Kids Thanksgiving Craft: Pine Cone Place Cards

Hopefully you have gathered your cones and are ready for an easy kid friendly craft.

I have a copy of the Better Homes and Gardens Holiday Crafts Kids Can Make from '87, and the boys wanted to use the place card craft found in the Thanksgiving Table section. Mine came from a family friend but they also have it at Amazon.















On to the craft...

1.) We took our cones outside, spray painted them, and used spray craft adhesive to add glitter.

2.) While they dried, we went inside and worked on our name cards. I had some pretty cardstock, so we kept it simple and used the fancy-schmancy sisscors  on the edges. The boys wrote the names of family members that are expected for our Thanksgiving/Christmas dinner.

(I'm especially proud of my youngest- he'll be 5 in December- and how well he wrote names)


3.) When you're setting the table, just slip the name card into the pine cones for an Earthy, harvest decoration.

In case you were wondering, THIS is what happens when you combine all this with three boys. LOL



Of course when they are not being used for place cards, the pine cones look great just in a basket.

***Options: You can use letter stickers for the names, and if course you can decorate the card stock anyway you like... beads, glitter, yarn, bric-a-brac, etc



HEADS UP FOR LATER: WE WILL BE USING MULTICOLOR CORN FOR SOME MORE THANKSGIVING PROJECTS

Gettin' Crafty Wid It: The Holiday Crafts are Coming!

The downside to having an organized sewing room is my children can actually find the kids craft books. "Mom, can we make this?

 

We will be doing a pine cone craft for tomorrow's post, so here are some things you may want to do first:

1.) Go foraging in the woods for some pretty pine cones.

2.) Don't forget to take a new Facebook  picture while you're there...

3.) Setting your oven at a low temp (mine is 170 degrees F) and cracking the door a little, roast your cones for about half an hour or so to really open them up.

4.) Meanwhile, go foraging in your craft supplies for fun things like glitter, tacky glue, spray adhesive, paint, cardstock, or anything else that inspires you.



5.) Check back here to see what happens when you mix all this with three boys.

Think on These Things: Greatfulness Leads to Happiness

It's almost Thanksgiving here in the USA. The "I'm thankful for..." statuses abound on Facebook, in church, my children are learning that a thankful heart is a happy heart, and I am encouraging them to think of things THEY can do for others BEFORE they think of what everyone else can get them for Christmas.

This is a great way to kick off the holidays, but how greater still would it be if we could remember to do this through out the year?

There was time in my life of depression. Real, full blown, Postpartum Depression. I would like to say that I just thought my way happy but I didn't. I was one of the people that needed medical help to get that emotional balance again. I'm in no way implying that those with serious issues such as this should just "get over it and quit being ungrateful" (I actually had someone who did not really understand say that to me). Yet, for the everyday kind of blues and doldrums, an easy way to feel better is to look around you and find things in your life to be grateful for.

Philippians 4:8-9 says it this way: Finally, Brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me- put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

This applies to every area of your life. Feeling financially trapped? Look around at what you have or what you CAN do, and be thankful. Extra sick-of-it when dealing with the kids or spouse? Think of all the things that are lovely or praiseworthy about them (we all need our loved ones to look beyond our faults and see something excellent about us). Is your heart aching because you have a deep wish only to see it go unfulfilled? What do you already have in your life that brings you pleasure?

There are so many people in this world in much worse situations than our own. Do your children have to forage in the dump for items to sell just so they can eat that day? Likely not. Is your house mearly a lean-to of cobbled together scraps of metal and wood with a dirt floor? Likely not. There are still very simple things that these people are grateful for. How much more thankful should WE be?

One of my favorite blogs (Tea Rose Home) is hosting a giveaway... nothing new to the blogging world. The hitch is, you must leave a comment on something you are thankful for. What a great idea!

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could all take the time at least once a day to think of how blessed we are? What are YOU thankful for today?

New Blog, Same Sewing and Crafting Stuff

Welcome to the blog formerly known as astitchysituation.wordpress.com .  It will now only be known as an unpronounceable symbol.

OK, not really.

Although the New Sewing Room is pretty much done, there is still more work to do downstairs. Soon we'll be done (within the next couple of days) and I will be back with some fun holiday crafts and the usual sewing fun!



Thanks for stopping by!

My New Sewing Room!

Once upon a time, I had a sewing room. I had to share it with the computer but I still had a large work area beside my drawers and cabinets. Then it happened...

...the computer room needed to be turned into a full blown office and my work space was gone, my drawers and cabinets stuck in a corner (cue sad violin music). I was forced to carry my sewing machine out to the dinning room table when I needed to use it and move it again when the table was required for eating or homework.

This was NOT conducive to creativity.

Oh how quickly things can change, though.

In early October, I was looking at our messy storage area in the basement and got to thinking that it had just enough space for a sewing room. What tipped the balance was that we really do need a guest room since my In-Laws live out of state and we love having them stay with us during visits.

So started our project. First thing needed was to clear out the construction area.

 

Cleared out, we sealed the bricks and cement.

Then my wonderful husband could frame in the walls...

 

...and drywall.

I Mudded, sanded, primed, and painted.

Brought in the guys from Lots Of Carpet...

And I have my room!

 

I absolutely love having my own creative space and that it's organized, too! When I step through the door I feel relaxed, peaceful, and ready to sew/paint/craft.  I do need to finish trimming the door frames, touch up the wall in some areas, and install doorknobs, though.

Straight up Slippin', Boo! Using a Bed Sheet for a Slipcover

I'm so close to having my own creative space! The walls are up and painted a cheery yellow. Next we put in the drop ceiling and carpet. Woo hoo!

Something I will need after all the construction stuff is complete, is lovely furniture. I've already begun painting old cabinets...



... My project yesterday involved a cute little arm-chair. Just the thing for relaxing!



What? You don't think it's so cute? You don't see it working with cheery yellow walls?

Neither do I.

So I took myself over to Joann's and priced out the upholstery fabric for recovering (which happens to be 50% off this week).

Yeah...not gonna happen on my budget. I have expensive tastes.

Fortunately my quilting experience has taught me, a great way to get lots of fabric very cheaply is to buy a sheet. I got a full size set at a super store for right around $20, less than half of the price of the material at Joann's.

First thing I did was to take that horrible trim from the bottom.



Borrowing an idea from the now defunct Trading Spaces, I removed the cushion and draped the flat sheet over my chair and got to pinning.



1.) After draping the sheet (wrong-side up) over the chair, adjust (but not tuck) so that the bottom edge is even all the way around.

2.) Pin in the places where there is just too much fabric, corners, curves, etc. to fit the sheet to your chair's shape.  Spend a lot of time on this step. The more pins and time, the easier it will be to sew and the better it will look.

***For a No-Sew Slipcover, use a bunch of safety-pin to fit the sheet.***



3.) Gently pull the sheet off of the chair, turn right-side up and place back on the chair to check the fit. You will likely do this step at least twice, just remember the more time you spend here the better it will look.

*** No-Sew: after this step you're done! Just pull a pillow case over the seat cushion and you're good to go.***



4.) Once you have it just how you want it, cut the excess fabric  about half an inch away from the pins.

5.) Sew the, now cut, seams. (This is where I added a little trim)

 

6.) The seat cushion is as simple as making pillows. Measure the top square (or rectangle in my case) from side to side, and add an inch to each measurement. Cut two squares, that size. for the gusset (the strip that goes around the width) do the same, adding that inch to the width and length.

7.) Sew that all together, leaving the back open at one seam so you can slip the cushion in there.

8.) Finishing the edge for the cushion cover has a few options. You can hand stitch it closed, use hook and loop (like Velcro) pieces, or if you're lazy like me and out of velcro you can safety-pin it shut.

I can't wait to post some finished room pictures!

Suffering from Withdrawal!

I'm surprised I'm not shaking. It's been sooooooo loooooong since I've sewn or crafted something it's putting me a little on edge. The sewing room is coming along, but what's taking the most time is the drywall. Since my room is in the slowly-being-finished-basement, the mud is not drying as quickly as it should.

ARUGHHHHHH! <----aggravation

I've been checking out my favorites like Tea Rose Home, and One Pretty Thing (which is featuring ME  today!) and just itching to try some of the crafts I've seen.

*Sigh*

All in time. As soon as I can get the final layer of mud slapped and sanded, I'll be ready for the fun stuff... like painting, and decorating!  (I'm really wanting to put together a lamp like this on Blue Cricket Design for the room)

BUT

You can bet that when it comes time I'll have some tutorials for those deco projects as I tackle them.  Happy Crafting!