A Skeleton Scholar Halloween Tablescape

I try to use my book shaped plates when I can and when I saw this skeleton figure who looked like he could be reading I immediately started thinking about a skeleton reading themed Halloween tablescape. Then I found this tablecloth design with a skeleton reading a book at Spoonflower online and I couldn’t believe my luck! It was black and orange too, Halloween colors! I keep telling myself no more tablecloths but… Halloween is one of my favorite times of year to create tablescapes. You can see the other thirty Halloween tablescapes that I have created over the years as well as 330+ other themed tablescapes of mine on my blog here: https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/tablescapes

I knew that I would never find a salad plate with a skeleton reading design on it so I started looking for something to set on one of my book shaped appetizer plates that could carry out that theme. I always begin with Amazon because we are Prime members and we can get free shipping. I can’t believe that I found a square leather bookmark with a skeleton reading a book design on it that was the right size, it was just meant to be! It is the perfect fit for this white book shaped appetizer plate. I bought this book shaped white plate in four different sizes several years ago online from Webstaurantstore.com. Unfortunately you had to buy a case of the plates because the web site is a restaurant supply store. I bought them anyway because I felt a librarian who does tablescaping should have these plates! (I was still working at the time.) They are labeled CAC China. If you google book shaped plate you might find some on another site. This white appetizer plate is on top of the plate stack.

The next plate on the plate stack is the same book shape as the appetizer plate only a bit larger. I like the way that the appetizer plate fits perfectly in the salad plate.

The next plate is the dinner plate, same book shape as the other plates only a bit larger. I like the bright white color of these plates.

I needed a basic square black charger and I found these on Amazon a few years ago. They are melamine and they are made by American Atelier. I think you can find them in other stores too. If you are a tablescaper, it’s a good idea to have basic plates in neutral colors that you can use over and over again. To read about what you should consider when you are buying charger plates please click here.

I wanted another set of black flatware that was all black and different from my Ginkgo International LePrix set to use on a Halloween tablescape and I found this set a few years ago on sale at Macy’s online. It was made by Lenox and the pattern was called Portola. I love the simple design and shiny black color. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying flatware here.

I think these orange cotton napkins probably came from Pier 1 or HomeGoods several years ago. I love that they are a true primary orange color. I found these other bookmarks with a skeleton reading design on them on Amazon too. They are a smaller size and they are actually magnets. They came in a set of eight with different designs on each one. I just taped them temporarily to a black napkin ring that I had.

To read about the what, where and how of napkin rings please click here.

I found these black resin skull place card holders on Amazon. They were made by Marspark and they came in a set of twelve for a good price. I set the skulls on a dark bronze metal place card holder that I already had. To read about the What, Where and When of place card holders, please click here.

I bought these orange glass goblets at Ross or T.J. Maxx many years ago. They were some of the first goblets I bought when I started tablescaping. I love using them this time of year, I often use black and orange goblets on my Halloween tablescapes. I had black goblets that were shorter than this goblet and black goblets that were much taller than this goblet but I wanted goblets this height that were all black. I was delighted to find these black plastic ones on Amazon. The advertisement said that they were disposable but I plan to keep them for a while until I can find some black glass ones that are the same height. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying goblets (including the colors that I use most often) for your tablescaping collection here.

I had to laugh when I first saw this skeleton figure at Pottery Barn online. They called it Thinking Skeleton but I immediately thought of putting it on a book as if the skeleton was reading so I bought it. Sometimes everything just seems to come together when I am working on gathering things for a themed tablescape and this was one of those times. I knew I wanted to set the skeleton on something with some substance and I remembered this black wooden stand that I bought at our Pier 1 store several years ago before it closed. The stand was a natural wood color but Hubby painted it white for me to use on one tablescape and then black for a few other tablescapes. I thought it would be funny if the skeleton was reading a book about skeleton behavior so thanks to Hubby and the power of AI this skeleton is reading two pages about skeleton behavior that we set on another open book.

These black skeleton taper candle holders also came from Pottery Barn. If you read my blog you saw them on a different Skeleton tablescape a few weeks ago. The candlesticks are handcrafted of aluminum with an Antique Bronze finish. I bought the orange candles on Amazon.

Time to find a book to read!

To see over 330 different tablescapes that I have created please click here. If you are on Facebook, join my Table Settings and Tablescape Ideas Facebook group (4,400+ members) for lots of tablescaping inspiration! Just click on the Facebook Search box at the top of the page and type in Table Settings and Tablescape Ideas or click here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2553689988183392

If you live in Southern California join our Facebook tablescaping group Southern California Tablescapers BTS Group (300 members) https://www.facebook.com/groups/440356398581157 . We had a gathering in January 2025 and we are having another one in November.

Don’t miss the Tablescape How-To tab at the top of my blog for DIY tips and tricks or click here: https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/tablescapehowto

I put a new tablescape on my blog every week, please check back!