Suggest using element on all sides today to make pretty scene (7)
I believe the answer is:
tableau
'scene' is the definition.
(I know that tableau is a type of scene)
'suggest using element on' is the wordplay.
'suggest using' becomes 'table' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'element' becomes 'Au' (Au is an example).
'on' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'table'+'au'='TABLEAU'
'all sides today to make pretty' acts as a link.
I am not very happy about this link. Some or all of it may belong to another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for tableau that I've seen before include "Motionless figures representing a scene" , "Dramatic scene - spectacle" , "Scene of still figures" , "picture that's striking" , "Staged scene" .)