Everyday Celebrating

Still time to make: Children's Thanksgiving table

First things first... did you enter to win a roll of Scotch tape?  Perfect for holiday crafts and wrapping!

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Amanda of It's Always a Party at the Sparklers shares this adorable Thanksgiving children's table set up AND a free set of Thanksgiving printables.  Look at the cute table!

On her site, she gives a full tutorial on how to make that fabulous centerpiece out of Dollar Store placemats!  Awesome!  There's still time to create a fun table for the smaller guests!

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Still need ideas for Thanksgiving food, decor, traditions, activities?  Join us over at Blog Frog to discuss these and more!  We'll help solve the dilemmas! 

Everyday Events: a CARS birthday!

First things first... did you enter the enter to win a couple rolls of Scotch tape?  Perfect for holiday crafts and wrapping!

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This birthday party from Becky of From Rookie to Rockstar has adorable details centered around the movie CARS.  CARS is so big with little boys right now so I'm thrilled to share with you this party as inspiration to many parents who may be wondering how to pull it off.

First up, the invitations.  I love how she had an invitation made as well as another insert that explained what activities to expect.  That REALLY builds excitement!

She borrowed tires from a local shop to use as the entryway to the party!

Favors were toolboxes for each child to take home filled with fun Cars themed items.

 

Look at this!  She made cars out of cardboard for each child attending!  Later than put them on for a race.

Also, she created a large Lightning McQueen prop. The children were able to play "pit crew".  The children were able to add oil, turn the bolts on the tires, wash the windows, etc.  They loved it!

Look at the awesome cake!

There are many more photos on her blog including the adorable outfits the family wore and other activities the children played!   Head over!   What an amazing day for her son, Cooper!

DIY: Creating easy table skirts & Tape giveaway!

 
Thanks to Scotch(R) Double Sided Tape for sponsoring my writing about crafts. Add your comment below to be entered for a chance to win free sample rolls to help with your upcoming holiday needs.

I thought I'd show you a super easy way to create a quick table skirt.  All you need is a light piece of fabric and this... 

Let's get started!

I have this buffet and I use it as a focal point of holiday decor in one room.  There is a Christmas tree next to it and I usually work with one theme.  This year's theme is candy canes.  So, I want to create a consistent color palette which means covering up the cherry wood.  

I use double sided tape to temporarily wrap the table in fabric for a fitted table skirt.  Now, before you get anxious, yes, I do place the tape on the wood but don't worry... it comes off easily.  That being said, I don't guarantee that the tape will hold for a long time so this tutorial is meant for a quick, one evening table skirt.

The first thing you want to do is measure your fabric.  You do not want excess fabric.  The heavier the fabric, the more it pulls on the tape which means tension on the fabric.  

For the bottom of the fabric, the part that goes to the floor, if you don't sew, cut the fabric a bit longer than needed and tuck under.  Always better to cut longer than shorter.

Also, before you start on the table, make sure your fabric is ironed.  You'll see why I say that later. LOL

Then we're ready to attach!

I start on the side and press the fabric into the tape smoothly and evenly.

When you get to a corner, you fold the fabric like you're wrapping the corner of a present.

Here's the other corner...

Here's what it looks like in the end.  See that lovely crease in the fabric?  Definitely iron your fabric!
I've talked about it before and I'll say it again, a wrinkled tablecloth can ruin any table decor.  Your eye automatically goes straight to the crease. (Believe me, I'll fix this.)  LOL

After the taping is done, Then you can cover the top with a runner or another piece of bunched up fabric for depth.  I placed a candy cane striped fabric on top just to show you.  Next.. start adding your decorative pieces!

Easy, temporary table skirt!  

Please learn more about Scotch(R) Double Sided Tape and other Scotch(R) Products and join the conversation on the Scotch(R) Brand Facebook Page and via Twitter. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

 

WIN A ROLL!!!

EDITED: Thanks to 3M, 10 Everyday Celebrating readers will win 1 roll of Scotch Tape!  Perfect for upcoming holiday crafts or wrapping those presents!

How to Enter:
1. Leave me a comment telling me approximately how many rolls of Scotch tape you go through during the holiday season. 

Extra Entries:
2. Like Everyday Celebrating on Facebook.  Leave me a comment letting me know you became a fan and leave your username.

This giveaway will end on Saturday, November 20th, 2010 at 11:59  PM EST. Winners will be announced on the blog and on Facebook

Everyday Events: Fall Hootenanny

Nashville reader Jennifer shared with me her recent party and although it was billed as a Halloween party, the details would work for a super cute fall get together!

From Jennifer:

"This party was obvioulsy inspired by Owls and I had everyone come to the party as their favorite "Creature of the Night". Owls are definitely my favorite creature of the night! ;) I wanted to give my house a "foresty" feel so I brought in twigs and branches from outside and set them around the house. We also hung silver stars and yellow paper lanterns that gave off an eerie glow and served as my full moon. A fog machine added a misty appearance."

"My dessert table was the spotlight and all of the food was owl themed. I made the cake pops. They were devil's food cake on the inside and I made a batch in chocolate and a batch in orange (to match my invitation). They turned out great and were a HUGE hit at the party.

 

"I also made the owl cookies, owl brownies, and mice truffles. The owl brownies ("wise old brownies") were inspired by Dylan of Dylan's Candy Bar in New York. I added a piece of sheet moss in the middle to give it more of an "outdoorsy" feel and draped the table in brown burlap. Black fabric was the backdrop and a large yellow paper lantern hung for a full moon."

One of the guests dressed as a black cat and read tarot cards all night for the other guests. Everyone loved it and had a wonderful time!

If you're in Nashville and need an event planner, check out of Jennifer of Mr and Mrs Events

Vendors used:

My invitations were made my Shawna Sheahen of Paper Millie Press
The food labels were made by Stacy Splonski at Sugar Tree Studio
The fabric owls were handmade by Jason Parker Counce with Jason Parker Counce Designs
All pictures were taken by Daniel Brown, http://www.flickr.com/people/23044994@N06/

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Need more fall and Thanksgiving ideas?  Decor, recipes, crafts and other conversations are happening right now on the Seasonal Celebrations Community on BlogFrog.  Join us!  We'd love to help you create the perfect celebration!

Repost: Not just for Halloween and Thanksgiving....

This is a repost of a 11/2008 blog entry.  I've had a few people mention these pumpkins lately and thought a repost may be perfect for last minute Halloween and tailgating decorations!

While it's still t the season of  pumpkins, they are great decoration and yet, you don't have to use them in their traditional colors.

It's still football season, so why not decorate your tailgate in seasonal pumpkins that support your favorite team!  The pumpkins above provided a warm welcome to guests of a homecoming parade watching party.  Tons of compliments on them and it was one can of chrome spray paint and various rolls of grosgrain ribbon.   Easy wow factor.... minimal cost. 

Fall raffia vase

I love this raffia vase!  Amanda at The Hand Me Down House shows how to make these beautiful textured vases out of mason jars, raffia and Mod Podge. 

I love the colors of the raffia and how they create such a great texture!  These would be nice for a rustic fall wedding.  Make the vases ahead of time and give them to your florist to fill.

And remember.... Goodwill or thrift stores for the jars!

Still time to make: Decoupage pumpkins!

While I love pumpkins, sometimes it's nice to have a different pattern to add some interest to your display.  You can easily add any pattern you'd like by decoupaging your pumpkins!  You're only limited by the tissue paper you can find!

First, you'll need:

• a pumpkin
• Mod Podge
• craft brush
• tissue paper
• paper plate or scrap wood, etc to sit your pumpkin on while decoupaging

I chose a purple and black tissue paper with the words BOO because my display is in those colors and I wanted a more monochromatic feel to the display. You could go the opposite way and have something that really stands out!

Next, rip your tissue paper into strips.  They don't have to be perfect.  Just rip them long enough to cover the pumpkin lengthwise.

Brush a thin layer of Mod Podge onto a section of pumpkin lengthwise and then press the strip of tissue onto the pumpkin.  Spread it out as best as you can, but it's fine if you have wrinkles.  After it's laid flat, brush more Mod Podge on top of the tissue paper.  It will look like this.  (If you've never used Mod Podge, don't panic.  It goes on white, but dries clear!)

Then just start working your way around the pumpkin a strip of tissue at a time.  Don't worry about the pattern matching or the words meeting up. 

That's it!  Then you just let it dry.  While Mod Podge dries really quickly, I still like to let it dry overnight to be sure. 

Finished product!  

Because this pumpkin barely had any stem, I'm thinking I may add some curly black and purple pipe cleaners to the top. 

This is a great activity for kids because it doesn't have to be perfect.  Give them a brush and let them slap it on!  There's no way they can mess it up!

Also, this is great decor for fall tailgating.  Just cut tissue strips in alternating school colors!

DIY: Trick or Treat party!

Today, I'm over at Everything Mom talking about a great SAFE alternative to having your children go door to door this Halloween.

Host an easy Trick or Treat party!  Come on over and find out how.

DIY: Halloween filler decor

Do you have a Halloween display but need something with height or need something to fill in the end spaces?  Make this easy urn with only 4 items.

The urn:  Originally beige.  Bought at Goodwill.  As you know, I buy these whenever I see them at Goodwill. Just add spray paint!  They are perfect for floral arrangements.

The sticks:  I bought these at Goodwill as well.  They were in a large bundle.  They've been in my garage for a LONG time and I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with them (until now.)  They were originally brown.  You don't even have to buy any - just use sticks you find in your area.

The Spanish Moss:  Dollar Tree!  Only used 1 package for 2 urns.

The Helper:  My son, Keaton.  

You can see where the sticks were brown.  Just drop some floral foam into the urns.  My son had a ball poking in each stick. Then I spray painted the whole thing black.  When dry, fill in the urn with spanish moss and you're done!

These would make perfect Thanksgiving pieces too.  Just paint GOLD or maybe cover the sticks or urn in gold leaf!  

Easy Pennant Centerpiece

So easy, this pennant centerpiece from Embellished Life is perfect!  

Attach triangles of scrapbook paper to sticks using twine.  Want something more fancy?  How about mixing a pretty brown/turquoise damask with the sticks?  Tie on the paper with a nice brown or tan satin?  

Or, make it a children's centerpiece.  Use character or themed scrapbook paper and attach it with curling ribbon? Even spray paint the stick for more color.  This would even make a great non-spooky Halloween centerpiece.  Use candy corn as the vase filler.

Love the use of popcorn kernels as vase filler.  Inexpensive and it adds another color and textural depth.  Perfect for a fall centerpiece.