Last minute Thanksgiving inspiration...
November 22, 2013
Thanksgiving is less than a week away and I hope your preparations are coming together and you're looking forward to spending time with loved ones. Before we dive head-long into the Christmas season that follows, I thought I'd take some time to give you a little dose of Thanksgiving inspiration in case you're still putting the finishing touches on your table. After all, no paper crafter's table would be complete without a few paper crafted goodies! Not hosting this year? No fear, I also have a few quick and easy Thanksgiving card ideas that are sure to make your hostess feel appreciated.
Papertrey Ink has lots of beautiful fall stamp sets that make it so easy to create Thanksgiving cards and decor. Here are a few of my favorites...
   |
If you're still putting the finishing touches on your Thanksgiving table, let me show you a few simple ideas for adding a paper crafted touch.
You can use just about any die to create embellishments for your stemware. It's super quick and easy. For these I used a Mat Stack 6 diecut and punched a hole using a 1/2" circle punch, then just cut a slit so I could slip on around the stem. I stamped the laurel image from First Fruits and an assortment of sentiments from that set as well. You could also switch out the sentiment for a name and use them as place cards.
 |
Diecuts make great quick and easy place cards or napkin embellishments, especially when you add a bit of texture by diecutting something like burlap or corrugate, like I did here.
These came together in just a few minutes. I printed the names on a sheet of carsdtock, then cut a "template" for my leaf die by diecutting the leaf from a scrap of cardstock. The negative portion is used as the template. I could position it over the printed name to get the placement correct, then place my die inside the cut-out before running it through my machine (secure it in place with a post-it note). I think Erin did a Make it Monday video using this idea quite a while back and it has been such a handy trick that I've turned to many times! It makes quick work of a project like this.
  |
So maybe you're not in charge of the festivities this year...a handmade card is the perfect way to show your appreciation for the hostess. Here are a few quick ideas for you.
My first card uses the Counting My Blessings die collection. I started with a panel of kraft cardstock and diecut the three words from it, running each one through the machine separately, and allowing the words to over lap. Before adding the cream diecut words, I stamped a few leaves from the Meadow Greens set and adhered the kraft panel to a Canyon Clay card base.
I then diecut the words from cream cardstock and inset them back into the diecut piece, layering them with foam adhesive and stamped the rest of the sentiment using the Counting My Blessings stamp set. It sounds kind of complicated, but it was really very quick to put together.
  |
My next card uses the Stitching Lines dies to create a grid which I filled with fall-themed elements from various sets.
I did this awhile back with a winter-themed card and thought it would fun to do for fall as well.
I sped up the process this time by placing my Stitching Lines dies on a magnet sheet which let me cut most of them all at once. I just had to run it through one more time to get the long line across the bottom. I love it when little tricks like that make the process a little quicker!
  |
My last card uses my go-to method for quick cards...the chalkboard style. I stamped the wheat and laurel images from First Fruits onto Smokey Shadow cardstock using White Staz-on ink. Then I used a ruler and white crayon to add some line details.
To finish it off and add a special touch, I heat embossed the pretty sentiment from Basket of Blessings with gold powder. I also added a few gold sequins. This card was super quick...literally took me just a few minutes.
   |