A fantastic felt tree trio!

I snagged these lovelies on clearance at Art of the Table, one of my favorite little shops in here Grand Rapids. I had a gift certificate from my birthday burning a hole in my pocket and so I picked out a new tablecloth and this tree trio.

They were each topped with the cutest white star. I even traded one at the last minute when the clerk helpfully pointed out that the star was loose on one I had chosen. And then one day I saw the stars laying upon the shelf next to the trees. Neatly plucked off courtesy of a busy and ambitious 20-month-old. Oh well!

I am imagining a whole forest of course. Topping the before-mentioned table. Or clustering in various corners of the house. And I want to try so many color combinations. You know me and color. Perhaps a craft for next Thanksgiving? I haven't looked for any online tutorials but they seem fairly simple in construction.

Felt ornaments for kids of all ages!

For the second time, I prepared a Thanksgiving craft for our family gathering (anyone remember ornamental balls?). I was inspired by the book Holiday Crafting and Baking with Kids: Gifts, Sweets, and Treats for the Whole Family. Of course, our actual intention was to get the grown-ups crafting too!

Because this involves cutting felt with fabric scissors it is not the best craft for the littles. However, one of my nephews who is only 3 years old was happy to arrange scraps and even glued them himself. The 4-year-olds had mixed interest. The older kids actually really enjoyed it. On the second day of crafting, we even saw some out-of-the-box formats – large rectangles, fringe, tassels, and, eventually fake moustaches!

The premise is very simple – take a felt circle, cut out various felt shapes, and glue them on. The instructions suggest using a hole punch to create a spot to thread the ribbon through. We found it easier to just pinch the fabric and make a small snip with the scissors. The sparkly, fancy, beaded ribbons were a hit embellishment option.