Give Thanks

After the Halloween mantle came down, I must admit, I was a little sad. I had to hit Pinterest and get some ideas to transform it for Turkey Day. I always loved the phrase, Be Thankful, so that's were I started. I printed out a font that I liked on the computer and put a piece of burlap over it. I then took a sharpie and traced the letters and framed it. I also found a great printable to define Thanksgiving, along the same font and on a burlap background. I just printed it out and framed it as well. Finally, I found some pumpkins I had used in the past, and put them on candle holders. I pulled the whole thing together and really like the finished product!

Block Art

I found these blocks in the Halloween decorations last year. The front says Happy Halloween with a witch in the middle. I thought they were so cute, I wanted to keep them up a little longer...so, I turned them over and painted the black ones brown. I modge-podged some scrap book paper and found some great copper glittery letters. Give Thanks is a little shorter, so I improvised and added some leaves and a bird. Now I can keep them up a little longer, and appreciate that I recycled store-bought decor into a craft of my own.

Count Your Blessings

Last year mom and I embarked on a evening of Wine and Design at the pottery studio.

The instructor walked us through each part, from taping the edge to get a clean line, to tracing the letters to make them perfect. I then used some puffy paint to help add some dots and character.

It was a great evening and I walked away Count Your Blessings plate (well, after they fired it for me!). I was so excited this year to break it out for display after Halloween. It's a great reminder that we should be thankful for all we have!

Zig Zag Pics

I wanted a bulletin board in my office at work to spice up one of my walls. I found some fabric scraps and picked out some bold ribbon. I used my staple gun to tack the whole thing down to a batting-covered canvas. Now I can display some loose photos neatly with some flare!

Halloween Treats

It was time to decorate for Halloween and I was a bit disappointed when I got down my boxes from the attic. I hadn't crafted anything for this holiday yet and the boxes were a clear indication of that. I needed a mantle statement! It was time to get on Pinterest and get some ideas. Three things came into focus, a chevron pumpkin, a "boo" print, and "trick or treat" garland. The printables I usually found don't print as nice as I need them to...today wasn't any different. It was time to make my own. I found some scrapbook paper and some letters. I then printed out the trick or treat letters on my printer and cut them out. I had some fabric to use as the background and got out my glue stick to bring it all together. I gave up on taping the pumpkin, like Martha Stewart would do, and just decided to paint the chevrons myself. My three little pieces came together with my other mantle items and now I can be happy to walk by my Halloween display. Yay!

For a Good Cause

My daughter and I painted some canvases for an upcoming silent auction at our church. We were challenged to paint using geometric shapes using the base colors of turquoise, brown, and red. We used two different techniques. I used a small bowl to draw a pattern of circles creating a petal effect. I then randomly painted each petal using alternating color. For hers, we used painting tape to map out a cross and then alternative blocks around it. She then painted each and put a black border around it. We liked the end result and hope to raise some money for a good cause!

Money Does Grow on Trees

When my nephew turned Sweet 16, I wanted to do something special. I saw some ideas on Pinterest for everything from an umbrella raining cash to money mobiles. I used the ideas and decided to go with a money tree. I found a cute bonsai tree and folded up 16 one dollar bills and tied them on. It turned out really well and he loved it!