to fill with nuts, popcorn and berries.
  
  

Chair Covers

• Fashion a slipcover for your chairs with felt. Determine how far down you want the cover to hang in the back of your chair. Measure from that point, over the top and down the the seat or arms on the other side, which will be how long you will need to cut your felt. Measure the width of the back of the chair and add 1-inch for seams.
  
  Cut the felt according to your measurements. Fold the felt over the chair, and mark the seams with a pencil mark or hold together with pins. Remove the cover, and use fabric glue to secure the seams, or sew up the sides. If you sew the seams, turn the finished product inside out.
  
  Add decorations with colorful pieces of felt. Use a cookie cutter to cut out shapes, or draw a pumpkin, pilgrim or Indian face to go on the back. The felt will stick to the felt chair cover and can be reused year after year.