Porch or Hallway Display
If you can get hold of a block or
two of hay this is perfect forthe base of your
hallway or porch display. If not, cover some boxes
with sacking, or a throw or a piece of cloth in a
neutral colour 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 http://www.kidsdomain.com/craft/_Thanks.html
has good ones, as does Childfun Thanksgiving Crafts
at http://www.childfun.com/themes/thanks_craft.shtml
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 giving thanks for each other!
About the author: Copyright 2000
Colleen Moulding is a freelance writer from England
where she has had many features on parenting,
childcare, play, travel, entertaining and the
Internet published in national newspapers and
magazines. She has also published a variety of
women's and children's fiction. Her work frequently
appears at many sites on the Internet and at her own
site for women All That Women Want.com a magazine,
web guide and resource for women everywhere. Why not
drop by? It was made for you! http://www.allthatwomenwant.com
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