A Little Thanksgiving Decoration

Ok, I know my last post talked about finishing projects that I already started, and therefore implied that I had plenty on my plate without starting anything new, but here I am, about to tell you that I started a new project...my bad! (Does it help to know that I finished it?) How could I resist when it was only going to cost me $3 and take about 15 minutes to make?

So, as many of you know by now, Halloween is my favorite holiday. That means lots of decorations go up in our apartment in October (but never enough!). I also really like Christmas (who doesn't?) so our apartment gets even more decked out in December. November, though, sees little in the way of decorating. Up til now, all I've had for Thanksgiving decorations is a small basket filled with cranberries and cinnamon sticks in the middle of our dining table. Sad...I know. I wanted to change that this year, but I don't really have the resources or the time to go all out.

I saw this project on Pinterest (I'd post the link, but it's no longer working...), which I think is actually for Christmas, but with a little tweaking, I made it work for Thanksgiving.

First, go on a pinecone hunt! You can buy them at the store, but where's the fun in that? I took Levi for a walk around our neighborhood and picked up 5 handsome cones along the way. Be sure to shake them out pretty good when you pick them up. They tend to house bugs and dirt, neither of which you want coming into your house. Also, I recommend you stick to an odd number. Just like when you're decorating inside the home, clustering things in odd numbers just looks better - it creates asymmetrical balance.

Next, gather your supplies...

 

I used different ribbons that I already had in my ribbon stash (yes, I have a stash) that matched my idea of Thanksgiving colors. They should all be at least 2.5ft long to give it a good amount of hang while still leaving ribbon for the bow. The only thing I had to buy was a basic wreath hanger from Hobby Lobby for $3.

 

Next, wrap the end of each ribbon around the base of a pinecone. I folded the ribbon in half for this part to make it stay better (see picture below). Leave about and inch or two of ribbon exposed on one end.

 

 

Tie the loose end of ribbon in a knot to the long leftover ribbon (see below). Once you're happy with the knot and everything, trim the excess ribbon from the short end to hide the knot a little better.

 

Once you have all the pinecones attached to a ribbon, hold them up together and arrange the pinecone heights the way you want. After you have them hanging at the right height, tie them all together with a simple knot. Now slip the knot over the hook end of the wreath hanger. (I took pictures of this too, but they were blurry...bah! That's what I get for trying to take a one-handed picture with an iPhone 4. O well.)

Once the knot is secure on the hook, pick two of the longer ribbons and tie them in a bow on top of/above the knot on the wreath hanger. Let the tails hang long, but trim any that look overly so.

Now, all you have to do is hang it on the door!

 

Seriously, it only takes about 15 minutes. And it's so easy, instead of trying to find a way to store the pinecones without damaging them, you could just dismantle it and discard the pinecones when you're ready to replace it with something else.

 

And yes, in case you're wondering, that is our peephole, positioned way too low on the door. I don't know why it's like that, but its definitely at an awkward level for both the person looking out the peephole and for the person being looked at...

Anyway, happy crafting! If you want more ideas for Thanksgiving decorations and crafts that I've found, follow my Thankgiving Stuff board on Pinterest!