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Thanksgiving Dinner: A Virtual Smorgasbord!

Posted byAmy Latta on Updated on
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Are you ready for Thanksgiving? {Except for you Canadian friends who had yours already!} To help us get in a festive mood, I’ve teamed up with a fabulous group of bloggy friends and we’re bringing you a very special Virtual Thanksgiving Dinner today! Each of us has our own little piece of the pie {yes, I went there…go ahead and roll your eyes!} to share about, so at the bottom of the post you’ll find links to various recipes for each part of a Thanksgiving dinner! There’s turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, veggies, rolls, and of course dessert!

So what’s my part in all of this? Well, if you’ve been around here for any significant amount of time, you know I’m an artsy mama. Not a chef-mama. Most of what I cook comes out of a box. So, I volunteered for something a little different. You make it in the kitchen and it goes on the table, but it’s not to eat! That’s right. My little sous chef and I made some very special DIY Holiday Place Cards, and we sure hope you enjoy them!

 
Here’s how we did it {and you can too}!
 
You’ll need:
For the base: flour, salt, water
For decorating: acrylic paints, Sparkle Mod Podge, paintbrushes, paint pen
For the tie-ons: jute, ribbon, scissors, cardstock, stamp, ink, hole punch, oval punch
 
 
STEP 1: Mix salt dough.
 
1 C flour
1/2 C salt
1/2 C lukewarm water
 
Mix flour and salt together in large bowl.  Gradually add lukewarm water, stirring until you get the right doughy consistency.  I didn’t end up using the entire 1/2 cup.  Knead well, then let dough sit for about 30 minutes. 
 
STEP 2: Roll dough, cut, and bake.
 
We used a leaf shaped cookie cutter we found on clearance at Target {yay, $2!}.  We also poked holes in them using a straw.  We baked them at 200 degrees for 4ish hours.  I flipped them every 45 minutes or so.  Last year, we used the same recipe but baked them at 250 and had problems with them getting puffy…I think the lower temperature fixed the problem this time around.

STEP 3: Make sure your leaves are really hard before you pull them out of the oven.  Let them cool, then they’re ready to decorate!
These are really tough and durable; you should be able to push on them with a decent amount of force without them breaking.

STEP 4: Paint!
LC used a sponge brush and acrylic paint to do a solid coat of color on each leaf.  We used some of the Folk Art acrylic paints we got from Plaid last month, along with some others from our stash.

STEP 5: Add names using paint pen.
I used a white fine-tip paint pen and it showed up really well on all but the light yellow.  For that one, I just used a black permanent marker.

STEP 6: Coat each one with Sparkle Mod Podge!
Why?  Well, because glitter makes everything better, of course!  It also seals the paint; double duty.  If you prefer, you can use gloss or another formula of Mod Podge, but why would you when you could have glitter?

 
STEP 7: Add hanger, ribbon, and tag.
To finish these off, the first thing we did was stamp some little tags.  We used the word “grateful” and punched it out of orange cardstock.  Then, we threaded some twine through the hole of the leaf, tied a knot at the top of the stem, then threaded the tag on.  We tied a knot at the top of the twine, then finished it off by tying a scrap of ribbon around the bottom knot.
 
Here they are, all ready to show our family where to sit on Thanksgiving day.  I love that they can be used as ornaments or fall decor so they’re not just a placecard, but a gift to treasure.
 
Here’s a peek at how they’ll look on Turkey Day!
 
 
These were easy and fun to make {they can be done in just one day} and they cost us absolutely nothing, because we had all the supplies in the kitchen and our craft stash already!  That’s my kind of project!
 
So, now that the table is set and ready, why not take a look at some of the delicious things you can put on it!  Stop by and visit my friends to see their recipes for appetizers, turkey, side dishes, desserts, and more – some awesome blogs have every course covered!
Cheeseball Appetizer at Create.Craft.Love (left)
and Hot Cheese Dip and Cracker Tray at Jessie Street Designs (right)
Tips For Cooking a Perfect Turkey at Ladybird Ln. (right)
and Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes at Artsy Fartsy Mama (left)
Save oven space with Repeat Crafter Me’s Crock Pot Green Bean Casserole (left)
Cranberry Marshmallow Salad at Happy Hour Projects (center)
Cheddar Tea Biscuits at Becoming Martha (right)
Classic Warm Apple Crisp at Chase the Star (left)
Seven Alive’s Favorite Pumpkin Pie (right)
Turkey Cookies at Bear Rabbit Bear Crafts (left)
Pilgrim Hat Cookies at Wait Til Your Father Gets Home (right)

I hope you enjoyed this recipe round up, and you check out my friends’ favorites today too!  What’s your favorite Thanksgiving recipe?

Counting my blessings,
 

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11 Comments

  2. Too cute, Amy! I love that LC helped with all of the decorating – makes it even more special! I am also a box cookin’ kind of lady. Thankfully, the cheese ball doesn’t require anything other than a bit of chopping and smushing! Love how these turned out, friend!

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  10. Great Thanksgiving ideas and recipes, and my daughter will love the sparkle modge podge! My favorite recipes for Thanksgiving are my my mother’s dressing and my grandmothers pumpkin pie!

    Reply
  11. Pingback: Thanksgiving Kids Craft & Activities - Inspiration Made Simple

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