thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Leftovers Labels

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in the US. We are going to be staying in the city and having our own little Thanksgiving at home. I love San Francisco during the holidays because the streets are empty! It is amazing. We put together these leftover labels to put on the containers to send home with your guests. (Beautiful calligraphy by Julie Manwaring.) Have a Happy Holiday!

Download the free “leftovers” labels right here and print on label paper or just use a glue stick to adhere.

Credits and our Talented Contributors:
Photography by Paul Ferney for Oh Happy Day
Art Directed by Jordan Ferney
Produced by Ashley Rose Kirschling
Crafting and Calligraphy by Julie Manwaring at Flourish & Whim

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DIY Fall Pumpkin Place Card Holders

by Halligan Norris

Fall is here!  So many people skip the fall fun and jump into the Christmas season. But Fall is one of my favorite times of year and I love to savor it. To make guests feel right at home at your fall party how about making custom place card holders that double as a take home gifts?  These little pumpkins are quick and easy to make and your can really experiment with the DIY process to make these all yours.  You can even upsize the design to make a great centerpiece!

Supplies: thin craft wood, RIT dye, scissors, colored paper, pen, paper glue, sand paper
Step 1.  Draw pumpkin shapes onto paper.  Cut out using scissors and use sandpaper to clean edges.
Step 2.  Draw lines onto the center of each pumpkin piece.  Draw from the bottom on the stemmed piece and from the top on the unstemmed piece. Then cut a thin slit the same thickness as your wood.
Step 3.  Slip your pumpkins parts into one another and dip dye each pumpkin using a RIT dye bath.  To achieve a gradual fad hold your pumpkins at several levels in the bath starting with a short dunk half way up your pumpkin then longer towards the bottom.
4.  Type or scribe the names of your guests on paper and cut 1/8″ strips. To curl paper lightly pinch between two fingers and quickly pull. Cut a “v” shape at the end of your curl and then glue onto your pumpkin stem. –Happy Fall!

 

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Thanksgiving Alphabet Pie Topper DIY

by Chiara Alberetti Milott

Don’t get me wrong, I love cake. It’s just that sometimes I wonder why they get all the love. Frosting, toppers, edible flowers, candles, rainbow insides…….it’s all so pretty! With the holidays fast approaching, I thought I’d see if I could ‘celebrate’ the humble pie, and dress it up a little. Here are instructions to make a heartfelt Thanksgiving pie topper.

Materials: 4 x 8 inch piece of heavyweight dark gray paper, 2 x 8 inch piece of heavyweight light gray paper, sage green and gray ribbon, 2 wooden skewers, pencil, ruler, white glue, scissors, Alphabet Pasta, print-outs or color copies of bird illustrations (with 1 x 2 inch birds), mini-clamps.

Step 1. Begin with your gray paper – draw an upside-down rainbow shape, starting from the top lefthand corner, to the center of the bottom side (marked with a ruler), back up to the top righthand side of the rectangle. Do this on both the dark gray and the light gray paper. You will have one deep rainbow and one shallow rainbow. Cut out a 1 inch strip following your pencil line, with both colored papers.

Step 2. Spill out a pile of alphabet pasta into a saucer or tray. Search for your letters and set them aside to glue. I chose to write “Have a Grateful Heart” based on a quote by Seneca who said, “Nothing is more honorable than a grateful heart,” and “Be conscious of your treasures” derived from Thortnon Wilder who said, “We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.”  Really, you could write whatever moves you.  Place little dots of white glue on the paper and carefully put your letters into place. You may have to use a pencil tip to nudge them into the right position. Let dry.

Step 3. Cut out two bird illustrations. Make sure they are facing each other.  I used an old bird guide book I had, but Vintage Printable has a great selection of birds. You may have to resize your images to get the right sized birds.

Step 4.  Cut two 8-inch lengths of each ribbon, so you have four pieces of ribbon total. Cut your skewers to be roughly 8 inches also.

Step 5. Layer your bird, letter swags, folded ribbons and skewer, in that order. Place glue in between every layer, and clip them together to dry. Be sure to angle your skewers slightly inwards. I left mine to dry overnight, although I don’t think they actually need that much time.

Step 6. Bake, or buy, a pie! Insert your topper into your pie and enjoy!

P.S. With some leftover alphabet pasta, I made some quick place cards for the table. I see lots of potential with these pasta letters, and there are a about a million in each little box. I’m thinking about gift tags, cards, on top of presents – - what do you think they would be good for?

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Wrapping Thanksgiving with Pipe Cleaners

by The House that Lars Built

I always walk by pipe cleaners in craft stores and think, “There’s gotta be a way to make those not look like they are meant for only 4 year-olds.” Well, I think I may have found an answer as wrapping devices. They are perfect for braiding and twisting (and you’ll learn how to braid five ways. Yipeee!). Chosen well and the colors can mimic a beautiful autumn harvest. I added some gift tags into the braiding for an extra bit of spice.

Materials Needed:
Extra long pipe cleaners (also called chenille stems)
Gift wrapped boxes (kraft paper is always a simple favorite)
Gift tags of your choice (manilla tags are clean and classic)
Scissors
Glue (hot glue gun or glue dots, which I used)
Optional: stamp pad and stamps for tags

Step 1: Let’s learn to braid five with five strands. It’s a great way to add lots of color to a simple braid. It’s super easy by just remembering the “3 to 2″ rule. First, start off by pinching them together at the top. You can also set them under something heavy to weigh it down. Split one group into three and the other into two. Take the outside strand of the three group to the inside of the two group. Now, take the new three group and take the outside strand to the new inside two group. Keep on going by switching off “outside three” to “outside two” and so forth and soon you’ll see a braid developing.

Step 2: Halfway through your braiding, take the gift tag and slide it into the braid where you’d like it to be seen from the top of the package. Continue to braid until you reach the end. You don’t have to secure the ends because the wire will keep them in place.

Step 3: Glue the ends to the bottom of the box and hold to secure. You might want to bend the wires of the pipe cleaners to ensure a secure an easy shape to the box.

Get clever with the braids by adding two together in an “x”, try twisting just two colors, or try a simple 3 way braid and you’re good to go! Happy harvesting!

Photos by eLove Photography

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Thanksgiving Recap

That long holiday was exactly what I needed. I organized closets, got my email whittled down to a manageable size, and got to eat lots of food. Our Thanksgiving was great. Liz made an amazing meal and had all sorts of activities lined up to entertain all the kids.

I was happy with how the flowers turned out. I picked up some oranges, berries, fall leaves, and dahlias on Wednesday morning at the flower market. It took about an hour to assemble three arrangements. The little marble envelopes filled with nuts doubled as place cards.

How was your Thanksgiving.

photos by Paul Ferney for Oh Happy Day

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