Thanksgiving Table Decor and Hostess Gifts

Now that Halloween has come and gone [but hopefully, the candy still lingers], let's think Thanksgiving. Here's a quick project you and the kids can create to use as a table place setting or even hostess gifts.

Gather a small recycled or mason jar with a lid, a package of seasonal candy, and embellishments including twine, fringed fabric or ribbon, flowers, tags and labels.

Fill the jar to the top, avoiding the temptation to eat a lot of the candy. 

Or, you'll wind up with a half-empty (or is it half-full?) jar--

not such a good thing.

The rest is easy--EMBELLISH!

Wrap the jar with a piece of fringed canvas.

 Then I tied three colors of twine around the fringe.

Next, I topped the lid with a large sunflower and a tag stamped "thank you." 

You can stamp any text or image on the tag, and even personalize it.

And it's ready to go!

Wouldn't these candy-filled jars look pretty on your Thanksgiving tablescape?

For more creative inspiration, search this blog or 

click over to my new blog, 

Altered Artworks on Wordpress

Like what you see? Don't forget to pin it!

Thanksgiving Table Favor Decor & Hostess Gift

Want an easy, quick and festive table favor or hostess gift for Thanksgiving? 

 

                               

Gather together a small mason jar with lid, fall-colorful candy [I used peanut m&m's], and a few embellishments such as twine, fringe, ribbons, flowers, labels and a tag.

The first step is actually the most difficult: filling the jar.  Be very careful.  Fill the jar to the top, avoiding the temptation to eat too much of the candy, or you'll end up with a half-empty (or half-full) jar.  Not such a good gift.  If you did this step correctly, you should have something that looks like this:

The rest is EASY.  Embellish!  

I first wrapped the jar with a piece of canvas fringe.

Then I tied twine around the fringe, using three colors of red, yellow and brown, which just happens to perfectly match the m&m's.

Top the lid with a sunflower and a tag. This one was stamped with "thank you." You can stamp it with Happy Thanksgiving, or just write a name on it.

And you're ready to go!  

 

A Thanksgiving "Giving Thanks" Journal

                

Today I'm sharing an altered art project just in time for Thanksgiving, a "Giving Thanks" Journal. 

                            Thanks.

                            Hopes.

                            Actions.

                            Noteworthiness.

                            Kindness.

                            Sincerity.

                            Giving Journal.

Giving Thanks.  Thanksgiving.  Any way you say it, it's important to recognize and appreciate everyone and everything you have to be thankful for:  your loving family, best friends, your cuddly little puppy dog, your favorite teacher.  You get the idea.

A great way to remind yourself about all the wonderful people and things going on in your life is to create a "Giving Thanks" Journal. 

First, gather your supplies.  Select your paper, and then go through your craft stash, choosing embellishments you may want to use in altering your journal including ribbon, buttons, brads, metal findings, flowers, tags, chipboard, etc.  

Next, measure the front of your notebook, and cut the paper to size. 

Since my notebook has a spiral edge, I used a spiral punch down one side of the paper and carefully decoupaged it onto the notebook cover, gently sliding the paper underneath the spirals.  You will get a better seal if you apply decoupage to both surfaces.  In this case, I coated the front of the journal as well as the back of the paper.

After a few minutes, you can then decoupage the top of the paper.  This will help the surface resist wear and tear.

 

Now comes my favorite step:  Embellishments! 

I am a self-appointed ribbon queen.  I just love how ribbon adds so much color and texture to a project.  I cut 7" lengths of eight different ribbons, and tied them around the spirals. 

I added a metal frame and coordinating cardstock. I typed out "GIVING THANKS JOURNAL" using my label maker (which I have owned since the 1960's!), and centered the labels inside the metal frame.

Then I punched out six divider tabs and glued them to the journal pages, creating six sections.

I added the words, 
Thanks, Hopes, Actions, Noteworthiness, Kindness and Sincerity.  
When you put the first letters of each word together, it spells THANKS.

This journal has a pocket on the inside front page which I embellished with paper, ribbon and a metal heart paperclip.  I tied ribbons through manila tags, which will be used as bookmarks).  If your journal does not have a pocket, you can add one to the inside back cover.

A few more embellishments including extra ribbon, sunflowers and brads complete the journal.

This would be a great time to start a new tradition in your family.  Pass around the journal at the Thanksgiving table, and ask everyone to jot down who and what they are thankful for, their hopes, their actions, etc.   Bring it out every year and add to it, read the previous year's notes, and continue adding to it year after year.

Wouldn't this be a great journal to pass down to future generations?  

I hope this altered "Giving Thanks" Journal inspires you to add something special to your Thanksgiving traditions.

And here's a quick and easy Thanksgiving project:

Thanksgiving Hostess Gift

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