Posts Tagged ‘autumn’

Autumn Table Decorations

Monday, November 4th, 2013

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What autumn table decorations do you have this year? Why not add some pizzaz by placing Christmas lights under them? This will give a warm, magical glow to your autumn table.

First you will probably want to put some sort of autumn table runner on your table. Mine has autumn leaves, but you can just throw some red or orange cloth down. Then place the Christmas lights on your table, and light them so that you can see if the lights are evenly dispersed. Plug the Christmas lights into the nearest electrical socket, and tape the cord to the side of the table with packing tape so that the lights don’t get pulled off the table by accident.

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Place a candle in the middle of the table and light it. Make sure it has autumn colors. Then sprinkle silk autumn leaves on top of the Christmas lights. Your autumn table decorations will now delight your family and guests!

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Thankful Cards

Tuesday, November 20th, 2012

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Why not write thankful cards to each member of your family this year, and hand them out at the Thanksgiving table? You can tell each person what you enjoy about them and why you are thankful for having them in your life.

My kids created some thankful cards by gluing pieces of textured paper, scrapbook paper or cloth onto a folded piece of card stock paper. Make sure you have envelopes that fit the card size. For me, it was easy to cut a card stock paper in half, creating two cards with each piece of paper. This fits the bulk envelopes I bought years ago for regular-sized cards. Then we arranged different shapes on the card. Make sure the colors go together—I used autumn-colored paper and cloth samples. We glued them to the card with white school glue.

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For family members not coming for Thanksgiving, you can put the cards in the mailbox. Imagine the surprise people will get when they open the card to find how precious they are to you, and why they are important in your life. It reminds me of those old Hallmark greeting card ads on television, you know, the tear-jerker ones that made you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Yes, those…

Turkey Candle

Wednesday, November 14th, 2012

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To make this easy turkey candle, you will need the following supplies:

  • yellow and orange tissue paper
  • brown ribbon
  • a picture of a turkey
  • white school glue
  • hot glue
  • glass jar
  • tea light candle

How to put the craft together:

  1. Cut the yellow tissue paper into squares. Glue the squares all over the jar until the jar is completely covered.
  2. Glue the picture of the turkey onto a square of orange paper. I found the turkey on a scrap of fabric I had. You can also buy a turkey sticker or clip out a turkey picture out of a magazine. Glue the turkey paper onto the jar.
  3. With hot glue, attach the ribbon to the top of the jar. I used sparkly brown ribbon.
  4. Place a tea light into the jar. Light the candle, and enjoy your beautiful Thanksgiving turkey candle!

To find more fun craft ideas for Thanksgiving, check out Pilgrim Unit Study.

Grain Art

Tuesday, November 6th, 2012

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Grain art is a fun activity to do in the autumn. It has an interesting texture and reminds us of harvest time. I bought dry grains in as many colors as I could find at the grocery store in cheap sealed bags:

  • green dried peas
  • black beans
  • red kidney beans
  • white beans
  • yellow lentils

We started with black card stock paper as the backdrop. If you want, you can sketch a design in pencil first, filling in one area at a time with glue. Then you glue down each grain. It goes faster if you dump the grain on top of the paper, then lift the paper up. It looks neater and more orderly if you place each grain one by one, but this might be tedious for younger children. It depends what kind of look you want.

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You can do symmetrical patterns or a design representing an actual object. My daughter made a star in the center of her paper, spiraling outwards with alternate grains. One of my children chose to make a tree. Another son titled his grain art, “Green Blob with Asteroids.” My oldest son made a spiral ladder leading to nowhere. As you can see, everyone has freedom for their personalities to shine through this art activity!

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