Artsy Birthday

We just celebrated my granddaughter's 4th birthday and I thought I would share some of the details with you.  She wanted to have an art party which made for a very colorful event.  You can see last years, Hungry Caterpillar party here.  

I made her a rainbow cake and cupcakes.  We set the cupcakes on paint palettes and placed sprinkles in the trays which allowed the children to decorate their own cupcakes. I also made "paintbrushes" by taking pretzel sticks and dipping them in chocolate.  To stick with the painting theme, we dropped by our local Lowes and picked up various paint chips and created holders for our napkins and eating utensils, then we used the left over paint chips for decorating the tables.

We got the acrylic paint and the pinata from Walmart as well as the tableware.

We picked the canvas' up at Michael's and I ordered the aprons, paint brushes, and palettes from Oriental Trading. We let the children take all of these home with them, as well as watercolor paint sets for thank you gifts.  

Everyone seemed to have a really good time, especially the birthday girl!

Thanksgiving Table

Our family typically does Thanksgiving dinner buffet style which leaves room for a beautiful centerpiece on the table.  This year I wanted to do something different from the usual pumpkins, gourds, and mums so I started gathering inspiration.  Here are some of my favorites.

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Take a glass cake stand and fill the dome lid with nuts, pinecones, leaves, berries, glass ornaments, potpourri etc then place the bottom on and flip it back over.

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Take your old wine bottles and fill them with grains, rice, or spices, pop in some candles, add ribbon or twine and voila!  

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How about creating your centerpiece out of all different nuts and greenery.  I like that all the different heights and shapes of the containers create interest.

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How simple is this?  Hollow out some bell peppers and add some fall flowers.  Perfect for a small space.

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Fruit in a pedestal bowl interspersed with fall leaves.  Very simple yet festive.

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I like the monochromatic tones of this display and the sprigs of wheat to add texture.

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Wrap corn husks around votives or vases and add candles and flowers.  I like the purples incorporated in this look instead of the typical oranges for the holiday.

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This has a very primative feel to it with the ribbon, berries, twigs and feathers.  You could change it entire feel by choosing different colors.

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I love how the candlelight bounces and shimmers off of the mercury glass.  Throw in some berries and twigs and this makes a grand display.

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How fun is this!  A bouquet carved out of vegetables.  You could practice this one and every time you mess up, eat the boo boos. 

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How colorful is this, using different seeds, beans, nuts or legumes and placing a candle inside.  These are things that most people have in the pantry already and you could potentially use them in a soup with the leftovers after dinner.

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How about using vegetables as candle holders!  The green beans and asparagus placed around the candle and held by a ribbon, or the artichokes hollowed out with the candle placed inside.

All of these have given me lots of inspiration and ideas.  What do you plan to put on your Thanksgiving table?