Quick Thanksgiving Decor Tips
For Thanksgiving and general autumn decor consider the beautiful reds, oranges and yellows of the falling leaves. Rake piles of leaves, then scoop them up and throw them around on your front porch. Call farms in the area to get a bale of hay delivered – or save by picking it up yourself. Place the hay bale on the porch with the leaves. The same farmer may be able to sell you a few pumpkins and other items that you can set around the bale of hay. Farmers and home gardeners are often very inexpensive on their pumpkin prices – much cheaper than at a grocer. Decorative corn, gourds and colorful squash are other ideas for the porch. Halloween is over, so don’t carve faces on the pumpkins.
Inside the home there’s much you can do with little money. Purchase one or two flat sheets, in a pumpkin color, brown, burnt orange or yellow. With the sheets and a tube of fabric glue you can redecorate the entire house in little time. Cut a table runner from one sheet. Hem the table runner with fabric glue, allowing enough fabric so that the runner will hang over each end of the table and come to a point. To spruce it up use fabric paints to draw on leaves or to write “Happy Thanksgiving.”
You can also use the entire sheet to make a tablecloth. Hang the sheet over the table and trim to proper size. Purchase decorative autumn-theme ribbon or cord to sew onto the edges of the tablecloth after hemming with fabric glue.
Purchase wood shapes from a craft store and paint them yourself. Spray with clear-coat to protect the paint. Now use the shapes for setting hot pans on the table. Some suggestions for wood shapes are turkeys, pumpkins or just distinctive shapes painted in fall colors. Or purchase smaller ones and paint them to set on the mantel. Attach the small pieces to a glass and use it for a toothbrush holder, or attach them to ribbons and tie around guests’ towels.
Use rub-on appliques to decorate plain-looking bowls and other dishes. The appliques can then be sprayed with a clear-coat enamel that will protect them. Do not use this method on the side of plates where food will be placed. Try them on the sides of bowls, around the bottom of glassware, underneath a clear plate, or on saucers and coffee cups.
Place a photo of a turkey, apple tree with orange and red leaves all around or another seasonal picture in a picture frame. Attach four spools, or something similar, to the underside of the picture frame to stand it off the table. These are perfect for holding pies and other cold dishes. Do not set hot dishes on the picture frame plates.
Cut two pieces of one sheet to make arm covers for your recliner or sofa. Hem with fabric glue then attach pockets on one end to hold remote, TV guide and glasses. Purchase Thanksgiving-theme ribbon to attach to the arm covers to give them more of a holiday look. Or purchase a piece of fabric that has turkeys, pumpkins and other autumn themes. Cut the turkeys or other designs out of the cloth and glue them onto the solid-colored fabric. This same method can be used to change ordinary pillows into Thanksgiving pillows.
Use real leaves that have fallen outside to make coasters. Find leaves that are pliable, not brittle and not wet. Arrange the leaves on your scanner and print out paper with the leaves in beautiful color. Cut the paper to coaster sizes and laminate. The laminate sheets can be found at any department or craft store. Use the laminated paper by itself for coasters or affix the laminated squares to tile. Or, glue a square of flannel, in autumn colors, to the bottom of the leaf picture.
Make a wreath for your front door by cutting autumn or Thanksgiving fabrics into 5×7″ rectangles with pinking shears. Fold the rectangle in half, then half again so that you see the right side of the fabric only. Position the fabric to where the center of it lines up with the metal on a crafting hoop. The hoop should be at least 8″ in diameter, but 12″ is even better. Tie the fabric once, tightly, then tie the next piece on to the ring. Continue this pattern, stopping to push the fabric pieces tightly together every few inches. After the ring is packed with fabric tie a bow at the top. You can also affix small items to the wreath if desired.
Most cloth pieces will stick to many surfaces if you simply dip them first in starch. Cut small pumpkins out of cloth, dip them in starch and affix them to the corner of your kitchen cabinet doors and drawers. A large one can be attached to the support board under your fireplace mantel. When the holidays are over simply pull the design away from the surface and wash the surface to remove any starch residue. For fabrics that tend to unravel at the edges, treat them with fray-free treatment before dipping them in starch. These decorations can be used year after year.
