Thankful.

I'm off for an early morning flight to Boston for the Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends.



Thank you to all my readers! I hope you each have a fabulous holiday full of gratitude.

Thank you to my husband for an early trip out for a belated anniversary date at this hotel before the "real" holiday begins. Well-known fact: I love me some cool hotels. I really, really do.

See you all soon! Amy

Card Table Chic

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We can't leave the kids at this Thanksgiving out, now can we?



The four little ones will be treated to their own little table consisting of miniature versions of the chair covers, the Pottery Barn kids Thanksgiving set (which Jen was able to borrow from a friend...easy peasy!), a white butcher paper table cover and these little guys that will serve as crayon holders for coloring on the "tablecloth."

Plenty of time to make this 10-minute craft for your kid's table. I used plastic pots from the dollar section at Target and foam sheets, but you can use construction paper and other containers. Cover an empty can in scrap paper...a clean mason jar...terracotta pot, etc.

Just cut out your feathers, double stick tape them on in layers, pop on your google eyes and your triangle beak et voila!

This ain't yo momma's card table.

We Now Interrupt This Thanksgiving...

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I know it's not even Thanksgiving yet, but, in my defense, this is too cute to save until later.



Kim at The TomKat Studio has a new modern holiday collection of printables in her Etsy store. Don't we just love her? Yes. Yes, we do.

Set includes party circles (use these a million ways!), gift tags, blank labels and tags, and rectangular tags. The possibilities are endless. Go...print. Get.

Black And White And Seriously Cute All Over

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When Stem blog reader, Nancy, sent me these photos of her daughter's Zebra birthday party I just couldn't keep them to myself.

This is a perfect example of how picking a theme and running with it provides amazing results. Fabulous attention to detail here!



She couldn't find a hat she liked, so she made one. Love that!



Sassy sweet treats!



There are a lot more fun photos and details on her personal blog so I suggest you head on over and check them out.

Thanks so much for sharing this cuteness, Nancy. I'm sure you'll inspire a lot of other DIY moms out there!

Thanks, Jen!

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Remember back in the day when I shared these florals and didn't want to spill the beans on the rest of the mock-up table I did for my client's Thanksgiving table? Seems like only 2 weeks ago...



Well, Jen said to feel free to share with everyone as her guests didn't read my blog. Remind me to have words with her about that after the holiday is over.

In the meantime, here are a few photos that I sent Jen for approval. Jen wanted a mix of elegant and candles with a rustic twist. I think this fits the bill. (P.S. She loves. Yay!)



Keep in mind this was a mock-up so thing like trimming the burlap on the chairs, adding more leaves and such will be fine tuned in real life. Also, my husband likes to note than Jen's table will be wider than this and there will be additional glasses, etc.

Jen's family has sent in something for which they are thankful and I will incorporate those into the rust colored placecards on each plate. I did a quickie mock-up for a sample on the one plate you see here. (click photos to view larger)



Lastly, a few extra close-ups of some touches. A leaf hole punch was used on some autumn colored paisley scrapbook paper and will be affixed to the placecards, silverware bundles and bottom of the wine glasses.



Those are the highlights. I hope that gives you some ideas for your Thanksgiving table and that you have a wonderful holiday with your loved ones.

Cheers,
Amy

The Camera Subtracts Ten Pounds, Right?

Just wanted to give you all a heads up that yours truly and the other Operation Shower girls will be online tomorrow night.

So, if you aren't watching Dancing With The Stars or some other Monday night show, be sure and tune in to MomTV.com on Monday, November 16th at 9pm Central as we join Danielle from Extraordinary Mommy to talk about our Holiday SHOPeration project.

The Operation Shower team is excited to also be joined by several of our amazing sponsors. We can’t wait to share how and why they are helping give back this holiday season.

Now, if you’ll excuse us, we’ll be getting ready for our close-up.

Update: I may or may not be on camera. Still TBD. Stay tuned in though!

More is More

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I can't stop looking at flowers this week! And I'm okay with that.

Some fall inspiration for your viewing pleasure.

From BHG.com

From Martha Stewart, seen here.

Heavenly Blooms

I thought I'd just continue the flower theme for the week with some images from the amazingly talented Heavenly Blooms.

They were so kind to repost my Operation Shower post and it would just be wrong of me to withhold their amazing creations for any of you that haven't already seen them. I almost needed CPR after the Minnie Mouse birthday girl centerpiece.


You may know this gorgeous baby shower that was featured on Hostess With The Mostess. Well, that's Heavenly Blooms, too!


If you're lucky enough to live near Whittier, CA, you must visit Heavenly Blooms for your next event.

My Latest Addiction

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Is anyone else drooling over the new TLC series, "Flowers Uncut" with Jeff Leatham?



If you're like me and think that flowers can truly make an entire event or at the very least take it to another level, this show is a must add to your DVR list.

And, while most people can't completely recreate what Jeff does to the tune of thousands of dollars, you can certainly find some fabulous inspiration for your next event!

Stun.ning.

Operation Give Thanks, "OGT" For All You Cool Kids

Hey there!

If you are in St. Louis, come by and say hello tomorrow night!

Operation Give Thanks 2009
Saturday, Nov 7th at 7:00 p.m.
at Monarch Restaurant, St Louis, MO

2nd Annual OPERATION GIVE THANKS

A night to come together for Operation Shower at Monarch Restaurant

Please join us as Monarch donates a portion of proceeds to Operation Shower from a select Operation Shower drink and appetizer menu. Enjoy amazing food and drinks while we GIVE THANKS to U.S. Military Families.

There is no fee, so just come, learn more about Operation Shower and have a great night!

Thanks(for)Giving(us this)

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The girls over at Paper&Cake are celebrating their one year anniversary with a gift for everyone. Yep, it's their anniversary and they are giving gifts. That's just the kind of girls they are. Love them!


You can download their entire Thanksgiving printable party goods for FREE right here.

Your Thanksgiving PDF Contains:
Invitation + Envelope
Menu
Place Cards
Wine Glass Tags
Napkin Rings / Candle Wrap / Candle Wrap
Party Food Label
Recipe Card
Favor Box

Happy Anniversary and thanks for a year of fabulous things. Can't wait to see what's to come!

You Take The Good, You Take The Bad

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You take them both and there you have The Facts Of Life...The Facts Of Life.... Is that song stuck in your head now? You're welcome.



That's how I feel about Fall though.

Bad: Gets dark too early.
Good: Gets light earlier in the morning.

Bad: The leaves fall and everything gets brown and "sticky" looking.
Good: Before they fall it is the most glorious and magical display of colors. Sometimes you can turn a corner and gasp at the most fabulous trees in front of you. Okay, I do. I might even get a little misty-eyed if they are especially magical.

And then, sometimes, you get to mock up a Thanksgiving Table for a client and then have fresh floral arrangements you created on hand for a few days. Not a bad gig and a very good reminder of how gorgeous this season is.

I'll share more details of this table later but don't want to spoil it all in case her guests peep this blog.

Happy November to you all! I hope the good far outweighs the bad for you all and you have moments in each day to be thankful.

- Amy