One of my favorite times of the year…Thanksgiving!! Here are some fun ways to get artsy and crafty with the kids to reflect on what we’re most thankful for. 1. Pinecone Place Card Holders
Using pinecones, stiffened felt, chenille wires and a couple pairs of googly eyes, I whipped up these super cute place card holders for the children at the kids’ table this year. Mady’s turkey is adorned with a pink hair bow, while Tristan’s turkey is looking quite dapper in its green bowtie.
2. Helping Hands Wreath
I have tons of ribbons left over from my bow-making days, so this was a great use of all that material. I gathered assorted ribbon in brown, burgundy, orange and magenta and picked up an 18-inch metal wreath box frame from my local craft store. Cutting the ribbon in 7-inch strips, I haphazardly tied them around the wreath frame until I achieved my desired level of “fluffiness”. I then took orange and brown scrapbook paper, traced the children’s hands and cut them out. (Getting the kids to hold still while I did this was the most difficult part of the entire project.) I asked them individually what they’re most thankful for and wrote Mady’s responses on the orange paper hands and Tristan’s on the brown paper hands). To finish off the wreath, I attached the paper hands to the wreath using contrasting green ribbon. I decided to hang the wreath up indoors so that whenever we pass by it, we can be reminded of all the things most important to us this season. Side note: I should tell you that there was much filtering when opting which of the kids’ answers to add to the wreath. Otherwise, we’d have little paper hands that say “pizza”, “dinosaurs” and “chocolate”. But then again, who isn’t thankful for those things?
3. Turkey Bow
Once a bow maker, always a bow maker? Hah! Well, I needed a hair accessory for Mady to match her Thanksgiving outfit and just couldn’t bring myself to purchase one, especially equipped with my bow-making know-how. Just couldn’t. So, using 3/8-inch assorted grosgrain ribbon, some needle & thread and a dab or so of hot glue, I sculpted a ribbon Turkey. Now, she’ll be glamorous on Gobble Day J
4. Marshmallow Treat Turkey
Too adorable to eat? Yea, tell that to my kiddos who devoured these toothsome turkeys. I started by making my homemade marshmallows and stirred them over low heat with four tablespoons of butter. Once melted to shiny, velvety texture, I added an entire box of Rice Krispies. Setting the marshmallow treat mixture aside, I used homemade cream cheese frosting to attach candy corn pieces to Fudge Striped cookies. On one cookie, I used four candy corn pieces to replicate feathers and on another cookie, I used two candy corn pieces for feet. And now the messy (fun) part! I took handfuls of the marshmallow treat mixture to form balls – a larger size for the body and a smaller size for the head. Using more cream cheese frosting as “glue”, I attached the prepared cookies and marshmallow treat balls together to form a little bonbon bird. I completed him with chocolate chip eyes and a waddle. He may not gobble, but he sure is scrumptiously sweet!
I hope you try these fun crafts and treats this week. Have a blessed Thanksgiving J
Enjoy!
