Getting Ready for Thanksgiving.

Hello friends. I know I've been gone a long time. Infact, this is the longest I've ever been gone. To catch you up a little bit, I am feeling much better. This past summer was terrible. I had to deal with the death of my mom, my ex-husband almost died, my husband was unemployeed and I was unable to walk for over four months due to an acute case of Plantar Fasciitis is both feet. I am dealing with my mom's death, I don't think the pain ever goes away completely. My exhusband is doing much better. My husband finally found a job but it will take us a long time to catch up from months and months of being unemployed. I have lost 35 pounds since August in hopes that it would help take some pressure off of my feet. The good news is that my left foot is totally healed. My right foot still gives me trouble when I stand or walk for long periods of time. I think there is something else going on there, but I haven't been able to see a Dr. about it yet.

We have new issues and problems going on that I won't go into detail. I have come to realize that everyone will always have some kind of problems. I think it is so we will appreciate heaven so much more when we get there.

So, today I wanted to say Happy Thanksgiving to my followers and show you some free or inexpensive decorating ideas. I am all about saving money and I wanted to decorate for Thanksgiving without spending any money. I only wanted to use things that I had on hand. It was really fun. My girls enjoy these challenges as much as I do.

First of all, I took a glass jar that we already had and we filled it with what we call "Pokey Balls". These grow on a Sweet Gum tree in our back yard. We normally hate Pokey Balls because they hurt when we walk on them barefooted. I put them in a paper bag in our microwave and nuked them for 2 minutes, to kill any critters that might be in them. I told the girls to look through my stash of ribbon for something that looked fallish and low and behold we had this remnant of orange ribbon. I didn't even have to trim it. It was the exact length we needed. This jar will be placed on our buffet table with all the food.

Next we made place cards with scraps of paper from my scrapbooking supplies. I wanted to add a little something to them and I thought I had some little fall leaf stickers but I couldn't find them. So, I sent the girls on a nature walk to find acorn 'hats' or tops. I glued them in the corner of each place card with a glue gun. I think they came out really cute.

Finally, I wanted to make a Thanksgiving Pennant to hang in the dinning room. Since we rent our home, I can't change the wall color or the drapes, but I wanted to add some of my own flair. I was looking in my stash for burlap or something like it. I was so excited to find remnants for of a fabric that I had used to make a client's drapes a few years ago. It has a texture like a soft burlap and it has flowers with a cranberry color in it, which is the color of my table cloth. I painted the words Give Thanks by cutting out templates from freezer paper and pressing it to the fabric. I then painted in the template and then removed the freezer paper. I sewed the pieces on the a jute type, thin rope and pinned them to our drapes. I wish I could have gotten a better photo, but I had to use my phone and it has no flash on it. I am really happy with how it turned out.

We are having a simple family dinner with my parents who are coming to dinner. It was really nice to decorate a little without going crazy or spending any money. I hope you all have a joyous Thanksgiving and are thankful for the blessings that you have.

Happy Sewing and Living,
Susan