Preparing to Teach 5th Grade Religion Class

I made these little m&m tubes for a little take home treat. I buy the fall themed m&m's before Halloween.  And I punch a little circle and write "Be Thankful."

If you want to buy these thin cellophane tubes google 1" x 8" cellophane tubes.

Our Gratitude craft is going to be a lot of fun!

The craft is a grateful cross. The mini ziplock bag has fall colored squares that are going to be adhered to the cross. The kids will write thankful items inside of each square. A piece of ribbon is also inside of each ziplock bag - so they can glue a ribbon loop on the back of each cross.

Iced pumpkin cookies for our snack.

One of the worksheets i downloaded.  I have the best class this year - such good kids!

Cheese and Cracker Turkeys

I made some cheese and cracker turkeys for my 5th grade religion class.  They are a little take home treat.

I hade everything that I needed to make these cute little treats except the cheese and crackers.

Using a scalloped punch I punched two fall colored pieces of scrapbook paper for the feathers. I taped the feathers to the back of the turkey.

Using a glue gun I adhered the eyes, waddle and beak.  Such a fun and easy craft. It would be a wonderful classroom, sports team or neighbor treat!

Felt Turkeys For Meals on Wheels

Because i was making 50 of these turkeys for Meals on Wheels I did not follow the tutorial with the pattern that I used. She used a blanket stitch on the feathers and a running stitch is easier and takes a lot less time to execute. Also she used tiny pieces of black felt for the eyeball and I used a black seed bead. However, I think mine came out super cute. I love them - they are so cheerful. They would also make an adorable garland. And would look so cute  on top of a See's candy stick or a pencil.

Supply List:

orange felt

yellow felt

brown felt

red felt

white felt

black seed beads

yellow embroidery thread

white embroidery thread

black embroidery thread

red embroidery thread

brown embroidery thread

needles

scisscors

template from www.frogprincepaperie.com
in the finder box type in "tutorial Thanksgiving turkey finger puppets"


Directions:

Cut out all of the pieces you are going to need. I was making 50 of these felt turkeys so I was cutting the felt out for days.

Sew the yellow feather on top of the orange feather with a running stitch and white embroidery thread. Then using yellow thread add a running stitch around the orange feather. Set these aside.

On the front brown piece sew the white felt dot with a black seed bead on top using black thread and a small needle.

Sew the waddle onto the right side of the brown piece using red thread.

Using yellow thread sew the yellow beak over the top of the waddle.

Put a plain brown piece to cover the messy part of the front piece. Using a whip stitch tack both brown pieces to the front of the feathers. Leave the bottom of the brown pieces open, only sew the sides.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Menu

I have organized my Thanksgiving Menu! And I made the twice baked potatoes this morning. Tomorrow morning I am going to chop up the celery and onion for the stuffing.

Menu

Turkey breast

Gravy

Cranberry sauce

Twice baked poatoes

Rolla and butter

Green beans wrapped in bacon

Bundt cake (ordered from Nothing Bundt Cake)

Vanilla ice cream

We are planning on going for a hike tomorrow or playing a little family tennis.  We are planning to eat around six. At first I was going to make some pies - then I decided to order dessert! So we could enjoy the day!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Fall Themed Bracelets - Thanksgiving Party Favors

I started making some Fall themed bracelets for Thanksgiving party favors. These could also be made into napkin rings,

These are so fun to make - I spend the afternoon beading.

Supply List:

Stretch Magic elastic 

Beads in fall colors

One large bead for each bracelet

Scissors

Clear nail polish

Directions:

Cut a 10 or 11-inch piece of Stretch Magic and tie an odd bead about one inch onto the end of the string.

Start with the large bead and then add the fall themed beads. remove the odd end bead. When the bracelet is the desired sized tie off several times as close to the big bead as possible.

Add a dab or two of clear nail polish to the knot. Let the nail polish dry. Test the bracelet on your wrist. Then cut the ealastic as  close to the big bead as possible.

I also made some peace sign bracelets.

I was thinking of making some Christmas bracelets and tie them onto packages.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Mini Turkeys Made with Hershey Nuggets

These little Turkeys are so easy to make and I had a lot of Hershey nuggets leftover from when I made bats for Halloween and Bibles for religion class.

Supply List:

Hershey nuggets

Brown lunch bags

Brown card stock

Orange card stock

Brown printed scrapbook paper

Orange printed scrapbook paper

Green printed scrapbook paper

1 1/2 inch round punch

2 1/2 inch scalloped punch

Scissors

Google eyes

Small glue dots

Scotch tape

Directions:

Lay out your Hershey nuggets.

Cut strips of brown lunch bags - and cut into 1-inch by 3-inch strips and tape around the Hershey nugget.

Punch the brown card stock with the 1 1/2 -inch circle punch. Using small glue dots affix the goo ogle eyes and an orange beak.

Using a loop of scotch tape affix the head to the front of the Hershey nugget.

Cut out the patterned scrapbook paper with the scalloped punch. 

Cut the scalloped circles in half and tape them together in a staggered pattern. Using a tape loop apply the scalloped circles to the back of the Hershey nugget.

These were so simple to make and would be cute on a Thanksgiving table or to bring to the classroom for a little treat.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Indian Corn Candy Party Favor

I love making Thanksgiving treats. And I feel like Thanksgiving is an important holiday and often overlooked. The minute Halloween is over - Christmas decorations are everywhere! I am like Nordstrom - I will not decorate for Christmas until after Thanksgiving.

Supply List:

Fall colored Sixlets

Pretzel bags

Brown lunch bags

Scissors

Twine

Tags

Directions:

Fill each pretzel bag about 1/2 way with the sixlets and tie with twine.

Cut lunch bag into 5" square pieces.. Roll the brown lunch bag into a ball and flatten several times.

Cut lunch bag into strips leaving 1/2 inch connected at the bottom of the square.

 Wrap the brown paper around the pretzel bag and tie with an additional piece of twine.

 Tie the tag on and knot the twine. The tags can be store-bought or homemade.

Instead of Sixlets you could use Reese's pieces or fall colored m&m's.


Tags:

Cream colored card stock

Orange patterned paper

Round punch

Scalloped punch

Double stick tape

Black pen

Hole punch

Directions:

Punch circles in cream card stock and scalloped circles in an orange pattern scrapbook paper. Add the two circles with some double stick tape. Write on the tag anything about Thanksgiving or being grateful. You could even use these for place cards and write your guests names.

Punch the tags with a hole punch.

Happy Thanksgiving! These would make fun classroom, sports team or neighbor little gifts.

Give Thanks Wooden Signs for Meals on Wheels

I am planning on bringing both Thanksgiving and Halloween treats to Meals on Wheels mid October. However, I decided to start backwards and work on the Thanksgiving treat first.

I bought 50 0f these little wooden signs at Hobby Lobby and decorated them with Sharpie pens because they don't bleed or smudge. Noelle had to help me finish this project!

Coloring 50 little wooden signs is a lot.

Now, I just need to start working on my Halloween Meals on Wheels craft.

Cornicopia Treats for Religion Class

I made some little cornucopias for the 1st grade Religion class.

The sugar cones are filled with carmel corn, mini pretzels, Cheese-its and the fall colored m&m's.

The cones were packaged into cone shaped cellophane bags and tied with and orange polka dot ribbon.

I made some little tags that say "Give thanks to the Lord for he is good."

I tied the tags on with twine. And I also brought my turkey lollipop holder.

The class loved the little treats!

The Thankful basket is perfect for this little treat!

Pumpkin Pie Spiced Nuts

I make these nuts every year right before Thanksgiving. Since they are made with a Pumpkin Pie Spice they are perfect for a Thanksgiving party favor or hostess gift.

They are so easy to make and can be packaged in jars or cellophane bags.

Ingredients:

3 egg whites

3 tablespoons of water

2 cups lightly salted peanuts

1 cup pumpkin seeds

1 cup sunflower seeds

2 cups walnuts

2 cups pecans

2 cups cashews

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of sugar

3 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice

1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

3 teaspoons salt

Note: just use 10 cups of your favorite nuts ( you might want to omit the cashews and use almonds instead).

Directions:

Line 2 large cookie sheets with foil and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a very large bowl whisk the egg whites and water until the mixture is frothy.

Start adding the nuts into the bowl and toss until all the nuts are coated. Then add the sugar, pumpkin pie spice, cayenne pepper and salt to the bowl and stir until the mixture is combined.

Divide the mixture on to the 2 foil lined cookie sheets.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes - stirring every 10 minutes. 

Let the mixture cool and package it into jars or cellophane bags.

Some dried cranberries would look nice sprinkled into the nuts. I think I will try the dried cranberries next year.

While the nuts cooled - I punched out some brown circles and wrote my labels.

Using double stick tape I adhered the labels to the top of the jars.

The final step is to tie the jars with a pretty piece of ribbon. The nuts can be used in a salad, on oatmeal or ice cream. They also make a great snack!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Indian Corn Party Favors

I made some Indian Corn party favors. These would make wonderful Thanksgiving Day place cards or fun snacks to bring to the classroom or sports team.

To make this fun and easy project you will need:

pretzel bags

fall colored candy

twine

brown paper or raffia

scissors

small labels

You can get the narrow pretzel bags at any party or craft store. Fill the bags about half way with autumn  colored candy. I used Sixlets in yellow, orange and black. But you could also use Reese's Pieces or fall colored m&m's. 

I cut some brown lunch bags into strips, Then I wrinkled the strips and tied them to the top of the candy area with a piece of twine. 

I found some brown labels in my craft cabinet - but I think you could buy them at any craft or office store. Or you could skip this step. I simply wrote Thankful on my tags - but you could write names on the tags as well.

The tag makes a really cute addition to the party favor.

I put the party favors in my Thanksgiving basket. I made these for the tennis match tomorrow. Fingers crossed that it doesn't rain.