Halloween/Thanksgiving 2x4 Craft - Double Sided!

If it weren't for other people, I don't know if I'd manage to work in time for "fun" crafting very often - especially right now when I seem to spend most of my days in the garage working on drying racks or sorting through yet another closet or stack of boxes in an effort to pare down all the STUFF before we move.  However, I get pretty cranky when all I do is "work" so a couple months ago when I was asked to put together a craft for the women's group at a local church I was pretty quick to agree.  I love introducing people to one of my favorite hobbies!

It didn't take us long to decide on an easy (and hopefully quick!) 2x4 craft for Halloween and Thanksgiving - yes, it's double sided!    The easier it is to change out holiday decor and the less space it takes up in storage, the better, right?  The front side reads "BEWARE of little Monsters" and the back side says "THANKS for little Blessings."

We ended up with almost 30 people signed up for the craft - Yay!  I'm told most of them have never done anything crafty so I've been thinking extra hard about how to have it all go as smoothly as possible.  Over the last week or so I've pulled together a kit for everyone and while I was at it I figured, hey, why not pull together a quick How To for the blog.  I haven't done one of those in a while.

In the kit they will find the wooden blocks, vinyl lettering, patterned paper cut to size, a couple pieces of ribbon (which I forgot to put in the photo!) and even a nice little reference sheet.  I took the extra time to type up the reference sheet because 1) a few of the people won't be able to make it tomorrow but still wanted to make the craft and 2) with that many people they may not be able to have the example blocks right in front of them and I wanted them to at least have photos for reference and 3) some people learn better/retain things better if they can read it instead of just listening to a quick explanation.

*For those of you that are going to ask (and I know someone is going to ask!) here is a quick run through of the sizes for the wood pieces.  You can use a 2x4 for all pieces (I got 2-3 sets out of one 2x4).  Cut out two pieces 7 1/4" high, two pieces 4 1/8" high, and two pieces 3 1/2" high.  For the base block I cut it 14" long then ran it through the table saw (or rather, my awsome husband did) so that it was 2" high.

The rest of the process is pretty easy:
-paint all sides of all wooden pieces.  (Actually I would have preferred to stain them, but the stain has to dry overnight and it really messy so I figured paint was a much better option for craft day)  It will probably take two coats.
-cut your patterned paper slightly smaller than the size of the blocks.  Adhere patterned paper with Modge Podge or similar adhesive
-apply vinyl lettering
-apply another coat of Modge Podge over the top of everything, including the sides that are only painted (this keeps the finish consistantly glossy on all sides)
-when dry, attach ribbon embellishments using wood glue or a hot glue gun.

Told you it was easy! ;)  Now for the beauty shots.

The big craft day is tomorrow!  I've already been over to help set everything up - can't wait!  I'll let you know how it goes... ;)

Linking to:
Link Party Palooza
BFF Open House Link Party

How Did You Spend Your Thanksgiving?

This month I have been making an effort to really pay attention to all the things I am blessed with in my life (I even have a daily list going on my Facebook Page) and Thanksgiving Day yesterday didn't disappoint.  Start to finish, it was a great day.

 Sam did all of our share of the cooking (we had invited friends over and divided the food pretty evenly), leaving me free to work on last minute cleaning and setting up the Party Room.  Tyler vanished to the playroom for most of the day, but Kaitlyn was in this awesome helpful mood and not only did she happily help with the rolls but she cheerfully did a lot of things that on other days she would have complained about.

 She was also being a little spunky and funny.  I had to laugh at one point in the morning when I had pulled out a handful of vases and left them on the counter while I decided what I wanted to do for centerpieces.  She of course wanted to know what they were for and when I told her I was figuring it out her comment was "why do ladies always have to impress people?" lol

 I don't think I hit the "impressive" mark but the staging for a party is always fun.  I didn't do a lot of preplanning for this one and almost everything is something I already had, but I did add some fun little touches.

 The Grown Ups' Table

 I thought these printable tags were a fun touch.  (Found them here) 

 And the Kids' Table

 with their own fun tags.  The husband says he is impressed with my ability to find silly kids jokes for holidays (I always print some for lunchboxes). lol

 

 And this year (thanks to Pinterest) I decided to start a new tradition - have everyone write something they are thankful for on the table runners.  Then we can look back on it every year and add to it.

 I was surprised that even the guys quickly got to work when I brought out the fabric markers and did some fun and creative additions.

 Kinda wishing I had started this 10 years ago so I'd have my own babies' handprints right there along with little Miles. 

All in all it was a great meal (and evening) with great company.

Giving Thanks

 

Here we are in November - the month for Giving Thanks.  Typically it's the few weeks sandwiched in between Halloween and the Christmas holidays where we try to have a little normalcy or start prepping for the whirlwind of December.  This year I am trying to not let myself get carried away with What's Happening Next, but instead spend a little time focusing on what's happening now.  The change of seasons, the breezy weather, fall leaves, gorgeous blue skies.  In trying to be more mindful of the premise behind Thanksgiving and recognizing all the things there are to be grateful for, I am posting at least one Thankful item (on my Facebook page) every day. 

I was also pretty quick to give the home décor a little update.  This weekend I took the time to switch out all the Halloween stuff for things that are more Fall or Thanksgiving themed.  The front porch was pretty easy.

Down came the witch wreaths and swags and up went the fall wreath I made last year.

 The mailbox got it's own matching swag.

I had planned ahead and put the Thankful Grateful Blessed wording on the back of the witch sign.  I love the way this one turned out, especially the stain technique.  (I'll do a quick, more in depth post on the sign in a few because I'm just that happy with it ;)  ).

And of course the pallet pumpkins got to stay.

 Inside I did a quick switcheroo on the mantel.  The bead board banner got flipped from Trick or Treat to Give Thanks.  And down came the witch hats in favor of a few pumpkins (including one of my 2x4 wooden pumpkins).  It's still a little bare looking, but it will do for now.

And the witch hat centerpiece was replaced with another pumpkin that I pulled from the ledge in the stairwell (where the footprint ghosts still reside lol - they work for Thanksgiving, right? lol). 
It all took a surprisingly short amount of time to pull together - yay!  Another reminder that the small things can make big statements.  Which brings me full circle back to being thankful, mindful and recognizing all the small things in our lives that make us happy.  Like the pretty sunrise I just spotted outside my window.  I think I'll take a minute to enjoy that before rushing to grab a shower and pack the kids' lunches.
Happy November!

Pallet Pumpkins

Happy Fall!  These great pallet pumpkins are one of my favorite fall decorations for the front porch.
As the blog has switched to a new domain, I have moved this post over there as well.  Additional photos and details (and even a quick tutorial!) can now be found HERE.
Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Fall...and Happy Thanksgiving!

I did it again!  Too wrapped up in all the things going on right now that not only did the blog get neglected, but I didn't finish my fall wreath until this week!  Awww....oh well right?

You see a couple weeks ago I got together with a few friends from the neighborhood and we all worked on deco mesh wreaths.  As the one "in charge" of the project I made sure everyone got theirs done, but mine...  Well, I did finish the base! lol  I hung it on the front door to get a good look at it, and it sat there for a couple of weeks, in all its unfinished glory.  Actually I was pretty happy with the base - the colors are so pretty and so very much "fall."  But it was missing a little something.

My mother-in-law had also requested a Christmas wreath which I had also started on craft day and which also sat unfinished in the sun room.  Knowing that she would want to be able to display her wreath soon, and that I would need to use the sunroom to set up the dining table for Thanksgiving I finally took the time to finish them both.  (I will post pictured of her wreath and some of the other wreaths my friends made in a day or two - they turned out so great!)  I took a scrap piece of wood and stenciled the saying "Happy Fall Y'all" on it then wired it onto the wreath base and covered up the wire with a nice bow.  The final touch was this gorgeous floral pic I grabbed along with the wreath supplies because I was totally in love with it.  Still on the fence about if I like the tiny pop of red or if I will take that part out...

For now though, I'm happy.  And my front door will be fully dressed up for the guests that will be joining us this afternoon - Yay!  I'm so happy that today is Thanksgiving.  Happy to have my three favorite people asleep upstairs all warm and safe and happy.  Happy to know that I have so many great friends and family, both near and far away today.  Happy that my life is so full right now.  Happy to have friends coming over to spend Thanksgiving with us (that's always one of the big dilemas when you don't live near family - how to celebrate the holidays and who is available to spend them with??).  Happy to have a good start on the prep for the big meal, and that my husband is taking over the hard parts of the cooking (turkey and home made rolls) so I have no reason to stress or rush around today.  And happy that tomorrow the focus switches to Christmas - my favorite holiday! ;)
Today is going to be a great day!  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  I hope you all a fantastic, and thankful day!

Always something to be Thankful for (31 Days: Day 28)

Since I had all the supplies out the other day I decided to go ahead and make one of the Thanksgiving decor ideas I ran across on Pinterest.  Love that saying!  Might be one I need to keep out more often than just the month of November.

2x4 Pumpkin Tutorial (31 Days: Day 11)

These little beauties are so popular I didn't want to leave them behind when I changed blog domains.  The full tutorial can now be found on my new blog HERE.  Happy Fall!  And Happy Crafting!

Fall Beadboard Pennant Banners

School has started and the weather is starting to cool off (love that!) which means that fall isn't very far behind.  I love the feeling of fall.  The cool crisp air.  The colors.  And the excuse to make more decorative crafts! :)

I've been wanting to use up some up the extra beadboard we have laying around, so I came up with these fun beadboard pennant banners.  The first one I made is double-sided - one side says "Trick or Treat" and the other side reads "Give Thanks."  Two holidays - one decoration!  Halloween and Thanksgiving are so close together the decorations don't have a chance to be on display very long.  Plus the color scheme works really well for both holidays.

It also gave me a chance to use this great grey/teal/brown/orange argyle fabric.  I fell in love with it months ago when I picked some up to make baby gifts but haven't had a single project for myself where I could use it.  So I'm excited about that too  (yes, it's the little things) 

Side #1

Think it's too early in the year to leave the mantel like that? ;)  I had to dress it up a little bit for the photos - poor thing was very sad looking this summer.  I still haven't fully figured out what my permanent/non-holiday decor should be in that room.  Now I don't want to pack the stuff away and look at a bare mantel for another month.

Side #2

And because I was on a roll, I put together a generic fall banner too.  I think this one will end up on the decorative ledge by the stairs. 

I'm pleased enough with both of the banners that I think I will make some for the upcoming craft fairs (a friend and I are going to share a booth at a couple this fall and see how it goes - eek!  Craft fairs sound like so much work - and what if I don't sell anything?!) and of course I will list them in my etsy shop.

 

I've had so much fun with this idea that I've got a lot more ideas swirling around the brain - parties, photo prop, other holidays...stay tuned - I'm sure you'll be seeing more of these from me soon! Linking to:

Today's Creative Blog
 

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