Up to speed ~~~

I have received numerous emails from readers asking me why I am so quiet and that they would love to see some blog posts!

So I thought I better get my act together and send a blog post or two your way…

I have been quite busy over the holidays as I know you were too and to tell you the truth, I haven’t had the desire to blog.

I have been updating my facebook quite regularly.

 I must say, all your emails and sweet compliments made me want to blog!

So to bring you up to speed on what I have been up to since my last blog post about 2 months ago I will start with our Church’s Senior Breakfast for Christmas… I know this is very late… but I thought I would share anyway!

I mainly did the food table decoration. And the menu(spyskaart) But all the other details were so pretty I took pictures of those as well!

 

::{It was a very relaxing day full of laughter and love}::

Thanksgiving Decorating Ideas

Trolling the web recently for great fall decorating ideas, I came across a few really fantastic ones on the Better Homes and Gardens website.


What a statement this one makes! Great Wow factor here with just a couple of supplies..... a straw wreath form and lots of indian corn. This would be beautiful displayed over a mantel as well as on the front door. I can even see it as a centerpiece of your Thanksgiving table or Thanksgiving buffet lying flat on the table with a platter of food in the center.


Another way to use indian corn is to pile it on a pedestal stand and combine it with some wheat for a beautiful Thanksgiving or fall centerpiece.




I love how BHG uses gourds as vases. I found lots of examples of these on their site, but basically you cut off the top of the gourd and scoop out the flesh to create a perfect holder for your fall flower arrangements. Add a few mini pumpkins and leaves around the gourd and turn it into a beautiful centerpiece for your table.

Mum covered pumpkins is another easy way to add a little flair to your fall displays. Fresh mums are beautiful here, but finding a good quality artificial mum to use so that you could have it as a fall decoration year to year would be nice option.

This is another simple but fabulous idea -- paint your gourds gold or other metallic colors. You can find out more here on the Better Homes and Gardens website.

I hope you are all getting your tables and recipes ready for a fabulous Thanksgiving! I'll be posting a tutorial tomorrow on the corn husk and burlap runner (pictured above) that I made for my own Thanksgiving table. Stay tuned for a really simple and beautiful table runner idea. And for those of you who don't sew, there's a no-sew option, too!

Don't forget to order your personalized Thanksgiving printables set -- it's on SALE NOW for 40% OFF!

Thanksgiving Dinner Tablescape

Entertaining at my house this year for Thanksgiving has given me the decorating "bug." I've been hard at work trying to make something truly special for our guests and I would love to show you all what I've been up to. Maybe I'll inspire you to try some of the same techniques with your own Thanksgiving tablescapes.

The fabric garland is a fun one and super easy! It's very versatile, too. Hang it on the stair bannister, drape it across a mantle or do as I did here and swag it around your chandelier. There is no sewing involved -- just some fabric and a pair of scissors. Cut, tie, cut, tie.... that's about it. And what a show stopper! Pretty, don't you think?

Specialty napkins.... personalized menus..... and a fabulous table runner -- great details to add to your Thanksgiving table. Here I used the Shindig Parties TO GO Thanksgiving Collection papers to mat my menu. I typed a menu in Word and printed it onto white cardstock. Then I cut it out and put it over the decorative paper from the Thanksgiving collection and then added some ribbon and a 2" logo from the collection. I have a full tutorial here.

For the napkins, I used inexpensive natural colored muslin, some ribbon, brown lace and a few embellishments that I found on the jewelry making aisle at Hobby Lobby. A project well worth a few hours time -- simply beautiful.

And my favorite, the table runner, I made with burlap and corn husks. Yes, you heard me right. Corn Husks. That's not a ruffle -- well, not a fabric one anyway! It's a corn husk ruffle. Simple and inexpensive, too. I'm planning to have a tutorial later in the week so check back if you'd like to make one of your own.

For the sideboard, I used some natural materials like over sized pine cones, fresh pine sprigs and nuts to fill a decorative container. I added willow branches and a natural fiber tassel to the olive jars and set out my pilgrims (which were a very special find a few years back after I learned that I descended from 5 people on the Mayflower including Captain Miles Standish). For the wine bottles, I used the Thanksgiving Collection's wine bottle labels of which one is personalized with your family initial.

The centerpiece was too easy -- I bought a few bags of mini pumpkins and used some peasant feathers for a little drama. First I put moss in the container, added the feathers, then the pumpkins and accented with a few acorns from my backyard.

For this part of the display, I took a pie pumpkin and wrapped it with a few grapevine strands and added a brown satin ribbon. The candle was wrapped with a strip of burlap which I frayed on the edges by pulling a few strings out. I then added a strip of the Thanksgiving Collection's decorative paper to coordinate with the menu and added a 2" Thanksgiving logo also from the collection.

I hope you enjoyed my tablescape. I'm thrilled it's done early.... mama's on the ball! Now to start making some desserts! Ideas anyone??
Linked to: Skip to my Lou, Tater Tots and Jello, CRAFT, Just a Girl

Decor Mamma, Craft-o-Maniac, Under the Table and Dreaming

Let's Talk Turkeys

Tired of finding Halloween candy wrappers everywhere BUT in the trash? I know that I am! My children have this uncanny ability to forget where the trash can is right around the first of November. (Ha!)

I'd like to put an end to all of that rebellion and make good use of the rest of our leftover Halloween candy with some fun dessert ideas for Thanksgiving turkeys. I went on a little internet search and this is what I found.




Spearmint Baby creates a turkey with Starburst fruit chews, mini m&ms and some mini Twix bars. I like to get the kids involved in these projects using store bought products (or as I said before, Halloween leftovers) to make it fun and easy for them.


This one is a super simple idea found on Bridgette Lee's Flickr photostream using a large marshmallow, mini chocolate chips for eyes and some candy corn.

Amazing Moms has this adorable idea for a turkey cupcake -- an Oreo AND a Nutter Butter! Yum! Add a cute cupcake wrapper that the kids can make themselves, too.

These are sweet and pretty, too, from Martha Stewart made with coconut marshmallows, toasted coconut and a gummy fish for a beak.


This Turkey Cookie Sundae by Gourmet Mom on the Go has me drooling. My kids would soooo love to get their hands on this one!

This chocolate cupcake from Betty Crocker would please old and young alike -- who doesn't love chocolate?


And another cute idea for a turkey cookie from Betty Crocker. Sugar cookies, chocolate frosting and some candy corn and you've got a simple little turkey treat.

Family Fun has another favorite treat made with Nutter Butters and fruit roll ups. Cute! Cute!

I found this one on Cupcakes Take the Cake. It's from a sweet Etsy shop , and they are only $7 for a dozen -- how cute!

I hope this little round up inspires you to make something fun with the kids this weekend -- and oh yeah, get rid of all of those wrappers!

Stay tuned for a full Thanksgiving display on the blog Monday from the decorated dinner table to everyone's Thanksgiving favorite -- the dessert table. I'm super excited about sharing this one!

NEW Thanksgiving Printables! Perfect for your Holiday Table

I'm so happy to unveil my new Shindig Thanksgiving Printable Collection. So many clients love the children's party printables, but printable parties can be designed for all occasions -- ALL celebrations, including a family Thanksgiving dinner. For this collection, I wanted to design something sophisticated that could work for both traditional and more contemporary homes.

The designs are full of damasks, stripes and geometrics in autumnal colors like pumpkin, olive, chocolate and gold. The Thanksgiving papers that I've included in the collection make this package extremely versatile. You can use them for everything from candle and jar wraps to favor tags and personalized Thanksgiving menus.

Over the next few days, I'll be posting more pictures and some ideas on table decorations and how to use your printables to create a warm, personalized Thanksgiving celebration. Posts will include a tutorial for a very unique and easy to make table runner, some gorgeous napkins and even a how-to on making your own Thanksgiving dinner menu. And lets not forget that Thanksgiving dessert table -- yum!! I'll be posting photos of that, too!

For now though, here's a little sneak peak at some of the printable designs:

Create a stunning Thanksgiving place setting this year. Pull out all of your best dishes and silverware, wine glasses and candles -- only the best will do for this Thanksgiving feast! Personalize your dinner table with placecards and your own Thanksgiving menu made from one of the Thanksgiving Collection papers and a 2" logo.

Buffet cards in 2 different designs are included in the collection. Use them as food labels for your buffet or even as placecards as I did above. These cards are fold over tent cards and can stand on their own. They come blank so that you can write in your menu items or guests names, but they can be personalized for a small additional charge.


Printables can be used just about anywhere to add a little flair to your Thanksgiving decor. I used a little satin ribbon, a cut strip of burlap and a 2" Thanksgiving logo to spruce up this water pitcher.

Beautiful wine bottle labels, one of which is personalized with your family's initial. Use one design for white wines and the other for reds.

These 2" logos come in 12 different designs and can be used just about anywhere. Attach them to candy or other jars, use them for cupcake toppers, as gift tags or a sweet treat to send your guests home with. They can be combined with the Thanksgiving papers to create candle wraps, menus or use them as I have in the photo above as wine glass charms.

Tomorrow I will share the entire Thanksgiving table so please check back for some wonderful inspiration. In the meantime, the Thanksgiving Collection is on sale for 40% OFF so grab your set today!

Not your same old kid table

I loved Thanksgiving growing up. We'd head down to my great aunt's house in Florida, 30 minutes from Orlando (Hooray!!). Every year driving up to her house, I was fascinated with the real orange trees growing in her front yard -- I would always go pick a bunch and have her make fresh squeezed orange juice for me and my cousins. She was fabulous with us children -- fun and carefree, and I made some wonderful memories all of those Thanksgivings. The one not-so-great memory I have is always being stuck at that plain vanilla card table, loving referred to as "The kids table."

Bor-ing.

And it was. We were lucky if we got a tablecloth. And oh, the isolation. While the adults were in the other room laughing and cutting up, we were stuck at this "isolation station" feeling left out and worried that we might have to eat EVERYTHING on our plate before we could get our hands on that pie!

So that's why when I saw this post yesterday at One Charming Party, I just knew I had to share her creative bent on the Thanksgiving "kids table." From the craft paper covered table where the kids can draw and write until their little hearts are content, to an amazingly creative popcorn-filled turkey that is carved just like the real one. This time, however, there's no meat in that bird. To the kids' surprise, out pops yummy popcorn! How fun is that?

Brittany shows us all how to do it, too. A grocery paper bag, some small paper bags and some popcorn -- cool, cool, cool!

Another great idea that Brittany shows is the corn husk favor bags. Cute! Filled with a few of our children's favorite things -- candy in particular!


Adorable! And this is one we all can do! Go on over to One Charming Party to see more of the details on this fun-filled thanksgiving table for kids.