Give Thanks

This week I have seen so many Christmas light crews going in and out of my neighborhood and everywhere. Like so many other people, I love this time of the year. Truly! Christmas carols start popping up in my head, I start present shopping along with so many other fun things. However, is Thanksgiving slowly being forgotten about? Besides the shopping centers that put up their Christmas stuff in early October, on a run around the neighborhood the other night I counted numerous houses that already had their Christmas lights turned on, garland around the doors and staircases and Christmas trees up! Did I miss something? Thanksgiving for me is a time to be with family and celebrate the fact that we have all that we have been blessed with and celebrate those blessings with one another. It is the beginning of a month of gratefulness and selflessness. Maybe it's just me, maybe I'm old school with my firm belief in nothing goes up till after Thanksgiving. Anyway, rant done!
In the mean time, remember I told you a while back I pull pages out of catalogues that are sent to my house with really awesome, expensive decorations? Yes, my project today is fully inspired by one of those. Have you ever heard of Grandin Road? Here is a picture of the project I snagged from them:

They would like $59 plus shipping to make you the proud owner of these beauties. But I made something almost identical (minus the jute rope) for literally half the price and without the shipping and handling.

 

 

What You'll Need:

 

Paper Mache Letters (I got mine from JoAnn's on Sale)

Yarn or any type of string

Hot glue

Scissors

Optional: Marbles or rocks

Optional: Box cutter

 

What You'll do:

 

 As opposed to $59, this project cost my roughly $30 and a couple of hours worth of movie watching. The pictures I will show you are for the letter "G".

 

1. Grab your letter and look at all sides of it. If you're going to place it on a mantle like myself, not all edges need to be covered so you can skip a step here and there. When wrapping letters I have determined that it is easier to cover edges vertically first and then wrap horizontally second. Here's what I mean:

 

 

I decided I wanted that plane of the "g" covered so I first wrap it vertically.

 

2. When starting the string on your letter, it is important to make sure the edges are secure so they wont slip off. Glue the string on all 4 sides of the first wrap of the edge. Continue to wrap until you reach the other side.

 

 

3. On the particular letter there are rounded edges which makes for a lot of fun! As you start wrapping around the curve every wrap will need some glue to keep it secured. See below:

 

 

4. Hide the end of the string! The picture I'm going to show you isn't the best example because I'm just going to cover it up when I wrap over it. Make sure the the end of your sting is securely glued down! Try to hid the end of the string at the back of the letter so no one will see it.

 

 

5. Once your edges are wrapped vertically, repeat steps 1-4 but on your horizontal wrap this time!

 

 

You may run into a couple of issue with the curves. This is why hot glue is your friend!

 

 

If you run into something like above, give it a little glue to make it cooperate!

 

 

On edges that have a long horizontal string running across, give it a little glue just to make sure it doesn't ride up or go anywhere!

 

That's it folks! Have fun with your new seasonal decoration!