Mayflower centerpiece.

Yes. I know it's too late to really do any good this year. But. I thought I'd share my "process" pictures of how I made my Mayflower centerpiece for Thanksgiving before I forgot. :) This way, too, I can just link folks back to this post come next November. 

So. Here's what I did:

1. Gather materials and inspiration. I don't know about y'all, but I love looking through the Pottery Barn catalogs. Such beautiful things, but just way too expensive. Here's the centerpiece that caught my attention. I *wanted* one. But, I wasn't willing to pay $40 plus shipping. Instead, I hit my local craft store and spent less than $3. Here's what you need:

• two 12x18 sheets of stiff felt, black (I'd have gotten brown but they were out)
• three 9x12 sheets of "normal" felt, tan (you could also use canvas)
• three wooden dowels (I think mine were about 1/4" diameter and each was 1 yard long)
• one block of floral foam for dry arrangements 
• one skein of brown embroidery floss (I already had some on hand)

2. Make the hull. Cut the two big felt pieces into the hull and sew the outside edges together with the embroidery floss. I just eyeballed it. You could make a template out of paper first and then cut along that, but I was feeling in a bit of a hurry. ;)  

(Click on any of these images for a larger version.)

3. Make the sails. Fold one of the short edges over to create a small lip...maybe 1/2 - 3/4 inches (enough that, once sewn, a dowel will fit through). Before you begin sewing that, though...fold the felt in half lengthwise to find the middle. Snip a small hole so that you'll be able to thread the vertical dowel through later. Now, stitch the "lip" down (leaving room for the dowel) and continue around the other edges just to make it look pretty. I didn't do anything fancy...just a straight stitch. I did, though, start at the middle (just left of where I snipped a hole for the vertical dowel) and then continued around from there...ending just shy of that spot where I snipped the hole so that the vertical dowel doesn't have to contend with any stitches. If you aren't fearful of your sewing machine like I am, that's probably easier. ;) (I'll mention here that I opted to have all my sails the same size so used each piece of felt just as it was. By all means, feel free to shorten some of the sails or have a double mast or whatever.)

4. Attach the dowels. My boys informed me that my sails aren't how you'd find them on an actual sailing ship. I opted not to delve into history here and exercised artistic license...going with what I thought looked nice. ;) I had my lovely husband cut my dowels to 23, 24 and 25 inch lengths (for the vertical) and three 10 inch lengths (to hold up the sails). (Yes, I could have done this myself but I was busy stitching the sails at that point, lol.) I placed the 10" lengths through each sail and then added the uprights. I left about 1.5" at the top of the vertical dowel. To keep the horizontal bar from slipping down, (and I thought this was rather ingenious if I do say so myself) I simply added a little rubber band to the vertical dowel. I've heard that hot glue works as well, or you could get fancy and try to notch the two dowels together. 

5. Arrange your sails. Stick your sails into your floral foam block, spaced as you like. Easy peasy. Because floral foam can be crushed to shape, I then just stuck this whole thing into my hull and squished it all to the bottom.

6. Weight it down. At this point, I began to realize that my boat was a bit top heavy and lacking in stabilization since my base wasn't large in the way of surface area. My sweet Micah volunteered to go gather me some rocks. I just set them on top of the floral foam. I probably could/should have glued them in some way. I didn't. It was fine. :) (In retrospect, you could use clay instead of the floral foam and then the base would be heavier on it's own. I liked the floral foam, though, because I figure I can just buy a new one each year...and then everything's easy to store, nice and flat.)

7. Fill it up. I crinkled some kraft paper (had some from a recent shipment anyhow) to cover up the rocks and floral foam. Tucked it in loosely. Then, I just took miscellaneous things that were already on my dining table centerpiece/bowl and filled the hull...with small gourds, indian corn, decorative flowers, etc. Voila! 

And that's my version of a Mayflower centerpiece. :) 

Gift ideas: General.

Anyone still tackling that Christmas shopping list after all the Black Friday mayhem? ;) When all else fails, here are some categories of gifts that are generally appreciated:

Books. Lately, around here, it's been anything to do with Star Wars or science or history. :) This is one of those categories where you need to know the gift recipient fairly well...but giftcards also work if you can't decide which book(s) to pick up. Oooh. And holiday books are always fun for kids. 

Games. So many games. So little time. Our game closet overflowed into a game "area" and we just keep finding more we love (probably time to purge a few of those, though, lol). You can go for classics like Monopoly or Uno or chess or go for the more obscure like Carcassonne or Robo Rally or Fluxx. (We have and recommend all of these, btw.) We'll be adding this one and this one this Christmas...I'll let you know how they go. 

Giftcards. Sure, they may seem a little impersonal. But. Let's be honest. Don't *you* love receiving a giftcard to one of your favorite places? I know I do. ;) If you want to wrap something a little more creative, you can stick it in one of these. (We received one of these a few years ago and (after I'd struggled with it for a good while) Noah had it solved in less than 5 minutes...he ingeniously grabbed a magnet to guide the little metal ball, lol.) 

Food. Again, this one might require you to know your recipient pretty well but I've yet to meet a person who didn't appreciate free food. ;) You could go the culinary route here and get fancy foods...or the junk food route and get foods you know the person loves but wouldn't normally buy for themselves...or the meal route (at home...if you have a local place that prepares meals that you freeze and then just make when ready...or out and about if you know their favorite restaurant)...or, for the starving college student, even the grocery route. ;)

Movies & Music. Somewhat obvious, admittedly. But. While shopping for that copy of Karate Kid or Despicable Me, also consider things like individual seasons of favorite shows and soundtracks to all of the above. Giftcards to theaters with offers to watch the kids are also grandly appreciated. ;)

Memberships. For families who don't need/want more "stuff," think about going the membership route. A family membership to a local museum or zoo might be a perfect gift (and, often these don't cost any more than you'd already have spent on a number of individual gifts). Watch, too, for places that offer reciprocal agreements (so you pay for the membership to that particular place but it's also good at a number of others...bonus!). (Our local Discovery Science Center, for example, offers a great annual family membership that's good not only there but at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science as well!)

Theme baskets. I love a good theme. When in doubt...try this. Just gather things that go together. For the sports fan, some goodies from his/her favorite team (a jersey, a throw, a window decal, (if you really like them) tickets to a game, an ornament)...For movie buffs, throw some microwave popcorn and a gift subscription to Netflix together (maybe some candy in a box, too, lol)...For readers, how about a nifty reading pillow and a cool book bag and one of these Thumb Things (I love these!) and a giftcard to Amazon or Barnes & Noble? You get the idea...

Again, I am not affiliated with any of the companies mentioned or linked here...just sharing ideas because I love shopping for others. ;)

Black Friday and a conspiracy theory.

Did you venture out? Do you annually? I didn't and don't usually. We made an exception last year. But this year was all about being lazy and enjoying the time to just veg. Given that my voice is still M.I.A., it's probably for the best anyhow. ;) I did, though, manage a wee bit of online shopping and can see how it might be fun to wait till Black Friday to do a bunch of Christmas shopping all at once. Fortunately, I'm mostly done with my Christmas shopping so am more easily able to avoid all the temptation of great deals. ;)

Now. Here's a question for you. It's even *kinda* related to Black Friday and shopping. Have you ever gone shopping...and you *know* you put an item in your cart...and when you get home, you can't find it and it's not on your receipt? This has happened to me twice in the last couple weeks at Target. And I KNOW I put them in my cart. I wasn't paying enough attention during check out, though (will definitely work on that). And when I got home, I discovered that said item was missing and didn't show up on my receipt. 

So. Two things. First, yes, it's definitely better that at least it wasn't on my receipt. Would be much more annoying if I'd actually paid for it and then not had it.

But. Second, do you suppose it's some sort of crazy marketing campaign to surreptitiously remove an item from my cart (either while I'm shopping or at checkout) such that I have to make another trip again later? I mean, really. I know I put that darn Wii nunchuk in my cart on Monday. I remember distinctly doing so and talking to the sales guy as I was doing it. When I went to find it at home, though, it was no where to be found and didn't show up on my receipt. What gives?

I tell ya. I think those retailers are getting crafty and coming up with more ways to make us keep coming back. I can just picture the sales guy thinking to himself, "now, which of these items will she need to come back for? Ah, yes, the nunchuk...I bet her kids really want that." Risky, maybe. But chances are pretty good that I'll end up going back to get the nunchuk. ;)

Thoughts on yesterday...

...in no organized fashion because my organization mojo is plum worn out right now. ;)

- Had a fabulous Thanksgiving with family and friends...thanks to those who were here! Made it so much more special to share the day with you!

- Woke up yesterday with no voice...which made sharing Thanksgiving with family and friends more difficult. ;) Rather irritating because I had plenty to say, lol, but I'll make up for it later. 

- I'm pretty sure we cooked and carved the turkey upside down. (True story.) But. It turned out wonderfully...thank you, Pioneer Woman! The other dishes, btw, also turned out well. Feeling like we might actually be capable of preparing a decent meal, lol. Also, thankful for the lovely sides and desserts that others brought. Nothing better than food prepared by other people! ;) Yum!! Bummed, though, because I really failed in the photography department once people showed up. Darn it all. (Even after my public service announcement about that yesterday...in all fairness, though, I scheduled that post the day before while I was all optimistic and able to talk. Then, Thursday actually came and I didn't have my act together quite as planned, lol.) But. Here are a couple shots I managed to remember to take while we were prepping things the day before:

(These are the sweet potato dish and the skillet cornbread. We also made cranberry-pomegranate sauce, creamy mashed potatoes, and pumpkin muffins thanks to the Pioneer Woman's recipes.)

- The kids all seemed to enjoy themselves...playing in the basement, challenging each other on the Wii, general play and so on. Plus, they all made little ship placeholders. Remember, I was telling you that I was going to try these to coordinate with my centerpiece? Well, one, those coffee holder things are awesome. And, two, it's unrealistic, apparently, to expect boys to make Mayflower like ships when given free reign. Asher almost immediately turned his into a pirate ship and Noah's first take was a modern sailing yacht. Micah's, since I know you're wondering, was an exploration ship sporting a sail decorated with a fight scene from Star Wars, of course. And, both Asher and Micah immediately needed "cannon holes" in their hulls. Lovely. 

Here are the boys working on their first ships (over the course of Thanksgiving, they each made more than one). I love how these pictures capture each boys' personality. Micah simply set to work and had fun coming up with his own thing. Asher went to google for a picture of the "jolly roger" and set about drawing and coloring, wanting to be as true to form as possible. And Noah got out the rulers and stencils and carefully measured out his design.

I was pleasantly surprised at how excited they were over this craft, though I suppose it shouldn't come as a huge shock. An opportunity to construct a vehicle of sorts? Definitely caught their attention better than coloring a silly ol' turkey. ;) (It didn't hurt that I added caramels and butterscotch candies to each ship on Thanksgiving while they served as placeholders, lol.) Speaking of which, here are the finished ships:

- I have a whole new appreciation for dish washers. And counter space. (Man, I need more counter space.)

- I also have a whole new appreciation for just how much work goes into planning a full meal for multiple families. Oh, we've had folks over before and all, but nothing enough like yesterday to remind me of meals growing up...the kind that my parents would make that would feed 40 easily. Seriously. Hats off to you, Mom!

- I watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade on tv for what, I think, is the first time ever. The boys joined me and were amazed...they have a definite difference of opinion as to what makes a good big balloon character, though. In particular, they just could not figure out why there were no Star Wars characters represented. ;) (Micah thought it was fun to try to guess how many people it took to hold each balloon...sometimes the announcers would mention it.)

- Very thankful for our lovely dining room table (that made seating everyone possible) and the new plates and flatware that I scored this past month. I actually set the table, which doesn't happen often around here. ;) Isn't it pretty?

- Yay, too, for Thanksgiving providing the motivation to finally finish putting things on my poor mantel. It has been naked much of 2010 whilst I kept talking about putting up these shadow boxes (that have been sitting in my office much of 2010 as well).

- And. Did you watch the 2010 Punkin Chunkin tournament to cap off your evening? Yeah. We did. ;) (It was even hosted by Adam and Jamie from the Mythbusters...can't get much better than that in the world of my guys, lol. Well, maybe if Darth Vader hosted?)

So. How was your Thanksgiving?

Happy Turkey Day!

Just wanted to wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving! Also, briefly, here's how my centerpiece came out:

Will try to take more pictures today (especially of boys and their continued "tweaking" of their smaller versions of this). More later. Must go stuff my face. ;) How are you celebrating? 

(BTW, public service announcement...make sure to take pictures with family and friends today...and make sure you're in at least some of them. Trust me.)