25 Days Left...To be Thankful For!!

I am thankful for being healthy and not sick. DD2 is sick today, she has a cold. But I am thankful because we haven't had any major health problems!

Thanksgiving Countdown Week 1- Get Organized

[X]Make the promise. Promise to spend 15 minutes each day to get organized for the big event.

[X]Set up a notebook or a section in your notebook to help organize. Remember to add some blank pages for notes and records.

[X]Create or print lists that might be needed. For example: Guest list, food list, budget party planner, etc.

[ ]Review party planner pages and begin thinking about the menu.

[X]Print the home spruce-up worksheet and complete it. Examine the area of the gathering. What are some things that need to be spruced up before the event?

[X]Will you host overnight guests? If so add “get guest room ready” to your list. Create a pamper basket for the guest room.

[X]Stock up on batteries for cameras and video recorders.

[ ]House Prep – Cooking Space. Also be sure to make space in the fridge/freezer for your Thanksgiving food items.

[ ]This weeks craft project - Tin Can Turkey. This little guy is so cute. Have the family write on little scraps of paper what they are thankful for and place the notes in the can. On Thanksgiving, everyone gather together and read the notes.

Craft for Thanksgiving.....

This was found at allfreecrafts.com, they have bunches of great ideas, go there and check it out!

Styrofoam Thanksgiving Pilgrims

Wouldn't these styrofoam pilgrims look wonderful in your home for Thanksgiving?

Pilgrims PDF Pattern file - 308KB



Pilgrims
MATERIALS NEEDED:

STYROFOAM* Brand Foam:
2- 6" balls
2- 3" balls
2- 1 1/2" balls
Other Materials:
Felt: tan, 1 yd.; antique white, 1-1/3 yd.; black, 1 yd.
1 Felt top hat, 3"
16-gauge wire
26-gauge wire
Fabric, 1-1/6 yd. (homespun cotton plaid used for models)
4- 8-mm black, half-round bead eyes
1 package of brown doll hair
#5 pearl cotton thread, tan and black
#22 chenille sharp needle







Buttons: 3- 3/8" tan, 3 " mauve
3 Satin roses, ivory
1 Mini wicker basket, assorted dried flowers
1 Battenburg doily, 4" x 8"
Blush
Scissors
Serrated knife
Pins
Wire cutter
Thick white craft glue and/or low temperature glue gun and glue sticks
INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Cut a 1 1/2" slice from each 6" foam ball. (Hint: For smoother cuts, wax the bade with an old candle.)

2. To "dress" the lady pilgrim, center 6" ball, round side down, on 15" square of tan felt; tightly gather felt around ball. Use a knife or scissors to poke tightly gathered felt into the flat side of ball; glue to secure. Repeat step for the gentleman pilgrim using a 15" square of black felt.

3. Cut a 1/2" slice from each 3" ball. Center 3" ball, round side down, on 10" square of antique white felt; gather felt tightly around flat side of ball, smoothing out as many folds as possible; tightly wire together the gathered edges with the 26-guage wire. Cut excess felt to 1" long. Fold the gathers back and glue to ball. Insert and glue one end of a 4" length of 16-gauge wire into the head. Insert the other end in large tan ball and glue balls together. Repeat for the gentleman pilgrim, using the 6" black ball.

4. To make the hands, glue two 1 1/2" balls onto the ends of an 18" length of 16-gauge wire. Gather a 6" square of antique white felt around one ball; tightly wrap wire around gathers. Repeat for other hands.

5. To make the sleeves, glue together the long edges on a 6" x 12" strip of tan felt, making a 12" long tube. When dry, turn right side out and slip the arms into the tube. Attach to the lady pilgrim behind the head and neck with a U-pin made of 16-gauge wire. Glue to secure. Repeat for gentleman pilgrim, using black felt for the sleeves.

Finishing Gentleman Pilgrim

6. Using pattern A, cut vest from tan felt. Blanket stitch around edges where shown using black thread (optional). Stitch a gathering stitch around the neck line, put vest on body, and pull thread tightly. Stitch the sides together at the neck; knot thread and cut off excess thread. Cut a 1 1/2" x 13" strip of tan felt for the collar. Blanket stitch along one long edge and both ends (optional); run a gathering stitch along the remaining long edge. Put the collar around the neck and stitch the sides together in front, matching the collar to the vest front. Cut off excess thread. Glue collar if necessary. Glue three tan buttons onto body.

7. Tie a 3" bow from a 1" x 12" strip of torn fabric. Cut off the tails and glue bow to the neck of the gentleman pilgrim. Cut a small square from one tail and glue it to the vest for a patch. Glue a 1" strip of torn fabric around the hat for a band.

8. Glue eyes to the face as show, just above the center of the face and close together. Blush the cheeks.

9. Wrap approximately 1/3 of the doll's hair around a 5" diameter object. Cut the hair into two equal halves. Tie each in the center with a double thickness of hair. Glue one skein to the front of the head and the other to the top back of the head. Finger comb the hair around the head and trim as needed. Securely glue the hat onto the head.

Finishing Lady Pilgrim

10. Cut out a 5" x 8" piece of black felt; cut as shown in Diagram 2. Blanket stitch around outside with tan pearl cotton thread (optional). Place on pilgrim with flaps in the back. Cut the doily as shown in Diagram 2 and slip on over the black felt. Glue where needed. Make a bow with 4" tails from a 1" x 18" length of torn fabric; glue to one side of neck and glue a rose to the center. Glue three mauve buttons down the front of the doily.

11. Wrap the remaining doll hair around a 6" diameter object. Tie a double thickness of hair around the center. Glue the center to the center front of the doll head. Wrap the loops around the head to the back and glue in place. Glue two roses on the head opposite the bow.

12. Glue the dried flowers in the basket and glue the basket to the hand under the sleeve.

Toddler Crafts for Thanksgiving...

STUFFED PAPER BAG TURKEYS

What You Need
Scrap Construction Paper
Newspaper
Glue
Crayons
Scissors

How To Make It
1. Stuff the paper bag with newspaper, leaving about 3 inches to fold shut. Try to fold it so both ends look the same then glue it shut.
2. Cut out feather shapes and glue onto bag.
3. Draw and cut out turkey head and neck; making two tabs where the base of the neck will be.
4. Fold one tab forward and one tab back and attach it to the bag.

HANDPRINT TURKEY

What You Need
printer (optional)

paper (construction paper or another heavier paper is best)
scissors
glue
googly eyes (optional)
crayons/markers and/or paint


How To Make It
Trace around child's hand at the bottom of the paper. This will be the Turkey's tail.
Colour or paint hand print.
Draw and cut 2 small circles for the eyes,
a triangle beak and
a "gobbler"
Cut a peanut shape out of brown paper for the body
Glue "peanut" body to the center of the handprint
Glue googly eyes and small circles for eyes

Glue on Beak and "Gobbler"

Print or Write Out poem above, below or around the Turkey

POEM:
This isn't just a turkey as you can plainly see.
I made it with my hand which is a part of me.
It comes with lots of love especially to say,
I hope you have a very, Happy Thanksgiving Day!


FALL PLACEMATS

What You Need:
2 Sheets of clear Con-Tact paper, placemat size
Scissors
Leaves
Waxed paper
Large book, Dictionary, or Encyclopedia

How To Make It
Gather some fall leaves.
Place each of the leaves between 2 pieces of waxed paper.
Place the leaves inside a large book to flatten them.
After the leaves are flattened, take them out of the book and remove the waxed paper. This may take a day to about a week.
Peel the back off of one of the sheets of clear Con-Tact paper.
Place sticky side up on your work area.
Arrange your leaves on the Con-Tact paper in any way desired.
Peel the backing off of the other sheet of Con-Tact paper and carefully place on top of the leaves.
You can trim around the edges or use decorative scissors to give it a different look.

HANDPRINT WREATH

What You Need
Coloured construction paper, paper bags or coloured paints (oranges, reds, browns for Fall or reds, greens and white for Christmas)
There are two ways to do this craft. One is to trace the child's hand onto paper and cut out the prints. The second is to make paint handprints on the paper and cut those out.

How To Make It
Make nine handprints (3 of each colour).
Cut out the prints and glue to form a wreath.
You can decorate the wreath further with pictures (like leaves, pumpkins or corn). These can be: stickers!
hand drawn artwork by the children,
pictures from colouring books, magazines .



HAND & FEET TURKEY

What You Need
Construction paper -- brown, tan, orange, red, yellow and white
Scissors
Glue
Wiggle eyes, optional

How To Make It
1. Trace the child's hands and feet -- two feet (with shoes on) on brown construction paper; two hands on tan construction paper; two hands on red construction paper; two hands on orange construction paper; and one hand on yellow construction paper.
2. Cut out all the pieces.
3. Put the two feet tracings together to make the turkey body and head, matching the heels together, and spreading the bottoms apart. Glue.
4. Cut two feet out of the orange scraps, and cut a diamond shape for the beak. Draw the eyes on white paper and cut them out, or use wiggle eyes. Make the wattle out of red construction paper. Glue them onto the body.
5. Glue the red, orange, and yellow construction paper hands behind the brown body to make the tail.
6. Position the two tan hands to either side to make the turkey's wings and glue them in place

30 Days Left...Thankful For

So I have decided every day to put one post up about what I am Thankful for since the countdown has begun!

Today- I am thankful for being able to have 1 child (We want more, but are waiting a little longer) when some people try so hard, and can not have children!

October Turkey Day!

Here is what I should have done on Turkey Day!

[X] Fill out Thanksgiving Planner (Not available yet!!)
[ ] Finalize Menu
[X] Finalize Gratitude Friendship Brunch Plans (not going to do this year!)

More posts to come! Wait and see!

First Turkey Day post!

Here is where you will find all of my Thanksgiving Celebrations! You will find ideas, pictures, and of course my monthly Turkey Day preparations for next year's Thanksgiving! I can't wait to share with you, and see all of the other blogs of others!