Thanksgiving, the forgotten holiday!

I can’t believe Thanksgiving is only FIFTEEN days away! It’s crazy!! I feel as though the days after Halloween are always a blur….time just seems to go by so fast! It will be a new year before we all know it.  Thanksgiving and Christmas are my most favorite holidays, especially, Thanksgiving!

So, we have a rule in our house.  Well, my husband and I have decided that we will not put up our Christmas tree or do any Christmas decorating until after Thanksgiving.  It’s important for us to show our son and hopefully his future sibling about the importance of family and Thanksgiving.  I honestly think that Thanksgiving is being brushed over and Christmas has taken over the Fall and Winter holidays! For instance, we stopped at Hobby Lobby to pick up a few things for my little sister’s baby shower and I would say half of the store was dedicated to Christmas decor!

Here’s a look at just one of the aisles!

hobby lobby

Dylan would love for us to put up the tree and he has asked us to and we have told him we will wait until after Thanksgiving.  He hasn’t complained or whined about not putting it up now.  I think every opportunity that we have as parents to teach or show values that are important to us, we should take it.  Thanksgiving is an important holiday to us so we are trying to show him why.  He can make the decision to carry on our tradition when he’s an adult.  Until then, we have a responsibility here! Thanksgiving, it’s more than just eating turkey and all of the fixings.  It’s about family, love, memories, and being grateful for all the things that we do have. Of course, we want to make him happy and have him enjoy Christmas as long as he can and he will, after Thanksgiving :).

 

thanksgiving appetizers       Thanksgiving buffet

I love Christmas just like everyone else but there is just something significant about Thanksgiving.  There’s no stress of making sure you’re gift giving list is complete…just enjoying a meal together with family! What are your thoughts?

signature

Pumpkin Patch

One of my not so favorite Fall time tradition is going to the Pumpkin Patch.  Don’t kill me…let me explain.  For the last couple of years, it has been hot! Sweat and dirt just doesn’t scream FUN to me so even though I don’t necessarily enjoy going, we do end up going every year.  Dylan gets to hang out and have a blast with his cousins and I get the satisfaction of knowing that he will have great memories of his childhood! Well, at least that is my hope….whether or not he actually does, we will have to find out!

 

Family pumpkin patch

This past weekend, the weather was perfect!!! It was cool, sunny and breezy….the perfect Pumpkin Patch weather!!  I was so looking forward to going just because I knew that I wouldn’t be sweating and irritated while waiting in line for the most famous attraction, the jumping pillow! (Sorry, I didn’t snap any pictures of this!)

pumpkin patch groupracing pyramid

hay pyramid 2

hay ride

 

After the pumpkin patch, we gathered at my sister’s house to plan our little sister’s baby shower.  Oh, I can’t wait to share the things we are planning on doing.  This is so right up my ally….it’s part of the reason why I started this whole blog…to be able to share my love for crafts and party planning.

signature

Distressed Halloween Mason Jars

It’s the most beautiful time of the year! It’s Fall!!! I just wish it would feel like Fall…except it hasn’t felt like Fall at all.  It’s  been in the mid nineties the last couple of days here in sunny California and the warm weather does not do me any good.  I long for the crisp Fall air! Once upon a time, I lived in Minnesota and even though I love California, I just want to experience all four seasons.  So I thought that if maybe I started decorating our apartment in Fall decor, that maybe..just maybe..the crisp Fall air will knock on my door.

I have been wanting to make some distressed mason jars for awhile now and I wanted tie it into Halloween, somehow.  And this is what I came up with!

distressed mason jars

The things you will need:

  • Mason jars
  • White and black Martha Stewart Satin Paint
  • Foam brushes
  • Extra Fine Glitter
  • Mod Podge
  • Sand paper ( I used 220 grade)
  • small paint brush (to paint the letters)
  • Ribbon (if you want to add a little pizzazz to your work)

I started out by printing the letters on regular paper and cutting them out with my handy dandy X acto knife.

letters

I then traced them onto card stock and then cut them out of the cardstock and traced them onto the mason jars with a Sharpie pen.

letters cutouts

b jar

Now that I am writing this post, I just thought “why didn’t I print the letters on the cardstock in the first place?”.  Because I like to create more work for myself, that’s why! I wish I was fancy and had a nice little machine like a Silhouette Cameo to help me out but I had to go back to the days when such things did not exist because it doesn’t in my house ;).

After I did all that, I painted the mason jars with the white paint avoiding the letters and ghost.

painted b

painted jars

I then painted the letters and the ghost with the black paint.  After an hour or so of letting the first coat dry, I started on the second coat of white paint.  I did not do a second coat of the black paint because I will be putting glitter over it. Once the second coat dried (after another hour), I then cured the paint.  I place the jars on a cookie sheet and turned on the oven to 350 degrees.  Once it reached 350 degrees, I let it cure in the oven for 30 minutes.  After the 30 minutes, turn off the oven and let it sit in the oven until it completely cools.

distressed jars

To create the distressed look, sand the corners and anywhere where it would look worn down naturally over time.  To add the glitter, use a foam brush to apply the mod podge and then sprinkle on the glitter! Voila! Let it dry and you are done.  I really hope you enjoy this and let me know what you created!

Mod O

 

glitter scary

boo jars

I let it dry for an hour or so and then painted the second coat.  I then let it dry for another hour.  I hope you enjoy making this as much as I did.  Be creative and let me know you came up with too!

signature