A Little Thanksgiving Crafting with GiGi

A few days ago I had a little help making some things for 
our Thanksgiving table . . .

The plan was to make harvest corn.  We started with 
yellow, orange and white paint.



Then we dipped legos and duplos into the paint and stamped a file folder.

This process was done in between Disney t.v. shows.
But we had to let the paint dry.  


The finished product will be cute to add to these other element...

The paper bag turkey my DIL made last year.  
A few weeks ago my grandson made the foam kit cornucopia's.

Our fun kid friendly Thanksgiving table is coming together.  

What should we make next?  

Do you have any ideas?

Linking at The Fabulous Fall Party. And my regular party places.  Visit my parties page for links.

I'd would love for you to visit me Thanksgiving Day or over the weekend for the 1st annual book reviewers Christmas Present suggestions.  The party is over here.
Come and get some ideas or link your suggestions!
                                    

   

Fall Thanksgiving Mantle

Sharing my Thankfulness.  I've decorated the mantle with things
I am thankful for.

A group shot. Thankful for my kids and grandkids.

This darling photo from last Halloween was what  started this 

collection.

This is the original Fall mantle.  

Looks nice.  

But I love the family photo's added.

No frame for this one.  Just precious even without a frame.

A blue photo album my daughter made.  And a little bird nest.

I received as a gift from a blogger friend.  Sadly she isn't blogging anymore.

My grandson.  He was 4.  The horse was my son's horse growing up.  

On the right one of my favorite photo's.  These two cousin met for the first time last fall.  

My son and his family live in Missouri.  We don't get to see them often enough.

My DIL is great at sending photos.

This is our son and grandson.

 Lots to be Thankful for. 

 Hoping you have a Fabulous Thanksgiving.

Linking with my favorite parties including The Fabulous Fall Thanksgiving Party over at my other blog.  Click here to link your Fall and Thanksgiving posts.

Silver Pennies, Mosaic Monday, Blue Monday, Amaze Me Monday, Create With Joy, The Art of Homemaking, Let's Add Sprinkles Monday Social,

Share You Cup, Make Your Saturday Sweet, Share It One More Time,

The Bloggers Pit Stop, Creatively Unleashed

Outdoor Wednesday-Shopping In The Neighborhood

Mostly Wordless . . . 
Yesterday I ran to the local hardware store to mail some postcards
for the swap over at the Paper-Swap Blog.

Here's an example. . . 


Awaiting me outside the Hardware Store/Post Office was this






I want the sign!  I love having my phone with me when I shop!

  I hope you'll come over and link at the Fabulous Fall Party.
It's over here at my other blog.  

Linking at these fun parties:
The Fabulous Thanksgiving Party,  Wordless Wednesday, Create With Joy, Amanda's Books and More, Imaging, How We Roll Wordless. Outdoor Wednesday. Imag-ing, , Share Your Cup,
The Homemaking Party

My Thrifty Fall Mantle And A New Treasure

         

To my new sewing room.  Today I'm going to give you a little teeny tiny peek of what I've been doing . . . 

Some of you know we've just moved into a house from an apartment.    

Everyone thinks I am silly but I am just so happy to have dirt!

                    

I'll be doing this in the spring.  But right now I'm and tweekin' things and making everything cozy.  

Today I worked on the mantle that is now in the sewing room.

This is my pretend antique mantle I got for my birthday last year.   

I've always wanted one the Cowboy found it on craigslist in a town 45 minutes away.  It's not old but I love it.   It needs a paint job. 

And someday I'll buy some fancy paint and pretty her up. But for

now I just cover her with pretties like this . . . 

My thrifty $1.00 frames.  The welcome sign was .99 I think. 

The clear container my mother got free and gave to me.  

Probably the most expensive thing here are the macrame beads The Cowboy bought in about 1980 for me for Christmas.  

Do you know what macrame is?  HeHe.  

The gold sconce that is still awaiting for me to hang is one of a pair. They were donated for a garage sale.  No one bought them so I kept them. 

I added a couple of really big pine cones.  I didn't even realize our neighbor had a pine tree.  We were driving down the street and I saw one in the middle of the street!  I startled The Cowboy when I kind of yelled 'Stop' but he's used to it!

I love the collection of thrifty Fall.  Can you see the drawing of Fall leaves? 

My DIL did this for me last year.  I need to find a frame.  But I think they look good just resting on the frames. A little 

'unexpected'.

Every Fall I always bring out my pumpkin wagon.  It's Department 56 and was part of the Dickens Village collection.  I don't think it's actually Dickens they have so many different collections.

The wagon and those beads are probably the most expensive part of the mantle.  

The orange bird was  $5.00 on clearance at Big Lots.  

Part of this vignette is actually priceless . . . 

Adorable Turkeys made of hands and feet.  The big one is my 15 year old grandson.  The two smaller ones are my DIL and grand daughter.  My son was a scrooge! 

The little pumpkin on the box I got last year from a student.  it's really cute.  

The wooden box is old.  I got it in 1976 when I graduated from high school.  It is a mini Land cedar chest.  A furniture store in town gave them away.  

I love having my mantle in my sewing room.  Which is not together yet.  But I'm working on it.  

And today I got a treasure.  My daughter rolled her eyes but she carried it out of the store and set it securely in my grandsons car seat. He was at school. Thanks goodness! HeHe. 

Here's what I got.  Guess what I paid for it. . . 

I know.  It is so ugly it's cute.  At least to me.  It is cream but I think it blends well with the white look I am working on in my sewing room.  The fringe is really shabby and needs to be replaced but for $1.00 who could pass it up!  Not me!

It made my day to get to go thrifting with my daughter. 

And The Cowboy offered to go back to the same store tomorrow!

Linking with Blue Monday, Mosaic Monday,  The Art of Homemaking
  No Place Like Home, Share Your Cup, Party In Your P.J's,
  The Homemaking Party, Vintage Charm,  Home and Garden Thursday, 
Frou Frou Friday, Simple Fridays, Share It One More Time, Create With Joy,
Thoughts Of Home, Feathered Nest Friday, Best Of The Weekend

Wordless Outdoor Wednesday

           

       Happy Thanksgiving 

Linking with The Fabulous Thanksgiving Party,  Wordless Wednesday, Create With Joy, Amanda's Books and More, Imaging, How We Roll Wordless. Outdoor Wednesday. Imag-ing, 

 

Sometimes You Just Have To 'Cowboy Up"

It all started when I got this fancy schmancy bolt of orange fabric out for a table cloth . . . 

And then I planned to layer some pumpkins and make a nice and Fabulous Fall Tablescape that I could share at the Fabulous Fall Party. 
But...where are my pumpkins?  I have an idea . . . 

They are somewhere in this mound of boxes that are in our new 
(to us) 2 car garage.  Yes you heard right it holds 2 cars.  Well maybe someday...but I do go off on rabbit trails....

Back to the Fabulous table.  So if you loose your pumpkins you just Cowboy up and set a Cowboy Chic table...


And wait for the pumpkins.  And the other chargers that are in some other box,  and the stemware,  and flatware.  

I actually love how it turned out. 

 I love the bright Guatemalan fabric on the backs of the chairs.   Since I keep my table set.

I usually don't want to make a mess on the pretty table cloth so when we eat I just move the dinner plate and charger and put the 
fabric over the place setting.  Everything stays nice and pretty!

I used the Cowboy plates that my sister sent to me years ago!
I added the chic part by adding some lace napkins.

Lot's of textures going on here with the fabrics . . . 

I felt like I wanted a little height to the table since there were no pumpkins to decorate the center so I added this metal bird feeder 
with a candle.

I try not to let my candles burn unevenly and then I put in a tea light to make them last longer.  
The candle and the bird feeder stand were thrifty finds in a box by the dumpster at the apartment.  Which I will miss BTW.   But not the apartment!

         Wanna see what it looks like with a few pumpkins?
                                                                I do too!

Taking a bit of a break . . . 

 ...putting my feet up awhile.

And then back to the pumpkin search!

Linking with The Fabulous Fall Party,Silver Pennies,

Snicker Doodle Bake Create/Make, Mosaic Monday, 

Blue Monday, Amaze Me Monday, Create With Joy,

The Art of Homemaking, Let's Add Sparkles Social Media

Tablescape Thursday, Share You Cup,

Make Your Saturday Sweet

                                     

My Favorite Thing . . .

. . .Today I did something I really enjoy!

Grabbed a few Oranges, Blacks, Whites, Tans and a few Greens. 
On it's way to a new Fall quilt!  

Have you been decorating or creating Fall in your home?  I'd love to see what your creating.  Come over to The Fabulous Fall Party
and link your posts!  
                          
                    The Fabulous Fall party is over here

Linking with:  The Fabulous Fall Party,  RSC, The Art of Homemaking, Share Your Cup,
Create With Joy

Welcome Fall-My Thrifty Mantle

The Cottage mantle is all ready for Fall  
The Welcome sign is out.  Come on in . . . 


The fun Welcome sign was a thrifted treasure. I paid a whole .99 at a local resale shop.  
It's hand made and I am sure someone put in a lot of effort.  It needed a a good home! It fit right in.


I wanted a shot to show the crochet.   Thrifty girl that I am I was looking for  some 
kind of fabric and spotted this crocheted vest.  Yep I wear this when it's not on my mantle!
I love the added texture and all smished and smushed up who would have known. 

Isn't the sign fun?  My sweet DIL made it.  She sent it along with 'dress up' photos.  I'll show them soon. 

Another shot with the almost spent flowers.  The leaf garland I paid too much for it at Big Lots a few years ago.  Before the days of Dollar Tree.  


One more shot showing my 'dumpster candle sticks' and yes BJ these were actually in the dumpster not beside it!  They were brown with some sad other colors of paint.  I left them that way for awhile and then assigned The Cowboy the job of painting them silver.  
The tall vase was a wedding present to my daughter from a dear friend.  She regifted it to me.  It was originally a very pretty blue.  But I love it silver.  She is clueless it was originally hers. 

I moved things around a little to get a good shot of the bird feeder (I think). Love it.  Not a dumpster dive but almost a neighbor was moving out of state and she gave me a bunch of stuff she no longer needed and didn't want to ship.  Poor little thing has been sitting in my garage.  It's kind of tall.  I originally tried it on the kitchen sink but it was too tall.  It fits the mantle perfectly. 

And one more shot.  I've never shared about the mirror . . . 

Gifted (under duress) from my MIL she was in the antique biz for a few years.  She bought it at an auction.  I begged for it forever and she finally gave it to me.  I also begged for every mantle she had.  She never found the need to let me have one. 
The Cowboy ended up buying this one last year for my bday.   I took the day off from work to go and pick it up with him.  It was a steal at $35.00.  I don't really think its old but it doesn't matter to me. 

                                          In any season.  I love my mantle.  
           
I'll be linking this post to The Fabulous Fall Party  over at my other blog.    

                               
                 The party goes all the way to the end of October.  Come over and join the party!

And I'm linking with Karen at Oh My Heartsie Girl.  She kindly
invited me to Co-Host with her this month!  Yea!  
                                 
Go over to Karen's and visit Wonderful Wednesday at link your posts!

Linking with my regular favorites:
The Art of Homemaking, Create With Joy, Share Your Cup,
Thrifty and Vintage Finds