Happy Thanksgiving from my family to yours~

Thanksgiving Decor 2017

Happy Thanksgiving 2016!

The table's set, the parade's been watched, now it's time to get everything in the oven!

From our home to yours ~ Happy Thanksgiving!

~Rebecca

Kids' Mini Thanksgiving Chocolate Pudding Pies

DIY $2 Engineer Art Print and a little Thanksgiving Decor Preview

Wow. Is that really the date today? It was JUST Halloween and now it's November 10th. That means we could be putting up a Christmas tree in 3 weeks!!!

Today's project I'm sharing is my first engineer print. You've probably seen these all over. They're great because you can print whatever you want - art, printables, photos, etc - in a large poster size for just a few bucks! 

There's this great online shop that has cute printable paper goods. It is called {Caravan Shoppe}, and some of their prints are even free, like this one I did. So with a free download and an engineer print from Staples, you can get really cute art for your home for CHEAP!

To make this is really easy. I went to the Shoppe, found the print I wanted, added it to my cart and checked out. They then send the download to your email with instructions on how to download, print it, and save it to your computer. 

After I did this, I went to Staples.com, found the engineer prints, selected the size I wanted for $2, uploaded it and bought it. DONE!

I already had this frame and I just put it right in and it looks so cute in our living room. 

Sorry for the weird angle, it was the only way to get it without a ton of glare and reflection. And you can see a little bit of Thanksgiving Decor also:

Have a great Fall-filled week!

~ Rebecca

Pinned and Tried: Thanksgiving Sugar Cone Cornucopia #PinterestFAIL

Here is a picture of the original "pin" of the sugar cone cornucopia:

I was so excited to do this for my kids and nieces and nephews this Thanksgiving, I pictured our plate settings on the table with this cute little treat on the side....

(Sigh.) It never does quite turn out that way, does it?

I bought the candy and the cones all ready to do it. Aaaannnnddd........ it didn't work.

The first one sort of worked but only because I stuck it in boiling water before I steamed it so it was pliable. It was just luck because I could not for the life of me get the second one to bend at all. Even after I stuck it in water too (which you're not supposed to). Four hours later it is still soggy. So after the second one, I gave up.

I put the candy in a big bowl and put it on the counter while we were getting dinner ready and needless to say, judging by the empty bowl, everyone love the little treat, whether it was in a fancy cornucopia or not :)

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and are now digesting in a wonderful way :) We're off to cut down our Christmas tree while tromping through the snow and listening to Christmas carols tomorrow. Have a great weekend.

Burlap Frames and Thanksgiving Art.

This project was inspired by a picture I saw on Craft Warehouse Blog:

I LOVE these barnyard frames, the burlap, and the clips which make it easy to switch things in and out. Very rustic chic looking, don't you think?   

I also considered covering my mats in burlap like these ones from Pottery Barn:

But ultimately the ease of switching out pictures without having to open the frame every time and risk wearing out the tabs in the back won out. I like to change this certain frame with the months and seasons so this just made sense.

For this project I wanted to use only things that I already had. I've had these little clips since I was a kid, it's a miracle they're still around! But super fun being able to use them. I spray painted two black.

Then I just hot glued burlap to the cardboard that came with the frames. I originally had wanted to use the darker color burlap but I was just about an inch too short (bummer!) So I used this lighter color but I ended up loving it and I think it might work better for all year long - the other color looks very "fallish" to me. If you do this, make sure you pull the burlap very tight before gluing so there's no waves and it also takes care of folds/wrinkles.

Then I just placed them in the frames, measured and hot glued the clips and that's it!

I got this print and sillhouette last year on clearance from here and here. The be thankful print is no longer available but she has some other cute ones like this:

I love how they turned out.

Hope you are enjoying this season of Giving Thanks!!!

November Teacher Appreciation

This month for our Teacher Appreciation we are having a "pie buffet" for the teachers. I made a cute little invitation for each teacher using 

this "I am thankful for" free turkey thanksgiving printable:

FROM HERE

(so cute, wish I had a color printer!)

 

and then typed up the invitation in word like this:

L e t  u s

GATHER TOGETHER

GIVE THANKS

a n d

EAT PIE.

Please join us for a slice of pie in appreciation for our wonderful teachers and staff.

Tuesday, November 19^th

                                                in the teacher lounge.

Then I printed up on cute fall scrapbook paper and glued on the thankful printables handwriting each teacher's name on them. They're pretty cute and I hope it will give them something to look forward to before Thanksgiving break!

DIY Chalkboard

I have been wanting to make a chalkboard that I can easily update with the seasons/holidays. (I took down that huge ridiculous one on the odd ledge). This one was really easy to make and it turned out perfect. I used an old 23" picture frame with it's "artwork" still intact that I had bought last spring at a thrift store for $3 that I didn't end up using for what I originally bought it for.

Here is the frame and insert BEFORE: 

And here is the entry table space I wanted to put it BEFORE:

I used Rustoleum's Chalkboard Paint and a small roller set and just painted it right onto the poster. This worked because the poster was already adhered to a cardboard backing, otherwise it would have been too thin. In that case I would have had to cut wood to fit the frame or bought a frame with a wood backing that I could paint. The paint went on great, just make sure you stir it really, really well first. It will look like it has a blue tint but don't worry.

For the frame I just used a standard white flat spray paint. It was indoor/outdoor Premium Decor paint in white and I actually really liked it - it went on really well and even and the nozzle was nice and wide so my finger didnt get sore (!)

The chalkboard paint said it should dry for 3 days so I let it sit in the garage for 3 days just to be safe! Then I got my chalk and seasoned the chalkboard before writing on it. This means I turned the chalk on its' side and rubbed it on the entire chalkboard then wiped it off. It is important to do this with any chalkboard so that this initial seasoning will fill any holes/ porous spots so that when you write on it the first time it doesn't stay like a ghost print in the background forever.

Here is the frame and chalkboard AFTER with my holiday message:

And the space AFTER:

I love it, it's perfect! What do you think? Now I have this can of chalkboard paint and I'm thinking up all kinds of cute, fun things I can do with it........... :)  Have any ideas? Have a great week!

I CAN MAKE THAT: Holly napkin rings

Flipping through the Crate and Barrel catalog today, I spied these cute napkin rings. But wait, let's take a closer look! Green felt, 3 red pom poms, some green pipe cleaners? I can make that! What have you seen in "designer stores" that you thought to yourself, "I can make that!"?

ANOTHER LOOK: Thanksgiving Centerpieces

The first picture from Country Living is my original inspiration. Notice the Indian Corn.
The second picture is what I threw together with what I had.
The third picture is what I came up with using my New Blocks and the beautiful fall floral arrangement my SIL brought last weekend. So basically, I couldn't have done this without my SIL's! Thanks, girls, you're the best! :) I love how it turned out.
I took a smaller vase to put the flowers in, and then put them in a bigger hurricane with rafia and fall leaves. Then I took my indian corn and "scattered" it around. The tablerunner is a little number I put together with some fabric given to me, years ago. I love it, it seems to work all year round.
So this is the view I will be enjoying for the next couple of days until the big feast!

AN OLD-FASHIONED THANKSGIVING

I just watched a movie I had never heard of. It was released last year and based on this book by Louisa May Alcott, one of my most favorite authors. I LOVED it. And I highly recommend it. It really made me think about what is most important in my life and what I am grateful for. A really great family movie, my two little ones sat and watched the whole thing with me. I think I have found a new Thanksgiving tradition! I think I will get the book and then decide if I want to read the book every year or watch the movie. Check it out!

SOME CRAFT LOVE

OMIGOODNESS. My awesome S-I-L, Karen sent me a present all the way from Idaho. I didn't know what it was, but I couldn't wait to open it!

Look what was inside!

I was so suprised and excited!

Double duty decor: Thanksgiving...

... and Christmas!
THANK YOU!

TURKEY PLACECARDS

A couple years ago I used this EASY peasy free downloadable template from Martha Stewart. All my nieces and nephews were coming to town for Thanksgiving and I wanted to find an easy "craft" for the kids to do. Instead of using yarn for the "feathers" I just cut out the template where you would put the yarn on and let all the kids color their own "feathers" with crayons. Then we glued them all together and labeled them for every person at the table. It was fun, easy, and free! Gotta love that. The kids were so proud to show off their artwork at Thanksgiving dinner that night.
To get this template, just go here.