DIY Thanksgiving Decorations

Growing up, Thanksgiving was a formal holiday.

My Grandma's house was always decorated exquisitely, the food was gourmet, and we always dressed up in honor of the holiday.

Even though I live away from my family, I want to keep our traditions alive.

I make all of the food from scratch, I decorate, and we all dress up...even though it's just us...eating dinner together as a family.

I've been experimenting with some ideas for Thanksgiving Decorations that are simple, pretty, and affordable.  Money is always tight around here, so I try to use supplies that I already have.

1.  Burlap Table Runner

This one if very simple.  I cut a piece of burlap the length of the table.  Then I tied both ends with a ribbon.  I left the edges raw because I like the natural look of the burlap.

2.  Corn Kernel Tea Light

I saw this idea on pintrest and I loved it!  I used an ice cream dish that I already had, and filled it with popcorn kernels.  Then I put a tea light in it.  That's it.  Sometimes the simplest things are the prettiest.

3.  Painted Pumpkins

I still have several garden pumpkins that we didn't carve for Halloween.  I painted two of them white.  

For the small one, I just painted it white and then distressed it, so the orange pumpkin was showing through the white paint.

For the large one, I painted it white and then cut out the letters "Give Thanks" and some leaves and glued it on.  Until Thanksgiving, it's going to sit on my front porch :)

4.  Ribbon Napkin Ring

This was a last minute idea, but I like how it tuned out.  I don't have a matching set of napkin rings, so I just tied ribbon around the napkins.  It added a fun pop of color to the place settings.

5.  Thanksgiving Vinyl

I ordered this Thanksgiving vinyl off of Groopdealz a while back and finally decided to make something with it.  Vinyl is fun because it is so easy!

How do you celebrate Thanksgiving?