Autumn is a beautiful and colorful time of year. Fall flowers, the changing leaves, and seasonal crops all contribute to the vibrant colors of nature. These items provide the inspiration for a variety of crafts.

One of the most interesting of fall crops is Indian corn. Unlike most corn, its kernels come in lots of different colors. This makes it a welcome addition to cornucopias and other fall centerpieces. But you don’t have to have the real thing to incorporate its unique look into your Thanksgiving table decorations. These napkin rings bear a striking resemblance to Indian corn, and they are easy and inexpensive to make.

What You Need

* Construction paper (ideally orange, brown or another fall color, but any color will work)
* Pencil with an eraser
* Scissors
* Tissue paper in yellow, orange and burgundy
* White craft glue

Instructions

1. Place a piece of construction paper lengthwise. Draw a line about 1 ½ inches from the top to make a strip. Cut out.

2. Cut the strip in half.

3. Cut a piece of each color of tissue paper into 1-inch squares.

4. Spread a thin layer of the white craft glue over a 1-inch section of the construction paper strip.

5. Twist a square of the yellow tissue paper around the eraser end of the pencil. Push the twisted paper down onto the top corner of the glued section, and carefully remove the pencil.

6. Repeat step 5 with another piece of yellow construction paper placed next to the first one, and then with a piece of orange or burgundy tissue paper. Continue using two or three yellow pieces followed by an orange or burgundy piece until the glued area is completely covered.

7. Cover another 1-inch section of the construction paper strip with a thin layer of craft glue, and continue adding pieces of twisted tissue paper. Repeat until all but ½ inch of the strip is covered.

8. Bend the strip into a circular shape, with the tissue paper on the outside. Glue the ends together. Let dry completely before using.

Tips

* Each strip of construction paper makes two napkin rings. You should be able to make enough for all of your guests with a piece or two of construction paper.

* For best results, store the napkin rings empty and lying on their side until ready to use. This will keep the tissue paper from getting flattened.

* Be sure to roll napkins tightly so that they will fit easily into the napkin rings. If the glue does not hold, and you don’t have time to glue them and let them dry again, try stapling the ends together.

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On Thanksgiving, we get the family together for a big, delicious dinner. We remember old times, and catch up on what’s currently going on in everyone’s lives. And, if we stick with tradition, we take time to reflect on the things we’re thankful for.

Unfortunately, the idea of giving thanks is often forgotten during the holiday festivities. But there are ways we can encourage our children (and other children in the family) to think about the good things in their lives. This “thankful tree” craft works nicely, and it’s also fun to make. Here’s how to do it.

What You Need

* Brown kraft paper
* Construction paper in orange, red, yellow and brown
* Pencil
* Crayons, markers or pen
* Scissors
* Cork bulletin board
* Thumbtacks or stapler with staples

Construction Paper Pad

Forty (40) sheets of high quality construction paper in eight (8) assorted colors to cut & paste for endless projects.

Instructions

1. Using the pencil, draw a tree trunk with branches on the brown kraft paper. Make it large enough to fill up most of the bulletin board. Cut out and tack or staple to the bulletin board.

2. Have a child trace his or her hand onto a piece of the construction paper and cut it out.

3. Have the child use a marker, crayon or pen to write his or her name on the handprint, as well as something he or she is thankful for. When finished, tack or staple the “leaf” onto the tree trunk.

4. Ask each child to make a leaf, or more than one if so desired. Arrange the leaves on the tree so that it is evenly covered.

Tips

* If you don’t have a bulletin board, you could attach your thankful tree to a door or wall. If doing so, use thumbtacks for best results.

* Adults can participate as well, but their hand prints may be too large if you’re using a small bulletin board. To remedy this, you could simply cut smaller leaf shapes and have them ready for your guests to write on when they arrive.

* If you don’t have enough hand prints to cover your tree, have children make leaf rubbings by placing a leaf under a plain white piece of paper and rubbing the side of the crayon over it. Cut them out and add them to the tree to fill in the empty spaces.

* Want a more authentic-looking tree? Place a small tree branch into a flowerpot and fill with sand, marbles or rocks so that it stands up straight. Use a hole punch to make holes in the hand print leaves and tie them to the branch with string or twine, letting them hang down a bit. You could even add a string of white miniature holiday lights if you like. This makes a lovely centerpiece for your Thanksgiving table!

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I can’t believe it’s November already and we’re looking at end of the year holiday crafts! It’s just flown right by. I’m hoping to get some fun crafts done with the kids and start decorating this weekend. What you up to with your kiddos?

The Harvard Bird & Craft Fair welcomes all vendors from bird and supply vendors to crafters and one direct sales consultant per company.

November 15, 2009
10:00 AM until 3:00 PM

Stratford Banquet Hall
21007 McGuire Road
Harvard, IL 60033

You can find the Stratford Banquet Hall 1/2 mile East of Route 14, next to the Super Walmart in Harvard, IL.

For more information about the Harvard Bird & Craft Fair or how to become a vendor feel free to contact
Marilynn Black at 815-943-7603 or go to http://www.harvardbirdfair.com/contact.html

A Complete Guide to Silk Painting is a book which covers a wide variety of aspects of silk painting. Silk Painting is a wonderful art form that creates a feeling of harmony and relaxation.

The book gives an overview of the history of painting on silk in Europe and Asia. The chapter on silk offers a wide range of information about the discovery of silk, a review of silk materials (including Jacquard silk) plus how to buy and care for silk.

The painting on silk sections provide you with all the information on essential equipment, materials and techniques, such as paints, brushes, stretching the silk, types of frames and preparing the paints. You also learn about the various silk painting effects including color blending, salt techniques and painting with a hairdryer.

A Complete Guide to Silk Painting also gives you tips and ideas for silk designs for lampshades, clothing, greeting cards or jewelry. The book benefits from beautiful illustrations throughout which will catch your eye.

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Stay tuned for some upcoming silk painting tips next week Happy crafting!

Mosaic is an ancient art form that involves creating images by arranging small pieces of various materials into a pattern. Examples have been found that date back as far as the 4th century BCE. Today, mosaics new and old grace art museums, and they have also been incorporated into the décor of homes, businesses and places of worship.

Traditionally, mosaics have been made out of colored glass or stone. But you can make a mosaic out of almost any small, flat object. For fall, pumpkin seeds are a fine choice. They are small enough to make patterns with, yet large enough that you don’t have to labor over every detail. And if you carved a pumpkin for Halloween, you should have plenty of them left over to work with! Here’s how to create your own pumpkin seed mosaic.

What You Need

* Pencil
* Poster board
* Clean, dried pumpkin seeds
* Several small disposable containers (margarine bowls work well)
* Plastic fork or spoon
* Tempera or poster paints (dark colors work best)
* Waxed paper
* White craft glue

Instructions

1. Using the pencil and a light touch, draw a picture on the poster board of anything you like. For autumn, colorful trees, turkeys or cornucopias would be good choices. Make the drawing large, and keep it fairly simple.

2. Place a handful of pumpkin seeds into one of the containers. Drizzle one color of poster paint onto the seeds, and stir with the plastic fork or spoon to coat. Spread the seeds out onto a piece of waxed paper.

3. Repeat step 2 for each color you wish to use, making sure to use a different container for each color. Allow all of the pumpkin seeds to dry.

4. Glue the colored pumpkin seeds onto the poster board with craft glue to complete your picture. Let dry.

Tips

* Most mosaics are made using plaster. You can use plaster to create your pumpkin seed mosaic if you like. Just remember that plaster sets very quickly, so you will have to work fast.

* If you don’t have enough pumpkin seeds to complete your picture, you could use dried beans. Lima beans can be colored with the same technique you used to color the seeds. Or you could use beans that occur naturally in different colors, such as pintos, kidney beans and black eyed peas.

* It’s okay if there are some bare spots in your mosaic. It may be difficult to completely cover your design. It’s easiest to cover it well if you do the outline of the design first, then fill it in, and do the background last. It may also be helpful to arrange the seeds before gluing them down.

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I came across this video this morning over at Yiota’s Cross Stitch blog.

Biscornus are something I get asked about a lot, and I’ve never actually made one myself yet! It’s good to find resource like this for instruction so I can guide you (and me) in the right direction.

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I’m hoping to design and make a few biscornus in the coming year to share with you all. Happy stitching!

Well, I’ve been stitching slowly but surely after a really long dryspell in my stitchy time. I worked on my Fairy Tale Sampler for awhile, and that’s about half way done now. But, then I really got wanting something quick and easy to work on when I was watching TV with hubby, or something that I could grab and go when I know I’m going to be waiting a long time. You know the kind of project I mean

A few weeks ago I had grabbed this Dimensions Whimsies kit ~ Pirate Snowman, so I pulled that out and started stitching away at him. Even though we don’t have room for a tree in our tiny house, I can still put him away with the rest of our holiday ornaments and hopefully next year we’ll be in a bigger place before the holidays roll around.

Here’s my progress so far.

I think I need new batteries for my camera, because my flash didn’t go off. Sorry about the dark picture. I’ll post a new stitchy update next Tuesday … and I’ll grab some batteries at the store before then!

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What are you stitching on this week?

Something I say at least a gazillion times in a week, blah, blah, blah.

How completely fun is this design from Amy Bruecken Designs?

In addition to the Blah, Blah, Blah chart, you might want to pick up the Blah, Blah, Blah button pack at the same time to save on shipping and complete your project.

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First off, I would like to say a big, hearty “Thank You!” to Loretta for letting me ‘take over’ her blog a little bit here! Very hospitable of her, for sure! I’m excited to get to share with you some of my favorite craftiness!

What better time of year is there for crafting than Halloween! I absolutely love Halloween, crafts, and kids – put them all together and you have one heck of a good time! It’s a little harder for me to get my kids involved nowadays, because, they are so busy with junior high and high school activities. It still is one of my favorite things to do. I think it’s ‘once a crafter, always a crafter’. You know how it is – you get a piece of nice, thick cardboard in with some mail (to keep the mailing from bending) – and bonus! It has no writing on it! What is the first thought in your head? “I have to save this – it will make a great ’something’!” Right? I know, I know, I feel the same way.

I can see you and I are on the same wavelength, so you should come over and see my Squidoo lens, Kids Love Halloween Crafts. There’s all kinds of Halloween crafty goodness there!

The first thing that I talk about is the ‘Ghostie Parade’ that is pictured right here on this post. That thing just popped into my head when I threw the last egg out and it was so fast and easy to do! And it came out so adorable!

I really thought I was all that and a bag of chips, craftily speaking, of course – when I realized I also had the perfect paint tray right on hand!

Now didn’t that work out well? Kind of like an all-inclusive craft! LOL I just love it when stuff works out like that! I guess it’s a good thing I was only using two colors, or things could have gotten a little messy on my ‘painter’s pallete’.

Here’s a list of some of the cool crafts you will read about when you visit Kids Love Halloween Crafts:

• Paper Plate Masks


• Halloween Mosaics


• Spooky Spiders


• Trick or Treat Goody Bags


• Ghost Wind Socks


• Halloween Pop Up Cards

So come on over and check out Kids Love Halloween Crafts and I’ll love ya forever if you remember to rate my lens (with the stars at the top)! It would be super groovy if you would tell me about one of your favorite Halloween crafts in the comments section. I’ll go over there right now and make sure you don’t even have to be a Squidoo member to comment!

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