Remember Remember the 5th of November

Holidays are simply days, but somehow they make life feel a little more special.  I don't have a thing with dates on holidays.  I mean yes, is it nice to set aside a particular day on the day but for me it is more about what you do then the day you do it on, if that makes any sense.  All this to say that holidays are dear to me even including the holidays that have yet to fully be capitalized on, such as Thanksgiving.  

Thanksgiving is acutally my mother's favorite holiday.  I doubt it is the turkey but it could be.  I have always assumed it is because it is a holiday with all activities based around food but that's not what the holiday is acutally about.  It is a day that you slow down and spend time with family, whether traditional blood family or a family you have built with close friends.  

In my love of holidays this one is no exception, and thus I must decorate.  Positively from September on you can have fall decorations up and they are perfect for Thanksgiving too.  I like to add a few more fully Thanksgiving thing around the house. 

I am cheap, I have mentioned this before, so my goal in decorating is to spend no money, or if I have to the least amount possible.  Because of my ever demanding "tight" thought process I try to use things around the house.  You know there is always some stuff around the house you don't use.  That is what today's Thanksgiving craft is all about.  

Making a turkey with the items in your house.

I started with this book.  To be honest it was a premarital book that we were given that was truly horrible, it said that honesty was not something to base a marriage off of and that individuality and independence were key... in my experience those are the complete opposite of true, at least in Chris and my marriage.

Then I proceeded to bend the cover and pages in almost like I was making a paper airplane.  I bent my pages in so that every other would face each other, if that makes any sense.  When looking at the open book, the right page I would bend down towards the middle of the book and then the left page I would bend in that same middle of the book, but to each their own.

This took me somewhere around 3 minutes. 

This is the turkey feathers, lay it flat somewhere, I put my turkey on my mantel, at least for now (I tend to change my mind).

Next step is take a piece of paper, I took mine from legal document in an add book that I got from a company I no longer work with.

My particular piece of paper was too tall so I folded it down, I might suggest that you double up on the paper... you'll see why in a bit.

After you have folded, if you need to, roll the paper up, making the top slightly bigger than the bottom.  Tape the roll, a small amount should do.

Then attach that roll to the book you bent in the beginning.  I did this by taping the almost farthest points of the roll to the book cover, the tap making a large V.  If you decided to attach the roll that way the bottom of the roll will crease some.  This roll becomes the head.  I had a small ball of yarn laying around the house so I used that has the turkey head. 

Making it up as I went, I decided that the look was not complete.  It needed color and a beak.  Looking around the house I tried to see if there way anything I could make into a beak. . . and there was.

A bread tie, I folded and creased it back and forth making a V shape with the bread tie.  Then I wiggled it in between the threads of yarn.

Though the red of the bread tie added some color it wasn't quite enough for my tastes so I pulled out my water colors set, it is nothing special, probably the same set that you would find in a children art kit, but it works.

Though I added the color on the "neck" of the turkey after attaching it I would advice adding it before attaching it... it would make the whole process a lot easier.

It may not be "Martha Stewart" but it get's the job done for free and in under 10 minutes.  I couldn't beat it, can you?  What holiday crafts will you be doing this year?

By Rachel Abi

By Durham Wedding Photographer

Sponsored by: 

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Finalle

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

The last and final week!

One of the last steps: put hanging stuff on it. Yes, that is the technical term.

I bought this kit within a few weeks of Chris and my wedding and I have used the junk out of it!

It has most all of what you would need to hold an average picture

I'm slightly OCD so I have to make sure that the two things were even on each side. I used 2 just to be careful... not because I have granite necklaces... but that would be pretty, heavy but pretty.

It is all done and hung... now just put all the lovely and amazing jewelry up!

Officialy a series... so I guess not epic

Next is getting something for the jewelry to hang on... seeing as that was the reason for this whole thing.

I resently was given one of those ridiculously big bags of random buttons and we have so many different types of screws lying around the house because of this project and that project that I didn't look any further.

I went into the back and grabbed the first flat head screws I could find and drilled them into the frame but only partically of course.  

Then I took my handy dandy modge podge ( I would have used super glue but ours dried up... who know they did that... I guess I break so much stuff I have never had to worry about it.  OH!  I guess that means I am getting less clumsy.) dabbed a pretty large drop on each one

Then topped each with a button.  I did a grouping of muted colors in the "cool" color family but random sizes and textures.

Kept the frame on its back for about an hour and then it was good to go.

Book 3 of my epic

I decide mid way throw this amazing and life altering project that I also wanted a place to hang my belts since I so meanly stole where Chris' belts are supposed to go.  I had to wait till I could find some cheap spoons. You ask why spoons and why cheap?  Well spoons are something you can find pretty redily at most yard sales and thrift shops.  They are usually thin enough to bend easily and they provide a possible flat surface to work with.  This is where the cheap comes in hand.  Both price cheap and quality cheap is needed.  

Price because it is just better to pay less.  Quality cheap is dire for the hammering the spoon area flat and bending the handle.  I am sure you have seen this before but if you hammer the spoon head flat it make it easy to secure it to the frame (after you drill a hole) and the hand bent allows for the crook on which things can be hung.

Step one: get cheap spoons

Step two: hammer the spoon heads flat

Step three: drill holes into the spoon (you will need a pretty powerful hand drill and a drill attachment).  Use your body weight to keep the drill stable and make sure you have the spoon on something that you are ok with getting marred or possible "holey"

I unfortunately made one of my holes off center... oh well.  It will hold the belts perfectly well.

Step four: Screw the spoons into place!

Step five: bend the handles to up to a nice sized crook!

This whole process took me about 10 minutes.  It isn't hard and if you mess up get some more spoons!

Part Duex of the most world altering post

So the SUPER cheap water colors I used at the last bit in part one wasn't quite enough color for me.  I looked at the frame and thought about what I might want.  Do to all a lack of creativity I decided on flowers on the vine.  Figured it was clichely girlie enough for jewelry to hang from.

I broke out my "starter" kit of acrilycs and set a move on it.  I didn't want to bright of a color and wanted to stay in the "cool" family so I went with a deep plum.  DO NOT be intimiated by acrilics.  You can have fun with it, plus if it goes back you can always paint over it and it will be covered in jewelry anyhow!  Be creative and have fun.  It is really easy so long as you have a firm small brush.  Use it like a pen... that you have to dip that apparently has some ink issues... you kind of get my point.

I did two different styles kind of on accident and kind of on purpose.  I wanted one side to look different then the other but I didn't originally intend for one side to only have 3 petals but I'm ok with it.

I like to add random colors as accents.  So I added a bright blue to the flowers and bit of bright yellow to accent the vine...

It really is super easy: take it and make it your own!

The most world altering post

In a give away pile at a yard sale I found this. It was at one point a canvas streatched over frame but it is no longer.  I looked it over and decided I would take it home to play with it.  I have wanted something fun and artsy to hang my jewelry off.  I do have an actually jewelry box but it is too small for everything and I can't get rid of it because it was a gift to my mother from her father, who died the year I was born, and she gave it to me and it really is pretty but just not meeting the need...

So I set myself free and you will get to see the process!

Step one for me was removing the remainder of the canvas/pull out the staples.  I used a flat screwdriver... I got skills!  *insert gangsta face/pursed lips off to the side

It is once again a blank canvas waiting for me this time!

I decided to use modge podge and an book that was terrible.  One  of those books I read just before getting married, that is about marriage but says that every problem was the guys fault... wait why did I have an issue with this book again  ;P

I did a little coat on top in places where it wasn't sticking too well, then I cut off any additional paper so it was flat with the frame.  The amazing tool that I ingeniously used: scissors.

After that dried I wanted to give it a bit of color so I broke out my SUPER cheap set of water colors and set loose the teal... so it gave it a slightly washed over look.

This was brought to you by the self important.  You are required to look forward to following posts about this frame... exciting I know!

My free poster frame!

So I found this poster frame in a free pile of stuff I was given.  It was just a basic white frame.  We needed a frame for a movie poster we had been given by our dear friend Taber. 

So I took it apart and played with it, trying to figure out what I should do with it? The room I need to put it in has an interesting pattern on the wall so I thought I would just match that.

Step One: hang the frame.  Silly I know but the easiest way for me to make sure the poster will line up with the design on the wall after I paint it is to actually mark on the poster frame the pattern.

Out pattern though fun isn't too difficult so it only will take three colors: a green color, a brown color and a pale yellow/tan

Then comes the painting within the lines.  You will mess up: it is ok.  Nothing is perfect and you wouldn't like it if it was.  Art, which is what you are making for your home, most definitely isn't perfect!  Beauty if in the imperfections. . . that's why I am gorgeous ;P

So this is the wall the frame will hang on.  I hung it long enough to mark it but then down it goes. . .

This particular frame holds in the picture/poster by bendable tabs.  I can't bend them very well with my hands so I use pliers.  Warning: if you mend too much they can twist and break... they aren't too bad to bend, it just hurts my wimpy fingers

First coat:  I always prefer to do a second coat, just to make the colors bright a crisp and to cover up any possible missed spots!

The frame itself was just a tad to small for the poster so I decided to modify my poster but cutting it down a bit to make it fit.  Make sure if you decide to do this that you, as best as you can, cut evenly on each side.  Making sure to keep the poster as centered as possible.  

After the second coat and cutting down the poster a bit:  here it is our HP7 poster!  Thanks Taber!