Thanksgiving blow molds

Yes. There are blow molds for every holiday. 

 Two years ago, these came home with me from Goodwill and when I last checked ebay, they are actually worth some money. Woo hoo!

 The complete collection includes an Indian and a turkey.

 Another thing to add to the estate sale shopping list!

Yes.  I’m thankful for thrift stores and estate sales who make vintage shopping fun. 

Bring on the weekend!
 

Tweaking the Thanksgiving mantel...

Halloween is officially packed up and my single box of Thanksgiving decorations came out of storage over the weekend.

I'm still on a mission to find Indian gurley candles without resorting to ebay or etsy.   

My pilgrim and turkey candles have doubled since last year, but I've been unable to find any Indian gurley candles at our local estate sales or antique stores, so the candle hunt continues!

My newest addition to the living room mantle is the glazed pumpkin next to my turkey planter.  It was made by Josie in art class.  

She brought it home last Friday.  Isn't it wonderful?

I still can't believe how quickly November is flying by. Thanksgiving will be here before we know it!

Sharing a Christmas crafting tutorial with my blogging friends...

Saturday morning, Chris and I hit a 50% off estate sale.

I never find vintage Halloween, but they had a large witch gurley candle and two owl table cloths.  Yippee!

They also had loads of vintage Christmas items needing to be rescued.

Lots of my favorite blogs have been posting ideas for using vintage Christmas ornament boxes to create miniature scenes for the last few years. You can also search all over pinterest, ebay and etsy to find ideas on using vintage Christmas ornament boxes.  When I came across this vintage ornament box Saturday, I decided to take the box apart and scan it to share with my blogging friends.  

I'm not taking credit for inventing this crafting idea, but here's a little tutorial on how you can make your own Christmas scene using a vintage ornament box.

Supplies needed:
Glue stick, glue gun, tinsel trim, scissors, Christmas embellishments, pipe cleaner, scrapbooking paper or wrapping paper.
1.  Start by printing off my ornament box template using heavier cardstock paper and cut out with scissors.  If you have a hard time printing the template, feel free to email me for my PDF scanned file.

Step 2.  Fold and assemble the box.  Don't glue the top of the box to the bottom of the box though.  This comes later. 
Step 3.  Add Christmas wrapping paper or Christmas scrapbooking paper to the interior of the box with a glue stick and then start placing your Christmas embellishments on top of your scrapbooking paper.  When satisfied with the placement, use a glue gun to keep items secure.

Step 4.  Poke 2 holes in the center top of the box and use a small piece of pipecleaner to form a handle.

You can also add a bell or other embellishments to the bottom of the box.

Step 5. Secure the box lid to the bottom of the box and glue together with a glue gun.
Step 6.  Use Christmas trim/tinsel to outline the box.  This also helps hide any box imperfections when securing the top and bottom of the box together. 

 If you are participating in Viv's Elf Challenge, this is one idea that you cane easily adapt when making your own special creation. Happy Christmas crafting!
 

Congratulations are in order!

Over the summer, Emma attended weekly band practices, as well as spending a week away at CMU to prepare for this year's marching band season.  All fall, they've been busy with  evening practices and weekend competitions. 

It all came together last Saturday when nearly 50 high school marching bands from across Michigan competed in the 34th annual Michigan Competing Band Association State Championship at Ford Field in Detroit.

The bands, were split into four categories based on the size of their school and competed for an overall score and a spot for “Best Music,” “Best Marching” and “Best General Effect” in their categories.
Last year, Grandville came in 8th and this year moved up two spots to rank 6th in their division.  

We're so proud of all your hard work, Emma.

In a few weeks, Emma's band will head to Orlando Florida to play at Disney World!!

Congratulations, Emma!!

Just in case you're out shopping...

It's going to take a few more days to put away all the Halloween decorations and I won't be "officially" decorating for Christmas until after Thanksgiving,  but I needed to share something that I recently picked up at Target.

Target is carrying bottle brush trees with battery operated LED lights.

You can find them in the Christmas lights area of the store.

I just added a few more miniature bulbs and some tinsel trim. 

Having operating lights seems even more magical in the dollhouse.

I may not be excited about packing up all my Halloween chaos, but I'm officially ready to start playing with Christmas crafting supplies! 

 XOXO