Throwing a Jungle Party, Part 3: Leaves & Vines

I think this deserves an entire post to itself because creating vines and cutting out a LOT of leaves takes a LOT of time. The great thing is this can be done while watching TV ;)

To create vines, I purchased a large role of brown packing paper, it weighs about 50lbs! This is a serious role of paper. It's only about 2-3 feet wide, but it goes on for 1400 feet or something crazy like that. This can be purchased online or at a UPS store. I unrolled about 10-12 feet and cut it from it's roll. Than I grabbed one end, bunched it together and started rolling it in one direction. Very important not to switch direction- it will unravel. I continued rolling and crimping every few feet to keep it secure until the end. You have to use nails or some heavy duty tape to stick it to your walls because this will be fairly heavy. I hung one across our kitchen by tying some twine to our cabinet hinges. I than tied the twine to the vines and it stayed for over a week! Consider tying it to a curtain rod 

caution: make sure your curtain rod, or whatever you tie it to, is stable and secure and will not fall and cause injury. 

I did this a week in advance, both to make sure the vines would stay, but also because it could be done in advance. Why not do it as early as possible so its one thing checked off your list?

After the vines were literally hung throughout the house, I cut the leaves. I used two different colors of green paper. Regular printing paper or construction paper will work for this. It doesn't have to be thick paper. Using my template I cut out the leaves. I folded them in half while cutting to make sure they were symmetrical and to give the leaf a nice crease! I probably cut over 100 leaves. I used them on the vines and I laid them out on the different tables. They added a nice decorative touch. 

Time to decorate for Thanksgiving!!

Last week I took down all my Halloween decorations and put up all my thanksgiving ones. Thanksgiving is such a fun time for me. It means lots of yummy food, good times spent with friends and family....and it's the precursor for Christmas! But before I can even think about Christmas I need to plan out my turkey day. And part of having a great turkey day is having a house that feels warm and welcoming and in my house that means lot of leaves. I think people can be a bit intimidated by decorating for thanksgiving. Don't be! Add those scarecrows and leaves! Here's how I decorated:

My welcome sign when I step in from the garage:

I always save pumpkins from October and use them to decorate for Thanksgiving. I also lite a lot of candles in the fall/winter, why not combine the two on a counter or side table?

A little pumpkin scarecrow, this one I positioned on some leaves.

My awkward steps above my fireplace..... I decorated them with pumpkins, scarecrows, lots of leaves and...

...a pumpkin turkey. What can I say, I thought he was cute!

See the hidden pumpkin behind the leaves???

I also like to decorate my china hutch. Everyone gathers in this area to eat and to be honest, it's a safe place for my Jim Shore woodcut figures.

I'm a little obsessed with Jim Shore woodcut figures...you'll see what I mean when I show you Christmas pictures...It's slightly "re-dunculous" as my hubby would say.

Cornucopia stuffed with leaves :) Simple and easy.

I even add a touch of leaves inside the hutch. It provides a nice pop of color and ties it all together.

I picked up this guy for $5 at my local craft store and the kids gave him a pilgrim hat :) I think we should name him.

Even our fridge is decorated. Turkey hand prints are the best! And so fun and easy. Just paint your hand with brown paint, then press on white paper. Glue feathers and ta-da! 

I purchased a bird houses at my local craft store and decorated it with fall colors and places it on top of my fridge. I'm not sure where this idea came from, but I like it.

Yes, my guest bathroom has fall towels and soap ;)

And I've replaced the real plants with a fall leaf assortment

My kitchen even gets a few touches

And Duke's treats

We made little American Indian pupets after reading a thanksgiving story. Simple craft and my kids love these guys! ....hmm....who knew.

And we can't forget our thanksgiving toys! :) The kids get really excited when they see these since they only come out of the garage once a year. Quick reminder: when storing seasonal toys remember to remove the batteries! 

I hope that gives you all a few ideas or maybe some Thanksgiving decoration inspiration! Happy decorating!!