Dare to DIY...Be Thankful

I'm so excited because it's Week 1 of Kim at NewlyWoodwards Dare to DIY Blog Party! The challenge for this first week was to make a Thanksgiving-themed craft. Anything related to Thanksgiving. Anything at all. Hmmm.

In thinking of what I might do, I first decided that I wouldn't spend a penny on this challenge. Bad economy, gotta be responsible, blah, blah, blah. Luckily, since I like to craft now and then, I have a lot of craft supplies on hand. So I pulled out some of my stuff to see what I could put together.

I had seen some pretty Fall-ish votive holders somewhere (possibly ZGallerie) that were $6 each. They sort of resembled mercury glass, but painted an orangey-gold. I had clear votives and little tubes of craft paint, so I made some for free!

I painted the outside of the votives orange first, then went over them with a bronze paint. I used only a little paint so that you would see the texture when the candles were lit, like the ones in the store. Then I sprinkled a little bronze glitter on them while they were wet, because when is something not made better with glitter? This is them alone:

Then I decided to glam one up a bit with a jewelry bead and some glittery string I had:

Then I found some of these mini vine wreaths I had stashed in a drawer:

So I clipped some bits off of different garlands I had and stuck them in. I didn't even use any glue because I didn't want it to be permanent:

Cute, but the more I looked at it, the uglier that little pumpkin became. So I sought the help of my old friend, glitter.

Ah, much better.

Then I found some pinecones in one of my craft drawers and I had a stroke of genius. I would make a pinecone look like a turkey, and use it as a place card for the table! Had no one else ever thought of this? Why haven't I ever seen it before? Man, I'm clever and original, I thought.

Until I googled "pinecone turkey" and saw page after page of them. So with ego fully checked, I give you my version of this not-so-original craft:

Pretty self-explanatory. Pinecone, feathers, bead eyes, and felt.

Week 1 was fun, and now I'm off to see what everyone else has done, and start planning for next week's challenge!