Happy Thanksgiving Day!

What a wonderful holiday today is, this is a good time for everyone to tell their loved ones, even enemies, how appreciative they are to have them in their life. I would like to take this chance to thank all of our loyal customers for supporting us! And if you aren't our customer just yet, take some time maybe this weekend and check out what we have ready in store for you to decorate your home for Christmas. Either way, thank you for stopping into my blog and giving me the opportunity to thank you for being here :) Have a great dinner with family or friends tonight and enjoy your long weekend!

Thanksgiving for the classroom!

1. Set the mood: add a fall feeling to your classroom by adding fall leaf arrangements to the teacher's desk, or hanging a fall border around the bulletin boards. Add some orange and brown throw rugs, and a Thanksgiving-themed welcome mat outside your classroom door. Set out some Thanksgiving picture books in the reading corner.
2. Review your Thanksgiving lesson plans. See if you can add in any hands-on, decorative activities to your lessons, such as making hand print turkeys or pilgrim hats. These can then be hung on the classroom bulletin board.
3. Use writing activities to help you decorate. Have the children write what they are thankful for on giant turkey feathers made from orange, yellow and brown construction paper. Then, place the feathers on the wall around a turkey body made from brown butcher paper. Alternately, have them write what they are thankful for on paper maple leaves, and string them together to form a garland. Hang the garland from the top of the white or chalkboard, or over a window.
4. Plan an art lesson. If you can't tie in craft activities to your lesson plans, try to find the time to squeeze in one craft activity just for fun, or make it into an art lesson. For example, a lesson on painting with watercolors can be a good opportunity to make fall leaves. Have the children paint watercolor paper in fall colors, letting the watercolors bleed into each other. Once the paper dries, have the children cut the paper into fall leaf shapes. Glue the leaves onto Thanksgiving place mats, or use them for the writing activity above.
5. Don't forget the outside of your room! Initiate a door-decorating contest with the other teachers. Have each class come up with a Thanksgiving theme for their doors, and then decorate the doors.
6. And...don't forget the desks! Tiny pumpkins can be used to make clever turkeys. Glue craft store feathers onto the pumpkins with a hot glue gun, and glue a construction paper turkey "head" to the stem. Use a permanent marker to write each student's name on the turkey and use them as name tags during the month of November. This can be a project for a parent volunteer or for the children if they are old enough to handle a hot glue gun.

via eHow.

Craft Time: Turkey Luminarias

Turkey Luminarias

Materials 

Scissors

Lunch-size paper bag

Tissue Paper (white, yellow, red, orange)

Glue Stick

Sand or Rocks

LED tea lights

Instructions

1.       Cut a circle from the seamless side of a lunch-size paper bag. Use the cutout circle as a guide to cut a slightly larger circle from white or yellow tissue paper.

2.       Cut skinny triangles of red, orange, and yellow tissue paper for the feathers, and cut two wing shapes from red tissue paper. Use a glue stick to affix the feathers and wings onto the tissue paper circle.

3.       Cut a turkey body from the brown paper circle, then glue it to the center of the tissue paper collage.

4.       Line the edge of the bag's circular hole with more glue, then lay the collage circle on top. Fill the bag with about an inch of sand or rocks and nestle an LED tea light inside.

via Disney FamilyFun

Craft Time: Turkey Napkin Holder

Turkey Napkin Holder

Create cute napkin holders dressed up like your favorite Thanksgiving bird, the turkey! The colors and googly eyes will surely please the kids and other present day pilgrims.

Materials
5- by 7-inch Colorful poster board
Craft knife
Double sided tape
Glue stick
2 Goggly eyes (craft stores)
Red and yellow construction paper
Instructions
1) Cut head and feet shapes in the top and bottom edges of a 5- by 7-inch rectangle of colorful poster board, leaving a 2- by 7-inch center band.
2) Use a craft knife to cut 2 wings near the center of the band.
3) Curl the cardboard by wrapping the ends of the band around something round, such as a rolling pin. Remove the band, overlap the ends, and secure them with double-sided tape.
4) Use a glue stick to attach 2 googly eyes, a red paper wattle, and a yellow paper beak. To adorn each mini tom with fancy feathers, simply fold a colorful napkin accordion style and tuck it inside the ring.
via Disney FamilyFun

Six Last-Minute Place Card Ideas for Thanksgiving

If you have no idea what to do for dinner place cards, we have the simple and cute solution for you here. We found these ideas from At Home and thought we should share this with you!

 + Pine cones and acorns are in abundance at this time of year. Pair them with a note of gratitude – either handwritten or printed on card stock – for a thoughtful place card option.

 + Simple is often the most sophisticated. Crisp leaves get a glittery touch by writing your guest’s names in gold ink in these two very different tabletop looks. The high contrast of sculpting your own conifers against a brown leaf – like Kate Pruitt did for Design*Sponge– is fresh and contemporary.

+ Miniature pumpkins are a versatile option for festive Thanksgiving decorating. Use a harvest-hued marker to write guest names on chic miniature white pumpkins, they layer them at each setting with a pretty napkin and scatter a few leaves. Alternatively, guests can claim their spot at the table with personalized flags created from festive ribbon or card stock. Cut them to size, glue them to a toothpick and stick in a gourd or pumpkin.
+ The Pilgrim caps were done by painting little miniature terracotta flowerpots.

+ The warm, tone-on-tone approach of writing the name on a simple leaf is more suitable for a casual gathering with friends.

I really love the idea of painting little terracotta flowerpots and leaves as place cards for a Thanksgiving dinner. Which idea would you take?

8 Tips for Fall Decorating with Natural Flair

• Introduce hints of a new color to your existing palette. Combine autumn red or orange splashes with a neutral or contrasting base such as taupe, olive, or blue. Muted greens are fresh alternatives to bold warm colors. Throw pillows, table accessories, and accent rugs are high-impact, low-investment places to start.
• Find woodsy elements at your local farmers' market or your own backyard. Look for moss, grasses, and small branches. Fill interesting pots with any combination of them, or turn a bundle of twigs into a natural photo holder.
• Small but unexpected details go a long way at the dinner table. Tie a name card to leafy twigs to make great place holders for your guests. Dress up acorns by exchanging one for a large crafts-store pearl and tying them up with a velvet ribbon for a rustic, yet elegant, napkin holder.
• Celebrate the harvest season with casual country touches. Find natural artwork, twine, and rustic wooden accent pieces. Cozy blankets add autumn comfort to any space.
• Choose pieces that will stay timely through the holidays, or that can be updated in a snap, to save space and money. Pinecones, dried berries, and twigs stay up-to-date through the winter. After Thanksgiving, swap your moss and acorns for faux-snow and ornaments to give the same decor a new presence.
• Wreaths are classic and versatile, and can be made from almost any material. Experiment with wheat or leaves for fall, holly for Christmas, or pinecones and twigs for the whole holiday season. Try laying them flat to frame pumpkins, candles, or other centerpieces.
• Candles add warmth and light in any season. They work anywhere. Don't forget about mantels and windowsills. If you stick with neutral colors, embellishments and containers can be changed for the season.
• Make space for conversation. Adding -- or relocating -- seating around a fireplace creates a cozy new space for fall fellowship. No fireplace? Pull a couple of sitting chairs in a corner, add candles for ambiance, and keep a stack of books close at hand.

idea from here!

Some cute ideas we found for Thanksgiving

We found this cute turkey design cupcake from Cake Decorating Ideas. All you need to make this adorable concoction is a cupcake, chocolate frosting, and some candy corn (leftovers from Halloween maybe?).

 

Dark, rich pomegranates make the perfect addition to the Thanksgiving table. With a little gold paint, this fall fruit becomes a brilliant placeholder.

 via ApartmentTherapy.com

 

By simply cutting off the tops and hollowing them out, these colorful gourds are now festive vases and candy dishes.

via Craftzine.com

We hope you found these ideas as inspirational as we did! Now you can continue with your holiday dinner planning with more ideas in mind!

Five Thanksgiving Decorating Tips for Your Home's Interior

1. Display vegetables and mini pumpkins on a tray. Fill in any gaps with fall leaves, moss, raffia, or wheat. If orange clashes with your home's interior, use green apples and spray paint the mini-pumpkins your colors.

2. Tie ribbons and raffia around your candle bases and around your floral arrangements.

3. Set fall-color leaves under your decorations. Safety Tip: Keep leaves separated from melting candle wax.

4. Extend your flower arrangements with fall tree branches. Just one flower package makes a huge impact when you divide and spread it around.

5. Use copper, bronze, and gold spray paint to dress up plain gourds. Fill a glass or crystal bowl with the gourds, oranges, and nuts.

Did I already mention gorgeous red, golden leaves? Here's another way to add fall color: Place the leaves in your green potted-plants.

One beautiful way to kick off your holiday season: Wrap tiny gifts in gold foil; top off with brown and russet ribbons, and place the gifts on the dinner plate. Your table will look fabulous and your guests will love the thought.

Have fun prepping for Thanksgiving!

It is not too early for great Thanksgiving tips!

Create an exciting and welcoming home for your Thanksgiving festivities!

Five "Welcome to Our Home" Holiday Decorating Tips

1. Door wreaths welcome all to your home and set the stage for celebrating. Make a simple wreath to hang on your front door with Thanksgiving colors--brown, russet, olive green. Use tree branches from your garden; attach a few gourds, nuts, raffia, and ribbons.
2. Place a gorgeous mum by your front door. You can plant it later and get flowers next Thanksgiving to use inside. It just takes one bright spot near your front door to attract the eye of arriving guests.
3. Wrap your front door with gift wrap appropriate to Thanksgiving.
4. Make a "welcome to our home" banner. Add your ribbons, raffia, and fall leaves.
5. Group vines, pumpkins, and mums for display impact near the front entrance. Adjust the vines to add height and movement.

Fall Leaves make great interior and exterior decorations. Be sure to hose off any bugs!