Thinking of Thanksgiving...

...and it's not even Halloween! Ok-so it's only a day away, Annie...but still...I can remember, as a child, you NEVER saw more than one holiday at a time in the stores! Christmas (items) didn't show up until the day after Thanksgiving! Yesterday at Wal-Mart, one part of the store housed Halloween, another corner Thanksgiving and, if you ventured as far as what was the garden center, you saw Christmas. It makes me weary just thinking about 3 holidays at once! And we wonder why we are such a stressed-out society?!

Well, I finished my fall/Thanksgiving items for Artistry and was to deliver them this morning when I realized I hadn't done the "photo shoot" for the blog. For whatever reason, even on a cloudy day, the light is best in our hall bathroom! I laid out the backdrop and set the scene, started to take the photos...and two "assistants" decided to show up! That's Bad Cat in the sink trying to get a drink, and Inky in the foreground...look close and you can see me in the mirror trying to get the shot! Glad the only "pay" they demand is in cat treats!
So...on to my items...you've already seen the magnets (old post)--and these are a variation on project I saw on Martha Stewart's site...

The outer cones are made of-can you believe it-latch hook rug canvas! (MS had you using chair caining panels I believe-I had the rug canvas and trust me-it was much easier than her instructions on using the caining-probably a bit less expensive, too! ; ) They are sewn together with fishing line and then secured some more with lots of hot glue! They are decorated with some festive fall things-berries, leaves, flowers, colorful (wired) ribbon or twill. The inside cone is fall scrapbook papers (sorry-no clue what companies!) backed with white cardstock, then some what is almost wood-type raffia as a bit of filler. Fill the cone with your favorite after-dinner treat-nuts, mints, etc.-add the place card (a white oval punched with a Stampin' Up punch backed with a little larger scalloped oval (again SU) out of the decorative paper) and you've got a great addition to your turkey table! I was disappointed in one of the sets of paper I picked-it was so bland--just brown and light rust leaves...I don't know what I was thinking! So--on that set, I stamped the colored silk leaves with glue pad ink, sprinkled some MS glitter on them(need I explain those initials?!) and spruced that plain paper right up! What's the saying-"necessity is the mother of invention"? Maybe some day I will tell you about the time I had twist-tied new windshield wipers on my MB! Hey, it worked! lol! Well, it's now time for me to start working on....believe it or not-Christmas! Maybe I will at least wait until Halloween is over!

OH-that reminds me...no tricks here...but how 'bout a TREAT? During the month of November, Close to My Heart is having a "buy two stamp sets, get one free" sale (e-mail me for details)! On top of that, for any orders you place in November and December, as a THANK YOU for being a customer this year, I will give you free shipping! You simply cannot beat these deals! Great time to take a look at the retiring stamp list and order up!

Until next time, happy stamping and scrapping!

Blessings, Sharon