A Thanksgiving Centerpiece

Welcome to the Candy Hearts Blog Hop for October! Today we are sharing Thanksgiving themed projects. After reading my post, I hope you will hop to the next person on the list below. Be sure to hop around to see ALL the great projects the Candy Hearts have created for you!

I wanted to make something other than a card for this month’s blog, as I don’t personally send out very many Thanksgiving cards. I also won’t be hosting a large family gathering, so I didn’t want to make individual treat holders either. So, I decided to make a centerpiece that will look beautiful on my table whether people are over to see it or I enjoy it Socially Distanced in my home.

I made this piece using a jar and fairy lights that I ordered from Amazon along with some awesome Stampin’ Up! products – it is beautiful whether the lights are lit or not! I’m not trying to hock-goods for Amazon, but if you wish to replicate this idea, I’ve provided links for you.

How I Made It:

Dye a Spool of Whisper White Polka Dot Tulle:

• Remove the entire length of Polka Dot Tulle from the spool (I find it helpful to wrap it around four of my fingers as I do this)
• Place the Tulle into a small glass mason jar
• Add 90% (or higher) Rubbing Alcohol to the jar into the tulle is completely covered
• Add 10-20 drops of Daffodil Delight reinker to the alcohol
• Stir the reinker into the alcohol, add more reinker if the color is not as dark as you would like
• Let this sit for at least 1 hour – you can let it sit longer and the color will be more vivid up to 2 days, any more time than that really makes no difference in color retention.
• Remove the tulle from the alcohol/reinker solution and hang to dry (I use my shower curtain rod with an old towel under the ribbon so that drips don’t stain my tub or floor
• Once dry, I generally put the ribbon back on the spool and label the new color – however, for this project we are going to use the full spool as a filler inside our jar

Die Cut with Sunflowers Dies:

• Vellum – 4 of the large sunflower outlines
• Gold Brushed Metallic – 4 of the detailed sunflower petals

Die Cut with Peaceful Boughs:

• Vellum – 4 each of the large and small pinecone outlines
• Copper Brushed Metallic – 4 each of the large and small detailed pinecones

Sponge Color Onto Front of Vellum Die Cuts:

• Using a wedge of Stampin’ Sponge, add Daffodil Delight to the front of the vellum sunflower shapes
• Using a wedge of Stampin’ Sponge, add Soft Suede to the front of the vellum pinecone shapes

Adhere the Vellum Die Cuts to your Jar:

• Ensure that the outer surface of your jar is clean and dry
• Squirt a generous amount of Multipurpose Liquid Glue onto your Silicone Craft Sheet
• Using a clean wedge of Stampin’ Sponge, pick up some of that glue and smear it evenly onto the back side of your colored vellum shapes, one at a time
• Once the back of your colored vellum shape has been evenly coated with glue, adhere the piece onto the jar, being sure to press out any bubbles and hold the edges for a few seconds so they don’t lift
• You’ll see some lines through the vellum from where you smeared the glue, but in my opinion it adds to the shabby-chic look of the project. Additionally, the lines look intentional whereas a blob would look….like a blob!
• I adhered all 4 of my flowers first and then went back in and added the pinecones. I didn’t try to line things up or make everything go in the same direction – I wanted the appearance of some randomness
• It will likely be necessary to add more glue to your silicone mat as you go. Personally, I’d rather add more as needed than to have too much, since I can’t put it back in the bottle later!

Adhere the Brushed Metallic Detailed Die Cuts:

• Once again, I used the Multipurpose Liquid Glue, but this time I applied it directly to the back of the detailed die cuts – very small amounts around the edges and on the thicker “joints” on the inner part of the cuts.
• Before applying the glue, I gently curled the die cuts in my had to loosen the fibers so that they would easily shape to the curvature of the glass jar

Add Ribbon:

• Add a piece of Tear And Tape around the top of the jar, below the lip in the little “ditch” that holds the lid in place
• Adhere a Piece of Very Vanilla Scalloped Lace Trim to the Tear and Tape – I didn’t measure this, I left it on the spool and cut once I had gotten all the way around
• Cut a piece of Copper 1/8″ in ribbon from the Basket Weave and Metallic Ribbon Combo Pack to approximately 30-36 inches (I forgot to measure, but my hands were stretched out further than my grid paper, so I guessed an approximation
• Wrap this around the jar over the Scalloped Lace Trim and tie tightly in a knot. Now tie a bow, the ends should hang down generously
• Use approximately 12 inches of the Scalloped Lace Trim and tie a bow – again, the ends will be lengthy
• Adhere this bow over the Metallic Ribbon using a Glue Dot
• Trim the ends of both bows to the desired length – I chose to keep mine long, but not let them reach the table top
• I had a small scrap of Scalloped Lace Trim left over and I tied it around the knob of the lid in a simple knot, cutting the ends on an angle

Clean Up the Jar:

• Once your die cuts have all dried, you’ll need to clean up any glue smudges – and trust me, there will probably be plenty!
• I found that a baby wipe worked best for this. It is wet enough to “cut” the glue, but not so wet that it damaged the Brushed Metallic Paper or caused the ink on the vellum to run

Decorating Inside the Jar:

• Open your fairy lights and gently straighten out the strand – it will still have some curvature to it, likely about the circumference of the jar
• Place the lights inside the jar, allowing the battery pack to hang out of the outside for now
• Loosely create a “wad” from the dyed Polka Dot Tulle and place it inside the jar
• The lights will be along the outside of the jar and the tulle will be inside them, kind of holding them up
• Place the battery pack inside the jar and place the lid on top – you’re done!

Here are some additional photos that capture the beautiful shine of the Brushed Metallic paper, with and without the lights being on:

Thank you for hopping with the Hearts today! Be sure to hop around to all the stops. You do not want to miss any of the creativity in this talented group of stampers!

1. Candy Ford of Stamp Candy
2. Linda Krueger of The Stamp Coach
3. Pam Morris of Tap Tap Stamp
4. Brian King of Stamp with Brian
5. Joanne Brown of The Inky Dragon

Today’s Colors:

Products Used Today:

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