Jewel-toned Thanksgiving Tablescape {with free printables}

"Like a rare jewel in a tarnished setting, Thanksgiving month gleams out brightly from its dull environment of somber skies and frost-swept earth..."

--Mrs. Charles E. Cowman

Jewel tones were the inspiration for my Thanksgiving Tablescape this year.  My colors include deep purples, vibrant reds,  bright yellows and soft oranges.  I also tried to incorporate a lot of natural elements such as burlap and various tones of wood.

One of the key elements in the tablescape is this tray created from pallet wood.  The brass handles added a touch of rustic elegance to the stained wood.

Not long ago, I shared with you some Thanksgiving verses I used in my fall decor.  Well, here is the rest of the set just in time for setting the Thanksgiving table!  The set includes napkin rings, food titles, little "give thanks" flags and place card settings.  Here are a couple of sample pages from the FREE download:

In order to give the tablescape some extra depth, I put together this tiered stand using a plate and a deep dish bowl both from the dollar store.  A candle holder serves as a pedestal between the two.

To accentuate the deep purple, I made a table runner which fits just below the tray.  It is bordered with a purple fabric and then accented with ruffled burlap for a little spice.  So there you have it!

Happy Thanksgiving!!  I trust that you will have a wonderful day with your family and friends celebrating all of God's blessings!

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The first time I hosted Thanksgiving.  Oh my!

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Thanksgiving Activity Book for Kids - Free Printable!

My kids are finally at the age where they can actively participate in conversations and stay focused at family meals.  It wasn't too long ago though that their interest waned very quickly.  Often times meal times for young moms feels a whole lot more like "corralling" then "eating".

The holidays are a fun time for getting together with family and enjoying "long" family meals.  Many times this poses a problem even for the most patient child.  The children usually eat quickly and are ready to head off to play with their cousins.  Last year, as I foresaw this problem,  I covered the kids table in brown paper so they could draw on the "tablecloth".   It was a hit.  This year I decided to do something different and create a printable to help keep the kiddos entertained.

I created a total of 8 different pages to print out.  Here are some more examples of some of the pages: 

My plan is to print them out, bind them with twine and have one sitting at each of the kids' places.

You may print this activity book out here for your own personal use if you'd like.  

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Enjoy!  I know we are going to!

P.S. My daughter caught a glimpse of the Activity Book last night and was very excited!

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Thanksgiving Tablescape Inspirations

Thanksgiving is about a month away.  It's never too early to begin thinking about what your tablescape theme might be for that special day.  Personally, I love looking at what others have put together in order to get those creative juices flowing.  Here are a few of my favorite Thanksgiving Tablescape.

I love the way Celebrations at Home incorporated the teal into her tablescape.  It gives it such a fresh, fun feel.

 

Here is some real crafty creativity!  Anna and Blue blog has done a wonderful job thinking outside the box.  I love the ice cream cone cornucopia, and the really cute turkey dessert.



I am still seeing flannel every where.  At Home with Kim Vallee  put together a simple table with flannel throws draping over the chairs.  So cozy!

Creative Cain Cabin  was so kind to allow me to share her tablescape with us.  Natural elements is her theme this year.

 Hostess with the Mostess uses the letters in Giving Thanks as her launching point for this tablescape.  If you have several candles laying around this would be a great idea to incorporate.

Need something simple yet elegant?  Williams Sonoma nailed it with easy but classy tablescape.

Fall Decor and Free Printables

Today is officially the first day of fall!!  Happy Fall Y'all!  It is still a little hard to believe as the temperature has been getting into the low 90's still here in the Dallas area.  But......the evenings and mornings are a little chillier.  So in celebration of fall I have decorated my "mantel" and even created a few free printables you can use if you'd like to.  My theme was natural textures, with touches of red, oranges and yellows.

This set of dishes is one of my favorite fall decor pieces.  They are a set by Kenro called "Holiday" and were passed down to me from my great grandmother.  If you look closely you can see the little brown "speckles".

I created a Thanksgiving printable set that included a couple of verses.  The colors went so well with how I was decorating this year that I decided to put them up a little early.

You may download them here for your own personal use if you'd like.  The rest of the set will be available in November.

{Update:  The entire set of printables are now available.  You may find them on this post}

 To add to the natural feel I covered this old root beer bottle with twine from the dollar store.  It really was an easy project.  I used a little bit of tacky glue here and there to keep it from unraveling.

My shelves house most of my white dishes collection.  I took some of them down to add more of the fall theme, but you can still get a pretty good feel for what is usually there.  As a final touch I hung my fall leaves banner (free printables) to welcome in the season.

Update:  I just posted a pattern to make a flannel pumpkin which goes great with these fall colors.

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The Turkey and the Bathtub - Oh my!

Well, the table is set.  Tomorrow is Thanksgiving.  This will be only the second time I have hosted Thanksgiving, the last time was over 11 years ago.  That was quite a story.....

It was the first year we were married.  We were living in California and had no family around.  We decided to have individuals from our church, that we were pastoring, over who had no where else to go.  I was excited, and had no idea what I had gotten myself into.   I had never cooked a turkey before.  I didn't realize how many days it would take for it to defrost, so it obviously was not quite defrosted by the time I was ready to cook it.  I read on the directions that it needed to be completely submerged.  Well, it was too large to be completely submerged in my kitchen sink, so I took it to the BATHTUB!!  I filled the tub with enough water to cover the turkey

Well, to add even more frustration, I found out that a turkey (at least my turkey) floats!  So, I sat in the restroom, holding the turkey under water so that it could defrost.  When I would get tired, my cousin who was visiting at the time, would take her turn, and hold the turkey down.  Crazy.... I know!!   Finally, it was defrosted.

We put it in the turkey bag, into the pan, and into the oven.  That was just about 1 hour before everyone was supposed to be arriving!  Needless to say, I had to come up with a few other things to snack on to keep our hungry guests happy.   A couple hours later  I was so excited when I looked at the Turkey and it's little "popper" had "popped".  We quickly took it out, warmed up all the other dinner sides, and began to carve the turkey.

As it turns out, I had never done that before either.  A nice older gentleman from our church offered to carve it for us.  As he was carving, I spotted something white in the turkey.  Not knowing what it was I said, "What in the world?  There is a paper bag inside the turkey!"  I was quickly informed that those were the giblets, neck, etc... that you were supposed to take out of the turkey before you cooked it.  Oops!!  One more thing I learned that year about cooking a turkey.

Thankfully everything ended-up tasting just fine, there were no more complications, and everyone had a good time.  But I tell you what, I will never forget that Thanksgiving!  )


This year, I am not cooking the turkey, my mother is.  I am so Thankful for her.  My in-laws are on their way here, and we are looking forward to a great Thanksgiving together.

So, for the crafty side of this post, here are the tables I have set.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I didn't want to purchase anything new this year, because it would just add to the items needing to be packed up again.  So I used things from around the house and outdoors.

The fabric came from my piles of fabric.  The candles and sticks were on the dresser in our bedroom.  To add a little more dimension,  I simply grabbed maple leaves and pinecones from outside.

Here's a little closer view.  The printables were from this post: 

17 Free Thanksgiving Printables.  

I used the Neutral and Elegant from Catch My Party.

Napkin rings......

The kids table turned out fun.  I made the "Popcorn stuffed Turkey" from One Charming Party.  I just used brown paper that had come in a package from Amazon.  I stapled the sides together, then turned it inside out.  I used that same brown paper for their placemats, so that they could color on them while they sat there.  The printables were also from the 17 Free Thanksgiving Printables.  post.

A little closer view of the "popcorn stuffed Turkey"

Happy Thanksgiving Y'all!!

Homeschool Thanksgiving Printable Pack

Confessions of a Homeschooler is offering a free Thanksgiving Printable Pack.

Thanks Money Saving Mom

9 Turkey Treats..........Thanksgiving Fun!

Thanksgiving turkeys are great for grown-ups, but these fun turkey treat ideas will make your little guests gobble with glee!

Turkey Sandwich Snack by Meet the Dubiens.

Super cute turkey cookie treat by 7th House on the Left.

Oreo Turkey treats by Our Best Bites.

Turkey Treat Pops by Rice Krispies.

Turkey Rice Krispie Treats by Kim at The Celebration Shoppe.

Easy turkey cookies via Betty Crocker.

Healthy Turkey treats by Momendeavors.

I just love these adorable M&M turkey favors from Nicole. 

I just love these adorable M&M turkey favors from Nicole. 

 See her tutorial at The Party Animal.

Turkey shaped apple tarts from Miranda Made for Thanksgiving.

Thanks to Living Locurto and Pure Joy Events