Lemon & Watermelon Summer Tablescape

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Summer is in full blown play mode here and the temperature gauge is the biggest tattletale of all. Y’all it’s hot! We have been blowin’ and goin’ this summer, playing, swimming and just tooling around town. I am fully in love with summer and the lax schedule it provides. Today I am sharing a fun summer tablescape  to help set the mood. My kids have professed their love and appreciation of a decorated table, noting how bare it looks when not dressed for the occasion and this mama is happy to oblige in fresh scenery. BUT…summer has had our table sitting naked for a while now (it must be taking cue from my youngest who prefers to wear as little clothes as possible on a regular occasion!)

I finally got around to bringing a summer table to life thanks to the accountability of some other blogging friends! We are sharing out summer tables for you and a deadline always helps get the job done. I hope you will check out the other table ideas listed at the bottom of this post.

I really wanted the table to be about the kids and what they like. The whole scene got kick started with this precious garland my mom made for me, thanks mom! She knows how houndstooth is my favorite color and when she saw these fabric swatches she snatched them to make me this little summer treat. That set the color theme in motion, but I was already thinking about lemons and watermelon, so it was like she read my mind!

I layered the houndstooth garland over a burlap table runner I made, I will give you a tutorial for it another day, but I thought is was a fun worn look to add to the mix.  We always drink lemonade and the kids like to have a lemonade stand out front at least once in the summer time. Watermelon is my oldest and youngest FAVORITE summertime snack, with salt of course…do you like salted or unsalted watermelon? This is always a fun questions…it’s either one or the other, no in-betweens.I made the lemon and watermelon halves by cutting wooden crafting circles in half. (you can shop this post at the end, I will link to products I used!)

For the lemons I painted the whole thing a bright yellow and then brushed over it with a lighter white/yellow mix letting the paint streak, I painted a solid yellow rind on the edge. Once the paint dried I went over it with crackle paint and let that sit to get tacky. I went over the crackle with the yellow/white streak mix, trying to brush each area only once because the crackle starts pretty quick. I did the brush strokes in an outer motion like the inside of a lemon would look. I added a few dark yellow and solid white streaks for texture and variation, then let them dry completely.

For the watermelon I did the same basic thing, painting pink with a few swaths of green for the rind. Layer the crackle paint and then went over the rind feathering a dark and light green around the edge. For the watermelon meat I used a light pink, dark pink and white brushed on in a streaky motion.

I came across these monogram stencils and am so in love. Everything looks better stenciled if you ask me and the kids love to have their name on stuff. I started with the middle initial on each piece allowing the paint to dry in between.Next I did the two outside letters. Remember to dab when you stencil (more stencil tips here). The letters where easy to line up and layout perfectly…

In between monograms I patted the excess paint off the stencil by rubbing it in between two paper towels. The stencils took a little touch up with a small stiff brush, but were easy to do and turned out well.The chargers came from the dollar store! Love an inexpensive find!

I dressed up paper napkins with a piece of gray yarn because…SUMMER! We are super casual and by making it cute I am hoping it will make the kids actually want to use their napkin :/

The centerpiece is a few branches from a Sandankwa Viburnum out of the yard. Any large leaf shrub would do. I only decorate the table every month or so therefore I need décor that will last and leathery, thick woody stick shrubbery works great – think boxwood, viburnum, juniper, hawthorn…most of your hardy green shrubs!I wired on some fake lemons for our very own lemon tree and stuck them in a lemonade pitcher. A few fake and real lemons and limes sprinkled around ties it all together.

I think my kids are going to love it and I know I do, it’s so bright and cheery and helps me forget the 100+ degree temps outside. Hope your summer is full of smooth sailing friends! Enjoy the rest of theses gorgeous summer tablescape ideas! I’d be so grateful if you’d share this lemon and watermelon table before you go!

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Shop This Summer Tablescape Here:

Products I used listed below: Some are affiliate links, which means if you make a purchase I may receive a small commission, but your price stays the same – thanks!

Monogram Stencil

Mikasa French Countryside Plates

Houndstooth Fabric

Wooden Craft Circles

Crackle Paint

Faux Lemons