Happy Thanksgiving!

I guess it's official. The holiday season is here!

If you're celebrating, how are you spending your weekend? We will be turkey trotting, serving meals at a local homeless center, cooking, eating, watching 7 year olds play baseball and spending time with our extended family. It will be a busy four days. Although the holiday rush and ensuing anxiety is abound, I'm hoping that we can find some time to take a deep breath, relax a bit, and truly get into the spirit of giving thanks.

love this print from gus & lula on etsy

And while we're talking about giving thanks... Thank you dear readers for following this ol' blog of mine. I haven't been posting as much lately, so I truly appreciate you for sticking around. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Make // Fabric Pinecone - Pleather & Faux Fur

If you like to craft, but aren't quite ready to go THERE with Holiday projects (I'm with ya, I get anxious just thinking of the holiday madness), then these little pinecones are the perfect project for you. They're great to use in Fall decor and can easily transition over to the winter holidays. I've made several variations over the years--

scalloped lace pinecone | felt pinecone | muslin fabric pinecone | toile fabric pinecone

While these look similar in shape to the toile fabric pinecone, this time I streamlined the process and also experimented with different textures; Bring on the Faux Fur and Pleather!!!

Click "Read more" for the tutorial

Make // Fabric Pinecone - Toile

I took a month off from crafting and wasn't going to make any Fall projects, but then I started thinking about pinecones... I love pinecones! So I eeked this one out last Saturday between two soccer games and a baseball practice. Sometimes a little pressure helps the creative process. :)

I've made pinecones before-- this lace one, this felt one, and this muslin fabric one... So this time I combined a few techniques and came up with yet another version of a fabric pinecone.

Click "Read more" for the tutorial

Round-up // Fall Projects

Can you believe that Fall will officially be here in the next week and a half? Have you felt a seasonal shift where you live?  In Southern California, it doesn't usually start to feel like Fall until early November. Darn. So while we have to wait a bit for cooler temps and falling leaves, that doesn't mean we can't start celebrating the changing season inside our homes.  

Here's a round-up of several Fall projects that I pulled from the archives (you'll need to click thru if viewing this in a RSS feed or via email).

Do you have any Fall projects up your sleeve this year? I've got a few in mind and just need to make my way over to the craft store.

Have a lovely day!

[Happy Thanksgiving!]

via Oh So Beautiful Paper

This year we are heading over to my aunt and uncle's home for Thanksgiving dinner.  We'll be there with my parents, my cousins and their kids, so it'll be good times. The boys will LOVE hanging out with their older cousins and we will enjoy catching up with our extended family. This past year has certainly flown by quickly, hasn't it?

Wishing you and yours a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

[Make] Thankful Leaves

While most bloggers have moved on to Christmas, I just put up my very simple Thanksgiving decorations.  I like to make things, but actually putting together a pleasing to the eye vignette is not my strong suit.... which is why I usually don't decorate for each season. Some day I'll figure it out!  :)

 Click "Read more" for the details

[Upcycle] Refreshed Fall Leaves

I have a couple of orange-leaved garlands that haven't come out to play for several years. I'm not a big fan of faux bright orange leaves so I decided to "refresh" them with some metallic paints-- copper and rust.

Here's what the leaves looked like before...

Click  "Read more" to see the final project

[Make] Thanksgiving Stones

Alright, I'm taking a little break from the Christmas stuff to show you a fun Thanksgiving project. Stones and paint... I've been wanting to do this for a while and finally found the perfect opportunity.

I have to work on my hand-lettering skills, but to be honest... this is probably as good as it gets. Try as I might, handwriting is not my strong suit-- But I still had fun!  

Click "Read more" for the details

[Round-Up] Fall Projects

The weather has cooled down, the leaves are turning, and it's finally starting to feel like Autumn here in Southern California.  I love it! For some reason, this is the time of year when I feel the most creative. I was born this month too-- I don't always relish the growing older part, but celebrating a birthday is fun... Maybe that explains my affinity for Fall (??).  Anyhow, I've jumped ahead to Christmas projects, but I didn't want to skip over my favorite season. Here's a round-up of my past and present Fall Projects--

Have a nice weekend!

[Oh Martha] Fall Inspiration

Since it's Monday (boo!) and because I love ya (yay!), here is some Fall Inspiration from Martha Stewart...

plumage decor

hmmm... must put a bell jar on my christmas wish list!

Click "Read more" for more MS Fall Inspiration

[Make] Scalloped Lace Pinecone

Yep, another pinecone project.  I actually bought the lace earlier in the year to make something for Easter, but since that didn't happen... More pinecone love! 

Click "Read more" for the tutorial

[Make] Fabric Pinecone

As my children can attest, I love pinecones.  I'm always picking them up when we're at a park... which seems to be often since the boys play baseball and soccer multiple times a week.  And if I happen to miss one, my little helpers are always sure to bring me a few.

While I've collected quite a few real pinecones, I also love the handmade ones.  Last year I made a felt version.  This year I wanted a more natural look and created this fabric pinecone out of muslin.

Click "Read more" for the tutorial

[Make] Chalkboard Paint Doodle Pumpkins

Paint.  What a great way to change something up without spending a whole lot of money.  And if you make it chalkboard paint, it takes the fun to a whole new level.

[Make] Polka Dot Pumpkin Vase

I love pumpkins, I love polka dots... Of course I had to make a Polka Dot Pumpkin!  Then after seeing this pumpkin vase from Chatelaine on Pinterest, I knew that I had to have a Polka Dot Pumpkin Vase.  Try saying that fast 3 times.  :)

[Make] Gilded Brown Paper Bag Pumpkin

When we last left off, I showed you how I made this brown paper bag pumpkin.  Now comes the fun part-- Adding some glimmer and shine to that plain ol' paper pumpkin!

I wanted my paper pumpkin to fit in with my pumpkin collection, so metallic paint to the rescue!

Click "Read more" for more details

[Make] Grocery Bag Pumpkin

Before BYOB (bring your own bags) became the norm, I accumulated a huge stash of market paper bags. Last fall I made a painted leaf garland with them.  This year I wanted to make a bigger dent in my stash and decided that a 3-dimensional paper bag pumpkin would be just the project to do that.

Click "Read more" for the tutorial

Oh Martha Monday - Thanksgiving Tablescapes

Just a few pretties that caught my eye...

blue & gold tablescape

click "read more" for the full post

[Make] Thanksgiving Banner

I'm all about efficiency these days, so I took two projects that I had already made-- the painted burlap banner and the golden beans... and merged them together to create a Thanksgiving Banner.  Don't you love it when things come together like that?  Simple and not too fussy... just my style!

I was going for a subtle look... 

but lately I've have a thing for shiny & metallic-y...

Surprisingly, shiny & metallic-y can be subtle too!

what would you call this? organic with a touch of glam, perhaps?

isn't Smarty Pant's self portrait cute?

Now that that's done, I can focus on the Christmas stuff... I hate to admit it, but "that time of year" is coming up rather quickly.  It's a love/dread thing for me...

Have a great rest of the week!

sharing with...

Thanksgiving 2010

There was food...

And there still is food!

Do you like Thanksgiving leftovers?   

I love it!

Tonight we had ham soup. 

Perfect meal for a cold night.

Enjoy your weekend!

Happy Thanksgiving!

The turkey is lounging in a salt water bath,

The sweet potatoes are fluffed and ready for their close-up,

The maple pear upside-down cake is upside-down and chillin',

The stuffing is prepped and ready to go,

The beans are... well, they're just being beans,

And me?

I'm keeping calm and cranberrying on!

free printable via craftily ever after

If you're celebrating, have a wonderful Thanksgiving!