Thanksgiving Place Cards Ideas

As family and friends gather 'round the Thanksgiving table, we love to find our place with

a little something that says "this spot is especially for me". Place cards can be simple

or fancy but they always make us feel a bit more special.

 

 

I have used all of the above at one time or another. The little frames have held names printed on my computer and also mini pics to save the spot. Purchased place cards are fun and so easy.

But, so is writing a name on a leaf, faux or real. The white name was done with a chalk

marking pen (available at Michael's). A frog (floral type) holds a baby picture of my

son with his first turkey leg. Old photos are fun for everyone,

especially the childhood favorites. 

 

 

Flowers and candles can be simple too! This bouquet was purchased at our local grocer

for $4.99 and I added a few dried leaves. Don't sunflowers just make you smile?

I found several sites like the following that have wonderful ideas to share...

http://www.bystephanielynn.com/2011/11/50-thanksgiving-place-card-crafts-projects-saturday-inspiration-and-ideas.html , http://www.hgtv.com/holidays-and-entertaining/printable-thanksgiving-place-cards/index.html, http://www.marthastewart.com/269071/thanksgiving-clip-art-place-cards.

 

 

Wishing you a blessed time with your loved ones this Thanksgiving.

Melin

Trick-or-Treat Fun

I thought I would share a few treats I have been putting together for Halloween. They can

 all be done fairly quickly, so there is still time. The first is a cool way to share your

favorite full size chocolate bars. You simply wrap them in crepe paper from the roll,

glue the end and glue on googly eyes for a silly treat that would make your mummy proud!

 

 

 

Besides the mummys, I am setting up a self serve candy mini bar using our cool milk bottle holder.

 I filled the bottles with various kid candies and retro style Halloween bags to fill up. This will

be a fun option for the kids we know that will have their parents with them.

 

 

 

Lastly, I made popcorn drizzled with white chocolate and sprinkles. I melted some Almond Bark

white candy coating in the microwave and drizzled onto the popped corn, which was in a

single layer over wax paper across my kitchen island.

 

 

As I worked, I quickly sprinkled with orange and black sprinkles. The coating dries fast!

 

 

Isn't it festive for Halloween! I bagged it up in cute bags and passed them out at a

 Trunk-or-Treat night of celebration.

 

 

Wishing you and yours a great family time this Halloween!

Melin





Decorating Pumpkins

Just a little quickie~
I was watching the Today show, while eating my lunch, and saw these pumpkin decorating ideas from lifestyle expert, Evette Rios. I thought they were quick and fun. Go to http://www.today.com/video/today/53342371#53342371 to watch the video, if you missed it.
Have fun decorating!
Melin

Christmas Tree Ideas!

WE are in full preparation for our big Open House, the first weekend in October, at Wren Elizabeth Gifts and I thought I would share more of our decorated trees. See my last post for one more.

This tree is full of beautifully crafted vintage look ornaments.

 



 

A soft shell theme mini tree with mercury glass ornaments and real shells.

 

 

This fun retro tree takes me back to a time of the mid century innocence.

 

A sweet pastel tree that is perfect in a bedroom or bath!

 

 

This one is a bough that I decorated in a nature theme.

These trees are like children, each is unique, and I can't pick a favorite.

Hope you will be inspired for your holiday decorating!

Melin



Look What I did today!

 

I am blessed to have one of the best jobs in

the world...doing what I LOVE!

 

 

I got to decorate for Christmas in preparation for our big Wren

Elizabeth Gifts Open House, the first weekend in October.

I love all these new elf and nature ornaments!

 

 

Still love the box signs too. They share, with your friends, what

you are thinking during the holidays, funny or sentimental.

I have to tell you I listened to Christmas music while working too. :)

Tonight, I'll be singing holiday music in preperation for our Community Chorus' holiday

concert. Just can't get enough of the holiday spirit, even this early.

Melin



Editing Home Decor

These are a few ideas for editing the decor or collections in your home.

 

1. Bring of few pieces of a larger collection out and rotate monthly or seasonally.

2. Group a few similar items together for more impact.

3. Keep antiquing, thrifting and shopping...just seeing lots of things out there can make you          

     thrilled again with what you already have. You may fall in love all over again! If you must have   

     something new, put away an older treasure for awhile.

4. At the start of a new season or holiday, redecorate your rooms in that and store the rest. It's all new

     again! 

5. Create a keepsake or shadow box with items collected from a vacation or life event that mean a lot

     to you. It will get your creative juices flowing and take up little space.

6. Store your treasures in a closet, pantry or attic between uses. No such luck? Purchase a few of the

    great new storage items like chests (coffee table), cubes (extra seating) or under the bed rolling

    bins. The closer for you to get to the goodies the better for easier transitions. 

 

 

We love these bear that are part of our bigger collection but they definitely need a bit of editing.

 

 

I took all but three and stored them under the buffet, where they can be seen

if you look real close but they do not dominate the buffet.

 

 

This is much more peaceful!

 

 

I love the old print from a magazine of the bear camping. I still love the term

 bear for singular bear or many bear. I'm weird like that!

Melin



Fun Back To School Wreath

 

 

Are you getting ready to send the kids back to school this month or thinking about

when you kids were small? A back to school wreath can be a fun project for your family.

Start by gathering up your favorite school photos or memorabilia.

 

 

Add a few school supplies in your favorite colors for highlighting the photos. We just love

the color purple (Oprah reference coincidental, but awesome). I even used a bright

index card for showing off my favorite small photo.

 

 

Lay out your finds and attach them to a our tag spiral wreath or any wreath you like.

These all slide into the wreath except for the glue stick, which I hung with a

Christmas ornament hanger. 

Your family, big or small, will enjoy the happy memories

 and be excited about the coming school year.

Melin

 

Baby Shower Buffet Idea

I am busy getting ready for our Soroptimist Baby Shower and I thought I would share

 this quick tip. I must have seen it somewhere before but have never tried it.

A basket of eating utensil babies make the buffet fun and easy!

 

 

You start with a napkin, utensils, a plastic twist tie or ribbon and a Sharpie.

 

 

Stack the knife, fork and spoon upside down.

 

 

   Gather the napkin "blanket" around the "baby" and secure with

 the twist tie, like a swaddled baby.

 

 

Draw a curl, eyes and a mouth on your baby. Don't worry about your artistic skills.

Make some smile, coo and cry. Each baby is unique, just like real babies.

The most important part is to have fun!

Melin



Cake Philosophy!

When life (or high altitude) hands you a sunken cake,

fill it with frosting! Frosting is my favorite food group ;)

Yummy,

Melin

Pinks!

 

My fabulous friend, Linda, brought me a beautiful bouquet of hydrangeas from her garden.

 I LOVE them and was so excited to have a vase full. Wish I would have taken photos

of them. The one survivor was this beautiful pink hydrangea (on the left).

 

 

The color perfectly matches the pink in my peonies! We got more peonies

 this year than ever, including the white bloom.

 

 

The vase is a pitcher from my collection of milk glass.

 

 

What flowers do you have in your garden now?

Enjoy them,

Melin

The Farm Chicks Adventure Part II

WE were in line at 7:30 am! Look pretty chipper, don't WE?

Just so you know, from left to right, it's Melin, Teri, Nancy & Sue. 

 

Here is our spot in line. It's not too bad.

 

 

If you don't arrive early, you could be at the end of this...or worse!

WE talked to many fun ladies in line with us and tried to make a plan.

But once inside, it's so awesome you forget the plan and just go for it!

 

 

 I bought 3-4 larger items in the first half hour and I am so glad I did.

Watch for a future blog post about hints for The Farm Chicks Show. 

 

 The booths are fun and each one unique. There were some industrial, kitchen (more would

 have been better for me), garden, kids, and general home items. The prices are fair,

not cheap nor super high. I do prefer bargains but fair is good.

 

 

I wish I could share with you what I bought and I will when I retrieve my treasures from

Sue in August. The plane really limits what I could bring home with me.

I think I took these booth pictures on Sunday, when the crowds are just a bit lighter because it was much more crowded than it looks like here. Just want to give you an idea of what it looks like.

The booths are all inside the fairgrounds building. It was very crowded in the booths

and at times almost overwhelming.



WE each did our own thing, so WE could go at our own pace. Our paths did cross many times

with happy grins and hot spot sharing. WE met for lunch and they had a nice selection of food.

 I had a great barbecue sandwich. There were long lines and seats were tough to come by but

WE did manage to seat all together. It felt great to sit and compare notes on what we found. 

 

 There is an assortment of Farm Chicks merchandise near the entrance. WE all bought shirts, which sold out on Saturday. WE wore them on Sunday and were told gals may offer 

us cash for the shirts off our backs but no way were WE selling our keepsakes.

I bought this great mug too!

 

 

 Here WE are posing with the car in the woods theme display in the entrance in our shirts.

Most of us had to make a car run at least once. WE all bought some great treasures  for our

 own homes and I picked up a few cool treats for Wren Elizabeth Gifts ~ Vintage.

Watch for more blog posts about our adventures with The Farm Chicks.

Melin