The Dainty Domestress: Halloween Decorative Platter

This is a ridiculously simple idea, but so easily attainable. I am always creating ways to use those great wedding gifts...like this silver cheese and cracker tray...you know the ones you just had to have, but at most serve food on them a couple times a year. Pull them from the confines of the kitchen cabinets and proudly display them over the next couple autumn months.

You will need:

3 Decorative skulls or small pumpkins
Small - medium oblong serving tray
Scrapbook paper
Tape
Scissors

Measure the bottom width and length of the serving tray.

I chose this great faux-antique handwritten sheet music print paper to give it that “Phantom of the Opera” feel for Halloween. Choose any paper you like, but keep a few things in mind. How is the color going to look with my three decoration pieces and the silver tray. Will it show up against both? Will the colors jive, are they complimentary colors, monochromatic? Buy a color wheel to keep on hand if your unsure about color pairing. If the colors are right next to each other on the color wheel, like a shade variance, for example, blue, blue-green, and green then you have monochromatic. But let’s say you have a basic primary blue and a basic green, typically this will not give you the look you want to achieve. Why, you say...I like blue and green. Well, I do too, but if you want your blue to look really great add a touch of orange to make it pop. The orange is it’s compliment or opposite on the color wheel. If a compliment color is not an option choose a contrast, like a dark color if you already have a light color. As you can see the skulls are shiny black so I chose an antiqued, off-white, matte paper to ensure the sculls visibility. If I choose to change from the sculls to pumpkins after Halloween the aged or burnt yellowey tones will give a monochromatic feature to the orange pumpkins.

Measure the width at each end of the paper and make a small cut with your scissors at each end. If you want use a straightedge between the two points, draw a line and cut. Or do what I did and fold the paper between the two points. Then use that as your cut line. I had to cut a separate piece and fit the two together to achieve the length.