Thanksgiving and Fall Crafts

From LoveToKnow Crafts

Thanksgiving and fall crafts don't have to be complicated. There are plenty of simple projects you can make to decorate your home or give as gifts to your loved ones.

Get ready for Thanksgiving with fun craft projects.

The Spirit of the Season

When coming up with ideas for Thanksgiving and fall crafts, it's helpful to spend some time thinking about what the season means to you.

Thanksgiving and fall are commonly associated with:

Apples
Acorns
Cornucopia
Corn
Cranberries
Gourds
Leaves
Pilgrim hats
Pumpkins
Pumpkin pie
Squash
Turkeys

Good color schemes for Thanksgiving and fall include:

Chocolate and red
Rust and olive
Red and orange
Olive and mocha
Eggplant and olive
Chocolate, mocha, and ivory
Chocolate, red, and orange
Red, rust, and golden yellow
Eggplant, chocolate, and mocha

Nature Stamping

Stamping is a great way to make Thanksgiving and fall crafts. You don't even need to buy expensive rubber stamps to get started. The leaves in your backyard, flowers from your garden, or an apple cut in half will all make excellent stamps.

Stamp with acrylic paint on paper to make:

Greeting cards or party invitations
Placemats
Place cards
Gift wrap or gift bags
Wall art to frame

If you use fabric paint, this technique can be tried on:

Tablecloths
Linen napkins
Canvas tote bags
Pillows
T-shirts

While you can make a variety of stamped items using exclusively natural materials, sometimes it's helpful to add letters, phrases, or other decorative elements to your projects. The LoveToKnow Crafts article Make Your Own Rubber Stamps contains instructions for making stamps in the design of your choice out of inexpensive fun foam.

Fun Felt Crafts

Felt is a great material for Thanksgiving and fall crafts. It's inexpensive, available in a wide variety of colors, and easy for beginning crafters to work with. In most cases, felt does not fray when cut.

Here are a few project ideas to get you started:

Make felt coasters for your table. Cut the felt into circles or squares with pinking shears to add a decorative touch.
Cover inexpensive dollar store photo frames with felt to make a pretty display for your favorite seasonal pictures.
Add magnets to the back of felt shapes to decorate your refrigerator.
Decorate felt with buttons, ribbons, beads, charms, and other embellishments to make a seasonal wall hanging.
Cut out felt shapes that represent fall to make a storyboard for children. Martha Stewart offers instructions for this craft on her Web site.

The LoveToKnow Crafts article Free Felt Crafts has more suggestions for working with this fun material.

Calligraphy

Calligraphy, the art of beautiful handwriting, is the basis for many craft projects that are appropriate for Thanksgiving and fall. Calligraphy is great for writing:

A list of things you are thankful for in your own life
Thanksgiving poems
Thanksgiving quotes
Special Thanksgiving recipes you wish to share with others
Family trees to help illustrate connections between relatives who don't see each other on a regular basis

Calligraphy may look difficult, but all that is truly required to learn this craft is patience. By mastering a few basic calligraphy techniques, you can present your words in the most appealing fashion possible. Review the following LoveToKnow Crafts articles to learn more:

More Thanksgiving and Fall Crafts

Still can't decide what to make? For more project ideas, LoveToKnow Crafts suggests visiting the following helpful Web sites:

Martha Stewart features beautiful ideas for fall décor crafts.
Joann.com has an impressive assortment of ideas for Thanksgiving and fall projects, with crafts appropriate for all skill levels.
Kaboose has a large assortment of fall craft ideas for children.
Crayola provides many fun ideas for Thanksgiving kids crafts.

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