Porch or Hallway Display
If you can get hold of a bale or two of hay this
is perfect for
the base of your hallway or porch display. If not, cover some
boxes
with sacking, or a throw or a neutral coloured cloth and
build up from there.
Start with some large pumpkins for instant colour,
then add
some fun to your
harvest display by making vegetable people. Heads can be
turnips,
pumpkins, gourds or beetroots, and arms and legs can be
suggested
by cucumbers, carrots, parsnips or corn. The bodies can be
large parsnips,
melons, anything you have to hand. You could make mini ones
for
a table or almost child sized for a kitchen, garden room or
porch. Terracotta pots make great hats or boots to finish off
the look
and of course flowerpot men made completely from terracotta
pots wired or stacked together with wheat or corn poking out of
the top one for hair always look fantastic and it's a good way
to
store pots that you won't need again until next Spring.
Floral Arrangements
Using the abundance of nature at this time of
year can make for
some unusual containers for seasonal floral arrangements too.
You can push pieces of florists foam into holes made in pumpkins
or gourds or try hollowing out crinkly cabbages, or gourds and
stuffing them with pre soaked florists foam before arranging a
selection of berries, grasses, seed heads, curly willow,
wired tiny pumpkins, oranges, pomegranates or whatever you can
get your hands on.
Another way to make ordinary containers special
is to wrap a
couple
of strips of double sided tape around a plain vase or simple
jar
and stick on overlapping fallen leaves, twigs, or even
vegetables. Secure these with a raffia, string or green
gardener's
twine bow, before filling with your chosen arrangement.
Nature's Table
Use fallen leaves as a base for a decoration that
runs down the
middle of your table. I would recommend that you use paper
underneath just in case any moisture left in the leaves damages
a polished
table top. Then add twigs, or small branches, acorns, cones
and an abundance
of fruits and vegetables interspersed with candles for a
sumptuous look.
A row of apples along the centre of a table with
just enough of
the apple carved out to drop in a tea light candle looks
magnificent
and costs hardly anything but a steady hand. For upright
candles
a core remover can help take out enough of the apple to keep a
candle securely in place.
Wreaths
Vine wreaths or the lighter coloured bamboo variety
are
available quite inexpensively at florist's supply shops. Use
whatever
you have to hand, wheat, corn, dried or silk flowers in
appropriate
colours and hot glue to the base wreath before adding a raffia
or
paper ribbon bow.
Wreaths made entirely of wired on pine cones wrapped
with
gingham ribbon look very good at this time of year and
with a change of ribbon to something more glamorous will
do duty for Christmas too.
If you do not have, or cannot afford to buy bases
for wreaths
make some from cardboard. First draw around a large plate,
then draw around a smaller plate. Cut out the hole in the
middle.
Add some batting, wadding or any padding that you can find
then cover this with a fabric remnant before hot gluing cones,
fruits or any other harvest decorations and a large bow to the
wreath.
Children may enjoy just painting the cardboard wreaths and
sticking fallen leaves all the way around.
Leaf Garland
You can also make a pretty leaf garland by pressing
leaves
in a heavy book or telephone directory for a few days and
then stringing them together with invisible thread or gold
thread to drape or wind anywhere that you need a little
extra colour.
Kid's Crafts
Kid's crafts make the most charming harvest decorations
of all.
Use the Internet to find ideas for fun projects, Kid's Domain
Thanksgiving Crafts at
kidsdomain.com
has good ones, as does Childfun Thanksgiving Crafts at
www.childfun.com
If you need more ideas just put Thanksgiving crafts into a
search
engine and you are sure to find plenty to keep creative fingers
busy.
Then try to find the time to make memories by sitting around
the table
with your kids enjoying cutting and gluing and laughing and
just giving thanks
for each other!
