DIY Turkey Thanksgiving Fall Decor Ideas

DIY Turkey Thanksgiving Fall Decor

I'm pretty frugal about buying things for the house, I just have a hard time deciding on something if it's more than like $12 and I get so much more enjoyment from making something anyways, especially if I can make it from scraps and things I find in my stash for free!  Here are some thanksgiving turkey themed things I made with scraps from my craft/sewing/art closet.

DIY Turkey Thanksgiving Applique Throw Pillow

I drew a simple turkey design, cut out all the pieces and then traced it onto fusible webbing, stuck it on scraps of fabric, cut them out and ironed onto a piece of unbleached cotton.  Cut that all out with a slight edge and then centered over a 22 inch square of the unbleached linen for the pillow and then sewed around all the edges with the yellow thread as you can see in the pictures.  I didn't take pics of the process so I couldn't make a tutorial..darn!  At the end I stitched a bead on for the turkey's eye. (sorry I don't really know what I'm doing. I just figure out how to make it work so I hope that made enough sense for anyone who wanted to try this..that's why I love step by step picture tutorials...because you don't have to know proper sewing terms and techniques lol)

 I used some yellow ribbon trim for the legs and feet.

 The back is an envelope style so I can easily remove this thanksgiving turkey pillow cover as the season changes.

Handprint Turkey Applique Canvas Keepsake

I made this one last year as the kids were obsessed with making handprint turkeys, I decided to make some thanksgiving fall decor out of it that would keep forever.  stuck some fusible webbing on the fabric and then traced each child's hand on the webbing and cut it out.  Then ironed it on to the strip of unbleached linen and stiched it down around the edges and used the sewing maching to make the legs, eyes and gobblers.  Then wrapped the canvas with the yellow chevron fabric and added the strip of unbleached linen and just used pushpins on the back to hold it all together.  I just whipped it up really quickly with scraps on hand, another free DIY project!

Pooley's Pumpkin Patch

Pooley's Pumpkin Patch

it's officially fall

We recently went to Pooley's Pumpkin Patch in Bennington, NE with our MOPS group and it was so much fun.  It was a cute, simple pumpkin patch but with plenty of fun things to keep the kids occupied from feeding the chickens, picking up and petting the baby chicks, swinging on giant tractor tire swings, a corn maze, a hay bail maze, petting zoo, tractor race track (john deer pedal cars and john deer tricycles) pony rides, hay rides and of course a pumpkin patch.  My kids had so much fun climbing on and playing on the little hay bails, one  of my new friends from my MOPS group and I decided, who needs an expensive rainbow playset in the backyard when all you need is hay bails?  The kids loved everything, but the hay bails, tricycle track and the baby kittens roaming around were the highlights.

Apple Print Stationary - Fall Crafts for Kids

Apple Print Stationary

Fall Crafts and Activities for Kids

Hey!  So I wasn't sure what to post today, but then I remembered this fun activity we did last week that we got out of Family Fun Magazine.  We made apple prints by cutting an apple in half, horizontally to get the circle shape with the star inside.  It was the perfect after school activity while dinner was being made since my daughter was learning all about the letter A and apples at preschool last week.  She thought this was really fun stamping the apple in the paint and then stamping the apple on the paper.  Once it was dry, we cut the paper to make smaller apple print note cards.  She wrote a letter to her grandparents in it.  Once she was done and her paint colors had mixed and turned really dark and muddy, she stuck her finger tip in the paint and made apple seeds.

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

 Looking for the perfect yummy fall treat to bake up for the Halloween carnival cake walk or just a scrumptious treat to have waiting on the table when your kids/hubby come home? Well, if you have been craving pumpkin spice lately, you have GOT to try these!  I got the recipe when I attended Parties that Cook last fall when I was in San Fransisco with my good friends at eHow.  Anyways, I love these and so does my family....too bad I don't get to eat the YUMMY cream cheese buttercream frosting this time around...now that I'm dairy free! (it's soooo hard sometimes!!!! but not worth having a fussy baby for the next 48 hours)

 Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Cupcakes:
2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups canola oil
1 15oz can of pumpkin
4 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
2 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon allspice
1 ¼ teaspoons kosher salt

Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting:
1 stick butter
1 8 oz. package of cream cheese
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
½ teaspoon kosher salt

Preheat oven to 350°F: Position rack in the center of the oven.
Cake Batter: Cream together granulated sugar, oil, pumpkin and eggs until well mixed, about 2 minutes.  In a bowl, sift together flour, baking soda and powder, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and salt.  Add to the wet ingredients and mix until combined and smooth, about 30 seconds (but don’t over mix).

Bake: Line muffin tins with cupcake liners.  Pour batter into the cupcake liners and bake for 15-20 minutes (or you can make it into a cake by pouring the batter into a greased 10x13 pan and baking for 35-45 minutes).  Cool completely on a cooling rack.

Buttercream: Beat butter and cream cheese on high speed for 2 minutes. Add sugar, vanilla and salt.  Mix until smooth. Frost each cupcake generously with frosting.  Serve.

Fall Decor Tutorial Linky

 

I don't know about you all, but it's taken me a while to warm up to the idea of fall...although now I am enjoying the cooler sunny days with a light refreshing breeze.  Now all of a sudden I've got the itch to do some fall decorating but I am running a blank for making up any of my own ideas.  I've been perusing the blogosphere for some inspiration and here are a few fun fall decor tutorials I've come across that have gotten the creative juices flowin'.  What about you?  Have you been busy making any fall decorations or fall crafts?  If so, please share and link up your awesome fall decor tutorials and show off your projects here! You don't have to make something yourself either, if you are proud of your decorating skills and want to show off your fall arrangements, bring it on!

I really want to make some of these fall topiary trees!!!

 DIY Fall Topiaries by Decor Chic

And loved the versatility of this project

Every Season Banner Wreath Tutorial 

And this which I see everywhere, I like the lighted ones, which you could easily add a strand of lights to

Grapevine Pumpkin Tutorial By Make it and Love it

Here is a wreath I made up real quick because I had NO fall decor...Now link up your awesome fall decor projects below!!!  I need more inspiration! ;)

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